The Millennial generation (those born between 1982 and 2000) has in many ways become the center of attention. And for good reason.
- In the U.S., according to U.S. census data from 2015, Millennials are now the largest generation, numbering over 83 million, compared to 75 million Baby Boomers.
- Research is showing that Millennials are more engaged in philanthropy than many thought. According to Blackbaud’s 2013 NEXGEN report, 60 percent of Millennials gave to charity at that time, whereas 84 percent have given to charity in 2014, according to the 2015 Millennial Impact Report.
- When looking at the makeup of charitable donations, Millennials make up 11 percent of donations, compared to 20 percent from Gen Xers, 43 percent from Boomers and 26 percent from Matures.
The upshot is that over the course of the last few years, fundraisers and charities have become more focused on the Millennial generation… wondering what makes Millennials tick… wanting to understand their preferences, interests and engagement with the charitable sector…
… and what the implications might be for charities as they seek to engage this generation.
So we set out to find out directly from Millennial donors what they support, the level of that support, what prompts them to give, general attributes and attitudes… and how they compare to other generations of donors. In addition, we didn’t limit our study to the U.S., but also studied donors in the United Kingdom and Australia to better understand how Millennials in the U.S. compared to their counterparts in those countries.
“Millennials are no longer the next generation; they’re the now generation. Those who want to thrive in the future must understand who this generation is today. This study by Dunham+Company is a clear picture of who millennials really are and how to effectively engage them as donors.” — Wes Gay, Forbes Under 30 Contributor
