Area nonprofit organizations are armed with new knowledge about how to capture the attention and philanthropy of those under age 40.
On Tuesday, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks shared details of the study, “Shaping Tomorrow: A Study of Young Donors.” It was conducted by Habitat Communication & Culture in Springfield.
Some key findings:
Donors under 40 define charitable giving differently than their parents. They tend to be less conservative and less religious. And they’re less trusting. They want to know someone who works at a nonprofit or hear about the organization from someone they trust. Or they give directly to an individual or family.
Gen Z and millennial donors tend to give through crowd funding sources. Technologies like GoFundMe and Venmo have fueled the sense that donors can bypass organizations to directly fund community needs.
When younger donors give through a nonprofit’s website, it must be quick and easy to do. Spencer Harris, co-founder of Habitat Communication and Culture, said, if a payment processor is too slow and clunky, young donors will abandon it.
"Maybe one of the takeaways there is, the sentiment to give has not declined, but 'the convenience and ease with which I now encounter the world' is so much different than it used to be that, while the sentiment may be there, the convenience or the behavior might not be."
The study also found that building and maintaining trust with younger donors requires a multi-faceted approach that includes leveraging personal relationships, showcasing a strong visual brand and demonstrating the impact of programs and gifts.
CFO will hold programs this month to help nonprofits take action based on the study results:
- Feb 21: Information session on Jumpstart, a capacity-building program centered on the Bonterra fundraising platform.
- Feb. 27: Education session on messaging to the donor base, storytelling and visual presentation (presented by Network for Strong Communities).
- March 5: Education session on donor database essentials (presented by Network for Strong Communities)
CFO is also offering a total of $50,000 in grants to help its nonprofit partners make changes to tap into the under 40 donor pool. Organizations may apply for up to $5000 in funding through March 14. The grants are supported by a gift from David and Stacey O'Reilly.
Find out more at cfozarks.org/shapingtomorrow.
CFO commissioned the research in 2023 with support from the Patterson Family Foundation. It said the research was prompted by the "Giving by Generations" report from the Lilly School of Philanthropy.
