Gen Z Gives Money and Time. Here’s How and Why to Engage Them.

Nonprofits have known for some time that the donor population is graying and it will be increasingly important to attract Generation Z donors, those born from 1997 to 2012. Yet fundraising practices haven’t changed to account for new blood, notes Howard Heevner, executive director of annual programs at the University of California at Berkeley.

“We have built a system based on a homogenous, white male structure for philanthropic purposes,” says Heevner, who researches alumni giving habits in the annual National Alumni Survey. “The rising generations are more diverse, more female, and we’ve not changed our systems at all to match the needs of that population.”

While Heevner focuses on giving to colleges and universities, they are not the only ones in need of a fundraising reset. Most nonprofits fall short when it comes to reaching young donors. New research dispels a common misperception by showing that Gen Z is giving and that nonprofits can build meaningful relationships with them by speaking their language. 

Heevner and others studying Gen Z philanthropy offer the following insights into how and why young donors get involved in causes they care about. 

Gen Z Gives Time, Money

Research released Wednesday by the GivingTuesday Data Commons and GoFundMe  compared adult Gen Z respondents, ages 18 to 29, to other adults, ages 30 to 85. They found 71 percent of Gen Z had given to charities in some form, compared with 65 percent of older donors. Just under 43 percent of those surveyed gave money, compared with 39 percent of older adults. Among Gen Zers, 45 percent donated items, compared with 41 percent of other generations. Plus, Gen Z had a higher rate of volunteerism, at 35 percent, compared with 25 percent of other generations.

“There’s been a persistent myth that … younger Americans, or Gen Z, don’t give,” says Steve Froehlich, GoFundMe chief customer growth officer. “This report actually dispels that.”

The new data jibes with what Alex Counts, executive director of the India Philanthropy Alliance, has seen. The alliance has been working for the past six years on figuring out how to appeal to younger donors. “They’re a giving generation, but giving in a different way,” Counts says.

Let Gen Z Be a ‘Force Multiplier’ 

Gen Z cares about being in community and doing things together, he says. 

“The donation alone seems kind of empty; they want some sort of role,” Counts says. “They want to be activated, whether it’s things that they’re being asked to do in social media or events or joining some committee.”

The new report corroborates Counts. In addition to higher levels of volunteerism, it found that 32 percent of Gen Zers advocated for causes, 47 percent gave to an individual, and 58 percent gave informally.

“This is a group of donors that you can and should put in a driver’s seat,” says Woodrow Rosenbaum, chief data officer at GivingTuesday. “Let them guide how they’re going to support your organization and just ensure that they have lots of on-ramps to do so.”

For example, younger alumni really get excited by giving days, Heevner says. When young alumni feel passionate, they reach out to their contacts, share, and ask them to give, he says. The university created many specialized funds that speak to specific groups of supporters.

“Our giving day has doubled in number of donors over the last six years,” Heevner says. “We went from 10,000 to over 19,000.” 

“These are people who are used to engaging and networking online, and they can generate a lot of collective support rapidly that is also much more resilient to economic shocks in the future,” Rosenbaum says. “That means helping to fundraise for you, which is a force multiplier.”

Involve Gen Z in ‘Community Fundraising’

The new research from GivingTuesday and GoFundMe shows that Gen Z donors are very interested in what the researchers call “community fundraising,” which they describe as the evolution of peer-to-peer programs, where “participation is continuous, personal, and network-driven.”  

This is less intense than traditional peer-to-peer programs, which often require nonprofits to spend a lot of time organizing a walk, fun run, or other activity where people come together and lean on their networks for monetary support tied to their participation. 

It’s not getting up at 6 am to meet Gen Z at the park for an event, says Froehlich with GoFundMe. It’s getting Gen Z involved in ways they feel most comfortable. “If Gen Z is doing this work increasingly online, and they’re doing the same actions that generations before them have always done with advocating and sharing and fundraising, then you can harness that tendency and create online communities,” Froehlich says.

Counts adds, “It’s the WhatsApp group that then becomes a quarterly meetup where people can form that more interpersonal connection for the causes that they care most about.” 

Help Gen Z Trust Your Institution

Trust in institutions including nonprofits has been on the decline in recent years, and Gen Z shares this skepticism. 

Young donors want to see the impact of their giving and know it is doing good in the world, that their gift isn’t just falling into an institutional abyss, Heever says 

At the India Philanthropy Alliance, Counts says, “We’re seeing some skepticism of organized philanthropy and nonprofits.”  Young supporters “aren’t necessarily sold that if you want to give back, the way to do it is through a traditional 501(c)(3). That case needs to be made.” 

To build trust, Heevner recommends offering volunteer opportunities, so those young people can see how the organization works and where the money goes. Counts suggests offering Gen Z opportunities to participate on committees. The committees shouldn’t be assigned by age because that can make Gen Z feel like they’re being patronized or not taken seriously, he says. However, if you believe Gen Z supporters want to volunteer to support community impact, then create a committee and engage with them there, Counts says. It’s important to learn about their interests, Counts says. 

Retool Your Metrics, Thinking

Gen Z is generous, but they often have less money to give. The new research found that 68 percent of respondents earned less than $75,000 annually. Only 4 percent earned $150,000 or more, while 15 percent of older generations do. Rosenbaum with GivingTuesday cautions against evaluating Gen Z donors solely in terms of their average gift size. Focusing on metrics like frequency of giving in addition to things like volunteering and advocacy helps provide a fuller picture of the value Gen Z donors offer organizations, Rosenbaum says.

Nonprofits also should consider inviting Gen Z to be more involved in the upper levels of philanthropy, says Counts. Organizations in the Indian Philanthropy Alliance are encouraged to have Gen Z board members. Counts notes some organizations initially questioned this.

“Some of them said, ‘Well, they don’t have any money. Why would I have them on my board?’” Counts says. The reason is to help build trust, Counts says, and because this generation is social; they can help spread the word to their peers about the good work nonprofits are doing. They also can provide new perspectives for the organizations. “We make better decisions with them at the table,” Counts says.