Yesterday I attended a workshop which reviewed the results of the Next Generation of American Giving, sponsored by Convio, Edge Research and Sea Change Strategies.  This is a fascinating topic, especially if your nonprofit still focuses only on older donors, which was the focus of an earlier study on the Wired Wealthy.

Different generations respond differently to fundraising appeals.  Generation Y (born 1981-1991) tend to be more ‘random’ in giving, like social media and mobile and respond well to peer to peer asks (not directly from the nonprofit).  Generation X  (1965 – 1980) also participate in peer to peer giving and also participate in professional networks such as LinkedIn.  The boomer generation (1946-1964) reads enewsletters, likes to volunteer and is the target of much traditional direct mail.  Finally matures (born 1945 or earlier) are wealthier, most likely to contribute by check and are more fixed in their choice of charities.

Most donation forms don’t ask for birth date / age range because potential donors are likely to find this invasive.  So many organizations that take the time to segment their constituents derive this information in other ways, such as noting which channels they choose to communicate with.  But in an increasingly multi-channel world, this may not always be accurate.

Some additional points from the report:

• marketing programs should be optimized beyond “matures’
• boomers are the next logical target, but don’t ignore generations X and Y
• consider the economic value of gens X and Y which have a ‘lifetime of giving’ ahead of them
• no generation is as loyal as matures
• no channel will dominate in the future as direct mail has in the past
• (no surprise) the Internet is the core channel for younger donors
• let supporters choose which channel to use to interact with your organization
• mobile giving is where online giving was in 1999

How can we adjust our outreach efforts?

1. Online Feeder Acquisition – similar to when you ask for email address in a direct mail piece, use online as a list acquisition channel by asking for physical address – but you’ll have to provide some value in return
2. Multichannel Campaign – compose an integrated fundraising calendar, respect previous giving behaviors such as not asking a $100 donor for a $25 gift or vice versa
3. Segmentation – Adjust your call to action based on who you are communicating with (don’t send the same message to everyone)
4. New Approach to Donor Management – Must be able to see all ways a constituent has interacted with organization – much easier if you can use one main database.

My take – if your organization is still structured in traditional ways, you won’t be able to fully take advantage of these opportunities.  Direct mail doesn’t compete with online, they work together.  And as this report suggests, if you’re only targeting the matures and boomers, you’re missing the chance to develop a long term relationship with the younger Generation Y and X constituents, many which may start by supporting your organization in other ways than by large financial contributions.