There are simple ways your organization's development team can
cultivate millennial donors and gain their loyalty. As millennials begin
to fill the boards of major foundations and think about their personal giving,
they will arrive with a set of perspectives that correspond to their unique
formative experiences. As I often emphasize, the trust deficit affects
millennial decision-making (Pew, 2014). Thus, millennial philanthropists will
arrive with a unique set of demands of grantees.
Mistrust may manifest itself in a
reversal in the trend toward funding general operating support. Millennials
constantly ask the question can
you make change without the institutions? This
may result in more program-specific funding (GrantCraft, 2012). In my informal
survey, 61.5% of respondents stated that if they had $1,000 to donate to a
nonprofit organization, one of the most important factors (they could choose
two) would be “if they are transparent about how they spend donor money.” A
quarter of respondents chose “if they used effectiveness metrics to measure
their programming.”
The high frequency in millennial
social entrepreneurship and very young Silicon Valley CEO's are accompanied
by a rise in venture philanthropy, with more rigor in giving objectives, more
hands-on work with grantees centered on impact evaluation, and smart innovation
(GrantCraft, 2012; LaFrance, 2008).
Additionally, millennials
are a highly collaborative cohort, eager to bridge chasms between the public
and private sectors to foster innovation. Millennial donors are eager to
collaborate with diverse organizations, e.g. nonprofit, for-profit, media,
government, and communities (GrantCraft 2012, Deloitte 2014).
