TALKING ABOUT MY AND YOUR GENERATION

There’s been scarcely any research into how giving changes based on which cohort you’re born into — which is a pity, because we could sure use some.

Even so, one representative nationwide study a few years back by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute in Indianapolis offers some suggestions about how such differences play out in terms of values, aspirations and behavior.

In that study, boomer women gave the most to charity while millennials gave the least. And boomer women gave more than boomer men ($1,129 vs. $1,847 per year, on average).

Millennial women are three times more likely than Gen X or boomer women to respond to a message about “improving the world.” Boomer and older women are more likely than boomer men to respond to a message that urges “responsibility to help those with less.” Millennials do not perceive charity in the same way as boomers do.

The WPI concludes that heightened sensitivity about generational differences in the workplace transfers to philanthropy.

Any group or organization trying to engage donors or volunteers ought to be thinking about such demographics as well as about their message and narratives. Programs and marketing materials need to appeal not only to both genders but to different generations, too.

Have you engaged a millennial woman in giving today? Do you know how to shape a message that will resonate with Gen Y, men and women?

It’s time we learned.

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