The days of people taking out their checkbooks and handwriting donations are in the process of coming to a close. Nonprofits that are trying to reach millennials, people in their 30s and younger, need to deal with the reality that many of them have never written a check in their lives. They want to — and do — use their smartphones, laptops, and tablets to give.
In all aspects of their lives, today’s young people demand digital, with no compromises. It’s incumbent upon nonprofits to give them what they want — online giving — and meet them on their terms.
Meeting millennials on their own terms is a mix of:
- a killer website, optimized not just for the web but also for mobile devices, that tells a thematically and visually compelling story that’s appealing to the heartstrings of young people
- an intuitive online giving system involving no more than two clicks that provides not only the ability to accept donations online, but preferably a “recurring donation” function that makes it easy for users to set up automatic monthly donations
- an effective and consistent social media program, not only to promote your nonprofit and engage current and potential donors, but also to provide the ability for donors to share news of their donations with friends who may in turn make their own donations
- visibility online (Are you represented on these charity locator sites frequented by young people?)
- keeping donors informed about the real-world impact of their donations
- and a rich donor management system that can productively manage your relationships with these cutting-edge contributors.
The team at DonorLynk can give your nonprofit solid advice and solutions for all of these aspects of engaging the new generation of donors. Just contact us and we’ll get started on setting you up for the realities of today’s online giving culture.
Joe Paone is a content strategist at DonorLynk who loves informing nonprofits.