Millenials, the New Giving Generation

There are currently 13.8 million people between 18-35 years old* in the UK, who are the main source of online donations and the driving force that’s reshaping the giving sector today, by bringing it online. This shift has been made possible thanks to the arrival of new crowdfunding and fundraising websites that were able to respond the online needs of the tech savvy Millennials and deliver a more hands on “giving” experience.

Today, a fundraiser can create a campaign page and personalise it in just one minute, share it on social media platforms and make it go viral instantaneously as well as mobilising large sums of money within a matter of days!

The online giving platforms not only have made the donation process more convenient and social media friendly, but also brought more transparency and accountability to the financed projects. This is extremely important in the current times, when trust in UK charities is at a record low. Millennials are an extremely generous generation, however, they are also very money-savvy and want more funds to be accounted for and go directly to the actual cause.

Here are the top 10 causes Millennials are more willing to donate to:

1. Health (29%)

2. Wildlife preservation and animals (27%)

3. Community projects (24%)

4. Personal stroke of fate (for example illness, being homeless) (23%)

5. Humanitarian projects (22%)

6. Advocacy groups projects (human rights, women’s rights) (18%)

7. Youth and education (17%)

8. Culture (13%)

9. Sports organisations (13%)

10. Technological development (10%)

50% of people between 18 - 24 years old and 40% of those 25 - 34 would prefer to use a crowdfunding platform to finance a specific project than to donate via a charity page. The reason behind is that more than a third (38%) of 18 - 35 year olds believe that only a small amount of their donation would go towards supporting the actual cause.

Céline Lazorthes, CEO and founder of the Leetchi Group, comments on the findings; “Charity organisations need to encourage transparency in how their funds are spent, particularly as today we have the ability to donate to specific causes in a matter of minutes from our phones. This hyper-connectivity opens channels for scrutiny and we need to determine how we can raise money for a good cause and instil confidence in Millennials.”

For Millennials trust, feasibility and transparency are essential when contributing to a personal or charity project through an online money pot.

Here are the top 3 reasons that make people more willing to donate to a project:

So how can small charities attract the Millennials?

●Provide an easy online payment system or use an already existing fundraising website to reach the more technologically savvy donors.

●Ensure the website is mobile friendly with a quick loading time, as the vast majority of young donors rely on their phones for everything.

●Create a dedicated fundraising campaign for each project, with a clearly defined time-frame & financial goal to allow for more transparency.

●Use social media platforms to reach and engage with the Millennials. Having a well designed social media strategy will help raise awareness about the charity’s activities, provide updates on currently running projects as well their progress. Millennials want to know how their money is being spent and see tangible results.

●Generate engaging content for social media, website, blogs using videos, high quality pictures and even GIFs. For Millennials it’s all about the captivating visual content.

About Leetchi.com

Leetchi.com is an online fundraising website with 7 million users in 150 countries. It proposes a fast, easy and secure way to raise funds to support an individual in need, a local community or a non-profit organisation. It’s a perfect solution for charities (regardless of their size) and individuals to collect money from donors all over the world. Biggest advantages? Low fees and seamless social media integration.

Data & Sources:

* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/07/millennials-generation-y-guide-to-much-m aligned-demographic

Data: Leetchi analysed data of 2,500 respondents across the UK. The research was conducted by YouGov