How to Tap into the Power of Gen Z for Nonprofit Fundraising

Establishing a loyal supporter base is crucial for your nonprofit’s growth. While you might have Millennials, Generation X, and older generations on board, your nonprofit must turn its attention to the newest generation of altruistic thinkers and changemakers: Generation Z. 

Gen Z, born between the years of 1997 and 2012, is the future of nonprofit fundraising. Although Gen Z has fewer financial resources than their predecessors and many are just now entering the workforce, this generation is credited with contributing significantly to the philanthropic surge seen in 2023. In fact, Gen Z already accounts for roughly 5.3 donations per donor per year. 

In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know about Gen Z and how you can rally the newest generation of donors to back your cause. Specifically, we’ll cover:

• Characteristics of Gen Z Donors
• How to Build Authentic Relationships with Gen Z
• 4 Retention Strategies for Gen Z Donors

As you dive deeper into the world of Gen Z fundraising, reflect on your existing toolkit to acquire, retain, and engage donors and identify any gaps in your tech. An all-in-one fundraising solution like Springboard by Jackson River can help you connect with donors of all ages and accelerate your giving, securing a brighter future for your cause. 

Characteristics of Gen Z Donors

Generation Z represents a new era of philanthropy, and if your nonprofit wants to acquire these young donors’ support, you’ll need to start by learning more about who they are and what motivates them. Let’s take a closer look at some of the standout attributes of Gen Zers: 

• Digital savviness: Gen Z is the first generation to grow up entirely in the digital age. As a result, they’re highly adept at using online platforms, like social media, and they’re spending more time online than other generations. In fact, one report found that 54% of Gen Zers spend at least four hours daily on social media, and 38% reported spending more time than that. Gen Z looks towards online platforms to learn more about the issues affecting their communities and how they can get involved. 
• Social consciousness: Generation Z is known for its strong sense of social justice and environmental activism, much of which stems from issues they’ve inherited from previous generations. With global warming and other climate change effects at an all-time high, 67% of Gen Zers reported that climate should be a top priority to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations. Gen Z also cares deeply about disaster relief, mental health, racial and gender equity, and economic security. Almost half of Gen Z donors (47%) gave all of their donations to disaster relief, showing concern for communities near and far. 
• Diverse makeup and perspectives: Generation Z is one of the most diverse generations. Nearly half of all post-millennials are racial or ethnic minorities, and more are pursuing college than any previous generation. With their pursuits in higher education, Gen Z has a greater opportunity to explore different schools of thoughts, hone their critical thinking, and expand their worldviews. 
• Innovation and creativity: One study found that 51% of Gen Zers believe their generation is more creative than previous generations. This is largely attributed to the digital opportunities Gen Z has to express themselves that weren’t previously available to earlier generations, like social media content creation. 

Gen Z isn’t just interested in donating to causes that are changing the world; they also want to volunteer their time. Gen Z and Millennials are the generations most likely to report having volunteered their time to an organization in the past three months. Your nonprofit has a clear opportunity to engage Gen Z in a variety of ways, but first, you’ll need to learn how to build authentic relationships with these benevolent donors. 

How to Build Authentic Relationships with Gen Z

Your nonprofit can’t reuse and recycle its engagement strategies for Millennials and older generations when interacting with Gen Z. This unique and powerful generation requires its own relationship-building tactics. To connect with Gen Zers and earn their support, keep these best practices in mind:

• Use authentic language in your messaging: Gen Z values authenticity above all else, so your messaging must be true to your brand and your mission. To create a relationship built on trust (and grab your Gen Zer’s attention in the process), ensure your communications are honest, emotionally evocative, and explain how donors’ contributions will be used to fuel change. In the same vein, avoid overly promotional or insincere language, as your Gen Z donors will be quick to see through this. 
• Personalize your communications: Using data analysis and segmentation, personalize your communications to Gen Z based on their interests, donation history, and preferred communication channels. For example, if your Gen Z donors are most receptive to reading and interacting with your messaging via text and social media, prioritize creating engaging content on these channels. You should also use welcoming and casual language to increase your relatability. 
• Leverage digital storytelling to establish credibility: Share authentic stories that resonate with Gen Z's values and aspirations on platforms where they’re most likely to see them, like Instagram or TikTok. You might survey your beneficiaries, volunteers, and staff to collect and share inspiring stories (with their consent) to show your nonprofit in action. Ensure your stories highlight your organization's mission, impact, and values, and use multimedia elements like video to catch the viewer’s eye. 
• Embrace diversity and inclusion: Gen Z values diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As a result, your organization should reflect these values in its messaging, imagery, and actions. Consider how you can be more attentive to DEI within your organization and the different ways you can amplify the voices of marginalized communities. 

Gen Z cares deeply about the authenticity and perceived credibility of an organization’s brand. Shape your brand to align with your Gen Z audience’s most important values so you can make a clear case for why they should support your nonprofit. 

4 Retention Strategies for Gen Z Donors

Once you’ve acquired your first batch of Gen Z donors, your work is only just beginning! Donor retention is one of the most challenging fundraising strategies for most nonprofits, with the average retention rate sitting at 45%. However, just like your acquisition strategies have to be closely tailored to Gen Z, so do your retention tactics. 

Leverage these proven strategies to secure your Gen Zer’s support year-round: 

• Create simple recurring giving options: Because of their familiarity with online platforms, Gen Z will lose interest in slow or overcomplicated online donation experiences. Prioritize creating convenient, mobile-friendly donation options where Gen Z donors can choose from a variety of giving options and methods, including automatically enrolling in monthly giving right on your donation page. This way, donors don’t have to fill out your donation form each time they want to give; this is already taken care of on their behalf! 
• Encourage innovative collaboration: Gen Z is tapped into technology in a way that older generations aren’t. This means they’ll be more receptive to engaging with your organization in more modern and innovative ways, like supporting your advocacy efforts through social media challenges, creating peer-to-peer fundraising pages, and participating in text-to-give. 
• Show genuine appreciation: Like all supporters, Gen Z donors want to feel seen and valued. Send personalized thank-you notes right after they give that acknowledge the impact of their specific gift and invite them to engage with your organization in other ways, such as signing up for your email newsletter or volunteering. You could also create an exclusive donor club for your Gen Zers, post shout-outs on social media thanking them for their support, and host appreciation events. 
• Actively listen to opinions, concerns, and feedback: Create opportunities for Gen Zers to engage with your organization through surveys, polls, social media Q&A sessions, or focus groups. Show that you value their input and are willing to listen and adapt based on their feedback.

Using your fundraising software, you can actively track your donor retention metrics and use these insights to hone your retention strategy. For example, you might find that your Gen Z  supporters are more likely to act on donation appeals that incorporate video. Be flexible and open to changing up your communication tactics so you can create a well-informed, data-driven strategy.  

Gen Z can be the fuel your nonprofit needs to reach new heights. However, to effectively engage these young philanthropists and turn them into recurring contributors to your mission, you need the right fundraising software. Springboard by Jackson River comes with a full suite of tools to keep Gen Zers engaged around the clock and facilitate a simple giving experience, including: 

• Sustainer upsell tools to convert one-time donors into monthly donors.
• One-click sustainer upgrades to increase the amount that your recurring givers donate.
• Powerful native Salesforce integration to automate appeals at the right time with the right messaging.
• Customized donation forms to brand the donation experience and promote authenticity and transparency. Plus, leverage social media integrations to appeal to your Gen Zer’s digital savviness and boost your visibility in the process. 
• Flexible payment options that your Gen Zers will appreciate, like PayPal and Apple Pay, on top of traditional debit and credit cards. 
• Easy peer-to-peer fundraising tools to hand off the fundraising reins to your most loyal Gen Z supporters.
• Secure self-service portal to create a high level of transparency and empower donors to manage their giving. 
• Advocacy features like one-click petition signing and easy campaign social sharing to catalyze action. 

Armed with a comprehensive fundraising tool like Springboard, you’ll have everything you need to build a loyal donor base with Gen Z at your side. Book a demo today to find out how Springboard can help your unique nonprofit maximize your Gen Z fundraising strategy.