Millennial’s connect with organizations, get involved by volunteering, and give financially to organizations for which they care. Achieve’s 2013 Millennial Impact Report
According to Achieve’s 2013 Millennial Impact Report, the top three motivations of Millennials for getting involved are: passion (79 percent), meeting people (56 percent) and expertise (46 percent). Almost three-quarters of respondents (72 percent) said they’re interested in participating in a nonprofit young professional group.
The report outline three levels of Millennial engagement:
- Inviting: No matter its size or the resources at its disposal, every organization can adopt the strategies and culture changes to take the first step to connect and involve Millennials.
- Immersion: Organizations that reach the benchmarks of this level have designed programs with Millennials, not just for them. At this stage, Millennials are actively participating in unique ways to help the cause enhance awareness and outreach efforts in the community.
- The ultimate goal is to provide leadership, service and truly transformational opportunities for Millennials to affect the direction and impact the community.
Millennials can have a major impact on your nonprofit’s fundraising success through special events. Nearly 70 percent of Millennials are willing to raise money on behalf of a nonprofit they care about and peer fundraising is “highly attractive,” while 73 percent said they volunteered.
My favorite example of a successful special event planned and executed by Millennials is Derby Day, a special event that is held as the name suggests yearly on the Kentucky Derby. Derby Day is planned by Shepherd Center’s Junior Committee, which is composed of more than 200 young professionals who are between 25-34 years old.
The event attracts more than 1,000 people each year, as well as hundreds of sponsors. This group of young professionals has contributed more than $4.5 million to date toward a wide variety of Recreation Therapy projects and programs benefitting Atlanta’s Shepherd Center.
Do you have any favorite events run by young professionals? We’d love to hear from you!