JGA Blog

You need to draft an appeal to your annual donors and prospects in the middle of this COVID-19 global pandemic, but you are worried your donors have a lot of other things on their mind right now (just like you do). How can they possibly think about giving when they are faced with challenges, concerns, and uncertainty? Yet, your donors are generous, and your mission relies on gaining their support—points that affirm now is not the time to stop fundraising.

In today’s headlines, stories of giving and volunteering win our hearts and attention. Philanthropy and the spirit behind it are bringing us together now, as much as ever. People are responding to positivity and calls to do and help. So, they are ready respond to your appeal for support—but, you must first connect with them.

The Baby Boomer and Millennial generations are frequently top of mind in discussions and research into the generations and generational giving preferences, but what about the “in-betweens?” Given the buzz, particularly about Millennials, it may be easy to overlook a resource for significant current and future donor growth for your organization: Generation X.

Also known as Gen X, this group includes those born in the United States from 1964 to 1980. Gen Xers are sandwiched squarely between older Baby Boomers and younger Millennials and represented 20% of total giving in the U.S. in 2013.

Based on data compiled by Pew Research Center, notable characteristics of this generation include:

The rapid changes in our world create challenges and opportunities that are exciting, yet can be difficult to wrap our arms around as citizens, leaders, philanthropists, and fundraising professionals. A poignant example of rapid change in the field of philanthropy is the advent of #GivingTuesday over the past few years.

Donor-advised funds (DAF) continue to be a popular way for individual donors to manage their philanthropy. DAFs are not a passing trend and are, in fact, here to stay. According to the 2014 Donor-Advised Fund Report, issued by National Philanthropic Trust, as of 2013, more than 217,000 DAFs had been established, which is a 34 percent increase in just seven years. In that same year, DAFs granted $9.66 billion to charitable organizations, and more than $17 billion was contributed into these funds.

With this in mind, it is important to understand the basics about DAFs to better prepare your organization to work with individuals who have DAFs.