It’s not news that older people tend to give a lot more money than younger people, because they tend to also have more. And, at their stage of life, giving makes more sense than for people just starting their adult lives.
However, changes in giving patterns across the generations tell a more surprising story. When giving habits change, that indicates other things are happening beyond just financial capacity to give.
A study by the Wise Giving Alliance at give.org explored generational giving statistics such as these. The Donor Participation Report surveyed 2200 Americans across the five adult generations alive today and asked about how their giving practices have changed in the last five years. Here are some of the most surprising and interesting findings.
Far More Matures Increased Giving
The oldest generation isn’t just giving the most. They’re giving even more than they were five years ago.
25% of Matures reported increasing their giving in the last five years. This is far higher than all the other generations, with the youngest two at 18% and 19%, Boomers at 15%, and Gen X the lowest at 13%.
So while long-retired folks seem to be getting even more generous, the two generations behind them aren’t joining them. And though fewer younger people give, more increased their giving than the two generations older than them.
One takeaway from this is that people from all generations are giving more. But for your consistent donors, you may have better results prodding the oldest ones to increase their giving, followed by the youngest ones.
Higher Numbers of Oldest Two Generations Gave the Same or More
When combining donors who increased their giving or kept it the same, the two oldest generations give far more than the other three.
72% of Matures either increased their giving or kept it the same, and 67% of Boomers followed this pattern. This is compared with 57% of Gen Xers and Millennials, and just 46% of Gen Z.
So there is a clear generational divide when looking at donors who keep giving consistently or increase their giving. The older donors keep giving.
High Numbers of Matures, Boomers, and Gen X Didn’t Change
Surprisingly, it is the Boomers who changed their giving the least. Over half of Boomers (52%) didn’t change their giving. They continued to give at the same levels as they have for at least the last five years. That kind of consistency is profoundly helpful to nonprofits. So if you have a lot of Boomer donors, keep nurturing, thanking, and helping them be informed and inspired.
Matures (47%) and Gen Xers (44%) aren’t that far behind here though. All three of the oldest three generations appear to be highly motivated to maintain their current giving habits.
In contrast, 38% of Millennials didn’t change their giving, and just 28% of Gen Zers kept their giving constant. These younger generations appear to be more in flux, navigating their desire to give with the other challenges of life, and haven’t yet settled on consistent amounts.
This suggests these younger donors are also more in play in terms of lifetime engagement and commitment to giving to certain causes. Winning them over now will pay off big later if they become as consistent as the older generations are when they reach those ages.
More from Gen X and Gen Z Decreased Giving
Gen X is a bit of a conundrum. While many of them kept their giving constant, they also had the lowest number of donors who increased their giving, and tied for the highest with Gen Z at 21% for donors who decreased their giving.
So Gen X appears to be resisting following the patterns of the current two older generations. Is this because they’re still navigating kids, caring for older parents, jobs, and all the rest, and many of them are in very different life circumstances?
Hard to say, but the data makes it clear that a large number of Gen Xers are reducing their giving. The decrease in Gen Z could be due to them still discovering how and where they want to give. So it’s not as much of a concern at this point probably.
Younger Generations Stopped Giving in Greater Numbers
What about stopping giving altogether? Decreasing it is one thing, but at least they’re still giving. But some people who were previously giving have since stopped, and there are far more of those in the two youngest generations.
While just 4% of donors in the oldest three generations stopped giving, 6% of Millennials stopped, and 9% of Gen Zers stopped.
That means 50% more Millennials stopped giving compared to the older generations, and more than twice as many Gen Zers stopped, roughly speaking.
Is this decline due to economic or political factors? Are these trends going to reverse, or are they the start of a deepening shift against charitable giving in the younger generations? Hard to say at this point, but it’s a good motivator to increase your efforts to pursue and track your lapsed donors, and get them back in the habit of giving.
Numerous Younger People Aren’t Engaged in Giving
While it’s true that older people tend to give more than younger ones, it’s somewhat alarming how disparate those numbers are across the generations as this time.
Over the previous five-year period, fully one fourth of Gen Zers were not engaged in giving. From there, this figure steadily decreases to 9% of Matures who are not engaged. Ten years ago, there was a lot of talk about pursuing Millennial donors, the largest generation in history. So far, 21% of them are still unengaged, but as you saw earlier, more are donating than Gen Zers.
So that’s a hopeful sign, because it indicates that as people age, they are giving more often, as has been true in the past.
But this is no time to sit back and hope previous patterns hold true again.
And if you start tracking your metrics using the Fundraising Report Card, you’ll be able to monitor and improve on your outreach to donors across the generations, with an abundant history of data to undergird your decision-making.