When it comes to communication and marketing, particularly when the end goal is fundraising, you can’t afford to out all your eggs in one basket and limit yourself to only one medium.

Or do you? Depends on who you are targeting.

By the year 2020 Millennials will make up 50% of the workforce. The Millennial Impact Project, in a nutshell, shows that this generation is the future of not for profit organisations, and in particular philanthropy and giving. And Millennials prefer email communication and respond well to a call to action included in this form of interaction.

Of the 1500 employed Millennials surveyed in the report, 87% had donated to a not for profit organisation in the previous year, with the majority having given more than $100.   And we know the charitable and not for profit sector needs more than money to be sustainable. Skilled and committed volunteers are also highly regarded, and 47% of those surveyed also donate their time and talents in support of people and issues they believe in.

No one ever became poorer by giving –Anne Frank

Millennials are big users of technology and social media. You probably don’t need a report to work that out. Smartphones and tablets mean emails can be received on any device and the open and click through rates are higher than in any other age group as a result. Statistics tell us this generation responds better to email campaigns than any other more traditional means such as direct mail or telemarketing.

So how to you attract and engage the Millennial to give to you and not to someone else? They respond well to storytelling and the climb to a request for a donation. But don’t give them all the information at once in a long email or it won’t be read. Use each email to tell part of the story and then build to the call to action. Engage them, and encourage them to engage their friends too.

Make them feel special by personalising the email and using their first name, this is easy with the many email marketing platforms now available.  And give your supporters the opportunity to give more than money by engaging them in small actions to get them interested and involved on a level greater than opening their wallet or logging into PayPal. Start small with the request to share on social media for example, building to bigger things such as attending an event, regular giving or even volunteering. Some people may never take the step to the greater involvement, and that’s ok. You want depth and variety in the levels of support you receive.

If you want to ask one question, ask yourself, what are you giving to the universe and only that will be returned. – Amit Ray

Be patient. Yes, some Millennials will respond instantly and give straight away, others may take time to develop a relationship and trust before they give, and lead to a longer partnership.

Adapting your marketing and communication strategies to harness the giving of this demographic makes good sense, and it’s cost effective too. Much cheaper than a letter and a stamp!

Millennials are the giving generation. If the future is in their hands, then I think society is going to be just fine.