The Importance of Relationship Building

Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the 2023 Great Rivers Conference. Even better, I got to discuss a topic that was close to my heart, attracting younger donors. You see, through the numerous years we at Perspectives have been doing research around United Ways and their donors, we learned that on average only about 8.5% of United Way donors are between the ages of 18 and 34. And while this might not seem like a big deal now, it will be in a decade or two when your current donors age out of the system and there are no members of the younger generations to take their place.

As I was traveling back to Michigan after the conference, I was reflecting on my presentation and realized that I could sum up the most important thing United Ways need to be focused on when it comes to attracting younger donors in two words: relationship building.

You see, most members of the younger generations don’t even know what United Way is, let alone having a positive opinion of them or a relationship with the organization. How do we expect younger donors to give to United Way if we aren’t actively trying to build relationships with them? So, I’m going to share with you two things you can start doing today to build relationships with your younger donors:

Volunteering

According to CCS Fundraising, 79% of people who volunteer with a nonprofit also donate to that organization. That means that if you aren’t providing younger donors with a chance to volunteer with your United Way, you are missing out on building relationships with members of the youngers generations who will one day be donors.

We recommend that you offer a direct volunteering opportunity at your United Way at least 3 or 4 times a year. We understand that creating these volunteer opportunities can be time consuming and it can be tempting to just pass-through volunteers to partner agencies, but having volunteer opportunities for United Way is critical. When you pass-through volunteers to partner agencies, those donors are building the relationship with that organization. They will never remember that United Way was the one who connected them to that volunteer opportunity. By offering volunteer opportunities such as Day of Caring or packing care kits at your United Way’s office, younger donors are building a relationship with your United Way.

Affinity Groups

The other way to start building relationships with younger donors is through affinity groups. It is important to note that when we are talking about affinity groups, we are talking about a group that gathers because they are passionate about impacting an issue and, most importantly, has a low barrier to entry. When it comes to younger donors, you don’t want to require them to commit to giving you money just to figure out what your organization is doing. Rather, by providing them a group to belong to, they will be able to get a closer look at the work being done at your United Way, while also feeling like they are part of a larger community of young people looking to positively impact their community.

A great example of a United Way with an amazing Emerging Leaders Group can be found at Heart of West Michigan United Way. Their Emerging Leaders Group is open to anyone in their early 20s to age 40 who is looking to fight poverty in their community. This group also has no minimum donation required to join, although an annual donation of $100 is recommended. By offering affinity groups that allow the younger generations to connect around an issue and make an impact in their community, younger donors are building a relationship with your United Way that will last a lifetime.

Building Relationships Can be Hard

Relationship building with the younger generations can be hard. They aren’t always in the places where you normally look for donors such as at workplaces and they don’t always hear United Ways messaging when it is so centered around the campaign. But just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. The survival of United Ways depends on creating relationships with the younger generations now, so that when the current donor base leaves the system, the younger generations are ready and eager to take their place, continuing to support the great work that United Ways across the country are doing.