How we’re helping charities reach Gen Z – AKA the Generous Generation 

At C21, we’ve always cared a great deal about who we do business with. So many of our clients work within the third sector, helping vulnerable people to access care, housing, and services to improve and extend their lives. Some of our clients have recently approached us, concerned that their marketing strategies aren’t attracting younger supporters and they’re worried that their donor pools will start to shrink as their traditional supporter base passes away. They wanted some new and fresh ideas to appeal to the younger generations and we were only too happy to help, and we wanted to share a few of the insights we were able to gather.

Believe it or not, Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2010) is emerging as a significant player in the charitable giving landscape. Our research indicates that while fewer people are giving, they are giving more as a percentage of their income than previous generations. They have their favourite causes, with physical and mental health charities topping the supporter charts and over a third make ad hoc donations online. Like many of us, they strongly dislike the “hard sell” so often seen on our highstreets perpetuated by “chuggers” stopping people on their lunch break to try and solicit sign ups.

So, for charities looking at how to change tactics to market themselves to this digitally native and socially conscious generation, here are a few tips from us:

Authenticity is key

We cannot overstate this generation’s love of transparency. They want to understand what they’re supporting, get to grips with your mission, your goals and most importantly how their donations will be spent. Share real stories about how your work has made an impact, particularly if you’re helping people like them.

Build a community

Encourage your existing Gen Z supporters to create and share content explaining why they support your organisation. User-generated content like this builds a sense of community and authenticity. They want to hear from real people about why they should support you and they want to have an open dialogue with you where questions are answered and feedback is actively encouraged, listened to and acted upon. Gen Z spend a lot more time online than previous generations so creating online forums where they can connect with other like-minded individuals and empower each other to fundraise. You can provide them with campaign tools to get them started so they can share them amongst their networks.

Engaging visuals

Gen Z has practically grown up with screens so investing in compelling, well designed graphics and videos is key to attract their attention. Knowing what’s trending and how you can tweak your brand look and feel to appeal to Gen Z is where we can step in to offer our research-based guidance and expertise.

Mobile Optimisation

Gen Z consumes most of their content on their smartphone so ensuring your website and content is mobile-friendly is a must. A good responsive design that champions accessibility and user experience will help keep users engaged and stop them scrolling away to other content. With that in mind, your social media content needs to be on the right platforms. Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat is where Gen Z hangs out the most. We can help you develop a content strategy to get the most return from everything you share and help you decide what media to share it on for the biggest impact.

We know from experience, marketing to Gen Z requires a multifaceted approach, a strong online presence with authentic visually appealing content. Creating campaigns in styles that resonate with this socially conscious generation can help charities effectively engage with newer, younger audiences. If you work in the third sector and need some help with your marketing and creative strategies, we’re only too happy to help, just give us a call or drop us an email to find out how to reach this illusive but lucrative audience. After all, this is the generation that wants to change the world, by working together we can inspire and enable them to do just that.