As we head into spring fundraising season in public broadcasting, don’t forget to adjust your on-air messaging to hit all members of your audience. Gen Xers and Millennials are enthusiastic listeners and viewers of public radio and TV. Our fundraising messages must include them.
We’ve couched our fundraising appeals for the Greatest Generation and for the Boomers for the last many years. They work, and they work well. The familiar themes of giving because it’s the right thing to do, giving for the greater good, pulling together to get the job done, giving to make our community better – all these resonate with the older members of our audiences.
But they mostly leave younger members cold.
Our generations give differently, with different motivations. The older generations – Greatest Generation/Boomers - give to the organization. The Xers give to the cause. The Millennials give to the person. For example, Boomers give to the Red Cross. Xers give to help after a disaster. Millennials give to save the little kid on the news who’s just been made homeless.
All the money still goes to the Red Cross – but very different messages of appeal bring it in the door.
Funding messages that appeal to Xers might include:
Funding messages that appeal to Millennials might include:
And that’s just the tip of it. Crafting generational messages is fun, once you get the hang of it. With a little thought and a little tweaking of your messaging, you’ll find that you can involve all of your listeners in your on-air fundraising, which will result in a larger bottom line. Wishing you all successful fund drives!
(If you’d like to talk about generational coaching for your station staff, please use our contact form or email [email protected])
We’ve couched our fundraising appeals for the Greatest Generation and for the Boomers for the last many years. They work, and they work well. The familiar themes of giving because it’s the right thing to do, giving for the greater good, pulling together to get the job done, giving to make our community better – all these resonate with the older members of our audiences.
But they mostly leave younger members cold.
Our generations give differently, with different motivations. The older generations – Greatest Generation/Boomers - give to the organization. The Xers give to the cause. The Millennials give to the person. For example, Boomers give to the Red Cross. Xers give to help after a disaster. Millennials give to save the little kid on the news who’s just been made homeless.
All the money still goes to the Red Cross – but very different messages of appeal bring it in the door.
Funding messages that appeal to Xers might include:
- Specifics in how your organization is funded – programming costs, how monies raised are used in the community
- · Paying for the use of a service
- · Specifics on community involvement – how does your organization benefit the community at large?
- · Opportunities to get involved in a meaningful way – volunteer their professional services, family events, dating clubs
Funding messages that appeal to Millennials might include:
- · Easy giving methods – online, texting, 24/7
- · Social media involvement – ways to share their enthusiasm about their gift with their friends via Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- · Monthly giving in small amounts - $5, $10, $15, $20
- · Specifics that show how their money is used to benefit members of the community – photos of your organization in action
- · Opportunities to volunteer in a meaningful way – volunteer their professional services, work with Boomers to build skills for their resumes, volunteer as a family
And that’s just the tip of it. Crafting generational messages is fun, once you get the hang of it. With a little thought and a little tweaking of your messaging, you’ll find that you can involve all of your listeners in your on-air fundraising, which will result in a larger bottom line. Wishing you all successful fund drives!
(If you’d like to talk about generational coaching for your station staff, please use our contact form or email [email protected])
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