Over here at Fifty and Fifty, we are often approached by our non-profit clients about engaging a new demographic who have been foreign to their organization: Millennials.

“Who are they? What motivates them? And how do we engage and convince them to be a part of the solutions our organizations are working towards?”

Simultaneously, as millennials, we hear friends (and more often than we’d like to admit, ourselves) asking nearly perfectly mirrored questions: “Who am I? What do I want? And how do I get it?”

So why the disconnect?

Consistently dogged as the self-indulgent, ‘selfie’ generation (to which I would argue – out of self-preservation – is Generation Z), millennials have actually been found in many studies as perhaps the most charitable generation. According to a recent Millennial Impact Report, 75% of young people donated to causes last year and are often described as the most caring generation living today.

Keeping that in mind, how do we better bridge the gap between a generation looking for something to stand for and organizations in need of supporters?

Here are a few of our thoughts:

1. Know your story and tell it well
Amy Webb, non-profit digital trend forecaster, notes millennial givers are not motivated by obligation but instead invest emotionally. We’ve worked with too many non-profits who have come up short in their ability to communicate their story clearly and efficiently.

When communicating with your millennial donors, don’t forget the basic structure of a good story (articulation shout-out to Donald Miller):

When painting this picture for your young donors, reassure their value in your story. Millennials want to believe they are an integral part of your team. We don’t purchase social good products like Tom’s shoes just because we like them; we’re simultaneously donating and representing ourselves as a part of a team by wearing them. And by having a well-communicated story, you can drive the point home and enable these donors to become your greatest marketing employees.

2. Set clear, attainable goals that still allow for creativity
Contrary to popular belief, millennials are a motivated, goal-oriented generation. With a high rate of college graduates, we have been told from a young age that we can do anything we set our minds to and – for better or worse – we believe it wholeheartedly. However, for the most part, goals have been clearly laid out and defined for our generation.

When creating campaigns and fundraisers, you must set deadlines, communicate activities, set clear goals, and frequently assess progress with your users. Give them guidelines while simultaneously allowing donors to reach that objective in whatever unique manner most appeals to them.

3. Take advantage of a Millennial’s connectedness
There is no doubt that this is a connected generation. We grew up hand-in-hand with the internet. The older we got, the smaller the world and its communication gap became. We communicate closely with a worldwide network and as a result inherently understand and engage in social media, daily utilizing multiple engagement platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Our identities and personal confidence are wrapped up in our social presence. To miss engagement via these platforms is a HUGE miss for a non-profit.

You need to post relevant content that frequently engages users to not only participate but challenges their social communities to do the same. If you’re an older organization that doesn’t know how to engage via these platforms, there are many millennials who do, and they’re probably looking for a job.

4. Don’t waste their time
There is a reason do-good for-profits are so successful with the Millennial generation: they understand there are thousands of things vying for our attention. They tap into the fact that we’re multi-taskers who don’t just care about the cause, but also highly value our own time.

So not only do you need to be able to communicate your story well, but you need to do it as succinctly as possible. When you’re asking a donor to give, don’t make them work through a 10-page form in order to contribute. Make this process as simple and clear as possible. [Shameless plug ahead] Check out donate.ly. We founded this platform on that very basis.

5. Transparency will get you far
Millennials believe in honest, transparent relationships. Not only do we want to be valued, but we desire assurance and understanding. As a generation raised on the exposure to violence and crime through media, we’re a fearful generation hesitant to trust until proven otherwise. This greatly inhibits the way your young donors will give.

Your Millennial supporters are more likely to give when they have a clear and direct understanding to what their money will be specifically going towards. Even better if they are able to choose the specific account the money goes to. Your transparency, especially with finances, will get you far with this generation.