Millennials are paving their own path when it comes to donation trends. This is no surprise, as each generation has offered its own unique way of handling money and supporting causes. But with the Internet and the growing need to be technologically connected, nonprofits have to get creative. Half of the battle is won if you accepts donations online, but truly understanding the millennial audience will lead to greater participation from Generation Y.

Be the solution
Younger audiences are driven by information and emotion. As organizations promote their image, they should focus heavily on the issue at hand and the creativity of their solution, explains The NonProfit Times.

There is a humanistic element to millennial involvement, with more young people focused on what your organization does to solve problems, whether it is in the immediate community or in a third-world country. Laying out a problem and offering an answer to it will show millennials where their money is going and give them an opportunity to be part of tangible change.

Welcome volunteers to the team
Generation Y is highly motivated by intrinsic rewards. In other words, they want to feel as though they instigated change. One of the best ways for them to do so is by volunteering and getting their hands dirty. 

In addition to accepting donations online, give website visitors or other interested parties the opportunity to sign up for various volunteering events on the nonprofit's page. Millennials act quickly and impulsively because they know an opportunity to make a difference when they see one. Offering volunteer sign-ups is a good way to drive website traffic, as well as pique the interest of those willing and ready to be the solution.

You can also encourage millennials to join your membership program. If you have a lot of younger donors, you might even want to create a Junior Membership program that offers your millennial donors certain perks.

Target campaigns
Simply put, millennials expect organizations to cater to their interests. According to npENGAGE, you will want to ensure each piece of communication sent to donors relates to their particular involvement with the organization.

For instance, if there is a volunteer opportunity on one side of town, send an email to volunteers in that specific ZIP code to get them involved in their immediate community. Taking the time to understand millennials' goals and desire to get involved will lead to higher engagement.

Don't spread yourself too thin
The worry with engaging millennials is that your nonprofit will try too many transitory outreach methods. It seems like there's a new social media app every month. If your organization created an account for every single one and tried to manage each one perfectly, you'd have no time to dedicate to your mission and cause!

Instead, find a couple of platforms that work well for you and your millennial donors. They might not all have a Facebook page, but it's far more likely that a majority of them has an Instagram account or uses Snapchat.

Go to where your donors are, but don't go everywhere they are.