While your nonprofit marketing strategy might focus on older donors with a higher capacity to give, you should also consider targeting younger donors, especially Gen Z. With each passing day, more and more members of Gen Z become viable donors. Gen Z, in particular, is known for their strong values and commitment to social impact, with 32.5% of them viewing their philanthropic activities as core parts of their legacies.

Your nonprofit can inspire the next generation to secure their philanthropic futures by appealing to this young, passionate group of potential donors and volunteers. We’ll cover the following three ways you can get this impactful group’s support:

• Leverage the Power of Social Media
• Collaborate with Influencers
• Tell Your Stories with Multimedia Elements

Let’s dive into how you can tap into Gen Z’s giving potential by adopting tech-savvy marketing strategies catered to its members’ preferences, habits, and passions.

1. Leverage the Power of Digital Channels

One of Gen Z’s defining traits is their comfort with technology. In fact, a whopping 98% of Gen Z own a smartphone and spend at least several hours online each day, especially regarding social media. 

Millions of members of Gen Z regularly peruse social media, making it one of the most valuable channels to leverage for marketing. Use the following key tips to make the most of your social media marketing efforts:

• Create content for the channel. Digital channels aren’t a monolith and each requires a unique approach. When planning your nonprofit marketing strategy, ensure that you’re not only making content suited for Gen Z but also for the channel it’s posted on. For example, short-form videos fit best on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, whereas text-based materials fit best on Facebook. 

• Interact with supporters. One of the best aspects of social media is that it acts as a two-way marketing channel, where you can have discussions with Gen Z supporters who interact with your profile. Regularly check your comment sections, tags, and direct messages so you can respond and start building a connection with your donors. 

• Participate in trends. Especially on video-focused platforms like TikTok, participating in viral trends can get more eyes on your nonprofit. Before making your own entry, assess what the trending content has in common and how your nonprofit can stand out from the crowd. Then, when you post your content, ensure you’re using the correct hashtags and following any other guidelines. You probably won’t go viral every time, but you’ll definitely get an exposure boost when you post. 

• Use custom graphics and branding. With the millions of social media accounts vying for Gen Z’s attention, you need to stand out from the crowd to secure support. According to Re:Charity's guide to graphic design tips, creating brand elements that align with your social media profiles and reflect your nonprofit’s mission can do just that. In addition to your logo and banner image, you should brand your posts with a similar visual style. For instance, you might choose to post pictures of your beneficiaries or use an artistic, abstract style. Whatever you choose, ensure that your graphic design style remains consistent across platforms to create a distinct identity that supporters will recognize.

The key to effectively engaging with your Gen Z audience on social media is to focus on what matters: your beneficiaries and mission. Letting those fundamentals guide your strategy will help you convert Gen Z social media scrollers to donors.

2. Collaborate with Influencers

Take your social media strategy to the next level by working with those who have mastered it already: influencers. Influencers have a massive reach online, especially with Gen Z users. Here’s how your nonprofit can connect with influencers for your cause:

• Determine your desired engagement scope. Are you aiming for a hyper-local campaign, or are you shooting for more exposure? If you’d like an intimate campaign with nearby Gen Z or have a tight budget, consider working with micro-influencers, which is anyone with between 10K and 15K followers.   

• Gauge your existing influencer connections. Start by reaching out to influencers who have an existing connection to your nonprofit. Ask your staff, supporters, and board members if they have any influencer contacts interested in collaborating with you.

• Understand the influencer’s audience. Every influencer has a unique following, and it’s important to work with someone who’s audience will be receptive to your nonprofit’s message. During the initial collaboration talks, ask each influencer about their audience demographics and which age groups they primarily cater to. Also, ask them if they already have posted about your cause or done other charity work. If they have, it’s more likely that the collaboration will come off as genuine, increasing the chances their audience will respond positively and become supporters.

• Collaborate while creating content. Like all other nonprofit partnerships, you should treat your influencer marketing as a two-sided collaboration. Ask the influencer to pitch ideas for content that resonates with their audience. Also, schedule regular meetings leading up to the influencer’s posting schedule so they can ask questions and ensure their plans align with your nonprofit’s goals.

While negotiating with potential influencer partners, remember to show what’s in it for them. Along with compensation and creative control over their content, illustrate the benefits of aligning with a nonprofit, such as reputation boosts and access to new audiences. 

3. Tell Your Stories with Multimedia Elements

After conducting numerous marketing and fundraising campaigns, your nonprofit likely has your story down pat. However, telling it in new and innovative ways is important to attract new audiences to your cause. Using multimedia elements can bring your story to life for Gen Z donors encountering your nonprofit. Consider adding the following multimedia elements to your strategy:

• Video. Video brings visual and audio elements together for an immersive storytelling experience. Depending on the marketing channel, you can make short or long-form videos showing and telling your story. 
• Podcasts. Nearly half of all members of Gen Z listen to podcasts, making them an ideal format for telling your story in greater detail. Simply find a quiet space to record, recruit interesting guests, and interview them to get diverse storytelling perspectives.
• User-generated content. Have your beneficiaries and supporters share their stories with your nonprofit under a unique hashtag on social media. Then, repost them so Gen Z followers can get a sense of your supporter base.

Making your storytelling as interactive and engaging as possible is what will make the difference in your Gen Z recruitment success. Giving voices to many with user-generated content and highlighting more detailed stories with podcasts allows you to connect with a variety of audiences across platforms. This approach will likely appeal to Gen Z’s preference for digital content. 

Wrapping Up

Whether you’re preparing for GivingTuesday or trying to recruit year-round volunteers, you should start appealing to Gen Z. As long as you stay true to your nonprofit’s identity, show tangible impact, and keep your nonprofit’s beneficiaries at the forefront, you can create powerful connections with the future face of philanthropy.