Episode 53: Engaging Millennials at Fundraising Events

Jeff: Welcome to Elevate Your Event, your favorite podcast for transforming fundraising events. Join us weekly for expert tips and creative ideas to make your next event a standout success. In this episode, we're talking all about millennials and creating events tailored specifically to their desires and passions. Joining us today is a powerhouse team from Handbid -- Elise Neugebauer, client services manager, and Matt Riley, our QA manager extraordinaire, who just happens to be a millennial.

Jeff: All right, welcome back to the Elevate Your Event podcast where we talk about all the various ways you can make your next fundraising event better. I have some special friends in the studio with me today to talk about a fun topic. We'll get into the topic here in a second, but let's introduce our cast, starting with Matt Riley, local millennial.

Matt: He's our token millennial. We haven't even talked about the topic yet.

Elise: And I'm Elise Neugebauer, and I am not a millennial.

Jeff: She's our token Gen Xer.

Elise: No -- Xennial. I don't want to be labeled.

Jeff: We're big on labeling people these days, especially with the generation labels. Honestly, growing up, did you guys know what generation you were in?

Matt: No, I never did.

Elise: Oh, I love that stuff. The University of Wisconsin would put out a study every year and it was so interesting.

Jeff: Well, some of us in eighth grade were doing other things besides reading university studies.

Jeff: All right. We are obviously here talking about generations -- specifically one generation, although there are seven that have been defined. There's the Greatest Generation through 1924, then the Silent Generation through 1945 -- my dad's in that one. Then we have the Baby Boomers, 1946 to 1964, and Gen X, 1965 to 1980 -- I am smack in the middle of that one. After that we have the millennials. So we put out an APB in our office -- do we have a millennial available? Only one raised his hand.

Matt: Most eligible bachelor. And he is here.

Jeff: Yes, we are a company full of Gen Xers, but we have one token millennial that is stuck with us. So Matt is gracious enough to join us today because we're going to talk about your generation. Then we have Gen Z, 1997 to 2012, and then Generation Alpha, 2013 to 2025. These generations don't really become official until they turn into adulthood and enter the workforce. So the millennials, 1981 to 1996 -- they weren't born at the millennium, but they became adults at the millennium. The oldest ones would be around 43 years old.

Jeff: As you can tell, the millennials in our office love to offend us with their youth and their energy. All right, why are we talking about millennials? I think what's important is really understanding what generations of folks are coming to your fundraising events, what they're looking for, and how that's changed over the years. We hear this all the time in sales -- "my donors are older." If you're saying that, your donors are probably boomers at this point, because the Silent Generation is largely -- well, the Silent Generation, including my dad, is likely in bed by about seven or eight and not going to your fundraiser.

Jeff: Maybe you do have some boomers. And you know how they grew up, what they're comfortable with in terms of technology and the types of events and themes. A rave is probably not something you'd do if most of your guests were boomers. They might want to sit down more, converse more, take it easy. Maybe a Great Gatsby theme.

Matt: Is that the Leonardo DiCaprio movie?

Jeff: That's right. Whereas millennials would be all over a Nintendo theme or something like that. And also, millennials are the largest group now with 72.2 million people in the United States.

Elise: So this is the second and larger baby boom is what you're saying.

Jeff: Yeah, there are only 68.6 million baby boomers left.

Matt: Taking the throne by force.

Jeff: But a large number of millennials donate. That's what we're here to talk about. Ten or fifteen years ago, when they were in their 20s and 30s for the most part, they were still climbing the corporate ladder -- maybe not the ones who were going to show up and write big checks at your event. So you were catering to the people in their 40s and 50s, which back then would have been boomers for the most part, followed by some Gen Xers. And the millennials were coming up, and the first thing going through your head is, these are the people I hire at the lowest rung of the ladder. I'm not expecting that demographic to have money yet. Well, now these people are in their 40s on the upper scale. They definitely have money, there's a lot of them, and a lot of them donate.

Elise: About 84 percent.

Jeff: That's a huge amount. Imagine getting 84 percent of the people at your event donating. That would be amazing. And one other interesting fact is that they donate across several organizations. They don't just choose one and have it as their favorite -- they want to support three to five and really be involved with those.

Elise: A lot of causes to be passionate about. They want to spread the wealth. Maybe one of them will be yours.

Jeff: So they're coming to your event, and the question is, how do I cater to them? They can't be the generation you ignore anymore. They're going to be the majority of the population there. So what do we do? Should we throw an old big band 20s-era gala, sit-down, $10,000-a-table stuff?

Elise: Paper bid sheets.

Jeff: Probably not. So Matt, you're the millennial here. If you're going to a fundraiser, what kind of experience do you want?

Matt: Well, it all starts with the invite. How am I getting invited to the event? Snail mail -- great, works historically. But nowadays, I'm on my phone. I haven't checked my mailbox in two weeks.

Jeff: You haven't checked the Handbid one either, by the way.

Matt: Exactly. My point proven -- don't send mail anymore. Millennials are looking at their phones, their emails, their texts. They're getting invites directly to them. That's how you engage them to invite them to your event. You've got to get them there -- that's a great first step toward getting them to donate.

Jeff: So we're talking digital invites, maybe a digital RSVP system.

Matt: Use technology.

Jeff: For theming, you've got to do something fun. The traditional gala is out. It was mentioned in a previous episode -- Episode 41, "Ditch the Gala."

Matt: Let the gala evolve into something.

Jeff: The traditional gala is probably not going to cater to the younger generations. They're probably looking for something different, more interactive.

Matt: Yeah, I want to move around. I don't want to sit at a table and eat the rubber chicken. I want to have fun. I want to play games. I want to spend money trying to win a nice wine or whiskey. I don't want to sit chatting for six hours.

Jeff: Matt's a bit of an introvert too. So you walk in the door and you're looking for things that are going to engage the crowd. How do I participate and have fun? Well, everybody wants to have fun -- it's just that different generations define fun differently.

Matt: Photo booths are big. You know those 360 ones that spin around?

Jeff: We have a photo booth set up with the Handbid logo and everywhere we take it, it's very popular. I highly suggest checking out the 360.

Matt: Also, posting on social media. A lot of the way you can spread the message to your millennial friends is through social media. Check out this great event I'm going to. Check out this event I went to last year, you should come with me. It's so much easier nowadays with social media, texting, short-form content like TikTok or Reels.

Jeff: So let me back up for a second. We've got event planners listening to this. You're describing how you want to consume that information and invite your friends. So what I'm hearing is that event planners need to have templates and things they can share with attendees so that those attendees can share with others.

Matt: That's a great idea. Here's an Instagram background -- use this in your post.

Jeff: That can definitely be helpful. And I think a lot of times, event planners just do it the way they're comfortable with. If you're a boomer or a Gen Xer like me, you're probably going to invite others the way you'd invite yourself. So you might need to find some millennials to put on your committee. And millennials do want to give back. They want to be involved. They want to do something besides just give money. Inviting them to be on your committee might really fulfill that need.

Matt: Do the work. Don't just give the money.

Elise: They need lots of tender loving care.

Jeff: So in terms of inviting people -- use technology, provide social media templates people can use, give them pre-recorded Reels or other things they can share. Turn them into your champions. Let them spread your message. Maybe create those little Snapchat stickers or animated graphics. The underlying theme here is technology. If you're sitting here thinking you want to save money at your event and not use technology because you don't have the budget, how is that going to go over with your millennials?

Elise: Common faux pas.

Jeff: We've heard it before -- "my older generation is not going to get it, they're not going to understand." Well, you can do the opposite and trust that your millennials will get it. Scan this QR code, download the app, and get started -- that's all they need sometimes, and then they can get going and donating and participating.

Matt: I think it's a good point. You're going to have some people there who aren't comfortable with technology, but if millennials are a large percentage of people at your event, you definitely want to cater to them and then provide whatever support is needed for the older generation that may be struggling a little bit with technology.

Jeff: In terms of buying your ticket, checking in -- this is a generation that grew up with technology. Maybe not always the internet for the older folks, but they grew up with a personal computer in the house.

Matt: I had a cell phone in my hand at eight.

Jeff: You're at the younger end of the millennial generation. But they're comfortable showing up with a ticket on their phone, scanning that ticket -- they're expecting something that easy, that smooth. And they're comfortable figuring it out on their own.

Matt: Low tech anxiety. That's what I like to call it.

Jeff: I agree with that. I wouldn't say it's tech know-how exactly. I remember driving in the car -- we had just launched the Handbid app, this is 2011. My son would have been about ten years old, and my sister-in-law calls me up. She's at the upper end of the Gen X range, and she's complaining she can't figure this app out. Meanwhile, my son is in the back seat just swiping through items in this Handbid auction. I said, "How did you figure that out?" He goes, "I just swiped." So I said to my sister-in-law, "Well, my ten-year-old has figured this out." There are just generations who are willing to take chances. Some people look at their phone and are afraid to touch it, afraid that if they swipe the wrong way, all their personal information is going to be somewhere. Whereas others are like, let me just try this and see what happens.

Matt: Low tech anxiety. Someone quote that.

Jeff: So millennials have low tech anxiety. You can try technology with them and you're not going to frustrate them. We're talking ticketing, automatic registration -- these people are more than willing to check themselves in at the airport.

Matt: Would you even go as far as saying maybe they don't want the interaction? They want to bypass check-in. They just want to go in and have fun. At the airport, they just scan their thing -- here's my ticket, let me in.

Jeff: One hundred percent. When we think about where things are going at events, it's going toward this self-service model. People want to do it themselves -- let them walk in the door, check themselves in, grab their own paddle number, go to the bar and grab a drink, and bid from their phone.

Matt: And the thought that these things cost more -- they really don't, because what you're doing is driving engagement. And when you engage millennials, they donate.

Elise: That's right. And they might encourage their friends to donate on social media.

Matt: Sometimes I donate to organizations that my friends believe in that even I might not, just because it's my friend.

Elise: You're such a generous person.

Jeff: So what about other aspects besides tech? When you're at an event, what appeals to you?

Matt: Something important is whose party is it? Is it recognition for the board? Is it celebrating their accomplishments? Or is it for the donors? When I go to an event, I do want to be treated specially, but I don't want to hear hours of board successes and people who are in their offices and not doing the groundwork. I'm the one who's donating. I'm the one out there building houses. So whose party is it -- is it for me or for the board?

Jeff: That's an interesting point. You do want to provide some connection between money and impact. Millennials want to see where their $100 is going. Is it going to next year's award ceremony, or is it going to actually make a difference? So let's make the programs more about where the money is going and the impact. Let's shorten the awards.

Matt: We want to be directly impactful for the causes we're passionate about. Maybe that's why we donate to so many different organizations -- because I like this aspect of this one and that aspect of that one.

Jeff: Thank you to the millennial generation for pointing out that we should be focusing on a connection between the money being raised and the impact we're making. It's a concept of ROI -- you want to see a return on your investment. You want to know that if you're giving money, it's being used to further whatever programs you need to solve a problem we mutually agree needs to be solved.

Jeff: So we've talked about the program, but we kind of bounced over this concept of format. You said it needed to be interactive. You wanted to play games, win a bottle of wine. But at the same time, you're not looking for that traditional gala where you walk in the door, stand in a long line, check in, get your paddle number, browse the auction area, get your drink, the glasses ding, go into the ballroom, and sit for two hours. That's what you're saying you don't want.

Matt: Oh my gosh, no. We're talking food stations where I get to roam around, food trucks where I can grab a bite, chit-chat with my friends. I'm not stuck in the ballroom.

Jeff: It sounds like movement is important.

Matt: Be on your feet. Freedom.

Jeff: What I'm hearing is freedom -- you want flexibility in what you're doing throughout the event. Now the question is, how do I get your attention when I want to talk about the amazing things we're doing?

Matt: First thing, get an auctioneer if you're doing a live event. They are very good at collecting attention. Second, be aware of everything going on. Just because you're on your phone or talking to friends or playing games, be aware of why you're there. You're not there just for a party -- you're there to give to the cause you're passionate about.

Jeff: Maybe we need to remind them. Not in an obtrusive way, but it's always good to remind people of the purpose of the event -- beforehand, when they arrive, during the event. We were at one event recently where the auctioneer was very bold. The theme was "gold," and he said, "The theme tonight is gold because we are coming after your gold." He wanted to be very upfront about it. They showed a video about what the charity was doing and the impact they were having. And he said, "This happens because of what we're about to do next." He was really blunt and direct. I think in the past that's been watered down because different generations understand their purpose differently. But for millennials, I think they need to hear it straight.

Matt: Yes. That goes back to valuing transparency. Don't sugarcoat it. We know you're asking for money. That's why we're here. You can tell us straight up -- we're here to raise money for this cause.

Jeff: Millennials have a cause-driven mindset. They're looking for a cause to support, and it could be yours. But if you don't tell them what your cause is about and you don't ask them to participate -- well, I think you go in and say, this is what we're about, your participation is important to us, here's how it helps us, here's what we're going to do with your dollars, and now we need you to step up in a meaningful way. With millennials, the messaging has to be direct.

Matt: I don't think millennials are going to be offended by that.

Jeff: If you went to a 75-year-old guest and said "I want your gold," it might be different. But millennials are used to that kind of directness, and I think it works well.

Jeff: What about what's going to make you want to give? Do you want to hear a board member talking, or do you want to hear from a child who now has lunches provided?

Matt: It's across the board. I'd like to hear board members discuss how they got to that point, but the focus isn't on the board -- it's the cause. If I'm at an event where children are the focus, I absolutely want to hear the children say, "Last year we raised a thousand dollars per kid and were able to do X, Y, and Z. This year, our goal is this." It gives me much more motivation. I can't speak for every millennial, but I'm much more motivated to hear directly from the cause. It all ties back to the same things -- transparency, directness, where the money is going.

Matt: I also want to feel included. I don't want a big sponsor to make me feel lesser because I can only donate $1,000 while they donate $10,000. I want everyone to be recognized as a special donor.

Jeff: Everybody walking in the room should be recognized as a special donor because everybody should be giving meaningfully, and that's different for different people. It doesn't mean you don't recognize your sponsors -- but you do need to make your donors feel special. I've been to events where you can see the hierarchy of who gave a lot and who didn't. There are ways to set that up where people don't feel second-class.

Matt: And if I feel special, I give more and I give more often.

Jeff: Point taken. You don't want to feel like a second-class citizen at an event. Everybody should be giving in a meaningful way, and you can't really judge that. To somebody, $1,000 is a lot. To other people, $1,000 is pocket money.

Jeff: Going back to the theme of format -- traditional gala isn't really where it's at. Interactive, food stations, letting people roam around. Maybe there are ways to connect them with the organization. Habitat for Humanity is a great example -- go build a house. But maybe there are other ways that don't have to be the traditional gala. If you run a disabled adult day program, maybe you get millennials to come in and volunteer.

Matt: Hands-on experience. Really good, really rewarding. It doesn't end at the event -- we'll still volunteer our time and talents to organizations. It's not just the "give me money" aspect. It's "I'm going to show up and be there for them." And I think that's really valuable.

Jeff: And it may not be something that's part of your existing program services. Maybe you're providing advocacy or running a clinic or a research group. You might think, how can millennials help with that? Create something that allows them to connect with your constituents.

Matt: I think a lot about how I can help and do more. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. So event organizers need to figure out ways to get their audience involved outside of just going to events -- how can they help in day-to-day life?

Elise: I think another thing that millennials enjoy is when their workplace supports that. Habitat for Humanity will have a corporation come and give a day back. If you're an employer, take a day and give back. If you're a charity, talk to employers about creating a philanthropy day or give day where the employees can come in and participate.

Matt: And make it impactful.

Jeff: Instead of memorable, I think "impactful" is a better word. I was at an event where they did clean water -- they filled vases on the tables with dirty water. Nobody wanted to drink brown, nasty-looking river water. Then they came around with clean water jugs and put them on the tables. They told people the dirty water was actually healthy and clean, they just made it look nasty. The whole point was no one wanted to drink that. And they said, "This is what we're doing." That was impactful. It sends a message.

Matt: That kind of leads into emphasizing sustainability and social responsibility. Millennials nowadays care a lot about their future and other people's future. Leaning into that aspect is important.

Jeff: Nothing better for the environment than mobile bidding over paper. How many trees has Handbid saved? Countless.

Matt: But it's anything from replacing paper and plastic cups with reusable, sustainable options. It's the small, tiny things you wouldn't think about at your event.

Jeff: It's not just there. It's also how people get there, how they park. Have a shuttle, get a party bus.

Matt: Do something fun with your friends. Get people in the mood to donate.

Jeff: We joke around, but it is important. People notice waste. We should probably do an entire episode on environmentally friendly events.

Matt: Even things like if you're trying to help starving kids -- do you have a lot of food waste at the end of your event? There's food waste, there's the cups. There's one concert venue in Denver that has recycle cups. When you're served a drink, the cups say "recycle me" all over them and there are special bins all over the venue.

Jeff: Those cups are expensive. The company comes through and pulls the ones that ended up in the trash. Unfortunately, more end up there than you'd expect. But that type of message is positive. An organization that's recycling and showing they care -- that just adds another layer of affinity.

Jeff: We can also talk about what millennials look at digitally, like accessibility. At Handbid, we've put a lot of effort into accessibility. There was nothing more impressive and pleasing than one event when a blind attendee got up on stage and donated through the Handbid app. He was listening to it as he swiped, donating, and saying, "It's this easy, you guys." That was incredible.

Matt: That's amazing. It energized the crowd too. Getting the crowd on your side might support the giving back and social responsibility.

Jeff: Well, we've talked a lot about your generation, Matt. You've hung in there the entire time. You haven't asked for a break.

Matt: I'm normally used to about five minutes and then a ten-minute break.

Jeff: The millennial jokes just flow. We love your generation. We do appreciate everything in that generation in terms of their generosity. In all seriousness, this is the giving generation. They also say that Gen Z is going to be equally as giving -- so prepare for that, but they're just coming into the workforce. The millennials are here. Water your millennials so they'll grow and bloom and become fully fledged awesome donors to your causes.

Matt: There you go. Water your millennials -- sounds like the name of this next podcast episode.

Jeff: All right, let's wrap this one up. Thank you for listening as we talk about all the various ways you can make your next fundraising event better with millennials. Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Elise. Until next time, happy fundraising.

Jeff: Thank you for joining us today as we delved into the exciting world of engaging millennials in fundraising. We've learned how to appeal to this generous and engaged demographic by creating interactive, immersive experiences that speak directly to their desire for authenticity, convenience, and impact. If you enjoyed our show, please take a moment to leave us a review. You can find us on Apple, Google, and Spotify. Don't forget to subscribe for more great content. And if you're a fan of video, check us out on YouTube. Until next time, happy fundraising.