You Can't Blame the Youth

“You can't blame the youth

You can't fool the youth

You can't blame the youths, of today

You can't fool the youth"

              - Peter Tosh, Can't Blame the Youth

There often comes a time in many nonprofit boards when the members look around and say, "we have got to get some younger, newer members." Whether it's because the current board members are feeling burnt out or too old, the organization is starting to grow, or there are members cycling off and there are none in the pipeline. Additionally, many organizations are seeing a sharp decline in organizational support memberships both renewals and new. This situation is quite common in many of our nonprofit organizations, especially those environmental organizations founded in the last 20 years. Many organizations were founded as a response to pressures or emerging issues, whether it was a land trust rising up to protect land in the face of a building boom or an education organization founded to combat ocean pollution. But every organization lives in a cyclical manner and there are natural growth spurts and moments of self-reflection. It is in the times of self reflection that is the best for assessing organizational structure, board health, growth, and expansion. 

But, how do you go about it? And why? And most importantly, how do you make younger members feel as invited and empowered as current members feel? At times it can feel like the "millennial generation" speaks an entirely different language than the "boomers" and then there's the "Gen X'rs" and “Gen Z” who are in between, but generation titles aside it is about the people, the passion, and the commitment to bettering the organization that matter. To engage them, it just might take a different approach than most boards are accustomed to. 

Let's start with what we know about the "target audience", that is, the millennial generation. The Case Foundation through their Millennial Impact Project has set out to "capture and comprehend a fearless generation’s cause engagement." As they state "millennial involvement today could mean the success or failure of social movements into the near future." That's a big statement but one that is incredibly important for today's non-profits to hear...this generation is now the largest in the country and therefore it is time to engage them. 

But engaging them can prove to be a challenge and will require organizations to step outside their norm and embrace new and innovative techniques. The New York Times found millennials expect transparency, sophisticated storytelling and technical savvy from their charitable organizations. And many millennial donors will not only give money, but will also volunteer and lend the force of their own social networks to a cause they believe in. They are less likely to accept the "institution" of an organization as the change maker and more likely believe they themselves are the change makers and are most inspired when their impact can be creatively measured. So innovative ways of sharing impact (not ‘boring annual reports’) and feedback loops are exceptionally important to keeping millennials engaged. Further more millennials are more engaged with a purpose and cause than the organization itself they have less “brand loyalty” and are more inclined to support the issue than the organizational entity itself. This matters in how you tell your mission story and market your membership.

Additionally, the Case Foundation found that millennials are looking to effect change and make a difference through individualistic and personally gratifying action, but are doing so in a way that redefines and eradicates traditional labels. Meaning that it is not simply a donation of money at year's end but rather a daily engagement with a cause through their purchasing behavior, their social media engagement, their regular social interactions and even their media consumption habits (e.g. binge watching Netflix documentaries). Millennials are being called "everyday change makers" and they put more energy in themselves, rather than institutions, to create the change they want to see and are acting within their own circles as ways to incite change.

Not only can engaging younger members be exciting for an organization it can be extremely helpful. If this generation feels most engaged by doing, then why not have a board committee focused on social media? Or a committee that tackles physical action such as volunteer work days where social media is used to share the event and engage more volunteers? Or a development committee who creates a buying guide that focuses on purposeful consumerism connected to mission? The typical board tasks of budgets, meeting minutes and mission might have to expand to allow for younger members to feel excited, engaged, and purposeful. 

Further the model of ‘membership’ in an organization is starting to suffer due to the millennial mindset of inclusivity and mistrust of institutions. Millennials are what they do, they derive a great amount of self identification with the things they care about (and publish about on social media) so to get them to pay for a membership there has to be more than just a simple transaction. They have to feel deeply connected to the organization, transparency and trust is essential, and the word “member” is less desirable as millennials want to feel unique and distinct from the group, not part of the group. Additionally, as the 2019 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey found millennials value experiences over things so as organizations consider their membership incentive packages providing unique, life enriching experiences rather than a t-shirt or keychain is more attractive to perspective members.

If our environmental nonprofit organizations (and for that matter all our small businesses) can capture these enthusiastic change makers now and invest in some changes and to how the organization does things the benefits could be felt for generations. 

A few more interesting articles and resources to explore:  

2019 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey

Case Foundation’s Millennial Impact Project

The Non-Profit Times - 8 Reasons to Add Young Board Members

Quartz Media - Companies Need More Millennial Board Member if They Want to Stay Relevant