An Impending Title Wave To Hit Non-profit, Political & Cause Groups

EXPERIENCE Insight Group works with at least a half-dozen non-profits over the course of a year with some of the relationships turning into 3–5 year+ consulting roles.

One of the foundation services we provide in the initial phase of the relationships is target segmentation modeling which looks at the mission of the group and its donor base and compares it against Nielsen tracked statements relevant to related social, political, environmental and individual issues.

In many cases, the non-profits are all in the same boat.

More than 60% of the donor dollars are rooted with individuals age 65+. Some in that age group who are very wealthy and others who are very middle income.

During the course of the Pandemic and now in 2022, EXPERIENCE has worked with Feeding America as well as regional Food Banks. With many schools closed as well as offices, kids and parents have lost access to breakfast and lunch meal programs.

Over the course of the last 90 days, EXPERIENCE has worked with a regional Food Bank in the analysis of its donor base and not only does it skew older, it skews more radically older than other Food Banks.

Food Banks are not the only non-profits experiencing this dynamic.

A great way to understand this dynamic is to cruise through the news networks during daytime hours and watch the commercial breaks. If the commercial running is not about an age-related health issue or a “buy one now for $19.95 and we will ship a second product for no additional cost,” the spots are non-profits asking for donation support.

The non-profits range from aging vet support organizations to health-based initiatives to kids cancer care to save the whales to help those living below poverty in an African or Latin American country.

The Food Bank that we are working with right now uses a direct mail firm to do its marketing.

I received an Email from the marketing leader of the Food Bank that she had met with the direct mail firm and voiced no concern over the dramatic dependence on the older age group and even went further and advised the Food Bank to gear up efforts to ask for more and to ask more often with those older groups.

The U.S. right now is going though an employment crisis.

I spoke to a business group this past week with over 100 folks at the event. The folks in attendance were small business owners, senior management and academics. I asked the audience what they believed was the issue as to why firms could not find employees.

The vast majority voiced the media mantra… “during the Pandemic too many people got used to not working and now took early retirement or no longer want to work.”

The jobs that cannot be filled are starter jobs like waiters & waitresses, delivery service drivers, clerks and cashiers, hourly floor crews and entry-level management trainees.

When I showed a Generational Slide and illustrated the 20 million fewer GenZers compared to Millennials many were astounded to see the statistics but quickly understood the hiring issue is not something that will be solved any time soon unless the issue of filling that age gap with immigrant labor is essentially the only solution.

In 2022, the Baby Boomers who are the top non-profit donors fall in the 58–76 age group.

The #1 trigger point that impacts the level of older age group to reduce giving is a health-related issue hitting a family and a household.

Boomers are already facing critical issues related to cancer, heart, stroke and diabetes. There are also a higher share experiencing early forms of memory issues than the previous Mature Generation.

A major blow is about to hit non-profits that few are aware of and are taking action to manage.

When I was meeting with a set of board members of a non-profit organization that assists homeless issues and I brought this up, a member of the board vehemently challenged me and stated, “well the Boomers will be replaced with the next generation behind them as they are aging too.”

That board member went on to state, “there is no problem, we need to keep going after those empty nesters who no longer have to spend money on their kids.”

In 2022, there are 74 million Boomers still living and breathing. There are also GenXers aging behind them except there are only 52 million of them… a difference of 22 million less… a level that is 30% smaller in size.

Non-profits are about to experience a crisis like nothing they have encountered yet to date that will jolt the very bnottomline of their financial models.

Not only are GenXers smaller, GenXers as a generational group is a different mindset than Baby Boomers.

Demographically, close to half of GenXers grew up in a divorced household. Families are more valued than ideals than cause groups. They gave birth to their kids post-911. Just as they purchased their first homes, the investment crashed back in 2009 during the Great Recession.

While I am not an individual aware of what all brands are doing, I have yet to see a non-profit embracing GenXers to-date.

Not to advocate another passing wave of focus over the GenXers, but the BGO — Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious — of future non-profit groups is to shift a focus to the Millennials — the largest Generation ever to exist in the U.S.

When I mentioned Millennials as an opportunity to the Food Bank with the significant age skew, the reply was that they were discussing sending more direct mailers to the younger age groups with their direct marketing agency.

They also said that they are “posting more factoids on Face Book.”

Millennials share some ideals with Boomers but those ideals are getting refocused as they are bearing kids and buying their first owned homes with the $400K+ mortgage loans.

In some ways Millennials share more ground with the GenXers as they become more family anchored with their pre-school and kindergarten-aged kids.

And yes… Millennials have been the drivers of Social Media but Face Book is getting quickly replaced with Main Street and the local Parent’s networking group with its own custom App.

I am posting this blog for one purpose and it is issue a warning of an impending tidal wave. Something that non-profits, political parties and action groups, houses of worship and academic alumni groups are about to face.

If this triggers a concern about groups you are aligned with and advice, call me at 404.245.9378 and let’s chart out a way to capitalize on the Millennial opportunity and avoid the crushing tidal wave!