The Age of X: Raising Money from the Forgotten Generation
By Laura Ralph
Laura is a writing wizard with over a decade of experience in higher education and medical philanthropy.
Gen X is What’s Next
The latchkey kids. The skeptical slackers. The forgotten folk sandwiched between the Boomers and the Millennials.
Generation X.
Born from the mid ‘60s to the early ‘80s, Gen Xers are hitting their stride. Now at mid-life, this powerful generation is at the top of their career game and approaching peak income potential.
Despite facing high debt and the financial pressures of child-rearing and mortgages, Generation X are the highest earners and biggest spenders today.
They’ve reached the age when giving starts to increase and legacy gifts are on the horizon. And as they tend to elderly parents and children, they can influence the giving decisions of two other generations.
There’s no doubt about it. Generation X are prime donor material, and your charity needs to pay attention.
This Article is for you if…
Your charity forgot about Generation X, and you want to learn more.
You’re not sure what generation or age have to do with effective fundraising.
You know Gen Xers exist but don’t have a strategy to reach them.
What You’ll Learn
We’ll start by looking at how life stage impacts the giving behaviors of Gen Xers and how to use this knowledge to create better fundraising offers. Then, we’ll explore the moments that define Generation X, how it influences their giving, and effective ways for your charity to reach them.
How to Raise Money from Gen X
Before getting into specifics, let’s look at the big picture. To finetune fundraising from your Gen X donors (or from any generation), it’s important to consider two factors:
Life Stage – regardless of generation, there’s a consistent pattern of giving behavior that every generation tends to follow. It’s based on age and life stage.
Generational Persona – the combo of characteristics that define a generation. Childhood environment and major historical and cultural moments are thought to play a role.
Awareness of Gen Xer’s life stage and understanding their unique traits are key to creating more effective fundraising appeals. Let’s consider both.
Giving Across the Ages
Generational personas aside, there’s a predictable pattern of giving that most donors follow over the course of their life. Depending on who you ask, your Gen X donors are between the ages of 42 and 58. Keeping these ages in mind will focus your fundraising efforts. 00 might consider a mid-level gift of anything greater than $500.
The More the Merrier
In general, giving steadily increases until about the age of 40, then plateaus for a while as donors cover the costs of childcare, education, and mortgages. At the same time, younger donors tend to support more charities than older donors. For example, Millennials give to an average of 12 causes while Gen Xer’s support six to eight.
Your younger Gen X donors are at this stage of life. They’re facing financial pressures and building their careers. So, while their gifts may not increase any time soon, these donors are supporting plenty of causes.
What does this mean for your charity?
Focus your efforts on acquiring Gen X donors. Effective strategies for this cohort include top-of-the-funnel tactics like creating brand awareness and high-value content to educate and inspire.
Giving More…To Less
Donors in their 50s to 60s are facing fewer financial pressures, hitting their career peaks, and their highest earning potential. Giving during these years tends to increase as supporters have more disposable income.
As gift size increases, the number of causes supported declines as donors begin to focus their philanthropy on what matters most. Mid-life donors are incredibly loyal, but it also means they’re less likely to adopt a new cause.
Your eldest Gen X donors are at this stage. They’re ready to donate more to the causes they care about. A study of generational giving in Canada found that 15% of Gen Xers plan to increase their philanthropy in the coming year.
Since this age group is giving more to less, your focus should be on donor retention and amping up your stewardship to ensure they stick around.
Future Giving
Heading into retirement, the average gift amount decreases for many donors. But it’s also when supporters are most likely to consider a planned gift, which is often the largest donation your charity will receive from them.
At 58, the oldest Gen Xers are starting to think about the legacy they want to leave. Now’s the time to educate these donors about your charity’s future giving program and offer simple ways for them to make a bequest.
Give donors the chance to share if they’ve already included your cause in their will – surveys are a great way to do this. Knowing about a donor’s estate plans allows you to thank and steward them during their lifetime.
Generational Personas
While giving patterns by age are highly predictable, the gifting habits of different generations are anything but. This is where “generational personas” come in handy. As the hypothesis goes, personas are shaped by the historical and cultural moments that exist during each generation’s formative years.
Understanding the unique traits that make Generation X who they are – and the moments that made them so – are keys to unlocking their best giving potential.
Here’s a look at some of their defining moments, top traits, and how to translate this knowledge into effective fundraising strategies.
The Latchkey Kids
Gen Xers grew up during a major shift in the traditional family model, with more women entering the workforce and rising divorce rates. They often came home from school to an empty house, and without parents around, developed independence, self-reliance, and skepticism.
These traits show up in their approach to charitable giving. Over half of Gen X donors will thoroughly research your cause before making a gift. And your organization’s website and their peers are their most trusted sources.
Help your Gen X donors feel confident in giving to your cause by keeping your website up to date, monitoring and responding to negative reviews, and highlighting testimonials from those who benefit from your work.
Donors by Definition
Gen Xers take their giving seriously. The causes they support are core to who they are, and some would say their giving defines them.
Like all donors, Generation X is motivated by your mission, but it’s especially important for this group to know why your cause matters – and why it should matter to them.
Win them over by sharing relevant, informative content about your cause and strong impact stories to highlight the value of donor dollars to beneficiaries.
Digital Donors
Generation X witnessed the world go from analog to digital. They saw the rise of personal home computing and the birth of the internet during their formative years.
Because they’re comfortable in the digital world, email appeals and online giving are winning methods for this group.
When it comes to social media, Generation X make up the largest proportion of Facebook users, with 88% on the channel. Consider using the platform to grow brand awareness and raise money through peer-to-peer campaigns.
Don’t Ditch Direct Mail
While research shows a steady decline in direct mail among younger donors (including Gen Xers), don’t toss it in the trash just yet.
As Dave French points out on RKD Group’s podcast, it takes an average of nine touchpoints to secure a gift. Gen Xers may be more inclined to donate through email and social, but other mediums grow awareness and lay the foundation for a successful digital offer. Communicating with your Gen Xers across multiple channels is key.
Speaking of digital, online giving via your website is popular with every generation so it pays to invest in a good one. The best websites are mobile-friendly with clear mission statements, tangible examples of impact, and low friction opportunities to give.
Gifts of Time
They may be independent and self-reliant, but Gen Xer’s are not afraid to get their hands dirty. According to Statistics Canada, Generation X makes up 44% of all volunteers – the highest rate after Generation Z at 52%.
Take advantage of their generosity of time and bring them closer to your cause through volunteerism. After all, volunteers often become loyal donors.
Forgotten No More
While life stage and persona are key to maximizing support from your Gen X donors, there’s a limit to generational generalizations. No one’s more aware of this than Gen Xers themselves. According to one study, most Gen X donors feel dismissed and misrepresented by the media.
Get back to the basics of good fundraising to win over this donor group. Take the time to get to know them – not for how they’ve been portrayed, but for who they really are.
Learn more about your Gen X donors by tracking which channels they use and applying this knowledge to future appeals. Surveys are another great way to ask what matters to donors and you can use your findings to massage your messaging.
Ultimately, the best way to know your donors is to build authentic relationships with them, and understanding your donors is key to unlocking their greatest gifts.
Resources & Further Reading
Hahmann, Tara. (2021, April 23). Volunteering counts: Formal and informal contributions of Canadians in 2018. Statistics Canada. Volunteering counts: Formal and informal contributions of Canadians in 2018 (statcan.gc.ca)
Jepson, Tina. Breaking Down the “Generation Myth.” Causevox. Breaking Down the “Generation Myth” (causevox.com)
Johnson, Benjamin. (Host). Frontier FM [Audio Podcast]. The Summer of Sam Podcast, Ep #52 — Frontier Marketing Co.
Johnson, Benjamin. (Host). Frontier FM [Audio Podcast]. Getting the Gist of Rental Lists with Dan Sonners, Ep #43 — Frontier Marketing Co.
Killoran, John. (2022, Feb 15). Comparing and contrasting: How different generations give. Charitable Impact Blog. Comparing and contrasting: How different generations give - Charitable Impact | Blog
McCord, Justin. Gen X is ready to be the next great giving generation. RKD Group Thinkers Blog. Gen X is ready to be the next great giving generation (rkdgroup.com)
Qgiv Team. Generational Giving: Generation X Fundraising Trends, Preferences, and Patterns. Qgiv Blog. Generational Giving: Generation X Fundraising Trends, Preferences, and Patterns - Qgiv Blog
RKD Group. (Host). RDK Group Thinkers Podcast [Audio Podcast]. Dave French thinks about Gen X coming into the marketing spotlight (rkdgroup.com)
Rovner, Mark. (2018, August). The Next Generation of Canadian Giving. Blackbaud Institute. 10013_CORP_None_NextGen_Canada_2018_Report-R4.pdf
Sonners, Dan. (Host). Dynamic Non-Profits w/ Dan [Audio Podcast]. DNP Deep Dive: Non-Profit Marketer's Guide To Generation X w/ Justin McCord by Dynamic Nonprofits w/ Dan (anchor.fm)
Woo, Angela. (2018, Nov 14). The Forgotten Generation: Let’s Talk About Generation X. Forbes. The Forgotten Generation: Let's Talk About Generation X (forbes.com)
(2022, June 30). Generational Insights and the Speed of Change. AMA. Generational Insights and the Speed of Change (ama.org)
(2022, April 27). A generational portrait of Canada’s aging population from the 2021 Census. Statistics Canada. A generational portrait of Canada’s aging population from the 2021 Census (statcan.gc.ca)
(2021, June). Don’t You Forget About Me. RKD Group. Don't You Forget About Me (rkdgroup.com)
(2020, June 26). Distributions of household economic accounts for income, consumption, saving and wealth of Canadian households, 2019. Statistics Canada. The Daily — Distributions of household economic accounts for income, consumption, saving and wealth of Canadian households, 2019 (statcan.gc.ca)