Millennials are giving more than ever. Is your outreach keeping up?

There are a lot of misconceptions about millennials and money. We’ve all heard the stereotype about millennials overspending on avocado toast, but even their support for charities and social causes has stereotypes attached. In this regard, millennials often get labeled “slacktivists” who show support in performative, superficial ways, like using a hashtag on social media or participating in viral challenges to raise awareness.

But maybe it’s time to rethink some of these perceptions. Because when it comes to millennials and charitable giving, research paints a very different picture.

Viral awareness campaigns generate a lot of attention and engagement, but research has found that many millennials know online activism isn’t the most effective way to bring about real change. Other studies have also found that millennial donors not only sincerely care about the causes they support, they’re eager to build long-term relationships with organizations that support those causes.

Millennial giving by the numbers

Millennials are now the largest adult generation in the United States, and in The Bloomerang 2026 Giving Signals Report, their research found that millennial donors are giving at levels that outpace older generations:

• 75% of millennial donors plan to give more in 2026 than in 2025, compared to 49% of Gen X donors and 36% of baby boomer donors
• 8 in 10 millennial donors plan to give to at least one new nonprofit in 2026, compared to 52% of Gen X donors and 30% of baby boomer donors
• 42% of millennial donors have used a donor-advised fund or other type of tax-advantaged vehicle in the past year

In the “Shaping Tomorrow: How Gen Z AND Millennials View Charitable Giving” report by Foundation Source, their research found that 87% of millennial donors made a financial contribution to a charity in 2025.

For this generation, their giving is often motivated by personal connections to a cause. In Foundation Source’s report, some of the most commonly cited reasons for giving include:

• Family
• Local community
• Friends

For the Foundation Source report, they asked younger donors (both millennial and Gen Z donors) how they see the future of their giving. While 80% of respondents said they aspire to be described as a “giver,” other responses suggest a desire for deeper long-term involvement, hoping to be described by words like:

• Volunteer (73% of respondents)
• Advocate (63% of respondents)
• Changemaker (55% of respondents)

Start the conversation with P2P texting

As millennial giving grows, the core challenge for nonprofits is starting the right conversations. That’s where our peer-to-peer (P2P) texting solution can help.

Compared to older generations, millennial donors tend to check their email less frequently than older donors and are less likely to answer phone calls from unknown numbers. But they do pay close attention to their text messages. According to a 2025 report, 74% of millennials consider text messaging their most used method of communication.

Wiland’s P2P texting solution combines predictive donor intelligence with live agents to give organizations a way to focus outreach on audiences who are most likely to:

• Engage
• Donate
• Provide ongoing support

By focusing outreach on the right people at the right time, nonprofits can build stronger connections while making their outreach strategies more efficient. Combining precise targeting and genuine human connection is exactly what makes P2P texting a natural fit for how millennial donors want to be engaged.

Meeting millennial donors where they are

Given their desire to build long-term relationships with the organizations they support, millennial donors want to feel like they’re more than just a name in a database. And this is what makes P2P texting a particularly effective way to engage this generation of donors.

As a generation that has spent their lives alongside digital technology, they already tend to involve technology with their giving for things like:

• Researching organizations
• Making donations
• Evaluating the impact of gifts

Since this generation is motivated by personal connections, P2P texting, powered by real people, helps organizations reach out to their supporters in a way that feels personal, not transactional. Instead of sending generic mass messages, nonprofits can initiate two-way conversations that:

• Acknowledge donor interests
• Answer questions
• Create pathways for involvement beyond monetary gifts

This type of authentic engagement helps build the trust and sense of partnership that millennial donors want from the organizations they support.

Ready to reach the next generation of donors?

Millennials are proving that they’re anything but “slacktivists.” As millennial giving continues to grow, nonprofits need the tools that will help them engage this base as effectively as possible. Contact Wiland today to see how P2P texting can help nonprofits navigate this generational shift and better connect with the next generation of donors.