70 Nonprofit Trends for 2015

Tycely Williams, association director of major gifts, YMCA of Metropolitan Washington
2. We are witnessing the greatest transfers of wealth; it is important to ensure Generations X and Y understand the unique value proposition offered by charities — some of the nontraditional planned major and/or planned giving prospects will inherit sizable assets, aside from the discretionary money many of them have (due to marrying later, having fewer or no children).

Christine Barnes, senior director of donors services, Humane Society of the United States
3. With the millennials entering the giving landscape, we need to adjust our communication styles to adapt. Our communications need to be more visual, and we need to provide more storytelling that engages the donor in as few words as possible.

Rich Dietz, senior product manager, digital fundraising, Abila
4. Millennial engagement: According to Brookings, millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025. As millennials enter the workforce and have money to spend, organizations will need to put strategies in place to best engage this demographic. Many follow a different path to becoming a donor than is traditionally done, and nonprofits will need to adapt to these differences.

DONOR RELATIONS
Christine Barnes, senior director of donors services, Humane Society of the United States
1. Donors will continue to push for accountability on how their donations are spent; a percentage answer will no longer suffice, and organizations need to be prepared. Donors are increasingly looking for information on how their donations make an impact.

2. We need to treat donors not as numbers, but as individuals. Organizing data well and applying data analytics, with its focus on tracking and analyzing giving behavior and other predictive variables, are hard work but are so critical. With this knowledge we will be able to provide donors with the giving experience they are seeking, and do so at the scale we require.