A decade after setting out to research just who millennials really are as people rather than relying on stereotypes, The Case Foundation reports today that this generation is not the group once labeled as “Generation Q – a quiet, inactive, insular group that did not engage with social causes and were often considered self-centered, lazy and too concerned with their devices to think about anyone else.”
“In particular, we found that millennials are thinking, acting and living their lives like no other generation before them, bringing a more holistic approach to using their time and resources to make a difference,” says foundation CEO Jean Case, who is married to foundation cofounder Steve Case, founder of AmericaOnline.
“They think about making change across a continuum from the purchasing decisions they make at the supermarket to the petitions they support on social media and the social good opportunities they incorporate into their work.
The Case Foundation graphic
“And, in a counterpoint to the ‘Generation Q’ stereotype that sparked the Case Foundation’s interest in learning more about this impactful generation, the research shows a commitment to partnerships and working together, with respondents saying they are more likely to donate if a coworker asks, more likely to volunteer if a coworker also is volunteering. Indeed such as in movement building, they see their actions, even if they are small, having an impact if they are in concert with a larger active group.”
The findings of the “Millennial Impact Report: 10 Years Looking Back” are based on surveys of some 150,000 people.
Key takeaways as noted by Jean Case in a blog post:
- Millennials Believe All Assets are Equal: They believe their time, skills, talent, money, voice, purchasing power and ability to network all have equal value, and they offer them as such. This generation does not prize being a financial donor above being a volunteer or activating their peer network as more valuable than signing a petition. When they are inspired to do something, they see their behavior (no matter what it is) as significant support.
- Millennials are Passionate About Issues, Not Institutions: “Millennial donors are not committed to one single organization; they are more committed to a cause,” according to Justin Wheeler, Funraise CEO. “So, their loyalty is to an issue they care about or are passionate about. And whether they give money or volunteer, it’s not necessarily directed at one organization.” More than 90 percent of millennials said they would stop giving to an organization if they began distrusting it. In a reflection of that trust, more than three-fourths would stop giving if they aren’t told how their contributions help.
- Millennials are Influenced by Their Peers: This trend has been seen across many years of our millennial research as millennials have consistently reported that they often invite friends to join their volunteer and fundraising efforts and are more likely to engage in a cause if their peers are already participating.
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- Millennials Support the Greater Good, Not Partisan Politicking: Millennials are both empathetic to the needs of others and discontented with the status quo. They want situations and conditions that are worsening peoples’ lives to be fixed, but they distrust the government to address social ills effectively. In particular, they expressed no trust at all in the government’s ability to address key social issues like poverty (33%), race and culture (32%) and student loans (30%). Millennials are also impatient with bipartisanship and politicking–a major reason they are developing their own ways to inspire and affect public policy change.
- Millennials Believe in Activism: While millennials often come to activism from a different starting point, they continue to believe in tools of traditional activism, such as voting, petitions, protests and marches. In 2017, voting topped the list of the most actions taken by millennials and the action they deemed most likely to be influential; 71 percent responded with voting as activism.
- Millennials Believe All Actions Matter–Big and Small: Millennials have engaged in causes back and forth across the spectrum–some remain at the micro-level of involvement, some move to leadership roles and many move within the space in between. One significant, unique notion supported by 10 years of research is that millennials acting in small ways individually often create leverage as a large, active group capable of influencing great change.
