#195 | Is fundraising really ready for the Baby Boom generation of major donors?

I have said for quite some time that the nonprofit sector is not prepared for the Baby Boomer to become their predominant major donor. All over the country, we have become so accustomed to relying on a lucky list of ten or twelve old white men that it hasn't occurred to us that this donor profile is disappearing. And, what happens when they are all gone? After getting disgusted with what their father's generation put up with, they get a book deal with a major publisher, get an endorsement from Seth Godin on the cover, and they start donor-advised funds not only for themselves but for their children. This new cohort of major donors is more diverse, more savvy, and more female.

I have spent my entire career working closely with donors like Lisa Z Greer who are unapologetic about their place in the world; have a genuine desire to support causes in meaningful ways; yet find little pleasure in our attempts to work, coddle, and manipulate them into loosening their purse strings. Lisa Greer’s Philanthropy Revolution has received much attention; and I have it on good authority that Lisa’s book is ruffling feathers among my colleagues in the consulting ranks. Apparently, donors aren’t supposed to have valid opinions about the way that fundraising really works.

As always, the team at Responsive Fundraising wants to thank our friends at CueBack for being our podcast sponsor and for ensuring that we can deliver up-to-date and thought-provoking conversations every week to those in the professional fundraising community.

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