530. Why + How to Engage Gen Z in Your Mission - Duyen Spigelman, Kathryn Baccash, and Alyssa Boger (NMS Replay)

Meet Duyen, Kathryn and Alyssa. These three brilliant experts are flexing what Gen Z is bringing to their organizations in the best way. Gen Z is rising to become the most heartwired, active generation the world's ever seen. And they know how to get loud, mobilize, and get active in their communities around causes that align with their values. Nonprofits stand to gain immensely from the value Gen Z brings to the table: digital-first mindset, passion for social impact and purpose-driven initiatives, interactive engagement style, expertise in creating and consuming short-form content, and their unwavering commitment to authenticity 📱Tune in to this Nonprofit Marketing Summit replay about this rising group of do-gooders. They could be the key to unlocking the movement your mission is waiting to launch🚀

💡Learn

•  Gen Z's motivations + where they hang out
• How to build a Gen Z donor base
• How TWLOHA + The Trevor Project respectively use Gen Z influencers and unique offerings to expand their message + impact

Today’s Guests

• Duyen Spigelman, Senior Philanthropy Manager, Digital Giving & Campaigns, The Trevor Project
• Kathryn Baccash, Head of Communications + Digital Marketing, TWLOHA 
• Alyssa Boger, Executive Vice President, Client Experience, Allegiance Group and Pursuant 

For more information + episode details visit: weareforgood.com/episode/530.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Engaging Gen Z in Nonprofits
• 7:07 Engaging Gen Z for Nonprofits
• 19:43 Gen Z Influencer Marketing Connection
• 27:06 Successful Event Driving Advocacy Strategies
• 30:03 Empowering Gen Z Advocacy and Engagement
• 34:05 Engaging Gen Z in Advocacy

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:53

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is to just not press news on this generation. They're a power, they're a powerhouse, and to continue to figure out in your marketing, your communications, your overarching organization strategy how to continue to include them. Just don't press news.

Speaker 2: 1:12

Hey, I'm John.

Speaker 3: 1:13

And I'm Becky.

Speaker 2: 1:14

And this is the we Are For Good podcast hey.

Speaker 3: 1:17

I'm John and I'm Becky, and this is the we Are For Good podcast. Nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.

Speaker 2: 1:26

We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.

Speaker 3: 1:35

So welcome to the good community. We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.

Speaker 2: 1:45

So let's get started. Becky, we're talking about one of your favorite topics today. Are you so pumped?

Speaker 3: 1:51

Gen Z. I love you so much and we've got so much to learn from Gen Z.

Speaker 2: 1:56

I know I mean. Gen Z is just rising to become the most heartwired active generation the world's really ever seen, and they know how to get loud, get mobilized and get active in their communities around causes that align with their personal values. We've talked about this so much on the podcast, the power of identity, so today we're joined by three brilliant experts who are flexing what Gen Z is bringing to the organizations in the best of ways and nonprofits listening. We need to do this now to build a strategy around this audience.

Speaker 3: 2:21

Yeah, I hope you're buckled in because we're going to be talking about the how and the why to engage the most influential group that is in the nonprofit and social impact sector today, which is Gen Z. So this powerhouse of panel is going to get us activated around this topic. So this powerhouse of panel is going to get us activated around this topic and it is my great joy to introduce first Zuin Spiegelman. She's a senior philanthropy manager and digital giving and campaigns manager over at the Trevor Project. We love the Trevor Project. We also have Kat Backus. She's the head of communications and digital marketing at To Write Love on Her Arms, which you may know as Twilo Ha. And finally, to round out this group, we have Alyssa Boger, who is the Executive Vice President of Client Experience at Allegiance Group and Pursuant, and these three ladies are going to bring the house down in this incredible conversation we had at the Nonprofit Marketing Summit.

Speaker 2: 3:12

Enjoy, friends. Okay, my heart is full seeing these panelists here and I feel like, as we start this conversation, we want to dig into the why, and so we have such a brain trust around us let's talk about. I'm going to kick it to all of y'all, I don't, I don't care who gets started. What is the opportunity here? What are you seeing with Gen Z? And I would say even like, why now do we need to activate on Gen Z?

Speaker 1: 3:33

I'm happy to hop in just from a hot take. I feel like, from my perspective, this generation is one of the most inspiring their loyalty to causes and the matters that are making a difference in this world. It's pretty exciting to just witness. I'm the generation above, and so I feel like I'm inspired by Gen Z. They're ferocious about equality and just have a hope. They have a hope that change is possible, and I think that's kind of like the ethos of many of the works that we're a part of is we're trying to make change, we're change makers, and to watch a generation just kind of come up and have all this hope that no, this is really possible, we actually can do this, it's pretty, pretty cool.

Speaker 3: 4:16

Oh no, this is really possible. We actually can do this. It's pretty cool. Oh hear, hear, so good.

Speaker 4: 4:21

Alyssa, you want to jump in there? Yeah, I think just it's kind of a phrase I've heard used more in higher ed but creating that culture of philanthropy and I feel like this is just such a critical time to be helping this generation almost support their own building of their personal culture, philanthropy and what philanthropy means to them as individuals and being able to start to build relationship with this generation. I think it takes time they like to date a little bit more before they just hop in to the relationship and so being able to start to build connection and advocates and passionate supporters, that will really turn into, I think, like Kat said, a powerful generation.

Speaker 3: 5:12

So it's exciting to be on the forefront of what those relationships might mean. Looking forward Zuin round us out here.

Speaker 5: 5:15

What do you see?

Speaker 5: 5:16

Yeah, I mean I just I plus one to all of those things, and I think what I feel so firmly is that it's really exciting to see a group of folks who are really grounded in their values Not that, you know, each generation isn't, but you know, gen Z is more sort of DEI informed, has mental health at the forefront, has equity and justice issues at the forefront, and so I think that this is an opportunity for organizations, no matter who you are, to talk about your values and what drives you and the work that you do in a way that feels authentic and truthful to young people.

Speaker 5: 5:50

Because, like Alyssa said, they shop around, they can you know, because they are firm in their beliefs and what they want to move forward with in the world. They're not going to take a whole lot of like vague dancing about your values and where things are going and blah. And so I think that that's really important for organizations to be transparent about what you do, why it's important, how building a community can grow and last. And so I think that's a really exciting opportunity for organizations to reach out to Gen Z to show them who we are.

Speaker 3: 6:20

Okay, those were some really solid start hot takes there. And thank you for talking about values, zuan, because I think, as marketers, we understand, specifically in this climate, that values are a magnet to the people who want to connect with us and our community. And I just think I'm Gen X and so I'm 44. And I have so much FOMO about wanting to be Gen Z because I literally believe they are the hope and the future. And so, alyssa, I want to kick this question to you, like define for everybody who's in the audience who Gen Z really is and talk about what matters to them in terms of their mindsets, their behaviors and even their spending habits. I think is really interesting.

Speaker 4: 7:05

Yeah, definitely. Before I jump into just some trends and stats, I think recognizing generational categories aren't standardized and there's, I think we're. We're sometimes more inclined to look at differences between generations instead of similarities, and there's just some inherent bias that when we look at trends. So I know, when I hear stats about millennials, I'm like okay, I don't really know if that's totally accurate, so just sharing that.

Speaker 2: 7:32

As we're eating our avocado toast, I'm like it's not me, it is me.

Speaker 4: 7:37

Exactly, but I think there are some overarching trends that are just helpful to understand the mindset and context. First is that Gen Z is large. They're 20% of the US population and so they're about equal with millennial, gen X and boomer generations. All individually, so it really represents a burgeoning prospective donor base. They're adults, either entering the workforce. They have disposable income it may not be much, but they have money and dollars that they can invest in the missions and causes that they're passionate about. They're the most diverse generation. They're on track to be majority nonwhite by 2026. And I think about 20% of Gen Z individuals have at least one immigrant parent, and so they're coming from a completely different perspective worldview. Diversity, equity, inclusion like we just talked about is critical to them. They live it every single day and the importance of just.

Speaker 4: 8:44

I think that inclusion and diversity and what it brings to the world is beautiful to them, but on the flip side, they're growing up in a world of just extreme polarization. The US, I think, is in the top five most polarized countries in the world, and so they're growing up in a world that feels separated and divided, that is fully digital, and so they've been just immersed in this world of a constant feedback loop of validation, posting photos and pictures, and what do people think about me and what I'm sharing, and then also bullying and other viewpoints and thoughts and perspectives and opinions, and so it's really created which I think all of us can understand, because we felt it to this mental health crisis for our young people, just for all of us in some way living in this world. But there, but there it's all consuming, it's all that they know to some degree, and so that, I think, has led to this feeling of maybe insecurity. The world isn't safe and it feels like always in conflict, whether ideal, ideologically or or truly physically. And so I think it's given way to a generation that feels like nothing is going to change unless we take action. The generations ahead of us have brought us to this place. How do we make a change?

Speaker 4: 10:16

And I think, like all generations, they're wanting to be change agents, but for the causes that they feel like really represent the greatest threat For Gen Z.

Speaker 4: 10:26

It's causes like safety, equity, integrity, and so you see that come through in the causes that they're most likely to support, which includes racial justice, climate change, gun legislation, local political campaigns areas where they really feel like their voice can make a difference and is critical to the health and well-being and success of their generation.

Speaker 4: 10:53

And that is translating into really amazing action advocacy giving, especially for organizations like Terai, love in Her Arms and the Trevor Project. I'm so excited to hear more about just the incredible% of Gen Z plan for giving to charity in their financial budgets each year, so more than half looking for ways to give and make an impact. They're also the least likely generation to cancel a monthly gift in the face of financial pressures. So, as older donors on fixed incomes may not be as readily available or able to continue their giving or have to make shifts and adjustments, we have this growing audience that is really passionate, engaged and can be a strong base of support and a reliable donor base. So just really excited. I think it's a powerhouse of generation and one that has just a ton of potential and is already exhibiting those behaviors of just a very philanthropically minded generation.

Speaker 2: 12:14

I mean, you just broke down so much of why we love this heartbeat of this generation and why they could be such a force for our nonprofits. They will be a force for our nonprofits increasingly, and so if you missed the study piece, definitely go back in the chat here. Julie Comfort dropped the episode that Alyssa came on and talked about this study.

Speaker 3: 12:34

That study is so amazing and it's very as marketers. It's beautifully laid out, so it's not just the long white papers.

Speaker 2: 12:45

Very millennial of me, I'm feeling like too, so I want to. We're going to transition and talk about like what's cutting through when you know, what does it look like to really engage Gen Z right now? But, as evidence of all the sessions at NMS, this chat is filled with people that have a lot of brilliant ideas. So please share what you're doing in your organizations, as you're engaging Gen Z and we're going to tap the brain, starting with Zuin at the Trevor Project. Tell us a little bit about what it looks like to engage and activate Gen Z right now for your mission.

Speaker 5: 13:15

Yeah, I think it's thinking about sort of the overlay specifically for Trevor and, I think, a lot of organizations. Trevor is there to serve LGBTQ young people who are in crisis, and so there is that overlap between that sub 25 audience that we serve, in terms of our crisis services and suicide prevention programs, and young people who are motivated to give. And so really thinking about how do we embody those two sort of personas together and we want to make sure that young people are able to engage with our resources and become, like Alyssa said, advocates for the work, really understand how they can be a voice for change in their communities in, you know, supporting other young people. You know supporting other young people, you know connecting with people online and then that eventually transitioning into giving. And so, again, not thinking about it as mutually exclusive circles, but really thinking about it as giving people the resources to be able to advocate, understand the issues that are at play, whether that's mental health or safety, safety and community or you know pronoun usage, and so it's a part of educating folks and giving people the resources to be able to make that change, whether it's connected to a monetary gift or not, and then, at the same time, cultivating that giving, giving culture, philanthropy for people you know who can give five, 10, $15 gifts and work their way up from there. And so what we really seem to be useful is being able to provide very concrete resources and actions.

Speaker 5: 14:44

Again, that transparency and values-based aspect is really important to young people to say I'm not just giving you money that flies into the ether that I'll never see again it's.

Speaker 5: 14:54

I can see that this is a resource that you're providing to the community. I can see that this is the work that you're producing to support young people. I can see you know the impact of my giving holistically, even if it's not related back to you know, a five or $10 dollar handle, which I think is actually something that's probably pertinent to a lot of folks who are like we need to have a $5 giving handle, a $25 giving handle, and fun fact is that for many reasons, trevor actually doesn't have any of those giving handles, and so I think trying it back to again, that sort of eagle eye look at the impact and the scale of the work, can also be a way to meaningfully connect with young people. Versus saying $5 for a cup of coffee, I think you can say your $5 helps another young person on the line or connects you to a community, and so just thinking a little bit more creatively about that values-driven piece has worked really well for us.

Speaker 3: 15:49

Love. That, okay, I have to say the chat is giving me life. Not only is it hilarious between each of the generations, but I mean there's some really great insights in here and I want to so brag about yourself. If you have a strategy for Gen Z, if you're trying something that works, let us know. We want to, we want to and let us know what doesn't work. We want to fail forward into this, but I want to kick it to you, kat, because I want to know what you're doing over at Twiloha, which I mean Twiloha is one of my favorite nonprofits ever. If you are someone who needs support, community mental health, love, you can get it all there and they have made it cool. And so talk to me about how you're really connecting and engaging with and activating these Gen Z supporters really connecting and engaging with and activating these Gen Z supporters.

Speaker 1: 16:44

Yeah, a lot of the work we do does happen online already. So a lot of the what we're sharing and putting out there and the messaging, the resources and support none of it is like generation specific. But what's really cool that we've adjusted and changed how we show up online is just the way that Gen Z does so. Like Gen Z, I joke that it's like they eat, sleep, breathe online activity. Like it is a part of who they are, what they do, what they're into. For the majority, I know some of my favorite Gen Z people opt out of the internet, but majority of people are finding uh, from this generation, their information online. Tiktok has become like a search and search engine Um, what they, what they want to care about, what their news information. A lot of it is coming from just being online.

Speaker 1: 17:35

We have a joke on our comms team that we're like it's kind of a benefit to be chronically online because we have the ability to enter the chat in like fun ways. But it's just our cute little jokes. We do also care about mental health and there's all these fun studies that say maybe you should just opt out for seconds, but I think for us it's it's been a fun way to change some of our messaging and communication styles, based off of the way that Gen Z's the ethos and the way they love transparency. I know authenticity and genuineness has been like a theme for a few decades now of what's really appreciated, but the approach at which Gen Z goes about it is pretty inspiring because the accountability aspect of it and so a lot of the messaging from like how we live out our mission to like how we are being transparent when we're running a campaign, or what it looks like to try to get buy-in for a campaign how, what kind of activations are we giving? Is it only ever donate, donate ass or fundraise ass, or is there some shareability, some activism and advocacy, um can uh strategy around that that's so integral to this generation? That kind of pours out and trickles into other ones.

Speaker 1: 18:54

So I think that's been a big part for us of how we've changed and has changed the landscape for a lot of nonprofits, and so it also has the way that the internet is used by Gen Z I think has allowed more nonprofits or gives the opportunity for nonprofits to create authentic storytelling create authentic and genuine like that transparency, storytelling of the work you do in a way that wasn't possible in the last few decades, unless you were a non-profit that had like a huge marketing budget where you can get the, the shiny cameras and the fancy where you gotta. I'm gonna deliver this as an ad. It's like we can take a video from our phone in the next 15 minutes or the next five minutes. It could be edited, produced and up online and it's like a great moment to be like hey here, this is what we're doing right now this month, um, did you know? Um? And so I think that's that's. It's exciting, it feels exciting.

Speaker 2: 20:03

I mean, for those of us that have been in fundraising a long time, I just think how is this not really exciting that we're centering things that build trust like so clearly at the core? Cause it's like we realize there's a gap in trust and we're having a generation that wants more authenticity and more connection of what's real. So it's like such a such a moment for nonprofits like step into that superpower. And I love your instruction catch Just like grab the phone and just like start talking. So I want to talk about marketing specifically, alyssa. Y'all did a huge part of your report on this too, but where are Gen Z? Where are they showing up? What's connecting? What type of content's connecting? Are we just going to say TikTok or are you going to surprise me here?

Speaker 4: 20:43

No, probably won't surprise you. I think it is interesting. As we looked at some of the generational differences, millennials and Gen Z behave pretty similar in a lot of ways. So, as you're thinking about strategies especially for organizations that have limited bandwidth, limited resources, if you're trying something for Gen Z, it can probably go up to that millennial level and target a larger audience and generate a strong response.

Speaker 4: 21:15

There's a much more marked kind of difference between Gen Z millennial and Gen X and boomer Sorry for those of you in the Gen X and boomer camp. So, knowing just a little bit of that line, I think it comes down to where people get their information and who they trust. And so for Gen Z, I think they're half as likely to trust brands as Gen X and boomers. So there's this inherent kind of like distrust of the institutional language and voice, which is where some of what we just talked about being authentic, genuine, I think vulnerability is seen as a strength and not a weakness.

Speaker 4: 21:58

And in the nonprofit space it can be hard sometimes to show up with that vulnerability, especially on the fundraising side, when that might be equated with well, do we not know how to manage our books?

Speaker 4: 22:11

Or we're not raising enough funds if it seems like we're not meeting our goals or our metrics. But there's, I think, some trust that you start to build when you're able to create more connection in being really truly authentic about the need and what happens if we aren't able to fund this initiative or if we can't get engagement. So I think, showing up in that way and thinking about ways that you can activate constituents around advocacy moments, ways that they can really create more mission connection, and it can be simple, it can be like a virtual petition. It can be creating things that are bold and shareable through like video, short video, like on TikTok stories on Instagram, which is where millennials tend to hang out more that they can share and be an advocate and like, an amplifier of your mission and message and increase your reach without you, as the organization, having to constantly push your message out more organizationally.

Speaker 3: 23:22

So smart, and so it's like I just want to say this this is a generation that's going to help you play the long game, and so, for those of you right now who are looking at like sustainable sources of revenue, looking at how do we grow our base, how do we grow community Like, these are the people that you can get in early. They care deeply. If you can show that you care about them, that you connect them to this cause, create this space of belonging, they're going to stay with you for a very long time and I think you even had a stat in there that's like 53% of this generation is going to come back and make a repeat donation, which, hello, is way higher than most of the retention numbers that we see across the board. So, okay, I got to talk about the thing that I am geeked out the most about, which is Twiloha's influencer marketing.

Speaker 3: 24:13

I heard about this a couple months ago and I was like Kat, you've got to come talk about what you're doing, because we're learning that Gen Z is going to learn about a cause and be influenced by it, by the influencers that they follow, and I've dropped this on the podcast. Sorry if you've already heard this, but did you see in December that the makeup industry is now been trumped? The people that are driving traffic and sales in the makeup industry are no longer the spokesmen and the spokeswomen. They are influencers, and so we know the influencer economy is going to grow to half a trillion dollars by 2027. And so we've got to leverage and flex this medium. So, kat, talk to us about how you are doing this and spill all the tea, because it's amazing.

Speaker 1: 25:01

Yeah, I think it happened pretty organically for us due to the nature of when our story started. It started with a lot of celebrities or influencers mostly celebrities at the time where, cause the influencer game has just changed so much it can be like an average Joe that you would see at a grocery store and they have like 2 million on TikTok, like it's just changed a lot and so that it's been part of our ethos too as a way for people to get to know the work we do and to hear about the important things. But in this new landscape, something that's been a big initiative of ours is kind of building, specifically working with a variety of influencers. So a variety of influencers that are on all different kinds of platforms, likely not a celebrity, maybe they happen to be but also just like have influence in a specific lane, like music or even just like storytelling and different things. We have all different kinds of influencers that we work with and just kind of partnering with them. So they care about mental health, they have a community that they are connecting with, that everybody kind of has mental health and so it comes up pretty naturally and organically. So we try to partner with a bunch of different people who are motivated and inspired to kind of continue to share resources while also create safe spaces for communities online, and one of those big things is building a relationship. So I think when we think of influencer marketing, a lot of us see big dollar signs because it's like, oh my gosh, there's this whole model. That is like I now have to create like an influencer program to be able to get them to work with us and for us. A successful model that we've seen is really building relationships. So creating a strategy around, the same way you do with, like, donor stewardship, this you would kind of apply that to your influencer relationship.

Speaker 1: 27:06

So one of the big things we did last year was host an event that we called the Tulaha Collective. We just brought in a great mix of people. We paid for them to come to Florida and hosted their hotel stays. We said, hey, you're going to participate in this two-day event at our headquarters and you're going to learn about the org. You get to ask questions. We're gonna. You know we're mental health non-profits. We created these moments for them to pour into their own mental health, so it's kind of like a respite weekend. Um, they had a. It was a community. Yeah, the community they built together as like a crew none of them had known each other was beautiful and they've they have relationships. We've seen them kind of online support. Each other was beautiful and they've they have relationships. We've seen them kind of online support each other and show up, and so they. This weekend, that that whole weekend we were able to, like, pour into them, then pour into us. Us exchange ideas, they get to ask important questions and from there we were able to. It was it was a very successful event and we were able to see these relationships grow pretty substantially after this event where we were able to. It was a very successful event and we were able to see these relationships grow pretty substantially after this event where we were able to come to them.

Speaker 1: 28:14

Hey, we have this really important campaign that's gonna fund this organization in a really substantial way. Can you help us? Can you show up? Is there a way you'd like to partner with us? Is there a way you can make some noise about what we're doing? Or just like we'd love to share what you're doing? And it allows us to have this relationship be really substantial for both people, versus just like, hey, I'm going to send you this payment plan of like, can you make three content pieces for us and post them online. It's just a little more of that again. Organic storytelling, authentic. It's part of their story that becomes part of our story, and so that's kind of it's been. It's exciting because it's then now I can root for them as a person versus just like a nonprofit.

Speaker 3: 28:58

And the cross amplification, I mean from influencer to influencer. I just see the ripple and I think what I love so much is you're not just having them raise money for you, I mean, they're getting followers, they're getting awareness, they're wearing your merch. I mean you guys had ring lights out. It was just so well done, Bravo, yeah.

Speaker 2: 29:20

I'm loving seeing this Q and a channels. Keep upvoting, because we'll have time at the end to like volley some questions, and even everyone here will stay on in the lounge for a minute too, so keep adding your questions there. But I want to talk about this study that came out Um, I think you're a part of this, alyssa that donors are Gen Z. Donors are more likely to support a cause through advocacy, and this is like a trend of this whole conference. I keep hearing it in different sessions that it's we're coming to the table with different things besides just money. How can organizations use this advocacy and content and their own marketing strategies?

Speaker 4: 29:54

That's a great question. I can speak a little bit to it, but I think Zuen can probably speak really well to how Trevor's doing this, just on the advocacy front. In particular, I think it comes back to Gen Z really maybe wanting to use their voice and use it for good, as opposed to, maybe, how they've seen other individuals using their voice, and so thinking about ways that you can provide this generation with opportunities to take a stand, to share a perspective, to do things like I mentioned earlier sign a petition, or to be able to reach out to an elected official. What does that look like? To be a more active participant in the political sphere, where you act, you do have a voice and you can help to move things forward through outreach, attending a rally, you know ways that you can engage people in person or even just virtually, feeling that.

Speaker 4: 30:57

I think creating that sense of community Um, there is a community online, uh that that people feel part of. I think it's another thing to feel like you're kind of that subgroup, whether it's a virtual experience or it's something in person, um, so being able to really create those moments of connection that can deepen that relationship and then lead to the follow on giving or that second gift or a monthly gift. It's really, I think, gen Z, looking for ways to feel like they are an extension of the mission, not just a donor to what you are doing as an organization, like taking more ownership for the cause and their role and being able to like amplify and move it forward.

Speaker 3: 31:48

Okay, Such good context Zuin like give us the practice, like tell us how you're putting this into practice and how it's what the the response has been to it.

Speaker 5: 31:59

Yeah, I think that you know I'm actually like reading through the entire chat here. I love the fascinating thing. But I think for Trevor and I saw a comment here in the chat about politicized or advocacy and I want to sort of expand people's idea of what advocacy looks like, because I think, as folks who work in nonprofit, a lot of people are like I am not allowed to talk about politics, I'm not a 501c and so, but neither is Trevor. And but by nature of the work that we do, because of the nonprofit industrial complex and all of these other things, that inherently all of the work that we do is politicized and has and is working inside of a system. And so I just want to say that advocacy can mean things outside of, you know, call your senators, call your legislators, like talking about, you know, legislation and bills, but it is inherent in our work. And so thinking about advocacy of how can you better serve the community, how can we show up for young people in these areas, and so that's how we think about it at Trevor because, again, we can't necessarily be political in our messaging, but inherently the work that we do protecting LGBTQ young people from harmful legislation and, you know harmful practices is political right, and so like, rooting it back into that like justice and advocacy can look like, you know, sharing resources so that their local teachers and communities can share it with students to make safer spaces for young people, and so like that's one way to action it and make people feel connected, that they can support the work, can rep the work in a way that is authentic to who they are and can make change. And then, you know, connecting it back to gifts that people are making can continue to, can mean that we can continue to build online community spaces that people can join, to provide resources at local libraries, teachers organizations, trainings obviously fund our crisis services, mental health.

Speaker 5: 34:04

So I just want to like take a step back. And you know, a lot of people think about advocacy in a very specific way, and that can be true of lots of organizations, and and I just want to encourage people to like ground their justice work in what they do and that, you know, not shying away from those things and I think that's what we mean by transparency and authenticity is not necessarily being like here's our 990s, you know, like like Gen Z is not. I mean, gen Z might be looking at your CEO salary and scoffing so like. So that's a thing to think about, but they're really looking at how do you actually show up? Aside from saying this is a really important cause, right, and so that's how we've been able to action it here is saying here's what you can connect with, here's how you can support other people in the community, here's how you can connect online and then give. So I know that's a little bit broader. I'm happy to spend some time in the lounge and chat with folks too.

Speaker 3: 35:02

I so love that you went there and also our chat in our community right now is so smart and so fiery. I mean, bonnie, your comment about you can advocate, just not lobby, and I do think that we understand inherently that words matter. And I also saw the comment about how immigration has been politicized and I bet many of our issues and our nonprofits have been politicized, and I would encourage everyone here to reclaim your narrative and say and we don't even have to say advocate, say I care about, and this is why we don't even have to say advocate, say I care about and this is why that is advocacy, you know, asking somebody why they care. And I also think it's deeply important because if you think Gen Z is heartwired, gen Alpha is showing up we're talking about 2010 to our babies right now. They are going to show up in even more digital ways. They also embrace giving as identity.

Speaker 3: 35:57

At least, I'm seeing that with my children who fall into that age. But I want to talk about like I want to go deeper into this as we're sort of rounding out this conversation and, kat, I think I'm going to kick this to you and Zuin, if you want to jump in here too, I'd love your thoughts. Talk about how organizational leadership has to take a different stance on content ownership when it comes to younger generations and I'm talking millennials and Gen Z and talk about what you've seen there.

Speaker 1: 36:23

Yeah, from my perspective, I've seen a big shift for our org.

Speaker 1: 36:28

I think there was a lot of fear. I think when you talk about, you know there's a lot of different things happening in the world that impact our mental health, and so to have to, to be able to be empowered by our leadership team to specifically address, to hold space, to provide even resources for people who are struggling and impacting I mean, one of our favorite resources is to share, is Trevor Project and so like there's to be able to enter those conversations online, in the online environment and be empowered to do so is a pretty major thing and our leadership has been super supportive and being able to empower the variety of roles that have to be able to do that. You know from my level of director all the way down to a contractor who is responding to comments and and just providing support to our community. So I think a big thing that you know we've talked about is allowing to is leadership kind of letting go of control.

Speaker 1: 37:32

There's so much that the digital space you can't have control over, you can't like the same way that it's just different than an in-person conversation. It's different than if I took you out to coffee and we were able to talk about it, and so letting go of control has been really important. Training is really really important. Being able to navigate the internet space and the variety of conversations and topics that have kind of happened, that's a big one. That's a big one that I've seen our leadership do well.

Speaker 3: 38:06

Do you remember seven years ago, john, at our nonprofit organization, when our comms team was literally talking about starting a blog with a ghostwriter and then said we'll just delete all the negative comments? You know, if anybody says anything bad about us, I mean, if that's not indicative of of we need to let go of control, then I don't know what is. I mean. Zuin, you want to get in on this one?

Speaker 5: 38:28

Yes, Um, would love to, I think you know just to speak to. I think some things that folks might be feeling in the chat, like to write love on our arms and Trevor project are relatively young in the in the nonprofit landscape, so I think it could feel a little bit like well, you are a young organization with a young digital first base and therefore, like this is easier for you and your administration and your leaders to get on board with. So I just want to speak from, like wearing my agency hat and having worked with lots of legacy enterprise nonprofits 50, 100 years old, and I think the through way in terms of activating and talking to Gen Z and thinking about what that language looks like is actually one not separating it so much. Like I think that if you are wrapping it into a holistic communications and marketing and fundraising strategy, it can be part of a whole. I think that's less scary to executive folks to say this is what our typical foundation is and here's how we're bumping it out. We're tweaking it a little bit for Gen Z or our younger donors, our digital first donors, our digital first donors, whatever you want to call them that feels more palatable to your leadership and building it out as part of your larger strategy. I also think the thing that I'll always say is that what has been helpful in those conversations is to talk about the data that you have around, how young people engage and interact.

Speaker 5: 39:55

A lot of the things that Alyssa and Becky just highlighted in terms of being values-based, being willing to stay on file for so long, being consistent donors, talking about that data piece and then, on the other side of it, talking about testing into that messaging. And so, again, that's another way I think that people can move that Gen Z messaging forward and say, hey, we're going to leave all this stuff the same way it was, but we're going to test into this audience with this messaging and this content, and then, after you've done that test which, again, leaders are typically more amenable to because it's a test but you know you will win. So you're going to do your test and then you're going to see higher conversion rates. You're going to see people convert. You're going to do your test and then you're going to see higher conversion rates. You're going to see people convert. You're going to see a lot of community building, and then you'll be able to stand up and say let's build that out further.

Speaker 5: 40:42

So I just want to you know that's what's been successful at trevor. It's happened at trevor. But I think a lot of folks could say trevor's a really young organization with younger leaders, with a digital first audience. Easy for you to say, um, so I'll. I wanted to sort of couch it in how do you build it with a base that might not be younger, skewing in that way?

Speaker 2: 41:02

Zuin, Kat, Alyssa. This conversation is so rich, as evidenced by the chat, by the questions that are piling up, but we can't have a conversation without bringing it around full circle and asking for you to give a one good thing you want to distill what's a takeaway or what's on your mind that you want to share with this community today. I'll start with you, Kat, and we'll kind of go around Robin here.

Speaker 1: 41:24

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is to just not press news on this generation. They're a power, they're a powerhouse, and to continue to figure out in your marketing, your communications, your overarching organization strategy, how to continue to include them in how you are executing things. They take action. We've seen it in this beautiful information that Alyssa shared, just the literal the influence they have in supporting and advocacy and their willingness to give to organizations in a loyal way, and so definitely, definitely encourage you to continue to evaluate your strategies.

Speaker 4: 42:13

I think I was reminded of, I was able to talk with Kat, with Ben Collier who runs the FarmLink project, which if you have not heard or looked in the FarmLink project, highly recommend it. Gen Z CEO identified a problem in college and created an entire nonprofit around it. That's just incredible. And when we were talking about how to activate Gen Z, he had said young people don't make up the majority of revenue but they provide the momentum, and I think that really stuck out to me and just that this isn't for the majority of organizations.

Speaker 4: 42:47

A Gen Z strategy is an investment strategy. It's a long game, it's a lost leader, most likely in a lot of areas, but it's, I think, for a lot of us, a source of energy and passion, like it's an infusion of innovation and problem solving and looking at problems in a different way, and will be the foundation and pipeline of donors to come, and so being able to just think about that. I think it can sometimes be hard to convince a board, especially if you are a more legacy type of nonprofit and your focus is more established and you maybe don't have lots of budget for investment, putting focus on an area that may not reap immediate revenue but knowing that it's a long game that will have dividends and will also, I think, personally, provide us this infusion of excitement and energy, just in being able to engage with those passionate supporters.

Speaker 3: 43:56

Zuin like bring us home, what's your one good thing?

Speaker 5: 44:00

I mean if you can't tell, I'm someone who maybe verges on what is it asking for? Forgiveness and not permission, and I think in some ways like that can be a really successful strategy when done thoughtfully, with data, with you know intention. I'm not saying just sort of willy nilly. This is working for some, some other organization, so it could work for us. I think, really taking a look at who your donors are and who your young donors could be and what is that heart, values based communication that you can share with them that connects with them right, like, I think, every organization, even folks with you know, aging demographics.

Speaker 5: 44:45

There is something about the reason why you do your work right, like why do you do this work, why is it critical to you? And distilling it into that piece, and, I think, not underestimating Gen Z when it comes to how sophisticated, how thoughtful, how passionate they can be about any particular topic. And so I think, for me, my one good thing is like thinking about what is that heart connection that you could have with a young person and speaking to it meaningfully, honestly, and, you know, not necessarily feeling like you have to. It has to be so different in some ways you know what I mean. Like it is a, it is a place that young people are in different channels, that they might have a different tone and style, but really connecting it back to the heart of the work, and I think that that piece will actually pull you through more than all of these. Like you know, what emojis can I use? What team speak could I have?

Speaker 5: 45:44

Like that's really, you know, like I think that we conflate those things sometimes and it's not necessarily always about being like what can I meme? How can I go viral on TikTok? Whatever it is. It's more about being authentic in what is the connection that they could have to your work.

Speaker 2: 46:01

Okay, did anyone else?

Speaker 3: 46:03

realize that Zuin started with values and bookended with values. That is such a one good thing.

Speaker 2: 46:09

So good.

Speaker 3: 46:10

Thank you guys for being here. Let's all put some strategy around Gen Z. Let's do it Some balloons.

Speaker 2: 46:15

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Speaker 3: 46:28

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Speaker 2: 46:39

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