Regular giving and the subscription generation
Younger people are the least likely to be a monthly giver to a charity, but the most likely to pay a monthly subscription in the rest of life. What’s going on?
All the latest fundraising stats show that the oldest givers are the most likely to have a direct debit to a charity, and the youngest groups are the least likely to.
One of the reasons often given (including by young people themselves) is uncertainty about finances - not being sure if they will be able to afford it the next month. And yet - Gen Z are in all other respects the “subscription generation”, spending the most on monthly subscriptions out of all the demographics - over £300 per month, according to a recent Visa survey. Baby Boomers only spend about £100. This is the total opposite of the demographic pattern we see for charity direct debits and standing orders.
It seems that under 30s are happy to sign up for a monthly subscription to TV streaming services, beauty products, the gym, meal kits, fitness apps, plants, or exclusive content from YouTube creators and podcasters. So why don’t they want to “subscribe” to supporting your charity monthly? What can we learn?
Is it a membership?
We’ve posted before about creating a regular givers ‘club’. Being part of a like-minded community is a big driver for Gen Z when it comes to supporting charities in particular. What else can we learn from other subscriptions and memberships that are popular with under-30s, like Patreon?
Exclusive content - surveys show that member-only content is highly trusted and valued by people who pay for a membership. If you support a YouTuber or Podcast, you get bonus, exclusive content that makes you part of the ‘inner circle’ community. Charities can easily replicate that dynamic.
Frequent, personalised communication - In one survey, the 18-24 age group said they would most like to receive exclusive member-only content weekly. Around age 45, the preference changed to monthly. How often do you contact your regular givers? Younger groups also expected the content to be more personalised to them. YouTubers and Podcasters often thank their ‘top tier’ subscribers by name. Charities can do appropriate personalisation with a little thought and some good data. What do you know about your supporters? What’s their main interest? Which events have they attended? Where do they live?
Is it easy to start and stop?
Gen Z are very used to starting and stopping subscriptions when they need to, often not completing a whole year with one service. The ease with which they can do this seems to be a big factor in their decision to sign up or not.
So what is your process to set up or cancel a regular gift? If it’s clunky, look into better giving plugins that work seamlessly on mobile. Because it’s sort of laughable to expect anybody born after 1995 to fill out a lengthy standing order form.
Gen Z say that they don’t necessarily want to commit their giving to one charity, preferring to support different needs as they come up. This is another reason to reassure them that it will be easy to cancel their membership if and when they want to. But hopefully, your impact and stories and the community you build will keep them with you for a good while.
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If you’d like more help improving your regular giving programme, please get in touch with our team.
