The Challenge: Fundraising and Millennials

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Virginia Tech hiring Whit Babcock as its new Athletic Director brought great hope to Hokie Nation. By all reports his greatest strength was his ability to engage students, alumni, and the greater community to raise interest and, more importantly, money. Whether it's the new indoor practice facility, the small(ish) football staff (by SEC standards) or the ever-pressing need to keep up in the arms race that is major college athletics, Whit's prowess at opening checkbooks is a much needed addition to the Tech Athletics Department. Working in his favor is a sizable alumni pool that is one of the largest in the nation, many of whom reside within a 5-hour radius of campus. With that being said, Whit has been immediately tasked with re-engaging a fan base that has become frustrated with the recent performance of the two revenue-generating sports—football and men's basketball—while building a strong foundation for future giving throughout the Virginia Tech community.

A developing issue that all Universities, and nonprofits for that matter, are becoming increasingly exposed to is the complexity of energizing the Millennial Generation. The participation of this incredibly abstruse generation will not only enhance the diversity of the alumni base, but it will increase both current and future giving, providing an incredibly strong foundation for the future of the University. Some of you may be asking yourselves, "Who are these Millennials and how old are they?" Many of you will be surprised to find out you are a part of this rising generation that has and will continue to challenge the way we live.

Loosely defined, Millennials are essentially people born anywhere between 1979 and 1996. It is a generation that has been born out of the internet, accustomed to the "information now" society that we currently live in, and responsible for the social media revolution that has taken the globe by storm. There is a high level of debate regarding the personality traits and values that characterize Millennials, ranging from highly civic-minded and upbeat to increasingly narcissistic and wealth-driven. What is not debatable is the fact that, domestically, Millennials are the most diverse, highly educated and debt-ridden generation in modern history.

From an economic perspective, the generation's personality traits have been largely shaped by the impact of the Great Recession in the late-2000's. In 2012, it was reported that approximately 1 in 2 recent college graduates were either unemployed or underemployed. Many members of the generation took available jobs close to their homes and chose to live with their parents due to the tenuous job market and their varying levels of student loan debt. As the job market gets more and more selective—pushing young professionals and current undergraduate students to consider post-graduate degrees to make themselves more marketable—wages have stagnated and tuition costs continue to rise at a perilous rate.

Unlike previous generations, there is a growing sense amongst young people that a continuation of this cycle could lead to a lost generation. Rising debt and low wages means less consumer spending: less homebuying, less car buying, and/or couples choosing to have children later in life. Interestingly enough, I heard an uplifting piece of news from National Public Radio's Planet Money team a few weeks back: survey data found that the Millennial Generation has shown to be happy with less money. This is an important psychological element that needs to be fully understood by Whit and the rest of the Hokie Club. We are savvy, strive for maximum information, and are willing to give our time and limited resources if our imaginations and interests are captured. At the same time, we are a hard bunch to get a hold of, and interest groups need to take advantage of those fleeting moments.

We, and I say "we" because I fall into the generation and I assume a significant portion of Thekeyplay.com's readership does as well, as Millennials entered the workforce during the most difficult economic climate in almost a century. I, for one, feel like the older generation doesn't fully understand us. Because we are highly educated, we are very driven and have large aspirations. We are never content with the status quo and we will never settle. We are trained to keep our eyes open for great opportunities—socially, professionally, etc... Professional loyalty is no longer a given, and it certainly isn't a value that is ingrained in any of our brains because we haven't experienced it the way our elders have. In many ways, it barely exists today. But these are the traits that lead to innovation and social progress.

Why do I bring all of this up? Because the inability to successfully capture the interest of the Millennial Generation now, at this point in time, could lead to the loss of the population as a prospective donor pool. It is imperative that Whit Babcock and the Hokie Club engage and excite this generation in order to ensure that University and Athletic Department do not fall by the wayside in the coming years and decades.

Bringing About Change

The Hokie Club has on outreach problem. Some of you may take issue with that statement, but the truth of the matter is the current number of active donor members in the Hokie Club is a paltry 10,000. That is it. 10,000 out of over 230,000 living alumni across the globe (just over 4%). Even worse, very little of the membership is made up of Millennials. Though current membership certainly needs to increase (likely through reforms to the manner in which the club actively communicates with alumni), it is imperative that younger alumni be directly targeted to help drum up support. It is the younger alumni that have the ability to directly and indirectly energize and interact with peers and promote the benefits and importance of the Hokie Club.

The 2013 Millennial Impact Report outlines the ways in which organizations can connect with Millennials. This was achieved through the utilization of 4 years of survey data specifically targeting the Millennial population and their responses to common outreach models. I would encourage all of you to read the report, but the largest takeaway is this: "Millennials first support causes they are passionate about (rather than institutions); so it's up to organizations to inspire them and show them that their support can make a tangible difference on the wider issue." An interesting wrinkle, as this particular report indicates that reliance by, say the Hokie Club, on the sheer fact that Hokies will give to anything Hokie because we love our University, is shortsighted. More on this in a second.

There a couple of key areas where the Hokie Club could improve: Connectivity, Involvement, and Transparency.

Connectivity

The Millennial Impact Study found that 83% of Millennials own a smartphone and 75% like, retweet, or share content on social media. The existing infrastructure of the Hokie Club fails to take advantage of the already strong use of social media by alumni, specifically the younger generation. The Hokie Club's national twitter handle currently has a depressingly miniscule 1,350 followers. Arguably two of the largest chapters have startlingly low follower counts: the Richmond Chapter has 224 and the Northern Virginia Chapter has 233. Each of these accounts essentially retweets a smattering of Hokie-related news and shares event info, many of which are golf outings and local speaking engagements. While the content forms a good foundation, the accounts serve as information sources and do little to capture the attention of followers amidst the constant noise of one's newsfeed.

The Impact Study found that Millennials, who I would argue are the target demographic on social media platforms, such as Twitter, are "far more likely to like, re-tweet and share posts that had visual content." This form of indirect advocacy would enable the Hokie Club to reach a far greater audience than the 1,350 people that currently follow them. An improvement in the content, created to target specific groups of people, could go a long way towards delivering a message. For instance, the Hokie Club could create a viral video (I really hate that term) utilizing memorable highlights, with Enter Sandman playing in the background. After @hokieclub tweets it to their followers, Joe would get sufficiently amped up and retweet it to his legion of 9,700 followers, and so-on. All of a sudden, the message has reached a far greater audience from just one person's initial interest.

Like it or not, social media is the conduit to reaching today's population. In order to succeed in this endeavor, Whit and the Hokie Club need to craft succinct and effective messages that stand out amidst the constant stream of information. As one Impact Study respondent noted, "Educate me about [your] organization and challenge me to think and reinforce my caring." The methods in which Whit and the Hokie Club attempt to solicit interest in the Hokie Club cannot always be focused on raising money either, as 69% of study respondents tended to tune that information out. The power of social media to effectively reach large audiences is greater than an email or cold call. The success of those types of traditional delivery methods are rooted in a pre-existing contacts list, which we have proven to be severely lacking.

Enter social media. In order to maximize the potential of direct and indirect advocacy via social media, groups such as the Hokie Club would benefit by monitoring the reaction and proliferation of their messages and continually adapting their delivery methods (videos versus verbose articles) to better reflect the interests of their audience.

Involvement

Virginia Tech is rooted in the motto of Ut Prosim. Service and giving are pillars of our University, and the importance of these values was immediately instilled upon us when we arrived at Tech. While data suggests Millennials are by-and-large active volunteers in causes that they are passionate about, it becomes slightly less of an issue amongst Hokie alumni. The challenge is in activating the alumni base, especially the younger generation, to give despite the aforementioned financial challenges that many face. One of the largest perceptions amongst young alumni that I have spoken with is that older, wealthier people who can afford to give large amounts of money in one check are the ones that the Hokie Club focuses their attention on. But if you can engage 100 Millennials and convince them to give even just $250, that's equal to a $25,000 check. As the generation gets older and theoretically makes more money, while climbing out from under the mountainous student loan debt many face, they will ultimately be able to afford to give more money.

Involving the younger alumni now, during their 20's and 30's will pay large dividends in the future. To ignore the generation when they have little money, only to actively recruit them during their 50's and 60's feels cheap and shallow. Millennials are active, mission-driven people eager to make an indelible mark, however possible. Some people may not be able to donate money, but may be willing to donate their time. Finding ways to utilize this service-oriented facet can augment the brand, especially when it involves the application of skills that may benefit the outreach model. For instance, graphic designers could assist with t-shirts, posters, and social media campaigns. Marketing professionals could help generate interest and donations from within the business community. Active use of a skilled and passionate alumni base can pay dividends that far exceed direct monetary donations.

Transparency

It is important for many people, not only Millennials, to see the difference that their time and money makes. Many people are inherently skeptical of blindly donating to causes. They have no idea where their money is going, and whether any of it is bringing about true change. Personally, I get solicited by Virginia Tech, the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, my graduate school, and my graduate program. Virtually all of the material is some form of solicitation for donations, rather than a comprehensive and meaningful update on the school and notable alumni news. My natural reaction is typically along the lines of, "Okay, so I've technically given you tens-of-thousands of dollars already (to which I am paying back over x-number of years, plus interest). Why should I give even $250 now, and what is that money specifically being used for? What is the impact of my gift?"

On the surface, it is hard for $250 to feel like a significant contribution. Would $250 help me in the football season ticket seating queue? Sure. Is it a tax write-off? Yes. But in the grand scheme of things, it is hard for it not to feel like a drop in the bucket.

The major donors, the ones giving tens of millions of dollars, have conference rooms and buildings named after them. My $250, which means a lot to me at this stage in my life, goes where, exactly? Research conducted as part of the Impact Report suggests that Millennials are more inclined to donate to causes that allow them to "see where their money is going; if it's making a tangible impact, they are more likely to give again." An improvement to the current fundraising model would be a fully-transparent giving network that outlines all of the capital projects currently seeking funding by the Athletic Department (or some other area of the University) and their requisite fundraising goals. This would allow alumni to choose where their money goes based on personal areas of interest, and enabling them to take pride in seeing the tangible results of their generosity.

For example, let's say I want to donate $150 to softball equipment and the other $100 to re-finishing the basketball court in Cassell Coliseum. I could specifically target my donations to those funds via a clear and simple, graphically-compelling website that gives real-time information related to each fund. I would attend softball and basketball games knowing I had helped buy a new bat and helped paint the "H" along the baseline.

Whit Babcock and the Hokie Club cannot continue to approach the Millennial generation the way it has previous generations. We demand more, and if we aren't intrigued, we move on. Plain and simple. This issue needs to be at the forefront of any campaign targeting younger alumni. We love our school, but that doesn't necessarily mean we have the financial wherewithal to annually donate hundreds or thousands. Whit and the Hokie Club should embrace the fact that we demand more—it will ensure that they do not rest on their laurels, and that they constantly push themselves to be better and to continually innovate. I believe Whit is the right man for the challenge, and I have the utmost faith that he will continually push all of us toward continued success, both on and off the field.

A special thanks to my brother-in-law, Alumni Association Board of Directors Member and fellow keyplayer JY VPI for his assistance. Stronger youth involvement within the Virginia Tech community is a significant mission for him, and he has dedicated a great deal of energy toward outreach aimed at increasing participation and creating roles for students and young alumni.

Comments

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Live for 32. Ut Prosim. Let's Go, Hokies.

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No, I *don't* want to go to the SEC. Why do you ask?

We don't love dem Hoos.

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"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

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I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me.

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"We were at the pinnacle, and we did it for years," Foster says. He pauses, nods, takes a deep breath. "And I did it with the best guy in the business."

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West Virginian by birth, Hokie by choice

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No, I *don't* want to go to the SEC. Why do you ask?

We don't love dem Hoos.

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No, I *don't* want to go to the SEC. Why do you ask?

We don't love dem Hoos.

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There's always a lighthouse. There's always a man. There's always a city.

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Not the bagman VT deserves, but the bagman VT needs right now.

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There's always a lighthouse. There's always a man. There's always a city.

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There's always a lighthouse. There's always a man. There's always a city.

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I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me.

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21st century QBs Undefeated vs UVA:
MV7, MV5, LT3, Grant Wells, Braxton Burmeister, Ryan Willis, Josh Jackson, Jerod Evans, Michael Brewer, Tyrod Taylor, Sean Glennon, and Grant Noel. That's right, UVA. You couldn't beat Grant Noel.

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True Hokies STICK IT IN!!!

STICK IT IN Army of Virginia Tech

Fosterball

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"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

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I don't have to take this abuse from you, I've got hundreds of people dying to abuse me.

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"Give me a fu¢king beer", Anonymous Genius

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"Give me a fu¢king beer", Anonymous Genius

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"Give me a fu¢king beer", Anonymous Genius

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"We were at the pinnacle, and we did it for years," Foster says. He pauses, nods, takes a deep breath. "And I did it with the best guy in the business."

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

"We were at the pinnacle, and we did it for years," Foster says. He pauses, nods, takes a deep breath. "And I did it with the best guy in the business."