Millennials and the Social Sector: What’s Next?

By Derrick Feldmann & Emily Yu

Achieve and the Case Foundation started five years ago with a simple supposition: Millennials are poised to become the Next Greatest Generation.

This idea sprung from the belief that this generation (born between 1979 and 1990) has the potential and desire to create a new model for social change—and on a scale unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times.

Both the Achieve and the Case Foundation teams understood that for the social sector to fully integrate this rising generation of changemakers into its work, it needed to better understand Millennials’ passions, drive, and characteristics. Together, our organizations have undertaken four annual studies, which form the basis of the Millennial Impact Project. The purpose of this ongoing effort is to provide much-needed information to organizations and causes that are trying to engage this often-misunderstood group of next-gen donors, volunteers, and employees. Important to our evaluation process is listening to Millennials and then amplifying their voices.

More than 16,000 Millennials from the United States and 50 research partners, over the course of four years, have contributed to the project so far, making it one of the largest and most comprehensive studies about Millennials and causes. Based on this research, we’ve identified four insights about how this generation of Americans connects, gets involved, and gives.

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