Drawing the curtain on Chapter Two
Faster than a TikTok dance craze, we've come to the end of our newsletter series! In an exciting two prior weeks, our Zoomers have been busy sharing their thoughts, opinions and ideas on not just Overseas Development & Relief as a cause but specifically on you: WaterAid.
They've taken a detailed look into some of your materials and shared what drives them to engage across volunteering, donating, fundraising and campaigning. Not only that, but we've also asked them to unpick the key moments in their life for charities to best approach them to capture their support.
So, swipe (or scroll) down to get stuck into a snapshot of what they told us!
They love your work!
Not only do our Zoomers have a huge amount of respect and appreciation for what you do as an organisation, they're also extremely buoyed by the fact that you're engaging with them specifically as an audience - as they can feel a bit neglected when it comes to charities:
"WaterAid does a lot of work in overseas development, and helps local communities in developing countries to access clean water, among other amenities that will improve their quality of life!"
"I’m really excited to know that the feedback I have been giving on WaterAid and the way they engage with young people is actually going to be fed to them as an organisation! I’m excited because I really like WaterAid as a charity and think they do a fantastic job, and think they could become relevant to many young people's lives if they slightly changed the ways they engage with my generation."
Their Key Piece of Advice? Social Media, and proving your impact.
They were consistent in their belief that WaterAid could make greater use of social media - it's where they're hanging out and having their most interactions! Alongside that, giving them immediate access to the proof of WaterAid's impact can have a big influence:
"I would say that the best way to engage young people is through social media especially since we spend a lot of time on there and the best apps to do so would be through TikTok or YouTube by making short videos that can quickly grab our attention and find a way for us to connect with WaterAid and the work that they do."
"If they want to engage young people like myself they have to show people the connection between what they are doing, and the impact that has or will have on the cause."
Welcome to Quick Wins:
In this section, we highlight a sample of quick and actionable tactics that could help to drive engagement with our Zoomers, whether it be across Fundraising, Donating, Volunteering or Campaigning. These are all based on the specific ways you've spoken about these critical areas in your materials, so let's dive in!
Fundrasing & Donating: Offer enough age relevant options, alongside fun donating options!
Volunteering: Appear where they are, show them the skills they can gain and give them options
Campaigning: Empower Gen Z with specific actions
Put it to a Vote!
As we know (very well!) there are many different ways of supporting a charity. But we wanted to explore what determines the type of support Zoomers want to give.
We did this by asking our Zoomers to tell us if they agree or disagree with 3 key statements to get them to pin their colours to the mast.
Statement A: "It's all about the time in your life. When I've got money one day, I'll donate money regularly. If I've got more free time, I'll volunteer. It's kind of a life-stage thing."
Statement B: "It's about the kind of person you are. If I like socialising or I like the idea of being part of something, I'll volunteer or campaign. Or I might be the kind of person who just wants to give money as that's easiest. It's a personality thing."
Statement C: "Once you've supported a charity in one way, it's easier to support in another way. If I've raised money for a charity once, it's easier to convince me to campaign for them another time."
Scroll down to see how the Overseas Development & Relief cause collective voted, why they felt the way they did, alongside what it means for you!
Finally, we asked Gen Z to pull out their AI-predicting digital crystal ball and cast their eyes into their own futures to take a stab at how their relationships with WaterAid might evolve. They see lifestage as being a particularly important influence on when and how they'd be likely to get involved:
"My ideal relationship with a charity at the moment is to donate money as and when I can and help with political campaigns such as government petitions that don’t require much of my time. This is because I am working and studying so I have little money and little time.
In the future my dream relationship with a charity looks like spending 2-4 hours per week volunteering or campaigning for a charity close to my heart when I have the free time to give up and can afford the unpaid work."
How might we encourage ongoing support over a lifetime?
Zoomers often perceive their likely contributions to initially be giving a little, every now and then. But in the moment, this can feel as though it lacks significance, and support can lose momentum.
Imagine a world where this audience could build a ‘Supporter Profile’ to keep a record of these seemingly small efforts over their 20s, 30s and 40s. Wouldn’t it be great if we could help them track their impact by showing the progress of their commitments throughout a lifetime. So when they feel capable of giving more time, money or effort (possibly before the age of 50!), they have an established track record to fall back on, and crucially are ‘bought’ into your cause.
For now - explore meaningful ways you can help Zoomers track their impact that’s also feasible for your organisation to manage.