"How Can Faith Based Nonprofits Acquire and Retain New Donors from Gene" by Mariana Combariza

Date of Award

Fall 12-16-2024

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing

Department

Marketing

Advisor

Antonieta Mercado

Abstract

Faith-based nonprofits, such as World Vision or Compassion International, are aware that their primary donor demographic is aging. As such, they face pressure to engage younger generations who will likely become their future financial supporters in order for their nonprofit work to be sustained. Although multiple qualitative studies have demonstrated the interest and desire that Generation Z has to donate to causes they believe in, further research is needed to understand their donation behavior and how it correlates to nonprofits’ marketing strategies. In this study, we use quantitative and qualitative data from over 243 randomly selected Gen Z college students in an attempt to measure their current donation behavior and predict their future attitude towards donations and nonprofits’ social media marketing. Contrary to what is often assumed, Generation Z’s donation intentions do not appear to match their giving behaviors, and report that their lack of income is the main barrier that prevents them from giving as much as they intend. Our findings suggest the most probable ways that faith-based nonprofits can acquire new donors from Generation Z through leveraging their social media marketing in short-form video content that depict financial transparency while narrating how every dollar matters, providing evidence of how small donations can make a large difference.

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