Stop Obsessing About Millennials

I have two of them at home. Trust me, they do a good enough job obsessing about themselves.

Giving is life stage dependent. Most millennials are preoccupied with launching careers in a mega-crappy job market, or starting families, or both. According to our research millennial giving represents about 11 percent of all dollars donated – that’s not going to go up dramatically until these folks are further along on their life journey.

On the other hand there is a cohort that’s not getting nearly the attention it deserves – Generation X. The first Xers turned 50 in January, which means these folks are on the threshold of prime giving years. It’s almost comedic how overlooked Gen-X is, but the joke’s on those of us who neglect this formidable group.

And by the way, there are far more Xers than you think – according to Pew, the Gen X population in the United States is about 65 million folks!