Right appeal can motivate young men, women millennials to engage with charities

A new study has revealed that the young men and women millennials generation aren't as self-centred as previously thought, especially when it comes to supporting charities, all it requires is a right sense of appeal for each gender.

While the innate empathy of women spurs them to action, men need to be approached with an emotional appeal.

When asked to support charitable causes, millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, respond best to social media campaigns emphasizing how others benefit rather than how they benefit themselves.

Michele Paulin, professor of marketing at Concordia's John Molson School of Business, said that Facebook was an important tool in engaging millennials in charitable causes as it allows them to spread the word.

It's important for non-profit marketers to view millennials as individuals rather than as a homogenous generation.

The future success of non-profits lies in sustaining the involvement of millennials through their engagement in social network sites. However, they aren't necessarily loyal to a single cause or organization. Rather, they act as free agents to organize, mobilize, raise funds and communicate with their peers.

The study is published in The Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing.