How a nonprofit or public institution can stay relevant to younger generations

How can a public institution or nonprofit stay relevant to younger generations?

A public institution or nonprofit stays relevant to younger generations by restating what it believes in their language, proving it with visible evidence and giving them a real role to play. Younger people are not indifferent to causes. In a Blackbaud Institute survey from 2024, 84 per cent of Gen Z adults (born 1997–2005) said they support nonprofits, charities or causes in some way.

The problem is rarely the cause. It is the distance between the cause and the brand that carries it.

At IW Agency, we think relevance does not come from a youth campaign. A campaign borrows attention for a quarter, while relevance has to be earned in the brand itself. We look at it in three parts. Belief is what you stand for, said so it matters now. Proof is evidence people can see and check. Participation is a role beyond the donation button.

What do you need in place before you start?

You need leadership agreement that the brand, not just the marketing, is open to change. Without that, younger audiences get a new tone of voice on top of an old organisation, and they notice.

Before the first workshop, make sure you have:

1. A mandate from the top. The board accepts that what you say, how you look and how people take part may all change.

2. A core you will not touch. Mission, remit and the people you exist for. Renewal works when everyone knows what stays.

3. One owner. A single person accountable across Strategy, Design and Digital. Not a committee.

4. Honest data. Supporter age profile, retention by cohort and who applies for your jobs.

Conclusion: Decide what stays before you discuss what changes.

How do you find out what you mean to younger people today?

Ask them, and listen for the gap between how you describe yourself and how they describe you. We think that gap is the brief. Internal language tends to age faster than the mission.

1. Map perceptions. Interview people aged 18–30, inside and outside your supporter base. Ask what you are for, not whether they like you.

2. Read the conversation. Find where your cause is discussed without you, and who leads that discussion.

3. Check trust honestly. Younger people start further back. US polling from the AAMC Center for Health Justice found Gen Z reported lower trust in eight of nine institution types measured between 2021 and 2024, including libraries, schools and public health agencies. Universities were the exception.

4. Ask AI assistants. Find out how they describe you. Their answer summarises your public signal.

Svenska kyrkan faced exactly this gap. New generations had formed a different relationship to faith, and the church risked losing cultural relevance.

How do you restate what you stand for without losing who you are?

Keep the mission and change the expression: the words, the tone and the moments where you show up. We think the strongest institutions renew from their roots rather than away from them. Heritage is an advantage no newcomer can buy.

1. Write the belief in one sentence. Use words a 22-year-old would repeat, not your mission statement.

2. Name the feeling. Decide what people should feel when they meet you. Belief travels further than benefit.

3. Rebuild the identity around that belief. Design typography, colour, tone and motion for a phone screen first.

4. Write it down. A brand platform keeps the renewal coherent when many teams use it.

Purpose matters to this generation well beyond giving. In Deloitte's 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 86 per cent of Gen Zs said purpose is key to their workplace satisfaction and well-being.

The same principle holds beyond the public sector. With Arla Ko, the question was how to reclaim the cultural status of milk, one of the most familiar products there is.

Conclusion: Change the expression. Keep the reason you exist.

How do you show proof instead of promises?

Show what your work achieves, in specifics, where younger people can check it. We think transparency is now part of the brand experience, not a section in the annual report. A generation that trusts institutions less will not take your claims on trust.

1. Make outcomes concrete. Name one school or one family, not "thousands of lives touched".

2. Show the money. Explain where a gift goes, in plain numbers, close to the moment of giving.

3. Let others speak. Let the people you serve and your staff speak in their own words.

4. Admit what is hard. Candour reads as confidence.

SOS Barnbyar faced this directly. Competition for attention was increasing, and donors demanded greater clarity and transparency.

How do you give younger people a role, not just a message?

Design ways to take part that match how younger people already act on causes: small, social and visible. We think participation is where feeling turns into loyalty, because people remember what they have done for you.

A GivingTuesday and Blackbaud Institute report on 2024 data found that 38 per cent of 18–24-year-olds regularly engage on social matters through online networks and platforms. Among older adults, the figure was 21 per cent.

1. Lower the entry point. In the same report, nearly 60 per cent of Gen Z gifts on GivingTuesday in 2024 were between $1 and $50. Make a small first step feel worth taking.

2. Make it shareable. Give supporters something to say and show, not just something to pay.

3. Offer roles beyond money. Advocacy, skills, short volunteering and campaigns young people help create.

4. Build a ladder. Plan how a first small act leads to the next.

There is room to grow. Gen Z made up less than 4 per cent of GivingTuesday donors in 2024. In Blackbaud Institute's Gen Z at the Table (2024), one-third of Gen Z supporters planned to increase their giving that year.

Conclusion: People stay loyal to what they have helped build.

How do you know it is working?

It is working when younger people describe you in their own words and act without being asked. We think the earliest signs show up in behaviour before they show up in a brand tracker.

1. Younger new supporters. The age profile of first-time donors, members and volunteers shifts.

2. Unprompted sharing. People you did not pay or ask spread your content.

3. Second actions. First-time supporters return within the year.

4. Younger applicants. Your employer brand attracts younger talent.

5. Better AI answers. Ask the assistants again after six months and compare their descriptions.

What does this mean for your brand?

Relevance to younger generations comes from decisions about the brand, not from a campaign.

• Treat relevance as a brand decision. Do not file it under social media budget.

• Protect the core. Change how you speak, never why you exist.

• Lead with proof. Specific outcomes earn trust faster than value statements.

• Design small first steps. Then build the ladder to the next one.

• Measure behaviour. Track new supporters' age, return rates and how AI assistants describe you.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need a full rebrand to reach younger audiences?

Not always. Many institutions need a renewed expression and new ways to take part, not a new name or mission. A full rebrand is warranted when the identity itself has become a barrier.

Will a younger focus alienate existing supporters?

It can if the core changes. We think loyal supporters accept renewal more readily when they can clearly see what has stayed.

How long does it take to become relevant to Gen Z?

The work itself takes months, and the effect takes longer. Trust is rebuilt through repeated experience, so plan in years rather than campaigns.

Does research on Gen Z apply outside the US?

Most large studies on Gen Z giving and trust are American or global, and they define Gen Z differently. Use them as direction, then test with your own audience.

Where should you start?

Relevance is earned in three places: what you believe, what you can prove and how people take part. Start with the gap between how you see yourself and how younger people see you. To talk it through, write to us at hello@iwagency.com.

Sources

• New Report Illuminates Gen Z Philanthropic Giving Behavior — Blackbaud, 2024

• Gen Z at the Table — Blackbaud Institute, 2024

• GivingTuesday x Blackbaud Institute Special Report — Blackbaud Institute and GivingTuesday, 2024 data

• Deloitte's 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey — Deloitte, 2024

• Trust Trends: U.S. Adults' Gradually Declining Trust in Institutions — AAMC Center for Health Justice, 2021–2024 data