1,700 donors of four generations— baby boomers, Gen X, millennials and Gen Z— to understand their attitudes, perceptions and preferences when it comes to charitable giving.
Here’ s a look at our top findings and takeaways:
Giving inspiration and goals. Regardless of the generation, our respondents’ top motivation for giving was having a passion for a cause or issue. Similarly, all generations have the same top three giving goals: to improve their community, to help create a better world and to make an impactful change to a cause. Gen X, specifically, cares more about family values than the other three generations. These were cited by 51 % of Gen X respondents
Charitable Activities In The Past Year
compared with 46 % of baby boomers, 43 % of millennials and 35 % of Gen Z.
Giving styles. As for how they give, all generations give through financial and in-kind donations. Baby boomers, however, primarily make financial contributions, something 89 % of them said they do; only 38 % said they volunteer, which may reflect how their preferences and bandwidth has shifted with age. Conversely, the three younger generations— Gen Z especially— give less money but volunteer more, which is likely correlated to their financial resources and how they feel they’ re best equipped to make a difference.( Seventy-one percent of Gen Z cited financial giving as something they do, while 58 % said they volunteer.)
TOTAL GEN Z MILLENNIALS GEN X BOOMERS Made Financial Contributions 85 % 71 % 87 % 81 %
89 %
Donated Items 80 % 72 % 82 % 83 % 78 %
Volunteered Time 50 % 58 % 54 % 52 %
38 %
Helped With Fundraising 25 % 30 % 30 % 28 % 12 %
Shared Expertise / Knowledge 21 % 27 % 25 % 21 % 12 %
N = 1,731
Earliest charitable activity. Gen Zers who engage in charitable activities( either by volunteering or donating money) started at the earliest average age of 14. The average millennial, meanwhile, didn’ t start until age 18, while Gen Xers started at age 20 and baby boomers at 23. Gen Z’ s early start is likely to inform their lifelong commitment to social change.
Interest in giving tools. Gen Z and millennials have the most interest in learning about the various giving tools that could help them tax-efficiently maximize their charitable impact. This is an ideal opportunity for financial advisors to provide counsel to younger family members and prospects who want to increase their social impact. Furthermore, Gen Z expresses more interest than millennials in all types of giving tools, especially giving circles( cited by 47 % of those surveyed in that cohort), community foundations( cited by 44 %), donor-advised funds( 41 %) and planned gifts( 41 %). Gen X and baby boomers, conversely, have less interest in such tools, especially boomers: Almost one-third say they are not interested in learning about any giving approaches.
Self-perceptions. The most popular term used by all the generations when
Interest In Giving Tools
TOTAL |
GEN Z |
MILLENNIALS |
GEN X |
BOOMERS |
Giving Circles |
37 % |
47 % |
43 % |
39 % |
22 % |
Community Foundations |
35 % |
44 % |
38 % |
37 % |
22 % |
Effective Altruism |
32 % |
42 % |
36 % |
31 % |
21 % |
Planned Gifts |
30 % |
41 % |
33 % |
30 % |
20 % |
Charitable Trusts |
30 % |
36 % |
33 % |
34 % |
20 % |
Donor-Advised Funds |
29 % |
41 % |
31 % |
28 % |
19 % |
Impact Investing |
29 % |
36 % |
34 % |
30 % |
17 % |
Private / Family Foundations |
21 % |
33 % |
24 % |
24 % |
11 % |
Trust-Based Philanthropy |
19 % |
34 % |
23 % |
18 % |
7 % |
Donating % Of Salary |
17 % |
27 % |
20 % |
18 % |
8 % |
None Of These |
16 % |
6 % |
12 % |
15 % |
31 % |
N = 1,731 |
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22 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | MAY 2025 WWW. FA-MAG. COM