Engaging Gen Z: What nonprofits need to know about the generation reshaping generosity

There’s a persistent myth about Gen Z: They care loudly but give sparingly. New findings from a survey by GoFundMe and GivingTuesday tell a very different story.

Gen Z is not a “future donor” audience. They’re already giving at higher rates than older adults to nonprofits and directly to individuals, as well as volunteering, sharing causes, mobilizing peers, and donating goods. Their generosity is digital, within their close network, immediate, and deeply connected to the communities and stories they encounter every day.

For nonprofits, the takeaway is clear: Engaging Gen Z requires expanding how we define “giving” itself.

Gen Z participates in generosity at higher rates than older generations

According to our research, despite being in lower income brackets, given their age, Gen Z outpaced other adults in every form of giving measured. More than 70% of Gen Z reported some form of giving in the past week, and nearly 43% donated money—compared with 65% and 39% of other adults.

Their participation suggests that generosity isn’t only a function of disposable income but also a function of identity, community, and urgency.

And while monetary giving matters, Gen Z’s generosity extends well beyond the donation button. Donating items, volunteering, advocating, sharing fundraisers, and mobilizing others may not always appear in traditional donor files, but they’re shaping how resources, attention, and support move through communities.

It’s on nonprofits to expand the definition of an engaged donor beyond just a transaction—and start engaging Gen Z in ways that better reflect what meaningful engagement looks like for younger generations.

Gen Z’s giving is personal, relational, and immediate

Compared with older generations, Gen Z’s giving advantage is most pronounced in their advocacy, informal giving, direct giving to individuals, and volunteering.

That matters because it points to a different model for engaging Gen Z than the one many nonprofits are built to support. Gen Z survey respondents say they’re drawn to giving opportunities that feel human, specific, and connected to the communities they care about. They respond to authentic stories, visible impact, and direct connection. They want to understand who is being helped, why the need matters now, and how their action can make a difference.

For Gen Z, the path to generosity often begins with a person, a story, or a peer connection—not necessarily with an organizational brand. The opportunity for nonprofits is to build bridges from those moments of immediate action, into sustained, long-term relationships.

This doesn’t mean Gen Z rejects institutions. It means institutions need to make the human connection easier to see. Nonprofits that communicate with clarity, immediacy, and authenticity are better positioned to earn trust with a generation accustomed to discovering, validating, and sharing causes in real time.

Social sharing turns generosity into a multiplier

One of our most important findings is Gen Z’s instinct to make their support visible. Gen Z is far more likely than other adults to publicly support and share the activities of community groups, nonprofits, and independent fundraising efforts: Gen Z supporters are 10 times more likely than boomers to share their donations on social media.

That visibility matters. When someone shares a cause, they’re doing more than expressing support. They’re inviting their network to care, learn, and act. In digital environments, generosity can spread through trust: A friend shares a fundraiser, a peer adds context, a community member contributes, and others follow.

This creates a multiplier effect. Sharing can bring in new supporters, increase awareness, and help raise more funds. It can also lower the barrier to first-time participation. Someone who may not be ready to give money may be willing to share. Someone who shares today may donate tomorrow, then become a volunteer, advocate, or recurring supporter.

For nonprofits, this means engaging Gen Z requires ensuring causes are easy to discover, understand, share, and act on.

Community fundraising can deepen Gen Z nonprofit engagement

The research also dispels a common concern: that community-powered fundraising platforms like GoFundMe divert support away from nonprofits.

In fact, the data shows Gen Z users of crowdfunding platforms are 16 percentage points more likely to give to nonprofits than those who don’t.

This is exciting because it recognizes community fundraising as an entry point, not a competitor. This should encourage nonprofits to see informal and platform-based generosity as part of a broader continuum. A person who supports a neighbor’s fundraiser may also care deeply about the systemic issue behind that need. A donor who gives to a loved one’s medical fundraiser may be open to engaging with a nonprofit fighting for a cure to their disease. A supporter who shares a community campaign may be ready to advocate for policy change, volunteer, or join a movement.

The question is not whether Gen Z will choose informal giving or nonprofit giving. The data suggest many are doing both.

What this means for engaging Gen Z

For nonprofits, the implication is that Gen Z engages across a broader generosity journey.

Reaching this generation requires designing for participation before, during, and after a donation. That means creating low-friction ways to contribute beyond money, making stories easy to share, showing visible and immediate impact, and building pathways from informal support into deeper nonprofit relationships.

It also means treating advocacy, peer mobilization, volunteering, direct support, and donations as connected behaviors—all part of how people show up for causes they care about.

Nonprofits can tap into this generosity by meeting Gen Z in the digital and social spaces, then making it easy for that first action to lead to deeper engagement.

Gen Z is already reshaping generosity through trust, relationships, visibility, and digital participation. For nonprofits, the opportunity is clear: Build for the full spectrum of generosity, and create pathways that turn sharing, giving, volunteering, and mobilizing into long-term support.

Photo credit: Vanessa Petion