The Great Wealth Transfer and Nonprofits: Building a Generational Giving Strategy Now

Quick answer: The largest transfer of wealth in history is underway, and a significant share is expected to reach nonprofits over the next two decades, which makes generational giving a board-level sustainability question rather than a development-department task. The Pulse of the Donor 2025 data shows major gifts still skew older while younger donors give smaller amounts earlier and almost entirely through digital channels. Build a digital acquisition strategy for donors under 45 now, while your aging major-gift pipeline is still strong.

What is the great wealth transfer and what does it mean for nonprofits?

The great wealth transfer is the multi-decade movement of wealth from older generations to their heirs, and for nonprofits it means a very large pool of giving is in motion right now, across five living generations at once. A meaningful share is expected to reach nonprofit organizations over roughly the next 20 years, either directly from the older generation or from the people who inherit the money.

I want to frame this in a useful way, because the sector usually does not. We tend to react with either gross oversimplification or utter panic, with nothing in between. The panic version says boomers are aging out, millennials are not replacing them, and it is all about to fall apart. The oversimplified version says younger donors give differently, so just get on TikTok. Neither is actionable, so let us look at what the data actually tells us to do.

Why is your major-gift pipeline aging, and why does it matter now?

Your major-gift pipeline is aging because the donors who make the largest single gifts, estate gifts, and stock donations skew older, which has probably always been true. Those are the donors who move the needle in your year, and they are getting older. We know this from the data, and we know it just from being humans living in America.

Here is the part that requires discipline. An aging major-gift pipeline is not a problem for this year's budget. It is a problem for your budget in five years, maybe ten, maybe sooner, and the time to think about it is right now while your current pipeline is still strong. Waiting until the gap shows up in revenue means waiting until it is much harder to fix.

It is the same logic as any infrastructure you maintain before it fails. You do not replace the roof during the storm. You replace it while the weather is fine and the budget allows, precisely because the storm is coming. A donor base behaves the same way. The years when your major gifts are healthy are the years you have the resources and the breathing room to build the younger pipeline that will carry you when those donors are no longer giving at the same level.

How do younger donors give differently?

Younger donors give smaller amounts but give earlier in the relationship, often before any long cultivation, and frequently through a peer connection or social influence. The old model, where you cultivated a donor through weeks, months, or even years of conversation before any significant ask, is not how this cohort operates. They will give a small gift quickly, almost without thinking about it, and often because a friend invited them or a campaign reached them socially.

They are also more inclined to give to a person or a cause than to an institution. So putting your 990s and your reports in front of them is fine, and they do want to be communicated with, but that is not usually what inspires the gift. What they want to know is how you used their funds, how you leveraged their trust, and whether their investment is making an impact on the cause they care about. Answer those questions and you earn the next gift.

This reorders the work. The instinct for many of us is to prove that the organization is credible and well run, and then ask. For a younger donor, that order is often backwards. They will make a small first gift on relatively little information, frequently because a friend asked or a story moved them, and then they watch how you behave afterward. The credibility case you wanted to lead with is the case you actually need to make after the first gift, through what you show them about impact. Treat that first small gift as the start of the relationship, not the reward at the end of one.

Why is generational giving a board-level conversation?

Generational giving belongs at the board because the shift is an organizational sustainability issue, not just a development problem. Donors under 45 are overwhelmingly finding organizations and making first gifts through digital channels, whether that is search, social, or peer fundraising. If your digital acquisition funnel is broken, or nonexistent, you are not reaching this cohort at all.

So the board questions are clear. Boards should be asking about the age distribution of all of your donors and about your digital acquisition strategy. A concrete place to start is one question: what is the average age of our top 50 donors? You should be able to get that. For a smaller acquisition list, you can estimate an age range from social media. You only need to know who is under 45 and who is over 60, because those two groups alone want different content, different styles, and different outreach. These are governance and fiduciary questions, because donor acquisition is part of your infrastructure, not just an expense line.

I know those board conversations can be uncomfortable. I have sat on both sides of that table, as the board member and as the fundraiser everyone was staring at, hoping I would hit a number I had no real hand in setting. But the discomfort is the point. The organizations that will thrive over the next decade are the ones whose leadership treats donor acquisition as infrastructure they fund and steward on purpose, not as a line item they cut when budgets get tight. If your board is not yet asking about donor age and digital acquisition, the most useful thing you can do is become the squeaky wheel until it does.

 

 

Leya Simmons

Co-founder & CEO | BetterUnite

The Co-founder and CEO of BetterUnite, a platform supporting thousands of nonprofits, she brings a unique lens to the sector, shaped by 15+ years as a private art dealer and gallery owner, board leadership at organizations like the Austin Museum of Art and the Texas Film Hall of Fame, and her own experience navigating nonprofit fundraising as board president of Community Yoga Austin. A yoga teacher, a female tech executive, and a mother of five, she is passionate about equipping nonprofits with the tools they need to do more with less.

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