Generation X, Latchkey Kids, Star Wars Generation, MTV Generation: they were born between 1965 and 1980. Saturday morning cartoons were “must-see TV,” music videos were born and personal computers were becoming household necessities.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Sometimes called the “Baby Bust” Generation, Generation X is smaller than their predecessors, Baby Boomers. Millennials are quick to point out that Xers didn’t even have a name until more than 30 years after they were born!

While Baby Boomers are now becoming the prime planned giving cohort, Generation X  (aged 46-61) are beginning to think about what it means to be a “senior,” and many are making their estate plans.

Money for Nothing

As a proud member of Gen X, I’ll share my own experience. In the past few years, I have become acutely aware of my mortality, with an increase in my daily prescriptions and the need for glasses. I helped manage my in-laws’ estates and am taking care of aging parents.  Many of my friends have faced diabetes, asthma, arthritis, high blood pressure and cancer.

Though the last members of the GI Generation, the Silent Generation and the oldest Baby Boomers should be your main focus, we encourage you to begin creating a strategy for Gen X.

Take on Me

• Largely, Gen X does not have a lot of liquid wealth. They are likely to still be working, have a mortgage, caring for elderly parents and facing rising healthcare costs. Your fundraising messages may focus more on smaller cash gifts (remind them of the new universal charitable deduction), gifts of appreciated securities and donor advised funds.
• Generation X are good volunteer prospects. They are more likely to give their time and their money to charities than any other generation. They also lead the charge in peer-to-peer fundraising. Invite them to be volunteers, sit on your boards or advisory committees and share their belief in your mission with others.
• Due to a rise in divorce when Gen X were children and the widespread acceptance of family planning, they are more likely than their predecessors to be unmarried and/or childless. This is extremely important for future legacy gifts, as charities are likely to be higher on the chain of heirs.

Into the Groove

To make the most of the generational fundraising approach, it is important to have your donors’ ages on file. Segmenting your audience by generation and wealth is an effective way to get the right messages to the right people and maximize your planned giving budget. By utilizing the Sharpe Gift Planning Matrix®, you can identify what messages resonate best with which age and wealth segments. Your prime planned giving prospects are in the C1 column, but there are messaging strategies for every part of the matrix.

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If you don’t know the ages of your donors, Sharpe Data can help with a quick, affordable data analysis and enhancement.

I mentioned a few gift ideas earlier that you should encourage from your Generation X donors. Sharpe has a new year-end giving Print-On-Demand brochure, “Make the Most of Your Year-End Gifts”  that was written specifically for them.

You can personalize with your logo and contact information and choose an image and accent color that aligns with your branding.

 Voices Carry

Generation X may be smaller and younger than your prime planned giving targets right now, but they are at a time in our lives when estate planning is starting to come into focus.

To paraphrase William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” though we be but little, we are fierce.

Teri Sullivan is vice president of marketing for Sharpe Group and serves as co-producer of the podcast Sharpe Insights: Conversations With Your Planned Giving Experts. You can connect with Teri via email or on LinkedIn.