Volunteer Wisconsin has compiled this information for organizations interested in targeting different generations for volunteer opportunities. Learn tips for effectively engaging different generations.

1. Strategies to Engage
Different
Generations in
Volunteering
Information compiled by
Rachel Manuel Bruns
Volunteer Wisconsin

2. Which Generation are you?
 Traditionalists (-1945)
 Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
 Generation X (1965-1980)
 Millennials or Gen Y (1981-2000)

3. Which Generation Are You?
 Do you have your own web page? (1
point)
 Have you made a web page for
someone else? (2 points)
 Do you IM your friends? (1 point)
 Do you text your friends? (2 points)
 Do you watch videos on YouTube? (1
point)
 Do you remix video files from the
Internet? (2 points)

4. Which Generation Are You?
 Have you paid for and downloaded
music from the Internet? (1 point)
 Do you know where to download
free (illegal) music from the
Internet? (2 points)
 Do you blog for professional
reasons? (1 point)
 Do you blog as a way to keep an
online diary? (2 points)

5. Which Generation Are You?
 Have you visited MySpace at least
five times? (1 point)
 Do you communicate with friends on
Facebook? (2 points)
 Do you use email to communicate
with your parents? (1 point)
 Did you text to communicate with
your parents? (2 points)

6. Which Generation Are You?
 Do you take photos with your
phone? (1 point)
 Do you share your photos from your
phone with your friends? (2 points)

7. Which Generation Are You?
 0-1 point – Traditionalists
 2-6 points – Baby Boomer
 6- 12 points – Generation X
 12 or over –Millennial

8. What Comes to Mind?
 Key Words
 Major Events
 Defining Characteristics
 Communication Styles
 Work Ethic

9. Generation Clashpoints
Clashpoint Traditionalists Baby Boomers Generation Xers Millennials
Institutions Are loyal to Want to put their Are skeptical of Will judge
institutions own stamp on institutions institutions on
institutions their own merits
Rewards Satisfaction of a Money, title, Freedom is the Work that has
job well done advancement, ultimate reward meaning for “me”
renewal
Feedback No news is good Formal yearly Frequent, honest, Feedback
news feedback with lots immediate whenever I want it
of documentation feedback at the push of a
button
Balance Support me in Help me balance Give me balance Work isn’t
shifting the everyone else now, not when I’m everything; I need
balance and find meaning 65 flexibility to
myself balance all my
activities
Training I learned it the Train them too The more they Continuous
hard way; you can much and they learn, the more learning is a way
too might leave they stay of life
Job Changing Job changing Job changing puts Job changing is Job changing is
carries a stigma you behind necessary part of my daily
routine

10. Traditionalists (-1945)

11. Traditionalists (-1945)
 The Great Depression
 Social Security
 Pearl Harbor
 World War II
 Korean Conflict
 Frank Sinatra
 Sputnik
 Alfred Hitchcock
 Rosie the Riveter
 The Holocaust

12. Traditionalists (-1945)
 Institutions: Loyal
 Rewards: Satisfaction of a job
well done
 Feedback: No news is good
news
 Balance: Support me in shifting
the balance

13. Traditionalists (-1945)
 Training: I learned it the hard
way; you can too
 Job changing: Job changing
carries a stigma

14. Program Alignment
 Change the image of aging. Use
designations other than “older”, “senior”,
“retired”.
 Provide work that is meaningful and
challenging – definable difference
 Focus on skills and experience – legacy
 Create opportunities for mentorship and
leadership
 Provide occasions for networking for the
organization – getting out in the
community and telling the story.

15. Outreach Ideas
 Civic and social clubs
 Shopping centers and supermarkets
 Targeted television and radio
 AARP
 Health care facilities & institutions
 Seek out larger businesses to
introduce volunteer work to those
close to retirement

16. Baby Boomers
1946-1964

17. Baby Boomers 1946-1964
 Booming birthrate
 The Beatles
 Television
 Vietnam War
 Martin Luther King, Jr.
 OPEC embargo
 Watergate
 Sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll
 John Glenn
 Kennedy assassination

18. Baby Boomers 1946-1964
 Institutions: Want to put their stamp
on the world
 Rewards: Money, title,
advancement, renewal
 Feedback: Formal yearly feedback
with lots of documentation
 Balance: Help me balance everyone
else and find meaning myself

19. Baby Boomers 1946-1964
 Training: Train them too much
and they might leave
 Job changing puts you behind

20. Program Alignment
 Repackage the way volunteer
opportunities are presented. Focus on
skills and work to be done.
 Design and manage volunteer positions
like paid positions with job descriptions,
training, supervision, and benefits
 Show personal and community impact
 Pair volunteer opportunities with
education or part-time work
 Consider volunteer skills and interest

21. Outreach Ideas
 High profile media & technology
 Relationships with corporations and
business associations
 Help prepare volunteers for second
careers
 Outplacement agencies for shorter-term
and episodic opportunities
 Skill development centers
 Armed forces branches
 Gyms and health/fitness businesses

22. Generation X
(1965-1980)

23. Generation X (1965-1980)
 Sesame Street
 MTV
 The personal computer
 Divorce
 AIDS
 Crack cocaine
 Space Shuttle Challenger
 Missing children on milk cartons
 Grunge & rap music
 24-hour media
 Madonna

24. Generation X (1965-1980)
 Institutions: Are skeptical of
institutions
 Rewards: Freedom is the
ultimate reward
 Feedback: Frequent, honest,
immediate feedback
 Balance: Give me balance now,
not when I’m 65

25. Generation X (1965-1980)
 Training: The more they learn,
the more they stay
 Job Training: Job change is
necessary

26. Program Alignment
Flexibility in roles and
schedules, casual attire,
and a comfortable
environment
Offer technology-centered
tasks as well as one-on-
one interactions to choose
from

27. Outreach Ideas
 Internet (bulletin boards, chat rooms,
websites)
 Highlight the need/impact
 Limit service hours
 Post artistic flyers in cafes, diners,
bookstores, other art/media centers
 Employer organizations that coordinate
employee volunteers
 Family friendly volunteer opportunities

28. Millennials (1981-2000)

29. Millennials (1981-2000)
 Terrorism
 The fall of the Berlin Wall
 Worldwide Web
 Oklahoma City bombing
 Princess Diana's death
 Events of 9/11
 Drugs & gangs
 Blended families
 Personal cell phones, iPods
 Britney Spears

30. Millennials (1981-2000)
 Institutions: Will judge institutions on
their own merits
 Rewards: Work that has meaning for
“me”
 Feedback: Feedback whenever I
want it at the push of a button
 Balance: Work isn’t everything; I
need flexibility to balance all my
activities

31. Millennials (1981-2000)
 Training: Continuous learning is a way
of life.
 Job changing: Job changing is part of
my daily routine
 What do you think?

32. Program Alignment
 Change language around age.
Move from “kids” to “young adult”
 Create meaningful positions with
real responsibility
 Provide opportunities for leadership
and leadership development
 Design work that can engage more
than one person to allow peer
interaction

33. Outreach Ideas
 Youth groups
 College service-learning and
civic engagement offices,
classes
 Internet, social media, radio
 Peer-to-peer recruitment
 Mall and recreation centers

34. Cuspers
• Mediating
• Translating
• Explaining
• Coordinating
• Resolving conflicts

35. 12 Best Practices for
Engaging Boomers & Future
Generations
Understand deep-seated
need to have impact
Focus interview on
learning passions,
mutually-designing role
and help determine if your
organization is right fit for
impact they are seeking

36. 12 Best Practices for
Engaging Boomers & Future
Generations
 Offer wide choice of
volunteer opportunities in all
aspects of the organization’s
operations
 Include short-term and
seasonal volunteer
opportunities to maximize
what volunteers bring to the
table

37. 12 Best Practices for
Engaging Boomers & Future
Generations
Offer skills-based
volunteer opportunities to
maximize what volunteers
can bring to the
organization
Develop volunteer
positions descriptions that
are engaging and show
impact

38. 12 Best Practices for
Engaging Boomers & Future
Generations
Move volunteers into
project leadership roles.
Be open to project ideas
that volunteers propose
Develop appealing
volunteer recruitment
messages. Cultivate
prospects and be highly
visible on the Web

39. 12 Best Practices for
Engaging Boomers & Future
Generations
 Re-frame traditional volunteer
supervision to leading volunteers
and offering collegial support.
Identify high potential volunteers
and cultivate to take on additional
responsibility
 Re-frame volunteer recognition to
respond to the values of the current
volunteers place on having impact
and being life-long learners

40. 12 Best Practices for
Engaging Boomers & Future
Generations
 Be an instigator for these
organizational changes. Identify
your champions for change.
Start smart and market success
to other colleagues.
 Create systems to monitor
changes in volunteer
expectations and become a
learning organization that
adapts to changing needs of
volunteers

41. Contact
www.volunteerwisconsin.org
(414) 344-3933
rachel@volunteerwisconsin.org
Twitter.com/VolunteerWI
Facebook.com/VolunteerWisconsin

42. Resources
 Choosing appropriate outreach techniques for different generations
http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/practices/17716
 Boomers and Beyond: 12 Best Practices Vital to Volunteer
Resources in the Future, by Minnesota Association of Volunteer
Administrators (MAVA) 2010, article available at e-
volunteerism.com
 When Generations Collide: Who They are. Why They Clash. How to
Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work by Lynne C. Lancaster, 2004