Absolutely. And Research Shows It.
U.S. seniors use the Internet more than their younger counterparts and are the fastest growing sector of the PC-purchasing public. And according to Pew Research, four out of ten seniors now own smartphones, which is more than double than in 2013. And the rate of online adoption also increases with wealth.
The report also shows that around nine-in-ten seniors with annual household income above $75,000 go online or have high-speed internet at home. These are your high-net-worth donors and prospects! These numbers drop quite a bit with those having an income of less than $30,000. College graduates are far more likely than those with high school education to use the internet or have high-speed online access.
Wealth
Obviously, seniors also hold the majority of the wealth in the U.S. and are your target planned giving donors and prospects. As they migrate to the Net, you should be there to “meet them there” with online marketing tools such as planned giving websites and landing pages.
The article titled Seniors and the Online Revolution is a must read. It’s old but still very relevant.
Back when we started our business in 1999 we began studying this trend. Even back then seniors were gaining momentum. Unfortunately, the majority of nonprofit professionals thought social media and any other online presence for that matter was only for “younger people.” Many nonprofits were adamant that older adults would certainly not be interested in the Internet. In fact, many were still stuck in their old ways and actually criticized us heavily for offering planned giving online solutions to nonprofits and seniors. Older adults have heavily adopted the use of new technologies and those with more education and in higher income brackets are more “online” than ever.
How can this affect your nonprofit? It’s obvious. Many of our major and planned gift donors and prospects are online, which means nonprofit organizations should be as well. They are looking, researching and deciding how to spread their wealth into worthy causes. I am doing that myself now as I get older.
As a last note… your planned gift donors and prospects are no longer just seniors. They are getting “younger and younger.” Use these 10 Tips and Marketing Strategies to reach out to them.
Categories: Planned Giving Marketing, Direct Mail and Planned Giving