Born between 1980 and 1996, the millennial generation is even larger than the baby boomers. Millennials are well protected and comforted by all. From their time of birth, the millennials are told how special they are, how intelligent they are, how gifted they are and that they can do anything that they would like in life. As a result, millennials are very self-confident and demand that they be treated special.

Smaller 501c3 organizations that serve in niche markets will tend to do better with the Millennials. Small 501c3 organizations can provide individualized attention to volunteers, participants and donors. Serving niche markets allows volunteers to feel as if they are having more of an immediate impact because the market is less likely to have the extremely large 501c3 organizations in the market. These charitable markets are also early in development and just starting to emerge.

501c3 organizations which need lots of volunteers should also focus on the Millennials. As the Millennials are younger, they may not have capital for making donations to the organization; however, they do have more time to assist with your nonprofit cause.

501c3 organizations which focus on bold and new ideas will do well with the Millennials. Millennials are not the cautious generation. They are radical, have dangerous hobbies and enjoy taking risks. Starting a 501c3 to help those living in some of the most remote regions of the world. Consider the Millennials, as they will consider such an opportunity as a challenge, exciting and a badge of honor.

The Millennials can definitely be a plus when setting up a 501c3 organization to assist the families of policemen, firemen or veterans. These first responders and soldiers are the true heroes in the eyes of the Millennials.

Remember to reward Millennials. A 501c3 does not have to always use cash to reward its Millennial volunteers. For instance, you may recognize the volunteer who sold the most fundraiser tickets. Or you may simply let the Millennial know how important their job is and how great they are doing – remind them constantly.

Also, keep Millennials in mind as you work on some of the biggest problems that require many disciplines to be involved. These type of projects require lots of collaboration and Millennials are natural collaborative problem solvers. Because they grew up in a world of social networking and due to the ease of communication, Millennials are very comfortable with using networks to find answers to big problems.

The innovativeness and poise of the Gen Y should serve those nonprofits very well in disciplines with complex problems such as education, the environment, affordable housing, etc.