The future of charitable giving is never certain. Donor behaviors are constantly changing, and questions loom about how to engage upcoming generations of potential supporters.

That’s why event organizers tailor their appeals to connect willing supporters with opportunities that interest them. Young people have a strong, growing desire to give, making them an ideal audience for service projects and volunteer events. Generation Z, for example, has been dubbed “the most influential generation for the future of fundraising,” with 57% of its members accounting for donations in their yearly budgets and 40% reducing their spending so they can give to nonprofits.

Inspiring young people to get involved in a cause requires thoughtful project organization that keeps their interests in mind. In this guide, we’ll discuss a few ways to make your next service project irresistible to young supporters.

Get to Know Your Audience

Kids and teens have myriad interests, hobbies, and personalities. To engage young people in service projects, you must first understand their motivations and how they align with your mission.

Common interests and environments to consider include:

  • School groups and clubs: Projects connected to a club’s focus or purpose will easily entice the group’s members. For example, a local park cleanup project could be the perfect fit for members of a middle school’s environmental club.
  • Children’s ministries: Faith-based organizations or churches may look to engage kids already involved in a children’s ministry. In this case, you might explore the children’s church lessons they’re teaching and collaborate with ministry leaders to make the service project relevant.
  • Sports teams: Kids involved in recreational or school sports will be especially responsive to team-based service projects. Consider incorporating challenges and encouraging friendly competition to make the project even more appealing.

A deeper understanding of your audience can also influence how you promote service events. When you make a connection between your service project and the audience’s interests, you can create personal and relevant messaging.

Make the Activities Fun

Even the most passionate member of the middle school’s environmental club can grow tired of picking up trash on the side of the road. Although the point of your service project is to accomplish important work, the best way to inspire young people is to remind them that work doesn’t have to feel like a chore.

Let’s review a few tips to make your service project fun.

Combine Purpose and Play

Incorporate games into the “project” part of your service project. There are many ways to gamify volunteer activities, but you’ll need to get creative to tie them into the purpose of the work. For example, you might:

  • Foster healthy competition: Encourage kids to compete against each other. For example, turn a meal-packing event into a game where the person who packs the most lunches wins a small prize.
  • Create a points system: Assign points to certain tasks and reward kids with that number of points when they complete them. At the end of the event, you might offer small prizes to the volunteers with the most points.
  • Facilitate teamwork: Separate kids into groups and encourage them to work together to complete project tasks. A relay-style approach is a fun way to incorporate competition and teamwork at the same time, where teams compete against each other to accomplish tasks first.

Review popular classroom activities or Sunday school games for inspiration. These activities keep kids engaged while teaching important lessons, and borrowing ideas from environments that children are familiar with can help you create a memorable and enjoyable experience.

Take the Event Online

Being “digital-first” is a characteristic that overwhelmingly defines young people. Today’s kids don’t know a world without computers or the internet, and most of them prefer online engagement.

Virtual events are a great way to inspire young people, especially if you use platforms that they’re already familiar with. As CharityEngine’s event management guide explains, most virtual events fall into one of two categories:

  • Peer-to-peer: These campaigns involve supporters sharing information about the cause with their personal networks using social media channels. This is better suited for teenagers who have parental consent to use social media, but it can be a powerful way to spread the word about your project and get more people involved.
  • Simulated attendance: These activities allow supporters to attend and participate online, as if they were present at an in-person venue. For example, you might host a virtual storytime event in which middle school students read books to younger children using video conferencing software.

If you’re not sure whether a virtual or in-person format would work best for your service project, consider hosting a hybrid event. You can tap into the benefits of both formats and also make the project more convenient for parents, since they can choose the option that works best for them. Not to mention, it’s a great way to keep your event costs low!

Provide Age-Appropriate Roles

Young people go through various developmental stages. While it may not seem like a three-year age gap is a big deal, there are vast differences between 10-year-olds and 13-year-olds, for example. These differences extend to the types of volunteer activities that will interest them and be well-suited to their skills.

For maximum engagement, look for ways to include all age groups in your service project. Here are some examples for inspiration:

  • Park beautification
      • Ages 5 to 7: Collect fallen leaves or litter with small grabbers
      • Ages 8 to 10: Plant flowers or create painted garden signs
      • Ages 11 to 13: Lead teams and organize planting stations
  • Showing support for local heroes
      • Ages 5 to 7: Make artwork for first responders
      • Ages 8 to 10: Write thank-you notes or put together snack packs
      • Ages 11 to 13: Organize delivery or create a short presentation of appreciation
  • Building community care kits
    • Ages 5 to 7: Decorate bags with encouraging messages
    • Ages 8 to 10: Assemble hygiene items into care kits
    • Ages 11 to 13: Coordinate inventory and distribution

Pairing younger kids with older kids is also a great way to keep activities age-appropriate while also encouraging teamwork and making the activity more fun.

Involve Families and the Community

Kids love spending time with their families and friends. Plus, community members and institutions are often excited to support shared service opportunities.

For example, Wonder Ink’s guide to children’s church curriculum explains that there is great value in partnerships between ministries, families, and other community members. Church groups may be predisposed to engaging in service projects that involve kids and their families, providing an eager audience if you’re looking for participants.

It’s important to keep your target audience in mind when reaching out to families and the community for support, because different groups have different support systems. For example:

  • School clubs may have enthusiastic backing from teachers, faculty, and alumni
  • Sports teams receive support from coaches, fans, and team sponsors
  • Youth centers often have the support of local businesses and other nonprofits

An inclusive approach to service projects also provides an opportunity to cultivate relationships with potential donors. While kids aren’t usually in a financial position to give monetarily, their participation can connect your organization to members of their support system who would be willing and able to give.

Young people bring excitement, energy, and support that can help any service project thrive. Inspiring them to get involved simply requires getting to know them and leaning into their interests and communities to make the experience meaningful. At the end of the day, their support will be mutually beneficial when you provide an opportunity for them to make a difference and have fun while doing it.