After a decade of studying, the Millennial Impact Project (MIP) has identified 10 traits that characterize how young people approach causes and engagement.
“The Millennial Impact Report: 10 Years Looking Back: Insights from 10 years of research working in partnership with young Americans on causes today and in the future” (#MIR10) was researched by Achieve, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based digital agency specializing in causes, and supported by The Case Foundation.
“After a decade of research on Millennials, it is clear that the generation is not a monolith, with many different groups in different stages of life, coming from wide-ranging points of view and interests in activism,” Jean Case wrote in a blog post accompanying the report’s release.
“While companies and causes struggle to keep up, Millennials are adapting to new technologies as quickly as they become available — and using them to force attention onto issues that matter to them,” said Derrick Feldman, lead researcher and founder of the Millennial Impact Project. “These tech-savvy Millennials became America’s primary source of new employees, first-year college students – and, for causes, potential constituents,” he said in the report.
Based on a review of the data from the decades-long project, including data on behavior and preferences of more than 150,000 Millennials, the report identified 10 traits “characterizing young people’s approach to cause engagement.
Millennials, generally considered those born between 1980 and 2000:
- Are influenced largest by their peers;
- See all of their assets as equal;
- Are everyday changemakers; and,
- Believe in the power of activism.
Millennials care about:
- Social issues rather than institutions;
- Using their collective voice; and,
- Supporting others and the greater good more than ineffective partisan politicking.
Millennials engage with causes:
- Through a range of sectors and industries;
- By employing innovative approaches; and,
- Through actions both big and small.
“Though this report looks back over a decade of studying Millennials, it is only a snapshot of the generation,” the report’s conclusion states. “The oldest Millennials are reaching midlife and the youngest are entering adulthood, and at every stage this generation is blazing new trails in how society will look, think, work and help each other.”
