Exploring the underpinnings of why millennials engage in charitable activities: Empirical evidence from Türkiye

Abstract

Nonprofit organizations have long competed for limited funds due to the decrease in government funding and increased demand for social services. It is possible to meet this need by engaging millennials in charitable activities because of their power to achieve both growth and sustainability. However, they behave and communicate differently than other cohorts of individuals and thus nonprofits have substantial work to tap into their charitable behaviors. Accordingly, the current paper aims to explore the underpinnings of why millennials engage in charitable activities. To do this, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 18 participants who regularly donate their time and/or money. Then, data was analyzed with qualitative content analysis technique. Findings indicate that millennials support a range of charitable causes with the motivations of being socially recognized, being self‐satisfied, mitigating guilt, and having congruence with the organization. Results contribute to the growing body of knowledge on both individual charitable motivation and especially, charitable motivations of the relevant cohort of individuals. Additionally, the current study provides insightful knowledge that can help managers and marketers on how to engage with millennials in both nonprofits and other sectors.