Skill development is a driving factor in Millennials’ philanthropic engagement. A quarter of Millennials surveyed indicated that they volunteer through their work to utilize their skills or expertise. More than three-quarters (77 percent) indicated that they’d be more likely to volunteer if they could use a specific skill or expertise to benefit a cause.

The data comes from the Millennial Impact Project, a five-year retrospective based on the responses of 75,000 respondents, conducted by Achieve in partnership with the Case Foundation. The project did not ask the same questions year-to-year, making comparisons impossible. However past survey responses have also indicated that Millennials enjoy using their skillsets to benefit causes and are interested in participating on organizational boards in in young professionals groups.

“This unprecedented look at how the millennial generation thinks of and acts on charitable causes offers important insights into the actions and motivations of this growing and diverse generation,” said Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Millennials are looking toward employers for some incentive to engage. More than half of managers (51 percent) and employees (56 percent) would be more likely to volunteer if incentivized. Companies matching charitable gifts would increase the likelihood of giving among 77 percent of managers and 69 percent of employees;
• They are active, but give modestly. More than four out of five (84 percent) of Millennials have given in the past year. But, two-thirds gave $499 or less.
• Women are more generous and active than their male counterparts. Women are four percent more likely to donate and six percent more likely to volunteer than men when they are passionate about a cause.
• They are well ahead of the game in terms of online and mobile giving. Nearly one-third (30 percent) have donated through an online or mobile platform other than the organization’s website. Other studies have shown that the overall online giving rate still hovers under 10 percent.