Capturing the Next Generation of Donors with Logan Vaughan

What if the next generation of donors wants to give, but they want giving to feel tangible, convenient, and digital at the same time?

As donor expectations continue to evolve, nonprofits have an opportunity to rethink how they engage younger supporters. While online fundraising has made monetary giving easier than ever, physical-item donations and in-kind giving can still be surprisingly difficult to organize, manage, and scale.

On this episode of Nonprofit Nation, Julia Campbell sits down with Logan Vaughan, co-founder and CEO of GiftDrive.org, to talk about the changing landscape of donor engagement and what nonprofits need to understand about the way Gen Z and younger millennials want to give.

Logan shares the story behind GiftDrive, a platform designed specifically to help nonprofits create online wishlists and donation drives for physical goods. Since launching, GiftDrive has supported more than 55 nonprofit organizations and facilitated more than 5,500 item donations valued at over $60,000. 

Together, Julia and Logan explore why physical giving resonates with younger donors, where traditional tools like online wishlists fall short, and how technology can make in-kind giving more accessible and effective.

In this episode, you'll learn:

•  Why younger donors are increasingly drawn to giving physical items instead of cash
•  How Gen Z and millennials are changing expectations around philanthropy and nonprofit engagement 
•  Why tangible giving can feel more accessible and meaningful to younger supporters 
•  What younger donors expect when it comes to convenience, transparency, and technology
•  The challenges nonprofits face when managing physical-item donation drives 
•  Why consumer tools like Amazon Wish Lists aren't always the best solution for nonprofit organizations 
•  How purpose-built technology can make in-kind giving easier to manage and scale 
•  The importance of CRM integrations, automated tax receipts, reporting, analytics, and customization 
•  What Logan has learned by building GiftDrive alongside the nonprofits it serves
•  How nonprofit leaders can prepare for the next generation of donors 

About Logan Vaughan

Logan Vaughan is a senior at the University of Vermont and the co-founder and CEO of GiftDrive.org, a platform that helps nonprofits create wishlists and donation drives to collect physical items from their communities.

Since launching, GiftDrive has supported more than 55 nonprofit organizations across the country, facilitating more than 5,500 item donations valued at over $60,000. Logan is passionate about building the nonprofit technology and infrastructure of the future and believes organizations need tools designed around the ways modern donors want to give. 

Resources Mentioned

🎁 GiftDrive: https://giftdrive.org/

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