Capital Area Food Bank
Messages about MILLENNIALS
Millennials are a big part of the US population.
• Millennials, the cohort of Americans born between 1980 and the mid-‐2000s, are the largest generation in the U.S. Seventy-‐five million strong, they represent one-‐third of the total U.S. population1.
Millennials are the most diverse U.S. generation to date.
• Many Millennials are immigrants or the children of immigrants who arrived in the United States as part of an upsurge in immigration that began in the 1940s. The share of people age 20 to 34 who were born in a foreign country is now around 15 percent2.
• The share of those age 15 to 34 who identify as non-‐Hispanic white fell 20 percentage points from 1980 to 2012, while the share reporting Hispanic ancestry tripled3.
Millennials embrace technology, coming of age as it has rapidly evolved.
• Millennials are more connected to technology than previous generations and a quarter of Millennials believe that their relationship to technology is what makes their generation unique4.
• Three-‐quarters of Millennials have an account on a social networking site, compared with only half of Generation Xers and less than a third of the Baby Boomers5.
• The average Millennial has access to 7.1 electronic devices, and 72% want to connect to information across all devices6.
• Millennials of every race and socioeconomic group use technology, and many are dependent upon their devices for internet access. 15% of Americans ages 18-‐29 rely on the internet provided by their smartphone as their sole access to the web7.
• Millennials use social media more frequently and are even more likely to sleep near their cell phone8.
1 US Census Bureau, 2013 2 15 Economic Facts About Millennials, The Council of Economic Advisors, 2014 3 US Census Bureau, 2012 4 Pew Research Center, 2014 5 Taylor and Keeter, 2010 6 Yahoo/DigitasLBi/Razorfish/Tumblr, “Content Marketing Best Practices Among Millennials”, 2015 7 Pew Research Center, 2015 8 Taylor and Keeter, 2010
• In 1980, the year in which the first Millennials were born, IBM’s first gigabyte hard drive
weighed 550 pounds and cost $40,000. Today, consumers have access to 3 terabyte hard drives — 3000 times the size — that weigh under 3 pounds and cost around $1009.
• At the same time, the costs of creating and distributing all kinds of digital content – from books to music to software – have fallen dramatically, creating opportunities for Millennials to be pioneers in the production, as well as consumption, of technology.10
Millennials value positive social impact and innovation in both their employers and their brands.
• 40% of Millennials feel that social responsibility is among the most important attributes of a brand11.
• Globally, more than seven in 10 (73 percent) Millennials believe businesses have a positive impact on wider society12.
• When asked to identify the words or phrases that match their own ideals as to what business should try to achieve, Millennials highlight “job creation,” “profit generation,” and “improving society.” Millennials also look to businesses to drive innovation and enable progress.13
• 62% of Millennials describe themselves as innovative, and 78% believe innovation is essential for business growth14.
The Capital Area Food Bank is powered by, and engaging with, the next generation.
Our team
• Half of the Capital Area Food Bank’s staff is part of the Millennial generation, contributing to and often leading our innovations in hunger relief.
Technology
• The food bank has grown its use of social media significantly. In the past 2 years, the food bank has added 13,775 new Facebook followers (1540% increase from previous year), which in turn
9 15 Economic Facts About Millennials, The Council of Economic Advisors, 2014 10 15 Economic Facts About Millennials, The Council of Economic Advisors, 2014 11 Yahoo/DigitasLBi/Razorfish/Tumblr, “Content Marketing Best Practices Among Millennials”, 2015 12 Mind the gaps: The 2015 Deloitte Millennial Survey, 2015 13 Mind the gaps: The 2015 Deloitte Millennial Survey, 2015 14 Deloitte Millennial Survey, 2013
increased Facebook post impressions by 215%. CAFB added 2,803 Twitter followers (149% increase from previous year).
• We are increasingly focused on innovation and technology (see Technology Message Bank) to address hunger needs in new ways, including the use of our Hunger Heat Map, CRM, Food Bank Network, and Nutrition Tracker.
• Many on our staff, including our CEO, are active Twitter users, blog authors, and members of a wide array of social media communities.
Volunteering
• The food bank offers volunteer opportunities geared toward Millennials, including Warehouse Wednesdays, which gives young professionals the opportunity to network while making a tangible impact in our distribution center, and the development of the Kitchen Cabinet, a Millennial advisory board.
Events
• The food bank hosts and participates in a number of events that meet Millennials where they are.
o Hunger Summit: The food bank’s annual gathering for its partners and the broader community is increasingly drawing Millennials who are interested or involved in food issues and hunger relief.
o Empty Bowls, an annual fundraiser at which participants sample soups from local chefs and receive an artist-‐made ceramic bowl. Several of the event locations are metro accessible and all are mid-‐day, so those who work can come by during lunch.
o Gay Pride: Food bank staff have walked alongside one of our emblematic black and orange trucks in this annual June parade for the past several years.
o Burgers and Brews: Held at Clagett Farm, which the food bank operates in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, this casual event brings together foodies, farm-‐to-‐table enthusiasts, and those who support regional hunger relief.
o Helping Happy Hours: We partners with local restaurants and bars to host happy hour fundraisers benefitting the CAFB.