How the $124 trillion intergenerational transfer will reshape philanthropy, and what your organization should do now.
Nonprofit leaders are watching a once-in-a-lifetime transfer of wealth. Cerulli Associates projects that $124 trillion will pass from one generation to the next through 2048, with roughly $18 trillion of that flowing directly to charity.
The number grabs headlines. The handoff is what should grab you. This wealth is leaving one generation and arriving at another, and the organizations that prepare for both today’s donors and tomorrow’s are the ones that will still be thriving in 2050. The good news echoes what we shared about donor-advised funds and monthly giving: you do not need a massive campaign or a dedicated planned giving officer to benefit from this transfer. You need a strategy and the foresight to begin.
Why this Moment Matters
The Baby Boomers are the wealthiest generation in history. Cerulli estimates that Boomers and the Silent Generation just ahead of them will hand down nearly 80% of all the wealth in this transfer. The oldest Boomers are now in their late seventies and eighties, and the window to capture their generosity is narrowing. Many would gladly leave gifts to the causes that shaped their lives, but never will, unless someone asks. For most donors, a charitable bequest is a values decision, not a tax calculation. It is about the legacy they want to leave, and your organization should help them tell that story.
The future of giving is not only in older hands, though. Giving USA’s Giving by Generation report found that Gen Z are increasing their giving faster than Gen X. The donors who will define philanthropy for the coming decades are stepping into their giving years right now, which means the relationships you build with them today are the ones that will pay off for decades.
We see it often: organizations chained to this year’s goals, reluctant to invest in gifts that may not arrive for years. Resist that pull. Research by Dr. Russell James shows that donors who add a charity to their estate plans go on to raise their annual giving by an average of 75%. Planned giving does not compete with your annual fund; it deepens the relationship and lifts everything else with it.
Building a Legacy Giving Program Today
In 2025, only about a quarter of U.S. adults reported having a will. It’s not that people can’t bear to think about their mortality. They often simply don’t know how to find a lawyer, or how to afford one, and let it slide to the bottom of their to-do lists. That is why, as fundraisers, it is our job to keep estate planning on donors’ minds and show them the many avenues that require no attorney at all.
A bequest in a will or living trust is the most common planned gift, and free online tools such as FreeWill let a donor create a legal will in under twenty minutes. Beneficiary designations are simpler still: a donor can name your organization on a retirement account, a life insurance policy, or a bank account with a single form and no attorney at all. Those 70½ or older can give straight from an IRA through a Qualified Charitable Distribution, satisfying their required minimum distribution without adding a dollar to their taxable income. A charitable gift annuity can even pay a donor fixed income for life while leaving a gift to your mission down the road.
Make these avenues easy to find. Build a clear Ways to Give page with sample bequest language and beneficiary designation instructions. A simple Legacy Society page with donor stories and recognition tiers turns a private intention into a community worth joining. Then take the step too many organizations skip: make the ask. Fewer than 6% of Americans include a charitable bequest in their wills, yet roughly one in three say they would consider it if asked. One survey found only 17% of donors open to a legacy conversation had ever been invited to one by a favorite charity. Many loyal supporters are simply waiting to be asked to make the gift of a lifetime.
Don’t Overlook Gen Z
If legacy giving is about the generation passing the torch, the other half of this transfer belongs to the one receiving it, and it is the half most often dismissed. When professional fundraisers were surveyed about this generation, they underestimated them on nearly every measure.
More than 80% of Gen Z support a cause, and roughly six in ten give in some form, though only about a third of those donate cash directly to nonprofits. Today they are more visible as promoters, volunteers, and advocates than as check writers. That helps explain why many fundraisers feel stuck: only about a quarter report success raising money from Gen Z, while far more succeed in engaging them as volunteers and champions. The donation often comes later; the relationship comes first. People who give generously in their fifties and sixties frequently formed their attachments decades earlier, when they had little money but plenty of conviction.
Understanding the Next Generation of Donors
Gen Z and Millennials give differently from their parents. They are cause-first rather than organization-first, loyal to the issues they believe in more than to any single institution. They expect transparency and proof of impact, a clear account of how their money is used and what it changes. They are powerfully swayed by their peers. And they tend to give in smaller amounts more often, many preferring the steady rhythm of a monthly gift to an annual check.
Meet them where they are with digital-first tools: short videos that make the case in seconds, mobile giving, and QR codes on printed materials. For Gen Z especially, much of that giving happens in the flow of daily life: the few dollars added at checkout, a gift at an event, a purchase that sends a share to a cause, a tap on social media. A revealing mismatch hides in the data, though. Fundraisers bet heavily on social media to raise money, while few think to offer the grocery store or online checkout donation Gen Z reaches for most. Add the frictionless options that fit their lives and treat that first small gift as the start of a relationship, not the end of a transaction.
Show your impact and show it prominently. Roughly 40% of Gen Z research an organization before they give, weighing its reputation, its mission, and how efficiently it spends a dollar. And refuse to choose between heart and evidence: nearly half of Gen Z told Blackbaud they want the facts and figures behind your impact. Pair the story with the statistic. When asked what would move them to give more, nearly seven in ten pointed to a genuine report on the difference their gift made, and more than half to an old-fashioned thank-you letter in the mail. The most online generation still wants to open an envelope to learn their gift mattered! When that letter never comes, a young donor does not assume you have gone paperless. They assume their gift was too small to be worth your thanks.
Finally, give them ways to belong that go beyond a gift. Lean into peer-to-peer fundraising around birthdays, crowdfunding, and matching challenges. Offer real roles: about a third of Gen Z would welcome a seat on a young professionals board or advisory committee, a low-cost way to hand them genuine ownership and garner fresh ideas. Make the most of the workplace, too, where, among employers who offer giving or volunteering, roughly nine in ten Gen Z employees take part.
The Next Generation of Grantmakers
The transfer of wealth is also a transfer of power and nowhere is that clearer than in family philanthropy. As the founders who built America’s family foundations age, many are handing board seats to their children and grandchildren. These newer hands tend to grant differently. Many lean issue-first, concentrating on causes like climate, racial justice, education, and health equity, and a growing number are choosing to spend down rather than exist in perpetuity. Many are drawn to trust-based practices: multi-year and unrestricted support, lighter applications and reporting, and a partnership built on trust rather than compliance. The shift is real but uneven, and the field is still arguing about how far to go. Even so, the direction is unmistakable and rewards the very things that move the next generation of individual donors: a clear account of your impact, a genuine commitment to equity, and a relationship that began long before the ask.
The wealth is already in motion. The only question is whether it moves toward your mission, and often the only thing missing is a clear invitation. My Philanthropy Team can help you map a legacy giving program, segment donors for a next-generation strategy, or identify the best place to begin.
Let’s build something that lasts.
As your partner in fundraising strategy, My Philanthropy Team is here to help you translate this into action. We’d love to brainstorm how to leverage these opportunities for your organization.
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