Generosity abounds in America’s young people. But there’s a catch.

A New Jersey free kitchen has seen an explosion in young volunteers eager to help their community, part of a national trend that is proving surprisingly challenging for charities.

Data shows that young adults today are far more inclined to generously donate their time, but some data points suggest they’re not donating their money as readily as previous generations.

GivingUSA reports that while charitable giving is often tied to age and household income (older generations tend to have more leisure time in retirement and have accumulated more wealth), older and younger people before 2016 volunteered at about the same rate, 33%. By early 2017, though, millennials’ volunteering hit an all-time high of 42%. U.S. census data shows that from 2021to 2023, some of the largest relative gains in volunteering came from people ages 27 to 42.

For now, Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, New Jersey, is doing just fine. But some charities are struggling to adapt to a new generation of generosity.

Anyone can sit down at Cathedral Kitchen for a hot, chef-prepared meal, take grocery items from their free market stand, connect to social services, even get sandwiches and takeout meals. The kitchen doesn’t just give away food, either; a central part of the nonprofit’s mission is to train people in need for careers in the hospitality and restaurant industry.

If there’s a crisis in generosity, especially among young people, as outlets including Vox, The Associated Press, Giving Compass and the Chronicle of Philanthropy have reported, it hasn’t hit Cathedral Kitchen. Noreen Flewelling, CK’s senior development director, told USA TODAY that the kitchen has seen more young people volunteering than ever before.

Cathedral Kitchen has seen a 64% increase in the number of millennial and Gen Z volunteers over the past couple of years, Flewelling said.

Though it doesn’t track the age of donors, it does ask volunteers for a date of birth when they sign up to serve meals, help with food distribution and make sandwiches and prepare takeaway bags.

Different generations, different ways of giving

Studies show that there are generational differences in charitable giving. Older Americans − members of the Silent Generation and baby boomers in particular − are responsible for about 70% of all individual giving, according to a 2023 article in Nonprofit Tech for Good. But that doesn’t mean Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Zers are less generous than older cohorts, experts and people working in the nonprofit sector say.

There are myriad reasons for the drop in the number of younger donors: A high cost of living as necessities like housing, health care and food all take a bigger bite out of budgets; student loan debt; and a dearth of well-paying entry-level jobs all mean there’s less money left over to give away.

“Individual giving is a vital and very important part of being able to help communities,” said Rick Cohen, chief operating officer for the National Council of Nonprofits, the nation’s largest network of nonprofit organizations.

Younger people aren’t necessarily less generous, he said: “They’ll start a mutual aid group, with peers helping peers. They want to do things in a different way, and they want to see what dollars they do donate go further.”

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Rather than donating to a large, national nonprofit, younger people will contribute to (or initiate) coat and clothing drives, local food pantries and animal shelters in their communities.

There’s a downside to that, though, Cohen said: “While we appreciate that they do these things, the money you might spend at a grocery store, for example, (a nonprofit organization) can make that cash go further than an individual.”

Fewer people are giving to charities and nonprofit organizations, and that, Cohen said, is a challenge facing many groups, along with rising costs and cuts in federal funding. Those who are still giving tend to be wealthier and older, and Cohen noted that if those donors pull back, the pain could be acute. So nonprofits need to broaden their base of donors and adjust to changing demographics and giving habits.

Seeking authenticity and engagement

One way nonprofits are adjusting: by tailoring their messages to the different ways in which young people opt to give.

Ronald McDonald House provides a place for families to stay while their children are undergoing medical treatment, offering a host of services including sibling support, transportation and meals. There are hundreds of Ronald McDonald Houses and “family rooms” within health care facilities all over the United States and the world.

The nonprofit, which is not affiliated with the fast-food giant (though McDonald’s is its founding donor and remains a major benefactor), recently launched a new campaign, “Family Stays,” to highlight the stories of families whose kids are battling health crises. The goal: to attract new donors by showing how their generosity makes a real impact on real people.

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“What we know is happening is a decline in the number of people giving,” said Katie Fitzgerald, Ronald McDonald House’s global president and CEO. Though Ronald McDonald House hasn’t experienced that directly yet, she said, “we know this is a trend and we’re watching it closely.”

What they do know is that peer-to-peer fundraising works best. So does showing young people the tangible results of their giving. They’re sharing families’ stories on social media, engaging with influencers and highlighting volunteers.

“We believe that speaks to Gen Z and other young people who are looking for authentic engagement and real connections,” she said.

Giving time and talent

One way younger people are finding engagement and connection is by volunteering. Cathedral Kitchen’s Flewelling said one reason for their dramatic increase in volunteers is that many of the large companies that call Camden and the surrounding area home − including Campbell’s Soup, Subaru of America and American Water, among others − support employees’ efforts to give back.

“The companies tell us their employees are looking for ways to help, whether it’s making sandwiches in their offices (or) lending their skills,” Flewelling said. A Campbell’s Soup employee is helping design a logo for Cathedral Kitchen’s 50th anniversary, she said, and other companies have had managers come to do mock interviews and offer resume assistance to students as they prepare to enter or reenter the workforce.

“Those are unique opportunities to make a difference,” she said.

Ronald McDonald House has a marathon team. About 1,400 runners have raised $3 million this year, compared with $2 million last year, Fitzgerald said.

“This is a generation that wants to get their hands dirty,” she said, and they’re used to serving others. Many high schools and colleges require and encourage volunteerism. Young people are also more apt to give online, through apps (like McDonald’s app, which has a “round up” feature) and through vendors like PayPal and Venmo.

Cohen said people “want to make a difference on a more personal, micro level and don’t always want to go through a larger organization with a larger footprint.”

“It’s making a difference,” he said. “Even if you help 10 people, it can make all the difference in the world to those 10 people. Not all the shifts in giving are bad, they’re just different ways of doing things.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do young people give less to charity? There’s a shift in donations.