Contributions and donations from private donors make up an average of 30% of a museum’s revenue in the US, according to the American Alliance of Museum’s 2024 Museum Board Leadership National Report. Historically museums have relied on large donations from a small pool of major donors, which can come from individuals, foundations, or corporate sponsorships. Across the nonprofit sector, according to CCS’ 2024 Philanthropic Landscape Report, individual giving accounted for the largest percentage of giving by source at 67% of total giving in 2023. 2023 saw a 3.4% decrease in the total number of individual donors overall, with a 2.9% decrease in individual major donors ($50,000+). Many museums and other nonprofits across the country have relied on major donors from the Silent and Boomer generations, as they make up almost 70% of total US giving (2023). As the older generation ages, and steps back from giving museums need to cultivate a relationship and engage with younger generations such as Millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z).

Millennials born between 1981-1996 range from ages 44-29 in 2025 and make up just over 25% of the US population. Gen Z, born between 1997-2012 ranging in age from 28-13 in 2025, makes up around 20% of the US population. It is estimated that 60% of Millennials engage in annual giving with an average gift of $481 across three organizations. Millennials tend to gravitate towards causes that align with their values, usually researching the organization and connecting with the organization personally before donating.

It is reported that 44% of Gen Z donate annually with an average gift of $785 across three organizations. Gen Z values community impact and wants to know where their donation is going and what impact it will have. Gen Z gravitates towards crowdsourced funding campaigns on platforms such as GoFundMe and are very likely to share their support on social media. Publicly sharing support and fundraising campaigns encourage others to share or support the organization or cause.

Both Millennials and Gen Z prefer online or mobile communications and user-friendly websites with easy-to-use donation payment processing. Both groups participate in giving but their focus is different than that of the Boomer generation, who prioritize arts and cultural organizations. Millennials and Gen Z prioritize organizations that focus on the environment, animals, children, and societal and economic issues while fostering sustainable, diverse, and inclusive practices.

How can museums bridge this gap and connect with younger donors?

It is clear from the research that Millennials and Gen Z are actively giving to organizations that align with their values and interests but what should museums and galleries be doing to get their attention?

Get Them Interested in Visiting

The first step is to get them through the door. The American Alliance of Museum’s 2024 Annual Survey of Museum Goers reports that people age 60+ are the highest percentage of frequent visitors to both history and art museums. The median ages of patrons at art museums and history museums are 67 and 64 respectively. Even causal or infrequent patrons of both types of museums are typically in their 40’s. Millennials and Gen Z make up a small percentage of frequent visitors to museums, however the data shows that they account for 50-60% casual or sporadic visitors, especially adults with school-aged children. Millennials and Gen Z under 40 and without children make up 17% of casual visitors to art museums and 24% of casual visitors to history museums.

Casual visitors to both types of museums are more diverse than frequent visitors. To attract socially conscious Millennial and Gen Z donors, museums need to make sure they are actively serving and representing the community that surrounds them. Programming, outreach, and community partnerships need to reflect the interests of the local community. Millennials and Gen Z value transparency, inclusivity, collaboration, and authenticity.

Avant Arte’s March 2025 Collectors Report shows that the new generation of art collecting enthusiasts (80% under the age of 50) want art museums to strike a balance between exhibitions of established artists and those that are new, up and coming, and diverse. Some museums do special night-time, after-hours, or weekend events that appeal directly to younger people, especially young professionals. For example, the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. is hosting Covert Cocktails, an adults only after hours event in July 2025 where guests can mingle with former government spies over drinks. The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts Date Night at The Met every Friday and Saturday night with food and drink specials. The Smithsonian American Art Museum offers a special SAAM Creatives membership aimed at young professionals to network and interact with artists, curators, and other creatives.

Creating exhibits that are visually appealing or immersive may also get younger generations interested in visiting as they want to share their experiences via social media. Recently the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia hosted an Art Nouveau exhibit “Eternally New: The Art Nouveau World of Alphonse Mucha” that included a large, screen projected immersive video that was captivating to see. These immersive experiences have gained popularity within the last few years. One of the most popular being the traveling Immersive Van Gogh exhibit that combines screens and projections of Van Gogh’s artwork with accompanying light shows and virtual reality headsets that fully encapsulate the viewer. The immersive Van Gogh exhibit is extremely popular and was dubbed highly “Instagrammable” for its visual appeal and popularity on social media platforms.

To better serve the next generation of visitors, museums also need to make sure information, and materials are easily accessible and available online. Avant Arte’s global collectors survey indicated that insufficient online presence and communication about upcoming events was the largest barrier to museum/gallery accessibility. Speaking from experience, Millennials would rather stay home than call and speak to someone about an event or museum hours. Because Millennials and Gen Z are interested in researching organizations and aligning with their values it is important to communicate your organization’s mission, vision, and values clearly. Concerns over institutions accepting grants and funding from foundations or individuals that are seen as not aligned with the museum’s mission or that do not engage in ethical or sustainable practices has grown in recent years, especially among younger generations.

It is also beneficial for museums to use social media to engage younger donors and create interesting content to get them to visit. Using social media channels to promote events and programming is key, as that is where Millennials and Gen Z will see it. I (Millennial speaking) found out about the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Maryland on the social media platform Tik Tok when their curator started posting “behind the scenes” videos about objects at the museum and in storage. I knew about and was able to visit that museum thanks to engagement on social media.

Transparency, authenticity, and genuine engagement through social media platforms, online communications, and events targeted at younger people can help bring Millennials and Gen Z in. In 2024, several museum social media accounts went viral after posting videos where curators featured the “Millennial pause” (a long pause before speaking on camera) and current Gen Z slang in Tik Tok videos to discuss their collections or promote their institutions. This lighthearted and funny engagement resonated with Millennial and Gen Z audiences and resulted in millions of online views that did translate into higher visitation for some of the museums.

Help Them Learn How to Show Support

Millennials and Gen Z want to be involved with organizations and according to Avant Arte’s survey, they want more in-person engagement. They want to support museums but are unsure of how to do so. Forty percent of respondents said they would like to financially support art institutions, however they either don’t know how or would like guidance on how to do so. These findings indicate that fundraising teams can reach young collectors, art enthusiasts and their local community by putting out engaging educational content on their websites and social media platforms that explain how specifically they could support the organization. Whether that is through volunteering, donations, membership, or just visitation as a first step, guiding new and younger philanthropists.

Some Millennials and Gen Z folks may not yet have made a charitable contribution. They may not even realize how big an impact their support can have.

Museums and gallery spaces can be intimidating places, these perceptions were echoed by Avant Arte’s survey. Many respondents referred to the art world as elitist, intimidating, and pretentious and 90% felt that the art world is not a welcoming or inclusive space. Museum staff at these institutions have the ability to change this perspective and welcome younger generations into the fold. Opening more pathways for direct involvement with the organization can help to change this perception. Again, adding more inclusive and diverse artists and exhibitions can help to change the perceptions of museums to be exclusive and unwelcoming.

The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky recognized barriers to access on multiple levels and restructured their spaces, exhibitions, and accessibility to foster a welcoming environment culturally, socially, financially, and physically. The museum moved its permanent exhibits from a “white cube” style gallery to a more open and inviting part of their building as well as recontextualized their narratives and expanded their collection to include a more diverse range of artistic and cultural objects. They removed their plain bench style seating from the galleries and replaced it with living room style furniture such as couches, lounge chairs, and coffee tables to create a more welcoming space that helps foster a comfortable environment for all patrons as well as facilitate social interaction and discussion. They received funding to offer free admission every Sunday and plan many events and programming for Sundays so that their community can attend those events at no cost, alleviating financial barriers to education and art programming. Finally, they are in the process of creating a sculpture garden that will be free and open to the public every day throughout the year, allowing the community to have an open space where they can feel welcome at any time. Changing their interior and grounds from a traditional art museum into a welcoming and accessible community space may help to change perceptions about the art world as exclusive, elitist, and unwelcoming.

Get Them Involved

AAM’s 2024 Board Leadership National Report reported that 82% of board members surveyed were white, and 56% were age 65 or older. Museums can change this by forming committees, junior boards, or councils where younger members can help make decisions and feel more involved with the organization. For example, museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art have created the Young Patrons Council and the Whitney Contemporaries where art enthusiasts aged 21-40 can get together and discuss current topics, network with artists, and help plan and attend events that they would like to be involved in.

Letting younger people in on the museum planning and governing process can help them feel more connected to the organization while also helping them with professional development and networking. Getting direct input from rising donors about exhibitions, events, and programming that appeals to them, their age group, and their peers could help institutions to attract even more potential supporters.

Based on several recent reports, the rising generation of Millennial and Gen Z donors are interested and ready to support causes that they believe in. They are ready to share their ideas with others and encourage them to join in. Gen Z are generous donors, giving more monetary support annually than Millennials, even though according to a recent survey by Transunion, Gen Z earns less than Millennials did at their age while having more debt. As economic and political conditions change in the US, it may encourage younger generations to invest in what they believe in and be even more supportive of causes they care about.

There are members of the rising generation of donors out there who want to support arts and culture but may need help learning how to do so. Museums need to be creative in the ways that they develop, create, and communicate events and programming. Getting direct input from the younger generation in their local community can help shape experiences that Millennials and Gen Z would like to be a part of.

Millennials and Gen Z want to see the impact of their support and arts institutions need to be transparent and authentic when sharing those insights.

Written by Erin Bloodgood, a graduate student in the Material Culture and Public Humanities program at Virginia Tech.