In my session hosted by the Hill Country Community Foundation, I had this question.  How do I reach donors that are 80+ and not adopting social media, email, or any other new technology?

Well, I think the person asking had hoped I would reveal the answer to how to get this demographic to participate online, but I don’t have the answer to that question.  Though trends show that individuals in the 65+ demographic are adopting social networking I don’t think they will ever be key adopters.

As such, it is important to start to develop a marketing plan that satisfies the needs of your current donors while building a presence that will allow you to target new donors.

Here are a few ideas for bringing awareness of your organization to a younger generation of donors while maintaining your existing one:

1. Think about children’s programs.  Can you do camps, tours, classes, etc…programs like this allow you to foster new relationships while continuing to offer existing ones.

2. Use multichannel marketing mixes in your campaign development.  For example: don’t just mail an event postcard.  Mail a postcard with a Facebook link to the event.  This way your non-Facebook donors have the information along with your Facebook fans.

3. Meet your donors where they are, but don’t forget about the future.  It is important to be in the social space while maintaining your existing donor base.  Consider using college students to help your organization gain social presences without distracting efforts to maintain your current presence.

Take-away: As I learned in Girl Scouts long ago, “Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other Gold.”