CEO Stories: Rachel Klausner, Millie

RE-THINKING GIVING FOR MILLENNIALS

Milliegiving.com, an app designed to make donating easier and more mindful for millennials, is the brainchild of software designer Rachel Klausner. Raised with a mindset that charitable giving is important, the 30-year-old Klausner found herself “embarrassed” by how much of her own giving was motivated by friends’ online request; a realization she had when she was doing her taxes. Boston-based Klausner is not alone: Data shows that millennials, while generous, tend to donate primarily through peers, in contrast to equally generous but more “thoughtful” baby boomers.

THE “TINDER OF GIVING”

Millie matches users to nonprofits that fit the app thinks would appeal to users, who can just “swipe right” if they want to donate. The similarity to Tinder isn’t lost on Klausner, who doesn’t mind the comparisons. Though she had never used a dating app herself, Klausner knew it was important to make thoughtful giving as easy as possible and to take advantage of her generation’s familiarity and ease with technology. She named the app “Millie” as a nod to her demographic group, whom she says often gets an undeserved bad rap.

MAXIMIZING OPPORTUNITY

Approximately 100 nonprofits signed onto the beta model; now, according to Klausner, nonprofits seek them out. Finding a way to appeal to millennials has been a longstanding challenge for nonprofits, who are able to customize their profiles on the app. And Millie offers access to donor-advised funds for gifts starting at $20 – a far cry from the more customary amounts of $5,000 and up. And Millie is also a platform for small- and midsize companies to offer employee giving.