By Abigail L. Coleman, writer, JGA |

The Baby Boomer and Millennial generations are frequently top of mind in discussions and research into the generations and generational giving preferences, but what about the “in-betweens?” Given the buzz, particularly about Millennials, it may be easy to overlook a resource for significant current and future donor growth for your organization: Generation X.

Also known as Gen X, this group includes those born in the United States from 1964 to 1980. Gen Xers are sandwiched squarely between older Baby Boomers and younger Millennials and represented 20% of total giving in the U.S. in 2013.

Based on data compiled by Pew Research Center, notable characteristics of this generation include:

• Diverse: 61% white (non-Hispanic)
• Religious: only 21% are religiously unaffiliated
• Moderately Educated: 46% had a high school diploma or less in 1995 (at age 25-32)
• Patriotic: 64% say they would describe themselves as “a very patriotic person”
• Insecure about Retirement: 44% are not confident about having enough money for retirement — this insecurity is greater than both that of Baby Boomers (40%) and Millennials (35%)