Peter Drucker, a renowned and influential management consultant and author, was famous for many things, including predicting the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the 1990s, based on his work with non-profit organizations like Girl Scouts, Drucker looked into the future and saw a revolution in non-profits.

Why? Baby boomers were the largest generation of people with education, work experience, long life expectancy, and wealth in history. And they were about to retire.

He reasoned that when this generation transitioned from working life, they would apply their education, experience, wealth, and talent to volunteering. This enormous shift of talent and resources would lead to the explosive growth of the non-profit sector.

This time Drucker was wrong. And he was one of the first to say so.

What did he overlook? If people did not volunteer during their working years, they were unlikely to volunteer when they retired.

Their behavior did not change because they had more time.

Time, resources, demographics, or other logical factors didn't matter. An underlying motivation, interest, and passion for an area or subject mattered most.

As a consultant and business co-founder, I have led creative strategy and design for 25+ years. Many of my clients are non-profits. A primary goal for non-profits today: convert new (and younger) audiences to the cause.

Most efforts to attract new audiences, like Drucker's baby boomers, seem promising but fail for the same reason.

Rather than converting new audiences, grow your organization by building deeper connections with your motivated base. It may seem counterintuitive, but it's through this base that you reach (and retain) new audiences.