Nonprofit groups should be aggressively working to involve people in their 20s and 30s.

But Derrick Feldmann, president of Achieve, a consulting company in Indianapolis, said they shouldn’t expect young donors to open up their checkbooks quickly.

Nor should they expect to raise significant money, Mr. Feldmann told an audience at the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual conference in New Orleans.

But nonprofit groups shouldn’t abandon efforts to seek out young donors, even if the initial return is low.

“This is a long-term philanthropic strategy to engage young people,” he said. “They are not going to be young for long. The organizations that take this approach are the ones that are going to be very successful with reaching these individuals over the long term.”

In an interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Feldmann discussed four key steps nonprofit groups can take to attract young donors. You can listen to the interview: