Essential Strategies for Better Non-Profit Giving

Federal financing cuts; attacks on equity, immigrants, the guideline of law, and the country's democracy; a brand-new tax bill; and the growing usage of synthetic intelligence are just a few of the factors that have upended the not-for-profit world. Amidst this upheaval, how can funders and their grantees prepare for 2026 and beyond? In this special package, you'll speak with structure leaders and major donors about giving patterns in the coming year and efforts to react to Trump administration threats.

You'll discover bold forecasts from leaders and thinkers throughout the sector about what lies ahead, including what the sector will appear like 5 years from now, and how to react to what guarantees to be another unprecedented year. It's time to shed our fear and acknowledge that those who desire change will fail if individuals closest to the cash lack the courage to bear the most run the risk of.

Kathleen Enright, president & CEO, Council on Foundations The humanitarian sector need to be clear-eyed about the challenges ahead: the pattern of targeted attacks and federal government overreach developed to suppress our most fundamental flexibilities. John Palfrey, president, MacArthur Structure Nonprofits are addicted to the hamster wheel of fundraising, and in 2026, AI may supersize both the wheel and the dependency.

Michael McAfee, CEO, PolicyLink It's tough to think of passage anytime quickly of legislation requiring greater payment rates. Bella DeVaan and Chuck Collins coordinate the Charity Reform Effort, Institute for Policy Researches Communication is no longer background noise.

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Dimple Abichandani, author of A Brand-new Period of Philanthropy. Lighthouse illustration by Greg Mably for The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Findings from Church Mutual can help direct nonprofits as they browse 2026 and modifications in generational providing. In December of 2025, the "2026 Charitable Giving Up America" survey was conducted by Church Mutual, taking reactions from 1,010 adults who contribute financially to nonprofits and other charitable causes. According to a short article on the research study from NonProfitPro, Church Mutual shows multiple essential patterns within the not-for-profit fundraising world, consisting of the disconcerting truth that donors are planning to scale back their offering in 2026.

With that, here are five essential takeaways from the Church Mutual 2026 survey: The Church Mutual study discovered holy places continue to take in the lion's share of donations. All four generations represented (Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and Infant Boomers) contributed mainly to places of praise, making up 74% of charitable donations.

Organizations that have spiritual ties must emphasize this connection to donors, especially if they actively support houses of worship or schools. Another crucial finding from the survey was that donors tended to make their contributions toward the end of the year (OctoberDecember). Across the 4 generations, end-of-year donations made up the highest percentage, with JanuaryMarch taking 2nd place, followed by AprilJune, then JulySeptember.

Furthermore, out of the four generations, Gen Z was most likely to give throughout the slowest time of the year (JulySeptember). Those who operate in the nonprofit space must keep in mind of the end-of-year influx in contributions, which shows that OctoberDecember projects such as Offering Tuesday events, matches, and so on, might generate a fundraising windfall.

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That stated, "slow-down" periods must not be disregarded, as the younger generations might still be inclined to give even when the older ones are not. The study consists of a section that details "donation expectations" for 2026, and it is these findings that may sound alarm bells. On the one hand, around half of donors (48%) said they will not make any changes to their financial contributions, with Boomers being the group probably to leave their charitable giving unchanged.

Millennials were determined as the group most likely to cut their giving, whereas Gen Z was not just recognized as the group least most likely to cut their providing, but also the group most likely to increase their providing in 2026. Church Mutual has a couple of sections dedicated to the primary financial issues of donors, something that falls beyond the scope of this post.

One finding that nonprofits need to also understand is that a bulk of donors have concerns about the financial health of the groups they support. Church Mutual discovered that 54% of donors are worried about the financial health of the receivers of their contributions. By generation, Gen Z was the most concerned, followed by millennials and Gen X respectively, while Boomers were the least worried.

They must be prepared to deal with younger donors' issues and be proactive in resolving any concerns afflicting the organization internally. Doing so could make a distinction in winning over more youthful donors during financially uncertain times. While lower monetary contributions may be worrisome for nonprofits, there may be some great news.

When asked if they would increase "time and effort" to help in other ways should they minimize their monetary donations, a bulk of donors showed they would; 26% stated they were "extremely likely" and 32% stated "somewhat most likely," equaling 58% of donors overall. The research study recommends these responses could indicate "strong potential to convert minimized financial giving into more volunteering, advocacy, or other non-financial assistance." In the face of smaller sized monetary contributions, nonprofits should lean into other channels to engage their donors.

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There are other findings from Church Mutual that were not covered in this article, such as contribution techniques and the leading financial concerns of donors, therefore I encourage all those in the nonprofit area to review the report. The findings from Church Mutual can assist guide nonprofits as they browse 2026, especially as Gen Z starts to take on a more popular function in the offering world.

Sign up for the Johnson Center's email newsletter! This year marks a milestone for the Johnson Center: the tenth edition of our 11 Trends in Philanthropy report. What started in 2017 as a modest supplement to our annual report has grown into a widely read and discussed publication, reaching more than 100,000 readers each year.

Generally, these posts explore new shifts or progressing movements throughout the field of philanthropy. For this tenth edition, nevertheless, we have taken a different technique. Instead of recognizing an entirely brand-new set of emerging patterns, we have turned our attention backwards to assess the themes that have actually shaped our sector over the past 10 years, and to call both sustaining shifts and brand-new developments.

It is also an acknowledgment of the minute we discover ourselves in a minute of hyper disturbance, that integrates both excellent stress and anxiety about where we are headed and excellent possibility for what might come next. Our future feels more uncertain than ever, but the chance to produce and scale life-altering innovations for our communities feels present, as well.

Future-Proofing Your Social Framework for 2026

As executive orders, legal contests, and legislative disputes play out, we do not have a clear image of just how much federal financing has actually been rescinded or kept from nonprofits and neighborhoods. We do not understand the number of nonprofits have actually closed or will close their doors, the number of staff have lost their tasks, or how lots of communities have lost access to crucial services.