Proven Community Engagement Frameworks for Success

Federal funding cuts; attacks on equity, immigrants, the guideline of law, and the country's democracy; a new tax expense; and the growing usage of artificial intelligence are simply a few of the elements that have overthrown the not-for-profit world. Amidst this turmoil, how can funders and their grantees prepare for 2026 and beyond? In this special package, you'll hear from foundation leaders and major donors about offering trends in the coming year and efforts to respond to Trump administration dangers.

You'll find vibrant predictions from leaders and thinkers across the sector about what lies ahead, including what the sector will appear like 5 years from now, and how to react to what assures to be another unmatched year. It's time to shed our worry and acknowledge that those who want change will stop working if the individuals closest to the money do not have the guts to bear the most risk.

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

Michael McAfee, CEO, PolicyLink It's hard to imagine passage anytime soon of legislation needing greater payment rates. Bella DeVaan and Chuck Collins collaborate the Charity Reform Effort, Institute for Policy Researches Interaction is no longer background noise. It's a battleground. Matt Watkins, CEO, Watkins Public Affairs Funders will converge around pluralism, not because it's easy but because it's important.

Keys to Long-Term Charitable Investment Programs

Dimple Abichandani, author of A New Age of Philanthropy. Lighthouse illustration by Greg Mably for The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Findings from Church Mutual can assist direct nonprofits as they navigate 2026 and changes in generational providing.

With that, here are five essential takeaways from the Church Mutual 2026 study: The Church Mutual survey found houses of praise continue to take in the lion's share of contributions. All four generations represented (Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers) contributed mostly to places of worship, constituting 74% of charitable donations.

Organizations that have religious ties need to highlight this connection to donors, especially if they actively support houses of worship or schools. Another crucial finding from the study was that donors tended to make their contributions towards the end of the year (OctoberDecember). Across the 4 generations, end-of-year contributions comprised the greatest percentage, with JanuaryMarch taking 2nd place, followed by AprilJune, then JulySeptember.

Additionally, out of the 4 generations, Gen Z was probably to offer during the slowest time of the year (JulySeptember). Those who work in the nonprofit area needs to remember of the end-of-year increase in donations, which shows that OctoberDecember projects such as Giving Tuesday occasions, matches, and so on, could generate a fundraising windfall.

Innovative Local Outreach Strategies for Success

That said, "slow-down" durations ought to not be neglected, as the younger generations may still be inclined to provide even when the older ones are not. The survey consists of a section that details "donation expectations" for 2026, and it is these findings that might sound alarm bells. On the one hand, around half of donors (48%) said they will not make any modifications to their financial contributions, with Boomers being the group more than likely to leave their charitable giving the same.

Millennials were identified as the group more than likely to cut their offering, whereas Gen Z was not only identified as the group least most likely to cut their providing, but also the group probably to increase their giving up 2026. Church Mutual has a couple of areas devoted to the primary financial concerns of donors, something that falls beyond the scope of this post.

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

They need to be prepared to resolve younger donors' concerns and be proactive in attending to any issues afflicting the organization internally. Doing so might make a distinction in winning over more youthful donors during economically uncertain times. While lower monetary contributions might be uneasy for nonprofits, there may be some excellent news.

When asked if they would increase "time and effort" to assist in other ways should they lower their financial contributions, a majority of donors indicated they would; 26% said they were "highly likely" and 32% said "somewhat likely," equaling 58% of donors in general. The study suggests these actions could suggest "strong potential to convert minimized monetary giving into more volunteering, advocacy, or other non-financial assistance." In the face of smaller sized monetary contributions, nonprofits must lean into other channels to engage their donors.

Steps for Long-Term Charitable Investment Programs

There are other findings from Church Mutual that were not covered in this post, such as donation techniques and the leading monetary concerns of donors, therefore I encourage all those in the not-for-profit space to check out the report. The findings from Church Mutual can help assist nonprofits as they browse 2026, specifically as Gen Z starts to take on a more prominent role in the giving world.

Sign up for the Johnson Center's e-mail newsletter! This year marks a milestone for the Johnson Center: the tenth edition of our 11 Patterns in Philanthropy report. What began in 2017 as a modest supplement to our annual report has become an extensively read and gone over publication, reaching more than 100,000 readers each year.

Normally, these articles check out brand-new shifts or evolving movements throughout the field of philanthropy. For this tenth edition, however, we have actually taken a different technique. Instead of determining a completely brand-new set of emerging trends, we have turned our attention backward to review the themes that have actually formed our sector over the previous ten years, and to call both withstanding shifts and new developments.

It is likewise an acknowledgment of the moment we find ourselves in a minute of active interruption, that integrates both great stress and anxiety about where we are headed and great possibility for what could follow. Our future feels more unsure than ever, but the opportunity to create and scale life-changing innovations for our neighborhoods feels present, as well.

Key Benefits of Strategic Non-Profit Collaborations

As executive orders, legal contests, and legal arguments play out, we do not have a clear picture of just how much federal funding has actually been rescinded or kept from nonprofits and communities. We do not know the number of nonprofits have closed or will close their doors, how numerous staff have actually lost their tasks, or how lots of neighborhoods have actually lost access to critical services.