Promoting Lasting Community Good Through CSR

Federal financing cuts; attacks on equity, immigrants, the guideline of law, and the country's democracy; a new tax costs; and the growing use of synthetic intelligence are simply some of the factors that have upended the nonprofit world. Amid this turmoil, how can funders and their beneficiaries prepare for 2026 and beyond? In this unique package, you'll hear from foundation leaders and major donors about providing patterns in the coming year and efforts to react to Trump administration risks.

You'll find bold forecasts from leaders and thinkers throughout the sector about what lies ahead, including what the sector will look like five years from now, and how to respond to what guarantees to be another unmatched year. It's time to shed our fear and acknowledge that those who desire change will fail if the individuals closest to the money lack the guts to bear the most run the risk of.

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

Michael McAfee, CEO, PolicyLink It's challenging to imagine passage anytime soon of legislation requiring higher payment rates. Bella DeVaan and Chuck Collins collaborate the Charity Reform Effort, Institute for Policy Studies Interaction is no longer background sound. It's a battleground. Matt Watkins, CEO, Watkins Public Affairs Funders will converge around pluralism, not since it's easy however since it's necessary.

Steps for Long-Term Community Partnership Models

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

Findings from Church Mutual can assist direct nonprofits as they browse 2026 and modifications in generational providing. In December of 2025, the "2026 Charitable Giving Up America" survey was carried out by Church Mutual, taking responses from 1,010 grownups who contribute financially to nonprofits and other charitable causes. According to a short article on the study from NonProfitPro, Church Mutual suggests multiple essential trends within the not-for-profit fundraising world, including the worrying reality that donors are planning to scale back their giving up 2026.

With that, here are 5 key takeaways from the Church Mutual 2026 survey: The Church Mutual survey found holy places continue to take in the lion's share of donations. All 4 generations represented (Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers) contributed mainly to places of worship, making up 74% of charitable donations.

Organizations that have religious ties should emphasize this connection to donors, particularly if they actively support holy places or schools. Another essential finding from the study was that donors tended to make their contributions toward completion of the year (OctoberDecember). Across the four generations, end-of-year donations comprised the highest percentage, with JanuaryMarch taking 2nd place, followed by AprilJune, then JulySeptember.

Additionally, out of the 4 generations, Gen Z was most likely to offer during the slowest time of the year (JulySeptember). Those who operate in the nonprofit area needs to take note of the end-of-year influx in donations, which indicates that OctoberDecember campaigns such as Providing Tuesday occasions, matches, etc, might generate a fundraising windfall.

Understanding Key Giving Shifts

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

Millennials were identified as the group more than likely to cut their providing, whereas Gen Z was not only determined as the group least likely to cut their offering, however also the group most likely to increase their giving in 2026. Church Mutual has a couple of areas committed to the primary monetary issues of donors, something that falls beyond the scope of this post.

One finding that nonprofits should likewise 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 monetary health of the recipients of their contributions. By generation, Gen Z was the most worried, followed by millennials and Gen X respectively, while Boomers were the least worried.

They ought to be prepared to deal with younger donors' issues and be proactive in dealing with any concerns affecting the organization internally. Doing so might make a difference in winning over younger donors throughout financially unsure times. While lower financial contributions may be uneasy for nonprofits, there may be some great news.

When asked if they would increase "effort and time" to help in other ways should they minimize their monetary donations, a majority of donors showed they would; 26% said they were "highly likely" and 32% stated "rather most likely," equating to 58% of donors in general. The research study suggests these responses might indicate "strong potential to transform minimized monetary offering into more volunteering, advocacy, or other non-financial assistance." In the face of smaller monetary contributions, nonprofits need to lean into other channels to engage their donors.

Reimagining Business Philanthropy Framework for Success

There are other findings from Church Mutual that were not covered in this post, such as donation approaches and the leading monetary concerns of donors, and so I motivate all those in the nonprofit area to check out the report. The findings from Church Mutual can assist guide nonprofits as they navigate 2026, specifically as Gen Z starts to handle a more popular function in the offering world.

Subscribe to the Johnson Center's e-mail newsletter! This year marks a milestone for the Johnson Center: the tenth edition of our 11 Trends in Philanthropy report. What began in 2017 as a modest supplement to our yearly report has actually grown into a commonly checked out and gone over publication, reaching more than 100,000 readers each year.

Generally, these posts explore brand-new shifts or progressing motions across the field of philanthropy. For this tenth edition, nevertheless, we have taken a various approach. Rather than identifying a wholly brand-new set of emerging trends, we have actually turned our attention backwards to review the themes that have shaped our sector over the past 10 years, and to call both withstanding shifts and brand-new advancements.

It is likewise a recommendation of the minute we find ourselves in a moment of active interruption, that combines both excellent anxiety about where we are headed and excellent possibility for what might come next. Our future feels more unsure than ever, but the chance to create and scale life-changing innovations for our neighborhoods feels present, too.

Why Global Brands Support Youth Well-Being

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