How Strategic Philanthropy Supports Children's Health

Federal funding cuts; attacks on equity, immigrants, the rule of law, and the nation's democracy; a new tax bill; and the growing usage of expert system are just some of the elements that have actually upended the not-for-profit world. Amidst this upheaval, how can funders and their beneficiaries prepare for 2026 and beyond? In this special package, you'll hear from foundation leaders and major donors about giving 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 5 years from now, and how to react to what promises to be another unprecedented year. It's time to shed our fear and acknowledge that those who desire modification will stop working if the individuals closest to the money do not have the nerve to bear the most risk.

Kathleen Enright, president & CEO, Council on Foundations The philanthropic sector must be clear-eyed about the difficulties ahead: the pattern of targeted attacks and government overreach developed to stifle our most basic freedoms. 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 dependency.

Michael McAfee, CEO, PolicyLink It's challenging to picture passage anytime quickly of legislation needing higher payment rates. Bella DeVaan and Chuck Collins coordinate the Charity Reform Initiative, Institute for Policy Studies Interaction is no longer background sound. It's a battlefield. Matt Watkins, CEO, Watkins Public Affairs Funders will converge around pluralism, not because it's simple however since it's important.

Proven Community Engagement Strategies for Success

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

Findings from Church Mutual can help assist nonprofits as they browse 2026 and modifications in generational giving. In December of 2025, the "2026 Charitable Giving Up America" survey was conducted by Church Mutual, taking actions 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 numerous essential patterns within the nonprofit fundraising world, including the worrying truth that donors are planning to scale back their giving up 2026.

With that, here are 5 essential takeaways from the Church Mutual 2026 survey: The Church Mutual study discovered holy places continue to take in the lion's share of contributions. All four generations represented (Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and Infant Boomers) donated mostly to places of worship, constituting 74% of charitable contributions.

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

In addition, out of the four generations, Gen Z was most likely to offer during the slowest time of the year (JulySeptember). Those who operate in the nonprofit area must take note of the end-of-year influx in donations, which shows that OctoberDecember projects such as Offering Tuesday events, matches, and so on, might bring in a fundraising windfall.

Effective Community Engagement Frameworks for Impact

That said, "slow-down" periods should not be overlooked, as the more youthful generations might still be inclined to provide even when the older ones are not. The survey includes an area that information "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 monetary contributions, with Boomers being the group most likely to leave their charitable giving unchanged.

Millennials were identified as the group most likely to cut their giving, whereas Gen Z was not just identified as the group least likely to cut their offering, however likewise the group more than likely to increase their giving in 2026. Church Mutual has a few sections dedicated to the main monetary concerns of donors, something that falls beyond the scope of this post.

One finding that nonprofits should likewise understand is that a majority of donors have concerns about the monetary health of the groups they support. Church Mutual discovered that 54% of donors are fretted about 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 must be prepared to attend to younger donors' issues and be proactive in dealing with any issues affecting the organization internally. Doing so might make a difference in winning over more youthful donors during economically unsure times. While lower financial contributions might be worrisome for nonprofits, there might be some good news.

When asked if they would increase "effort and time" to help in other ways must they decrease their financial contributions, a majority of donors indicated they would; 26% stated they were "most likely" and 32% stated "rather most likely," equaling 58% of donors in general. The study recommends these actions might suggest "strong capacity to transform lowered financial providing into more volunteering, advocacy, or other non-financial assistance." In the face of smaller monetary contributions, nonprofits should lean into other channels to engage their donors.

Reviewing Various Business Philanthropy Models

There are other findings from Church Mutual that were not covered in this post, such as contribution approaches and the top financial top priorities of donors, and so I motivate all those in the nonprofit space to check out through the report. The findings from Church Mutual can help guide nonprofits as they navigate 2026, particularly as Gen Z starts to take on a more prominent function in the offering world.

Register for the Johnson Center's email 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 yearly report has become a commonly read and gone over publication, reaching more than 100,000 readers each year.

Typically, these short articles check out brand-new shifts or developing motions throughout the field of philanthropy. For this tenth edition, nevertheless, we have actually taken a different technique. Rather than determining an entirely brand-new set of emerging trends, we have turned our attention backwards to assess the styles that have formed our sector over the past 10 years, and to call both withstanding shifts and brand-new developments.

It is also an acknowledgment of the moment we discover ourselves in a moment of hyper interruption, that combines both excellent stress and anxiety about where we are headed and great possibility for what might follow. Our future feels more unsure than ever, however the chance to create and scale life-altering developments for our neighborhoods feels present, as well.

Top Charitable Strategies for Community Impact

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