Latest / The Nonprofit Podcast / Ep 190| 2026 Fundraising Trends: What Leaders Are Quietly Changing to Build Stability

Transcript

Ep 190| 2026 Fundraising Trends: What Leaders Are Quietly Changing to Build Stability · The Nonprofit Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Every year we hear about fundraising trends we're supposed to prepare for next.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: But the 2026 fundraising trends we're paying attention to aren't necessarily shiny or surprising.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: They're showing up quietly in how nonprofit leaders are changing their priorities, their systems, and their expectations of what fundraising can realistically support.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: The Nonprofit Podcast, powered by DonorBucks.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jenna Lynch, Education and Community Engagement Manager here at Donorbox.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Each week we bring you practical information, clear insights, and inspiration to help you raise more, reach further, and take your nonprofit to the next level.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Joining me today is Britt Stalker, our fundraising coach here at Donor Box.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Brit recently wrote a thoughtful article on the DonorBox nonprofit blog about the fundraising trends she's expecting to see in 2026.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: And when we started comparing notes, we realized we were seeing the same shifts just from different angles.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: So today we're pulling those perspectives together and talking through five fundraising trends we expect to shape 2026, not as predictions, but as patterns we're already seeing take hold.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, Britt.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: Jenna, hey, I'm so glad to be here having this conversation with you.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: I am too.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: What a good way to kick off the year.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to be really clear about the posture of this episode.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: This is not about reacting faster or adding more to your plate.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: I know this is the time of year where we're seeing a lot of, these are the trends for 2026.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: And that can be overwhelming.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: But this is all about how nonprofit leaders are quietly restructuring how fundraising works so it can actually hold up over the next few years.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: I've been thinking a lot about how often nonprofit leaders say, we're doing all the right things, but this still feels fragile.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that's not because people are bad at fundraising.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: I know that's not it.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's because the system uh a lot of organizations are operating inside of just isn't designed for sustainability as designed for urgency.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: And we especially felt that in 2025.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we have felt it.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: What a year it's been, right, Jenna.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, funding's been up.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's been up in the air.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: We've seen staffing gaps.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: And gosh, a lot of orgs, they're just feeling the strain.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: And at some point, we have to ask, you know, urgency, is this a temporary thing or is this kind of the new normal?
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I think about this, you're talking about like everything is bending toward it, right?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: What's happening?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: Our calendars are getting built around adrenaline.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: All of our staffing, our teams are bracing for the next big thing.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: And even when the numbers they, when they're coming in as good results, many of us are feeling like they don't feel secure enough because we don't know what's coming next.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that feeling, I think, is what is driving what we're calling these trends.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not hype, it's not even thought leadership, it's not the next bright, shiny thing.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, I think leaders are hitting a point where they say, we just can't keep doing this the same way because it doesn't feel good.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: So this first trend really does sit underneath everything else, in my opinion.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to slow down here.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: Predictable revenue is becoming the anchor.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's not just a nice to have or future goal or a program that you may roll out eventually, but the thing that everything else is built around.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: And when we say predictable revenue is becoming the anchor, what we mean is leaders are no longer willing to run their organizations on hope and timing and pressure and that next push that you're talking about, Britt.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: For a long time, predictable revenue lived in that someday category, right?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like someday we'll build a strong monthly donor program, or eventually we'll get more multi-year support.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: But in the meantime, the calendar was still built around spikes, right?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: The spring appeal, the fall event, the year-end push, and then a lot of white knuckling in between.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: And your clients may have felt this before they started coaching with you too, Britt.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And a pattern I keep on seeing is leaders say they value stability while still designing their entire fundraising plan around moments of urgency, right?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Those three big pushes a year, a quiet panic in between each of those, and a lot of maybe we'll figure it out later, you know.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: Totally, totally.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to pause.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_02: You you've you've encouraged us to slow down here.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: You know, how does that show up?
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to name some of the things that you called out.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: Well, teams, they feel like they're constantly bracing themselves, right?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: We're gearing up, we push hard, we crash, and then we immediately start gearing up again.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, there's always this underlying anxiety of, okay, but what's gonna happen next month?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: Or what happens if this one thing doesn't hit?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: And let's talk about it too.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: Donors, they're feeling it too.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: Fundraising, when it's built around those spikes that you're talking about, uh Jenna, donors they start to feel like they're being asked to rescue something over and over again.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: No one wants to be put in that position.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: That is a huge amount of pressure and it's exhausting, and that's not really a real relationship.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good point, right?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Being asked to rescue over and over again.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a good way to put it.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, all that being said, I think what is going to be different in 2026 is that leaders, our nonprofit leaders, are making a harder, quieter decision here.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: So they're saying if this activity doesn't contribute to sustainability, predictability, it's not going to get priority, right?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: That really shows up in practical ways.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of asking, what's the biggest campaign we can run this year?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think leaders are gonna be asking more of what revenue can we actually count on every single month?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: So they're looking at things like how much of their fixed costs are covered by recurring gifts before the year even starts.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: How many supporters give consistently, not just once, right?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: And whether they're building repeatable systems or reinventing something every single quarter.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: And that is a very different way of measuring success.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, donors, we're talking about donors again, they respond really well to the shift that you're talking about because we're inviting people into the study, into the ongoing support where we're no longer feeling making them feel like they're being called in to be saviors.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: And again, it's it's we're no longer making them feel like things are urgent.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: And when they're part of something that's clearly planned and cared for, it's just an all-around good feeling.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a fuzzy warm feeling, Jenna.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like, like they're actually part of something, like they belong, right?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: This is community going at its finest and also just peace of mind, that's sustainability.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: I also want to name a common tension I think leaders can have here.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of people worry that focusing on predictable revenue means giving up growth or excitement.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like what actually happens is the opposite, though.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: When you have a stable base, you can take smarter risks, right?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: You're not constantly swinging for the fences because you're not desperate.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I think here's a clarifying question I'd really encourage leaders to sit with.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: If your biggest fundraising channel disappeared for two or three months, could you imagine?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Would your organization feel stable or would it feel like everything is about to crumble and fall apart?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: And if it's a second one, uh that is not a personal failure.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: It is a structural signal and predictable revenue and the programs around it is how leaders are responding to that signal.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so let's talk about trend number two, which is first year donor retention.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: It's going to become a designed experience.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_02: And what I mean by that is it's going to connect really closely to predictable revenue because you can't just build stability if your folks aren't going to stick around anymore.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: For a long time, first year donor retention, it was treated like a mystery.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: You know, leaders will look at the numbers and say, well, people just aren't loyal anymore.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: But when you zoom in, when you usually what you usually find it isn't like a donor problem, there's an experience gap happening.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's about really what happens or doesn't happen after that first gift.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: Most first-time supporters, they give, they receive a receipt.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe it's a generic thank you, and then nothing meaningful happens.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: What do we know?
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: Months go by, then the next ask shows up.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: There's no orientation, no context, no sense of why it is.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: They're there, why, where they fit in.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: But if we keep with trend number two, it's a very intentional process.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: Jenning, do you want to expand on that a little bit more?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's such a good distinction, Britt.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: And like we said, these trends that we're naming are not big or flashy or even new.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's just a greater focus on it this year.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: And what I'll say is retention doesn't fail later.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: It fails early.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why leaders are treating the first 30 to 60 days like onboarding, not processing this year, right?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So they're asking questions like what does a new supporter actually learn about us in their first month?
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Or do they see the impact before we ask again?
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: Do we help them understand how their support fits into the bigger picture?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: And those are design questions, right?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Not marketing questions.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: And those are the things that will really help people stick around and connect to you more.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right on.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: It's, you know, this clear shift.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's all about intentionally slowing down that first year.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_02: Instead of immediately jumping to it and asking again, the focus is really going to be on helping people get oriented.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: You talk about this idea of orientation, Jenna, where they share a story that explains the work.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: It might be sending an update that shows progress.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_02: It might be helping supporters understand what support actually looks like beyond that transaction.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: And honestly, if someone never gives again but still feels good about their first gift, you know you've done something right.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_02: That is the bar that organizations, you listeners, should be starting to set.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think the trade-off leaders are making here is choosing relationships over speed.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So you might ask one fewer time early on, but you gain a supporter who understands the mission, trusts your organization, and is far more likely to stay.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: And we know that retention is way more valuable than the acquisition, right?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: And those rates are pretty amazing.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that is not softer fundraising, that is smarter fundraising for sure.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Now, this next trend challenges one of the most deeply held assumptions, I think, in fundraising, and that is reducing friction and the giving experience is outperforming better messaging.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that doesn't mean messaging does not matter.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Of course it does.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: We talk about messaging all the time, how important it is.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: But most organizations don't lose supporters because they failed to convince them.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: I know that's a hot take, and feel free to challenge me on that, but they lose supporters because giving felt harder than it needed to in a moment when attention was already fragile.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: I have watched teams spend weeks rewriting an appeal while ignoring the fact that their donation form asks 12 required questions on mobile, right?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because they want to get all the information and that feels meaningful to them.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: But no amount of beautiful storytelling, again, hot take.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: No amount of beautiful storytelling can overcome a moment where giving just feels annoying.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's what I'm kind of feeling lately.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, Jenna, annoying is the word.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: I see this constantly.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like supporters, they're motivated, they care, they're ready to give.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: And then, like, just a wonky, a wonky experience interrupts them.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_02: Too many required feels, so many decisions, forms that aren't even mobile friendly, you would be amazed.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: And we're missing the pivotal, like a key moment.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: And it's this isn't some dramatic thing.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's not like people are complaining, they just don't finish the giving experience.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, people don't complain, so how do you know, right?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the mistake I think many organizations make is responding to that drop-off by trying to persuade harder, right?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: More emails, more urgency, more copy tweaks, uh, different hero image.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And while yes, those tweaks can be great, I don't think that's the fix to this particular problem.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think what's changing in 2026 is that leaders are asking a different, more honest question, right?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: What are we making unnecessarily difficult?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And that shows up in practical ways, right?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Removing fields that don't directly support giving, simplifying choices so people don't get their decision fatigued in full blast, or designing a mobile first instead of a desktop first, because we know that that's growing more and more.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: None of that is flashy, but all of this works and will continue to work and continue to be a priority in this new year.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: And one of the most effective exercises that I've done with some of my coaching clients is I ask them to have someone outside of their organization donate on their mobile, on their phone, and then narrate what they're thinking out loud in terms of the giving experience.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: The nonprofit client that I'm coaching, they learn very quickly where the confusion, where the annoyance, where that hesitation shows up.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: And those are those little moments that we're talking about where gifts are lost.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know what, Brett?
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's funny you said that because anytime I go to an organization's mobile page, right?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: If I hear about them on the radio or on TV, I always go and I check out their donation page.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: And just by default, I think I'm narrating out loud my experience.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, oh, that's a nice donate button, or where do you donate?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Or oh, there's so many options.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, now I have to get my card.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: I do this naturally, but it makes me very aware of the process.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the insight here is very simple but important.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Leaders are shifting in 2026 and they are protecting the path from intention to action, even when that means letting go of information they wish they had so that they're making a better experience for their donors.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, spot on.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's move on to trend number four.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: Transparency becomes ongoing instead of performative.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: Well, this fourth trend I'm seeing it has to do with transparency and how transparency shows up over time.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: We talk transparency is one of those hot buzzwords, right?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: It can mean something polished, something candid, honest, an annual report.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's a beautifully packaged impact update.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: But supporters are responding more to this.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: They're demanding more, more to presence, not perfection.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: They really want to know what's happening as it's happening in the moment, even when things are still in progress.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this is where we saw a lot of leaders get stuck last year because ongoing transparency requires comfort with things being up in the air and unfinished.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And there was a lot up in the air in 2025 for sure.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of organizations, I think, wait to communicate until everything feels tidy.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: I am like that.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: I've had to unlearn that.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: But that often um, that delay often creates distance instead of trust, right?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I say that all the time.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think that silence is a killer of trust in a lot of ways.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: Totally.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_02: And this is kind of counterintuitive to what I was taught as a rookie in my in my first job.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I had a boss that that told me, Britt, I don't need to know what what you're working on.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_02: I don't need the nitty-gritty details.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: I just need the finished product.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_02: But in this moment with transparency, transparency doesn't mean having all the answers.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: What supporters are actually eager for is the context.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what that looks like is simply saying, hey, here's what we're trying, here's what's changed, here's why.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: That context, it's going to build more support than waiting until everything feels perfect.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: That is the shift number four that we're seeing that leaders are letting go in 2026.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: They're letting go of the need to impress and they're choosing consistency instead.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think from a leadership standpoint, this will show up when organizations set a lower bar for updates.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't mean, oh, this update isn't good.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: Just having, you know, not those polished standards instead of that one big polished story, a smaller, more frequent reflection, those short updates, uh, stream of consciousness.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: I love those, short in progress outcomes, honest explanations of decisions.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: And that commun, that type of communication makes supporters feel like insiders, right?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: And insiders stay.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: And then that kind of loots back to our trends one and two again, right?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: That predictable community base that helps you um just depend on something throughout the year.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so I would say to folks listening to this part, challenge yourself.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: Think about the first update that you want to send out this year and see how you can maybe unpolish it a little.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, now the fifth trend shaping 2026 is about how leaders are choosing tools.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Technology is being chosen to protect capacity, not just chase innovation or novelty or that next shiny thing.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: For a long time, I think that adding tools felt like progress, right?
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like you're getting something done, new platforms, new dashboards.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: But what many teams experienced was the opposite, right?
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, more logins, more complexity, and more work to manage the tools themselves.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: And we're seeing a shift from that.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: And just to add to that, I hate to say this again, but more exhaustion, you know, fundraisers, what happened in 2025, they spent so much time managing the systems than building relationships.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: I know a lot of my fundraiser peers said reporting was it's a it was a heavy lift instead of something that helped them make better decisions.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: And they just felt worn down by the end of the year.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think that folks now are asking, what would we stop doing if we added this, right?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: If we added this platform, if we added this program, what could we actually let go of, right?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: And if you ask yourself that this year and the answer is, well, nothing, then the tool probably isn't solving the right problem, right?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think that we're going to see a lot of nonprofit leaders consolidating instead of stacking those tools, right?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: We are simplifying our systems instead of expanding them and then choosing systems that quietly remove friction instead of adding new processes.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: And we're seeing this show up in how teams think about their CRM too.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: And that's actually why we've been so focused on building the donor box CRM to help teams understand their donors and act faster without adding more and more systems and more busy work, right?
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_02: And you can start feeling that shift right away.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, systems that actually support your work, reporting is easier, insights are right there when you need them.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so you just don't, you don't have to guess anymore and basically just spend all of your energy having better conversations instead of wrestling with these darn tools.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think 2025 was a big year for innovation, right?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: AI, all this fancy tech.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that the real takeaway here is that tech should not well, it should make work feel lighter, not heavier, not intimidating, but hopeful.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Fewer tools, those fewer workarounds and systems that quietly support the work instead of demanding constant attention and constant learning.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what actually protects capacity and makes fundraising sustainable.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, check out your systems, audit them.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: And if they're not making your life easier this year, then um see what you can do.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, these are 2026 fundraising trends, but they are not about what's chasing new.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: They are about leaders being honest about what isn't working anymore and being willing to change the structure, not just the tactics.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_02: And these are changes that are already showing up in so many real ways.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: They're not perfect, they're not all at once, but in how your organizations are slowing down.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: You're choosing focus, you're building fundraising that feels steadier and just all around more human.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_02: And just want to touch on one more thing.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: We don't have to have all this figured out, listeners.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: Most orgs out there don't, but I think the direction for 2026, I think we're getting a little bit more clarity, right, Jenna?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree, Britt.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: And if there's one thing I hope people take from this episode, it's permission, permission to stop doing everything, permission to question systems that create constant urgency and stress, and permission to build fundraising in a way that actually supports the people doing the work.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: And before we wrap up, I'd encourage you to sit with this one question.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: What is one part of your fundraising system that feels fragile right now?
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: And what would it look like to strengthen that instead of pushing harder somewhere else?
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Britt, for this conversation today.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, Jenna, thank you.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: Happy New Year to you.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Happy New Year to everyone, and thank you for being a part of the nonprofit podcast community.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: Your work matters, and we are honored to support it.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed this episode, share it, leave a review, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, take that first step and stay inspired.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: That warm feeling when you help someone, it's not just happiness, it's fulfillment.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: And we believe it should be available to everyone from frontline heroes to first time fundraisers.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: Our tools empower you to help others.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: This is our mission.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is DonorBox, helping you help others.