Keys to Successful Charitable Partnership Programs

Federal funding cuts; attacks on equity, immigrants, the rule of law, and the country's democracy; a brand-new tax costs; and the growing use of expert system are simply a few of the factors that have overthrown 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 structure leaders and major donors about offering patterns in the coming year and efforts to respond to Trump administration threats.

You'll find strong forecasts from leaders and thinkers across 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 want change will stop working if the people closest to the money do not have the courage 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 federal government overreach created to stifle our most fundamental liberties. 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 challenging to envision passage anytime soon of legislation needing greater payout rates. Bella DeVaan and Chuck Collins coordinate the Charity Reform Effort, Institute for Policy Studies Interaction is no longer background noise.

Transforming Corporate Philanthropy Framework for 2026

Dimple Abichandani, author of A New Era 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 changes in generational giving. In December of 2025, the "2026 Charitable Giving Up America" study was performed by Church Mutual, taking responses from 1,010 adults who contribute financially to nonprofits and other charitable causes. According to a short article on the study from NonProfitPro, Church Mutual shows several essential patterns within the not-for-profit fundraising world, consisting of the disconcerting truth that donors are planning to scale back their giving up 2026.

With that, here are 5 key takeaways from the Church Mutual 2026 study: The Church Mutual survey discovered holy places continue to take in the lion's share of donations. All 4 generations represented (Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers) donated primarily to places of praise, constituting 74% of charitable donations.

Organizations that have religious ties need to stress this connection to donors, specifically if they actively support holy places or schools. Another crucial finding from the survey was that donors tended to make their contributions toward the end of the year (OctoberDecember). Throughout the four generations, end-of-year contributions made up the greatest percentage, with JanuaryMarch taking second 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 not-for-profit area needs to take note of the end-of-year influx in contributions, which suggests that OctoberDecember campaigns such as Giving Tuesday occasions, matches, etc, could generate a fundraising windfall.

How to Create Strong CSR Partnerships

That said, "slow-down" durations need to not be ignored, as the younger generations may still be inclined to provide even when the older ones are not. The survey includes 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 monetary contributions, with Boomers being the group probably to leave their charitable offering the same.

Millennials were determined as the group more than likely to cut their giving, whereas Gen Z was not just determined as the group least likely to cut their giving, but also the group more than likely to increase their giving in 2026. Church Mutual has a couple of areas dedicated to the main financial issues of donors, something that falls beyond the scope of this article.

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

They must be prepared to deal with more youthful donors' concerns and be proactive in resolving any problems afflicting the company internally. Doing so could make a distinction in winning over more youthful donors throughout financially unpredictable times. While lower financial contributions may be uneasy for nonprofits, there may be some excellent news.

When asked if they would increase "time and effort" to assist in other ways must they minimize their monetary donations, a majority of donors indicated they would; 26% stated they were "most likely" and 32% said "rather most likely," equaling 58% of donors in general. The research study recommends these responses could suggest "strong potential to convert lowered monetary giving into more volunteering, advocacy, or other non-financial assistance." In the face of smaller financial contributions, nonprofits need to lean into other channels to engage their donors.

The Benefits of Mission-Driven Charity Collaborations

There are other findings from Church Mutual that were not covered in this article, such as donation techniques and the leading financial priorities of donors, therefore I encourage all those in the nonprofit area to review the report. The findings from Church Mutual can help direct nonprofits as they navigate 2026, specifically as Gen Z starts to take on a more prominent role in the giving world.

Subscribe to 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 began in 2017 as a modest supplement to our annual report has turned into an extensively checked out and talked about publication, reaching more than 100,000 readers each year.

Usually, these short articles check out new shifts or evolving movements throughout the field of philanthropy. For this tenth edition, nevertheless, we have actually taken a various approach. Rather than identifying a wholly brand-new set of emerging patterns, we have turned our attention backwards to assess the themes that have actually formed our sector over the previous 10 years, and to name both sustaining shifts and brand-new developments.

It is likewise a recommendation of the moment we discover ourselves in a moment of hyper disruption, that integrates both terrific stress and anxiety about where we are headed and great possibility for what might follow. Our future feels more uncertain than ever, but the opportunity to develop and scale life-changing innovations for our communities feels present.

Developing More Effective Local Outreach Programs

As executive orders, legal contests, and legal debates play out, we do not have a clear photo of how much federal funding has actually been rescinded or withheld from nonprofits and neighborhoods. We do not know the number of nonprofits have closed or will close their doors, how numerous personnel have actually lost their tasks, or how many neighborhoods have lost access to crucial services.