How Global Businesses Prioritise Children's Well-Being

Federal financing cuts; attacks on equity, immigrants, the rule of law, and the nation's democracy; a new tax costs; and the growing usage of synthetic intelligence are just a few of the elements that have upended the not-for-profit world. Amid this upheaval, how can funders and their grantees get ready for 2026 and beyond? In this unique bundle, you'll speak with foundation leaders and significant donors about offering trends in the coming year and efforts to respond to Trump administration hazards.

You'll discover bold predictions from leaders and thinkers across the sector about what lies ahead, including what the sector will appear like five years from now, and how to respond to what promises to be another unprecedented year. It's time to shed our worry and acknowledge that those who desire change will fail if the individuals closest to the cash lack the courage to bear the most run the risk of.

Kathleen Enright, president & CEO, Council on Foundations The philanthropic sector need to be clear-eyed about the challenges ahead: the pattern of targeted attacks and government overreach designed to suppress our most essential 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 tough to picture passage anytime soon of legislation needing greater payment rates. Bella DeVaan and Chuck Collins collaborate the Charity Reform Initiative, Institute for Policy Researches 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 but since it's essential.

Predicting 2026 Philanthropy Trends

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

Findings from Church Mutual can help direct nonprofits as they navigate 2026 and modifications in generational providing. In December of 2025, the "2026 Charitable Giving Up America" survey was performed by Church Mutual, taking responses from 1,010 adults who contribute financially to nonprofits and other charitable causes. According to a post on the research study from NonProfitPro, Church Mutual indicates numerous essential patterns within the nonprofit fundraising world, consisting of the disconcerting reality that donors are preparing to downsize their providing in 2026.

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

Organizations that have religious ties must highlight this connection to donors, specifically if they actively support holy places or schools. Another important finding from the survey was that donors tended to make their contributions towards the end of the year (OctoberDecember). Throughout the four generations, end-of-year contributions made up the highest percentage, with JanuaryMarch taking 2nd location, followed by AprilJune, then JulySeptember.

In addition, out of the 4 generations, Gen Z was probably to offer throughout the slowest time of the year (JulySeptember). Those who operate in the not-for-profit area ought to keep in mind of the end-of-year influx in donations, which indicates that OctoberDecember campaigns such as Providing Tuesday events, matches, and so on, might generate a fundraising windfall.

Innovative Giving Strategies for Community Health

That stated, "slow-down" periods must not be ignored, as the more youthful generations may still be inclined to give even when the older ones are not. The study contains 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 most likely to leave their charitable giving the same.

Millennials were recognized as the group more than likely to cut their giving, whereas Gen Z was not just determined as the group least most likely to cut their providing, however also the group more than likely to increase their giving up 2026. Church Mutual has a couple of sections committed to the main financial issues of donors, something that falls beyond the scope of this post.

One finding that nonprofits ought to also be aware of is that a majority of donors have issues about the financial health of the groups they support. Church Mutual found that 54% of donors are stressed over the financial health of the receivers 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 resolve more youthful donors' issues and be proactive in resolving any issues affecting the organization internally. Doing so might make a difference in winning over more youthful donors during financially unpredictable times. While lower financial contributions might be uneasy for nonprofits, there might be some excellent news.

When asked if they would increase "time and effort" to assist in other methods must they decrease their financial donations, a bulk of donors showed they would; 26% stated they were "highly likely" and 32% said "somewhat likely," equating to 58% of donors overall. The research study recommends these reactions could indicate "strong capacity to convert minimized monetary giving into more volunteering, advocacy, or other non-financial support." In the face of smaller financial contributions, nonprofits ought to lean into other channels to engage their donors.

How Global Brands Support Children's Health

There are other findings from Church Mutual that were not covered in this short article, such as contribution methods and the leading financial concerns of donors, and so I encourage all those in the not-for-profit area to review the report. The findings from Church Mutual can help assist nonprofits as they browse 2026, especially as Gen Z starts to handle a more popular function 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 started in 2017 as a modest supplement to our yearly report has actually turned into a widely checked out and talked about publication, reaching more than 100,000 readers each year.

Normally, these short articles check out brand-new shifts or developing motions across the field of philanthropy. For this tenth edition, however, we have actually taken a different approach. Instead of recognizing an entirely brand-new set of emerging trends, we have actually turned our attention backward to review the styles that have actually shaped our sector over the past ten years, and to call both withstanding shifts and new advancements.

It is likewise a recommendation of the minute we find ourselves in a moment of active disturbance, that combines both excellent 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 develop and scale life-changing developments for our communities feels present.

Scaling Corporate Philanthropic Outcomes

As executive orders, legal contests, and legal arguments play out, we do not have a clear image of how much federal financing has been rescinded or withheld from nonprofits and communities. We do not understand how many nonprofits have actually closed or will close their doors, the number of staff have lost their jobs, or the number of communities have actually lost access to critical services.