The 2026 Word of the Year…and Other Trends Nonprofits Must Navigate

Principal and Executive Vice President

Ask any nonprofit professional about 2026, and you’re likely to hear the word uncertainty. Many of the nonprofit trends for 2026 point to pressures outside an organization’s direct control. Between talk of affordability, ever-changing government priorities, and staff burnout, there’s a lot of external threats that could impact operations and funding in coming year.

A natural “2026 Word of the Year” might be unease or apprehension. But nonprofits don’t thrive by dwelling on risk or fixating on the what-ifs. They thrive by making progress. That’s why our Word of the Year for 2026 is an action-oriented one, and one that we encourage nonprofits to embrace in the year ahead.

Our Word of the Year for 2026 is FORTIFY: strengthen your foundation, reinforce your team, and secure your fundraising against external pressures you can’t control.

Now is the time to:

Make sure your contributed revenue funding streams are diversified
Make your case
Go beyond the AI basics
Cement relationships with your donors
Boost volunteer numbers
Take care of your staff
Pay attention to your board’s nominating committee

Let’s take a look at the forces pushing nonprofits to fortify in 2026—and how those pressures can be turned into opportunities.

Donors Will Expect to Feel the Love

Donors today expect the same kind of personalized, tailored interactions they experience with brands they use every day. Think about Spotify Wrapped. With playful insights like your listening age or favorite genre, Spotify feels intensely personal—and intentionally so.

If you are a Delta Sky Miles Member, the TV monitor on the seatback in front of you will greet you by name as you board the plane. Then it will offer you personalized entertainment choices based on your preferences.

As these highly curated experiences become more commonplace, donors will no longer settle for generic newsletters or “Dear friend” letters. Personalization is now the baseline expectation for trust and long-term engagement.

Suggested actions:

Use your donor management systems to track donor preferences, past gifts, and engagement. Send targeted updates such as program-specific news or invitations to events that align with a donor’s passion. Share testimonials, program outcomes, or stories tied to their specific area of support makes the impact tangible.
Invite donors to behind-the-scenes tours, exclusive briefings, or to volunteer for specific roles that match their interests. These experiences deepen connection and make donors feel like true partners in your mission.
When a donor makes a gift, tailor the acknowledgment to the gift size, frequency, or personal story. And always remember that a handwritten note or video referencing their specific contribution can feel more genuine.

Modern companies excel at helping people feel seen—and reminding them that their individual actions contribute to something larger.

As Demand Grows, So Does Your Case for Support

Nonprofits, particularly those in health and human services, will continue to face rising demand. With inflation persisting, affordability challenges mounting, and health insurance premiums climbing sharply, more people will turn to nonprofits for help.

Compounding the problem will be lingering, and likely deeper, cuts in federal funding. The sad paradox is clear: you’ll be asked to serve more with less.

What we do know is that generating contributed revenue will be more critical in 2026 than ever before. And the two most effective ways to secure donor support are deceptively simple:

Make your case. Ask.

Donors are problem solvers. Show them that you are solving a problem they care deeply about, and you will get their attention…and their investment. But only if you make the ask.

Bake a Healthy Pie

Just as with financial investing, diversification is key to a healthy portfolio of contributed revenue. To stay resilient amid economic volatility, nonprofits must balance grants, individual donors, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, and earned income.

In 2026, relying too heavily on any single revenue stream, especially grants or events, will create unnecessary risk. Events attract transactional donors who give to get (18 holes of golf, a vacation from a silent auction, or a night out at a fancy gala). These supporters rarely care about the mission, and they have to be wined and dined every single year.

Grants may provide an infusion of short-term funding, but they can disappear quickly if a foundation’s funding priorities shift or selection criteria changes. We saw this firsthand in 2025, when many government grants disappeared. And often, grants don’t fund the basics like salaries or overhead.

There’s also a substantial opportunity cost associated with grants and events. Remember that nearly 75 percent of charitable giving in the United States comes from individual donors. If you’re not spending the majority of your time building relationships with current and prospective donors, you’re likely leaving money on the table.

Giving by individuals comprised 66 percent of total giving in 2024, and giving by bequest accounted for 8 percent of all gifts in 2024.

Leverage the Universal Charitable Deduction

Beginning in 2026, the universal charitable deduction (UCD) becomes a permanent part of U.S. tax law. Individuals will be able to deduct up to $1,000 in charitable gifts, and married couples filing jointly can deduct up to $2,000, even if they take the standard deduction.

The UCD is a potential game-changer for entry-level gifts because roughly 90 percent of U.S. taxpayers haven’t been eligible to itemize deductions since the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) was passed. The TCJA raised the standard deduction, which meant that most donors didn’t qualify to itemize their deductions and couldn’t claim tax benefits for charitable giving.

It’s time to let donors know that their gifts are likely tax deductible again. Highlight this change in appeals, newsletters, and donor communications. Because the deduction especially benefits everyday donors, recurring and monthly giving should be front and center.

Cultivate these donors in 2026, and many will increase their investment in 2027 and beyond.

Put AI to Work (Without Putting Trust at Risk)

Many of the nonprofit trends 2026 will bring are not problems to be solved, but realities to be managed. AI and digital tools are one of those realities, already in use across much of the sector. A November 2025 study found that 89 percent of organizations are already using AI in some capacity.

The strongest returns are showing up behind the scenes. Funders and nonprofits alike report optimism around AI as a streamlining tool for monitoring budgets, evaluating program effectiveness, improving data quality, and strengthening grant applications. These use cases play to AI’s strengths: pattern recognition, speed, and scale—freeing staff to focus on higher-value work that requires judgment, context, and relationship-building.

The risk emerges when AI is pushed into roles it was never designed to carry, particularly in donor and partner communications.

AI Works Well When...

AI Falls Short When...

To prepare for 2026, organizations must be explicit about where AI belongs—and where it does not. Build clear internal policies for responsible use. Establish human review for all relationship-based communications. Train teams on oversight and judgment, not just tool adoption.

AI is a powerful accelerator. Used thoughtfully, it strengthens operations. Used indiscriminately, it puts trust at risk.

Take Care of Your People

Nonprofit professionals continue to face pressures similar to those in other sectors—often without comparable compensation or support. Mounting workloads, stagnant funding, and rising costs have made burnout a defining challenge.

This concern is particularly acute at the leadership level. The Center for Effective Philanthropy found that 95 percent of nonprofit leaders consider burnout as a major concern.

Staff are stretched thin, frequently taking on responsibilities outside of their job descriptions. Inflation has driven up operating costs, yet resources to support staff have not kept pace. This imbalance reduces program quality, weakens donor confidence, and ultimately diminishes community impact. Burnout here isn’t just about tired employees, it’s a strategic risk that undermines the very mission nonprofits are built to deliver.

The solution lies in rethinking the employee experience with the same intentionality we use to build donor loyalty. Competitive pay and cost-of-living adjustments are essential, but equally important are workload management, realistic staffing levels, and open conversations about stress and wellbeing.

95 percent

of nonprofit leaders say burnout is a major concern. Ignoring it puts mission delivery at risk.

Build Boards for Influence, Not Just Attendance

As donor and volunteer numbers decline, board sizes are shrinking as well. That’s hardly surprising when we consider what we ask of board members today: navigating disruptive CEO transitions, advocating for government action, stepping in as de facto CFOs, opening doors to prospective donors, and much more.

The need for board members with real spheres of influence and specialized expertise has never been greater. So what’s the answer? Start by strengthening one of your board’s most critical—and often underutilized—committees: the nominating committee. Equip it with the tools and authority it needs to succeed. That begins with intentionally reviewing donor lists for potential board candidates and proactively sharing those names with the committee.

Equally important, never ask board members to do something they’re uncomfortable with. Forced participation creates negative experiences, erodes trust, and ultimately diminishes long-term engagement with the organization.

An ineffective board will stall growth. Looking ahead to 2026, nonprofits must intentionally cultivate boards that actively champion philanthropy, build meaningful donor relationships, and align governance with resource development.

Rethink Volunteer Engagement for How People Show Up Now

Individual volunteerism continues to decline, a trend we’ve flagged for several years and one that persists heading into 2026. Many nonprofits are already feeling the impact: fewer sign-ups, more cancellations, and increasing difficulty sustaining long-term, in-person commitments.

Younger generations are not disengaged, but they are selective, gravitating toward short-term, skills-based, or virtual opportunities that fit into already crowded lives.

Against that backdrop, corporate volunteerism is emerging as a more reliable entry point and potential opportunity for organizations seeking to reinforce their volunteer pipeline. Giving USA 2025 highlights a critical distinction: employee volunteer participation is 7.6 times higher when opportunities are company-sponsored rather than employee-initiated or externally driven.

In other words, when volunteering is embedded into corporate culture and supported by logistics, participation follows.

The question isn’t how to restore yesterday’s model, but how to adapt to today’s reality. Organizations willing to rethink engagement can find momentum by working more intentionally with corporate partners, sponsors, and vendors. Structured volunteer days, skills‑based projects, and corporate partnerships offer a more sustainable path forward.

In Practice

We’ve found that company-led volunteer programs are most effective when participation is built into the workweek and supported by leadership. At the Winkler Group, volunteer days are structured as part of our professional responsibilities.

That structure makes it easier to participate fully, including opportunities to volunteer alongside our clients.

Build Storytelling Capacity from the Inside Out

Local journalism has declined by roughly 75 percent since the early 2000s, and nonprofits are losing one of their oldest and most trusted amplifiers. It’s tempting to assume that paid marketing is the only way forward. It isn’t.

Earned media still matters precisely because it is harder to secure. Coverage signals credibility in a way paid placements cannot. But this shift requires nonprofits to move away from one-off announcements and toward more intentional, repeatable storytelling.

Building that storytelling capacity begins with a newsroom mindset. What is this story really about, and why does it matter right now? If you can’t summarize the story in a clear, compelling sentence, it likely isn’t ready to be told.

The work becomes far more manageable when storytelling is built into daily operations. Capture testimonials at the close of programs. Document outcomes while they are fresh. Create a shared bank of stories told by real people, in their own words.

From there, earned media becomes relational rather than transactional. Opportunities still exist through local television, radio, and community-focused outlets—but consistency and follow-through matter. Reporters are drawn to organizations that make their jobs easier: clear pitches, strong visuals, credible spokespeople, and timely responses.

2026: Let's Go

You don’t have to move through 2026 with uncertainty. By strengthening your contributed revenue mix, building more personal relationships with donors and staff, using AI thoughtfully, and telling your story with clarity and consistency, you can create the stability you need to keep serving your community well.

The pressures are real but there is also plenty of opportunity for those who take meaningful action. When you show your donors the real problems you’re solving and invite them to be part of the solution, they will respond. Fortifying isn’t about bracing for impact; it’s about positioning your organization to move forward with confidence, purpose, and momentum.

And remember, we’re here to support you—whether you need practical advice or simply a listening ear. Our commitment is to walk alongside you as you grow generosity, strengthen your community, care for others, and celebrate the beauty around you. Reach out any time.

About the Winkler Group

Strong communities depend on strong nonprofits. When those organizations thrive, the people they serve do too. We help make that impact possible.

For over two decades, the Winkler Group has specialized in guiding organizations from vision to action through strategic planning, capital campaigns, and fundraising counsel that delivers results.

A national firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with offices across the country, the Winkler Group proudly walks alongside organizations committed to education, community impact, and serving the greater good.