Ep 190| 2026 Fundraising Trends: What Leaders Are Quietly Changing to Build Stability

Jan 8, 2026

Nonprofit leaders are quietly reshaping their fundraising strategies for 2026. They're prioritizing predictable revenue to build stability and rethinking donor onboarding for better retention. Reducing friction in donation processes proves more effective than just improving messaging. Transparency in communication is evolving towards regular updates instead of waiting for polished reports. Finally, technology choices are shifting to enhance capacity rather than chase trends, emphasizing simplification over complexity.

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ANECDOTE

Urgency‑Built Systems Cause Fragility

Many teams feel fundraising systems are designed for urgency, not sustainability.
Jenna and Britt observed 2025 as a year where that strain became obvious.

INSIGHT

Predictable Revenue As The Anchor

Leaders are making predictable revenue the organizational anchor instead of a someday goal.
A stable base enables smarter risks and reduces constant urgency in fundraising.

ADVICE

Design First-Year Donor Onboarding

Treat the first 30–60 days after a first gift as onboarding, not just processing.
Help new supporters learn impact and fit before asking again to boost retention.

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Happy New Year!

We’re kicking off 2026 with a conversation many nonprofit leaders are already having behind the scenes: What’s actually changing in fundraising…and what’s just noise?

Every year, nonprofits get told to prepare for the next big trend. But the shifts shaping 2026 aren’t about shiny tools or louder campaigns. They’re quieter…and far more structural. Leaders are rethinking how fundraising holds up over time, not just how it performs in the next campaign.

Join us as Jena Lynch and Britt Stockert walk through five fundraising trends they’re seeing take hold across organizations…not as predictions, but as patterns emerging from real decision-making.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

Why predictable revenue is becoming the anchor, not a side goal
How first-year donor retention is moving from “processing” to intentional onboarding
Why reducing friction often outperforms better messaging
How transparency is shifting from polished reports to ongoing communication
Why technology is increasingly chosen to protect capacity, not chase innovation

A question for you:
What’s one part of your fundraising system that feels fragile right now - and what would it look like to strengthen it instead of pushing harder somewhere else?

Listen in, reflect, and start the year with a steadier foundation for the work ahead.

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