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The newly released Giving USA 2026 report offers nonprofit leaders a clear message: generosity remained strong in 2025, but the way generosity is showing up is changing. For nonprofit leaders, the report reinforces the importance of strengthening major gifts, planned giving, and long-term donor relationships alongside annual giving.

Total charitable giving in the United States reached an estimated $617.2 billion in 2025, surpassing the $600 billion mark for the first time. That represents a 5.7% increase in current dollars and a 3.0% increase after adjusting for inflation.

For nonprofit leaders, the headline is encouraging. But the deeper story is more strategic: giving grew across nearly every source and recipient category, financial markets played an important role, household confidence may have tempered some giving, and bequests grew at a striking pace that may signal the timely release of the Great Wealth Transfer.

The best way to prepare for year-end fundraising is to start months before your first appeal. Successful nonprofits use the summer to evaluate fundraising performance, strengthen donor stewardship, gather compelling stories, build a communications calendar, and develop a clear year-end fundraising plan. Those early investments often lead to stronger donor relationships and better fundraising results.

This may not feel like the time to think about year-end. Summer is in full swing, many people are taking well deserved vacations, and year end fundraising may feel like something that can wait until fall. Yet, as any seasoned fundraiser knows, some of the strongest fundraising campaigns begin taking shape long before the first holiday appeal is written.

The organizations that consistently finish the year strong are rarely the ones scrambling to create a plan in November. More often, they are the organizations that use the quieter months of summer to strengthen donor relationships, gather meaningful stories, and thoughtfully prepare for the busiest fundraising season of the year.

So, while "Christmas in July" may sound like a fun retail promotion, there is actually a valuable lesson for nonprofit leaders. July is the perfect time to begin thinking about your year-end campaign goals and what you can do now to set yourself up for success.

Recently I listened to a webinar filled with statistics.

• Repeat donor retention was down.

• New donor retention was down.

• Lapsed donor recapture was down.

(I was relieved to see overall giving is up slightly! Yay!)

The news made me think about what we can do to change the trajectory of the numbers and build operational security for our organizations.

The answer is stewardship. Intentional, meaningful stewardship can create lifetime donors with a strong attachment to our mission and cause.

Are your capital projects connected to your strategic priorities?

Let’s consider a new dining hall project at a resident camp. Is this project strategic, or simply reactive to growth in campers or the declining state of the building? This example drives home the importance of using a strategic framework to guide capital projects. Too often, nonprofits begin with a perceived need rather than a strategic imperative.

Capital planning and master planning for facilities flow from strategy… not the other way around.

I’ve been having conversations lately with several nonprofit leaders I trust. CEOs, Executive Directors, Development Directors who care deeply about their missions and take their responsibility seriously.

And even though their organizations look different, I keep hearing familiar observations and challenges.

Fundraising is moving. Fundraising is changing. And the question underneath it all is: How does our team change with it?

Can you believe we’re already halfway through the year? If you’re like most nonprofit leaders, you kicked off the year with ambitious fundraising goals, detailed plans, and a whole lot of motivation to have “the best year yet!”

Now, with six months behind us, it's time to step back and ask: How are we really doing?

Remember, fundraising isn't just about year-end campaigns, online appeals, or event seasons; it’s a year-round effort that begins on day one of your new fiscal year. Taking time now to evaluate your progress can be the difference between scrambling in Q4 or finishing strong.

A mid-year review gives you a chance to:

• Assess the first six months of the year
• Identify gaps
• Re-engage and realign
• Plan ahead with purpose

As we move through the year, nonprofit leaders need to ask themselves: Are we where we hoped to be? These check-ins are about more than forecasting—they are a strategic opportunity.

These are opportunities to not just to evaluate results, but to ask deeper questions about direction, adaptability, and mission alignment. As Tod Bolsinger writes in Canoeing the Mountains, leadership today is no longer about mastering well-worn paths. It’s about stepping into the unknown, “off the map,” where the old tools don’t work, and the terrain requires new vision, vulnerability, and innovation.

Whether you’re ahead of pace or navigating unexpected challenges, this is your opportunity to drop the oars, stop paddling harder in the wrong direction and begin adapting to the real terrain ahead.

Is a capital expansion project included in your blueprint for growth? Whether a new facility, a refresh or update, or an addition, here are three early wins that should be considered now as the organization prepares for a capital campaign in the future.

For leaders of mission-driven organizations, keeping a hopeful attitude is critical to meeting the inevitable challenges that arise. But how do you keep your attitude positive when things aren’t going your way?

In “Imaginable” by Jane McGonigal, the author introduces the concept of “urgent optimism.” In this state of mind, it’s possible to be realistic about the issues and risks ahead, while also keeping an open eye and heart as to how you can help to solve those issues and address the risks.

When setting fundraising goals—whether for annual contributed revenue or a multi-year campaign—many organizations default to looking at past performance. But here’s the thing: basing your goals only on what’s been done before can be limiting.