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Tonight, I made BBQ Chicken Pizza for dinner.

You might be surprised to know that made me think about cases for support.

Most nonprofits aren’t struggling to raise money because they lack passion or effort. They’re struggling because they’re building on sand.

At a recent planning retreat, the walls were covered with sticky notes. Live polling generated nearly 100 ideas. The energy in the room was incredible. Every idea was worthwhile. Every idea had a champion. But there was one problem.

With so many worthy ideas, no one could clearly identify what mattered most. So, I paused the conversation and asked a simple question: "If everything is a priority, what is actually your priority?"

Unlocking Powerful Insights from Your Community

A community needs assessment is a structured process nonprofits use to identify the most pressing needs, strengths, and priorities within the communities they serve. It combines stakeholder input, demographic research, interviews, surveys, and other data to help organizations make better strategic decisions.

Nonprofits exist to solve problems, create opportunities, and improve lives. But communities are constantly changing. Demographics shift. New challenges emerge. Funding priorities evolve. What mattered five years ago may not be the community's greatest need today.

That creates an important leadership question:

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.

Would your campaign benefit from a volunteer leader who is willing to open up their personal relationships and reputation to support your mission?

Imagine someone who introduces your organization to their network, hosts gatherings, and personally invites friends and colleagues to invest in your vision. That person is not a paid spokesperson or a passing supporter. They are a Campaign Ambassador.

In a capital campaign, campaign ambassadors are one of the most powerful volunteer roles you can cultivate. When thoughtfully recruited and supported, these volunteers expand your campaign’s reach, deepen its credibility, and help inspire significant philanthropic support. They are not just “nice to have.” They are a critical component of campaign success.

The Problem Is Not Always Effort

Many nonprofit development teams are working hard and still falling short of expectations. They are writing grants, planning events, managing donor communications, preparing board reports, stewarding gifts, updating records, and trying to hit ambitious goals. They are busy. They care. They are carrying more than people realize. So, when results are not where they need to be, the easy move is to look at the development team and ask: Are they doing enough?

This time of year, graduation is everywhere.

Proud parents posting photos. Speeches about new beginnings. Kids in caps and gowns who look both younger and older than seems possible.

Friends of mine were recently sharing they had a whole season of graduations going on – multiple friends and family members crossing thresholds – even the same weekend. A lot of parties and celebrations to be part of.

But I sensed something even bigger might be going on. I said, “This sounds like a big theme in your life right now. What are you yourself graduating from?”

Then another question came to mind.

“And what are you graduating to?” I asked.

These are good questions for leaders, too.

What does your organization need to graduate from?

By Gary Laermer and Kali Righter

The latest Fundraising Effectiveness Project data (Q4 2025), reveals overall giving is up 5% in 2025, which is a very encouraging signal. But that growth is being driven by a smaller group of donors, as the total number of donors continues to decline.