Philanthropy is evolving, and nonprofits must adapt
The nonprofit sector is tired.
Fundraising is harder today than it has been for decades. Donor acquisition is down. Retention is fragile. Development directors are burning out and cycling through roles faster than ever. Most nonprofits see fewer than half of their donors in one fiscal year give again the next. Overall donor participation has declined in recent years, even when total dollars rise, which means we are relying more heavily on fewer people. Meanwhile, fundraiser turnover is at an all-time high; what used to be described as an average tenure of 18 months for development directors now often feels closer to 14 to 16 months before your new leader moves on to the next role.
And the answer isn’t to “raise more money so we can hire a better development director.” Because your development director wasn’t the problem. Your transactional mindset was.
Transactional fundraising will hurt your cause more than it helps.
The answer is also not in doing better social media (which doesn’t meaningfully raise money anymore). It’s not more campaigns and appeals (which will exhaust your hard-earned subscribers). And it’s certainly not squeezing the same small pool of loyal donors even harder.
The answer is deeper philanthropy.
The Old Model Is BROKEN
For too long, many organizations have treated donors as financiers. Necessary and important, but ultimately separate from the work.
We brief them on outputs, we send them reports, and we ask for renewals.
And then we wonder why they disengage.
The world has changed. Donors have changed. Information is everywhere, and causes compete for attention in a way they never have before. If all we offer is polished messaging and quarterly updates, we will get lost in the noise.
People don’t want to fund line items. They want to change something that matters.
If we don’t give them a clear, compelling invitation into that change, someone else will.
What Philanthropy Means
Philanthropy means “love of humanity.”
It does not mean “transfer of capital.”
True philanthropy is a partnership. It is inviting someone into a shared mission and saying, “This work matters. You matter. Let’s build something together.”
That requires courage from us as development professionals. It requires clarity about what makes our organizations genuinely distinct. It requires discipline in cutting through fluff and naming our unique impact without hedging or hiding behind jargon.
Too many nonprofits sound the same. Too many impact statements blur together. And too many boards are risk-averse when it comes to bold positioning.
But if we cannot articulate why we are uniquely positioned to solve a specific problem in a specific way, why should anyone invest deeply in our cause?
True philanthropists are inspired by conviction and real-world impact.
Fundraisers can’t Do This Alone
Here is the hard truth: development teams are often asked to “raise more money” without being given the authority, alignment, or institutional clarity to do so.
You cannot build authentic donor partnerships if:
Your CEO treats fundraising as a back-office function.
Your board sees itself as governance-only and not as ambassadors or investors.
Your program teams resist transparency or storytelling.
Your organization is unwilling to define what makes it truly different.
If CEOs and boards do not get on board with a relationship-driven, partnership-centered model of philanthropy, they will fail.
Not eventually, but soon. And with the current state of our sector, that could mean very soon.
Because transactional fundraising is brittle. When markets dip, when headlines shift, when a crisis hits, transactional support evaporates.
Relational philanthropy endures.
What REAL DEVELOPMENT WORK LOOKS LIKE
Engaging donors as partners means:
Inviting them into the why, not just the what.
Sharing challenges honestly, not just wins.
Connecting them directly to the people and stories that animate the mission.
Giving them meaningful ways to contribute their expertise, networks, and influence—not just their dollars.
Demonstrating, clearly and repeatedly, the unique impact your organization is making in the world.
It also means segmenting differently. Listening more. Having real conversations instead of defaulting to email campaigns. Building pipelines rooted in alignment, not desperation.
And yes, it means being disciplined about operations. Clean data. Thoughtful moves management. Clear strategy. But those systems exist to support relationships, not to replace them.
CUTTING THROUGH THE FLUFF
We also have to cut through the fluff and stop hiding behind sector-speak.
“Capacity building,” “stakeholder engagement,” and “strategic initiatives.”
No.
What are we actually doing? Who are we helping? What is changing? How are we building a better community, or world?
If we can’t answer those questions clearly, our donors won’t become passionate advocates for our work.
In a crowded philanthropic landscape, clarity is kindness, specificity is power, and conviction is magnetic.
“now more than ever”
The nonprofit sector is under strain. Economic uncertainty. Political volatility. Shifting donor behavior. Increasing scrutiny. Decreasing trust in institutions.
At the same time, the needs we exist to address are not shrinking, but growing.
We cannot afford to cling to outdated fundraising models.
We need philanthropists who see themselves as co-builders of a better future. We need boards that understand that development is not just a department—it is a cultural posture. We need CEOs who champion fundraising as mission-critical, not auxiliary.
And we need development professionals who are empowered to lead this shift.
Because this is not about raising more money.
It is about building movements. It is about cultivating aligned, values-driven partners. It is about inviting people into meaningful, transformative impact.
That is true philanthropy.
And if we embrace it—fully, boldly, unapologetically—we will not only survive this moment, we’ll build something far stronger than what came before.
In true fundraising speak: “now more than ever,” our sector must evolve.