State of Good for Jan 19, 2026

by | Jan 20, 2026

Weekly insights on donor behavior, industry trends, and what’s shaping generosity
⏱️ 4 minutes | Once a week

Donors & Industry Indicators

Major Donors Are Making Decisions Earlier, And Your Calendar Needs to Catch Up

The traditional major gift timeline just got compressed. According to Gail Perry Group, high-net-worth donors aren’t waiting until later in the year to make their giving decisions. New charitable deduction rules that took effect January 1 have wealthy donors already exploring bundled gifts, accelerated timelines, and new giving structures.

This isn’t a minor scheduling adjustment, it’s a fundamental shift in how major gift work flows through the year. Some donors are considering larger bundled gifts that cover multiple years. Others are accelerating their timelines entirely. The message is clear: the donors you thought you had months to cultivate may be ready to talk now.

What This Means for You:

  • Move your major gift conversations up by 2-3 months, if you typically approached donors in June, start in March
  • Prepare your case for support NOW, not in Q2 when you “usually” need it
  • Train your team to recognize early decision signals, donors asking about tax implications, multi-year commitments, or giving structures

The Concentration Challenge: Fewer Donors, Bigger Stakes

Your revenue concentration is intensifying. Gail Perry Group reports that more organizations are seeing a larger percentage of their revenue coming from fewer people. This isn’t a trend that might happen, it’s already here.

Meanwhile, donor retention continues its stubborn hold at 45-50% according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, meaning you’re losing roughly half your donors each year while depending more heavily on those who remain.

This creates a strategic landscape where every major donor relationship carries more weight. When 20% of your donors provide 80% of your revenue (or increasingly, 10% providing 90%), each relationship becomes mission-critical.

What This Means for You:

  • Implement redundancy in major donor relationships,  ensure at least two staff members maintain each critical relationship
  • Develop contingency plans for your top 10 donors, what happens if any of them exit?
  • Invest disproportionately in retention strategies for your highest-value donors

💡 Pure Charity’s Fundraisers & Sponsorship Features make it easy to manage donations and help acquire new donors.

Economic Headwinds Signal Cautious Optimism

This week’s economic indicators paint a mixed picture. Consumer sentiment dropped to 51 (↓ 4.9%), while the personal savings rate fell to 4% (↓ 2.4%). Yet unemployment decreased to 4.4% (↓ 2.2%) and the Federal Funds Rate dropped to 3.72% (↓ 4.1%), potentially easing borrowing costs.

For fundraisers, this translates to a delicate balance. Donors may feel less confident about the economy overall (reflected in consumer sentiment), but those with stable employment and investment portfolios may find themselves with more discretionary income due to lower interest rates.

What This Means for You:

  • Lead with impact stories rather than economic urgency, donors need positive reasons to give when sentiment is low
  • Consider offering more flexible payment options for multi-year pledges
  • Focus on donors in recession-resistant industries who maintain giving capacity.

Why Donors Give?

 

The Setup: Here’s a startling disconnect: donors consistently overestimate how much they give. According to research from The NonProfit Times, only 6% of donors believe they’re not giving enough, meaning 94% think they’re already generous enough or giving too much.

The Psychology: This isn’t about stinginess, it’s about perception gaps. When donors feel they’re already giving generously, traditional appeals for “more” fall flat. The sweet spot? Help donors see their giving differently. Research shows giving itself is a reward, and family businesses use philanthropy strategically to build unity and legitimacy.

Try This:

  • Show donors their giving in context: “Your $1,000 puts you in the top 5% of our supporters”
  • Frame increases as “joining a new level” rather than “giving more”
  • Create family giving opportunities that build donor identity beyond dollar amounts
  • Emphasize the personal rewards and recognition that come with leadership giving

What Changed from Last Week?

Tax Law Shifts Create New Urgency for Donor Conversations

The charitable giving landscape is shifting beneath our feet. New 2026 charitable giving laws exclude contributions to donor-advised funds from certain deductions, fundamentally changing the DAF calculation for many donors. Smart donors are already responding by accelerating multi-year gifts into 2025 and bundling contributions.

Why It Matters: This isn’t just a tax technicality, it’s reshaping how and when donors make major giving decisions. DAFs have been a crucial tool for many major donors, allowing them to make tax-advantaged gifts now while deciding on recipients later. With these benefits potentially reduced, the entire rhythm of major giving may shift.

Your Move:

  • Contact DAF donors immediately to discuss accelerating their 2026 giving into 2025
  • Prepare materials explaining the tax changes in plain language
  • Offer alternative giving vehicles like charitable remainder trusts or private foundations
  • Create “bundled giving” proposals that allow donors to maximize remaining tax benefits

Federal Funding Freeze Ripples Through Nonprofit Sector

The Trump Administration’s freeze on billions in social services and child welfare funding represents an immediate challenge for organizations dependent on federal dollars. State officials in California and Colorado report immediate impacts on child welfare programs.

Why It Matters: Even if your organization doesn’t receive federal funding directly, this freeze affects the entire nonprofit ecosystem. Organizations losing federal support will compete more aggressively for private donations. Donor confidence may waver as they see increased needs across the sector.

Your Move:

  • Diversify revenue streams if you’re federal-funding dependent
  • Prepare messaging that distinguishes private philanthropy’s role from government funding
  • Consider collaborative fundraising with affected organizations rather than competing
  • Build reserves now while private giving remains stable

Bottom Line

This week’s takeaway: The fundraising calendar you’ve used for years is obsolete. Between tax law changes driving earlier decisions and federal funding uncertainty creating new competition, the organizations that adapt their timing fastest will capture the most resources.

Three actions for this week:

  1. Audit your top 20 donors: Who might be ready for an earlier conversation about 2026 giving? Schedule those meetings now.
  2. Create tax-change talking points: Every fundraiser needs to understand and explain the new charitable deduction rules.
  3. Map it out: Which organizations in your area depend on federal funding? How might their newfound fundraising urgency affect your donors?

💡 Pure Charity can support your 2026 Fundraising Strategies.  Reach out and we can discuss.

Good In Action

The Business Women’s Giving Circle at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia just demonstrated the power of collective giving, awarding $70,000 in grants to five organizations.

What makes this special isn’t just the dollar amount; it’s the model. These women pooled their resources to create an impact none could achieve alone. They researched together, decided together, and celebrated together.

The grants they awarded will fund everything from youth programs to senior services, but the real magic is in the community they built around giving.

The Lesson: Sometimes the best major gift strategy isn’t finding one large donor,  it’s bringing together many donors around a shared purpose.

Consider: What giving circle could you help launch? Which donors might give more if they could give together? The future of fundraising might be less about individual cultivation and more about community creation.

💡 Have a Good In Action story that you would like to share?  Respond to this email and share the details.