State of Good for April 13, 2026

by | Apr 13, 2026

Weekly insights on donor behavior, industry trends, and what’s shaping generosity
⏱️ 9 minutes | Once a week

This Week's State of Good

The nonprofit sector is experiencing a fascinating moment of contradiction. Trust in charitable organizations remains high, yet donor participation continues its decade-long decline. New research reveals how successful fundraisers are adapting to this reality — from Rhode Island’s record-breaking giving day to breakthrough insights on donor segmentation. This week’s intelligence shows that winning strategies focus less on solving abstract problems and more on understanding the specific humans behind every gift.

The Participation Paradox

Despite maintaining their position among America’s most trusted institutions, nonprofits face a sobering reality: fewer people are giving. NonprofitPRO’s analysis confirms what many fundraisers suspect — trust isn’t the barrier. Una Osili, philanthropy chair, notes that research consistently shows nonprofits remain highly trusted, yet participation rates continue sliding.

If trust isn’t the problem, what is? The answer lies in understanding that trust is necessary but not sufficient. Donors need more than confidence in your organization — they need compelling reasons to act, clear pathways to engagement, and evidence their gift will matter.

What This Means for You:

  • Stop over-investing in trust-building communications if you already score well on transparency
  • Focus instead on reducing friction in the giving process
  • Create more opportunities for small, entry-level gifts that build donor identity
  • Show impact through specific stories, not general trustworthiness claims

Shifting Economic Dynamics

As Gulf Coast Community Foundation reports, new patterns are emerging in how economic conditions affect giving. Counterintuitively, periods of economic strain often increase certain types of charitable activity. Philanthropy now accounts for a significant and growing share of total charitable giving, suggesting a concentration of giving among those with greater financial capacity.

This concentration creates both opportunities and challenges. Organizations with strong major gift programs may thrive, while those dependent on broad-based support face headwinds. The key is recognizing which donor segments remain resilient during economic uncertainty and adapting accordingly.

What This Means for You:

  • Segment your donor base by giving capacity and economic sensitivity
  • Develop specific strategies for recession-resistant donor segments
  • Consider how economic messaging might actually motivate rather than discourage giving
  • Build relationships with donors who historically increase giving during downturns

Understanding Your Donors at a Deeper Level

Two groundbreaking studies this week provide frameworks for more sophisticated donor understanding. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports on research identifying five distinct generosity profiles among American donors, based on aspirations, motivations, and demographics. Rather than treating all donors identically, this segmentation allows for precisely targeted appeals.

Meanwhile, research from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy reveals how Christian women are shaping philanthropic trends. The study, conducted with Kingdom Advisors and National Christian Foundation, suggests this demographic represents a powerful force in charitable giving — one that many organizations may be under-engaging.

What This Means for You:

  • Move beyond basic demographic segmentation to psychographic profiling
  • Develop distinct communication strategies for each donor profile
  • Pay special attention to emerging donor segments like faith-motivated women
  • Test different messages with different segments rather than one-size-fits-all appeals

The Ratings Revolution

Charity Navigator announced significant updates to its rating system, with CEO Michael Thatcher promising ratings that “work just as hard” as nonprofits do to reflect their true impact. This shift represents more than a technical update — it signals changing expectations about how donors evaluate charitable effectiveness.

The new system aims to provide more comprehensive information about organizations, moving beyond simple financial ratios to capture mission effectiveness. For fundraisers, this creates both opportunity and urgency to ensure your organization’s story is accurately reflected in these third-party evaluations.

What This Means for You:

  • Audit your Charity Navigator profile immediately — updates may affect your rating
  • Prepare comprehensive mission impact data for the new evaluation criteria
  • Train your team to discuss ratings changes with concerned donors
  • Use improved ratings as a donor acquisition and retention tool

Why Donors Give?

Why do matching gift campaigns consistently outperform standard appeals by 2-3x?

The answer lies in two powerful psychological forces: urgency and scarcity. We value things more when they’re limited or time-bound. Matching campaigns create both—a deadline and a finite pool of matching funds.

But there’s critical nuance here. False urgency erodes trust faster than almost anything else in fundraising. “LAST CHANCE!” emails sent weekly train donors to ignore you. Artificial scarcity is quickly recognized and deeply resented.

Genuine urgency, however, motivates action. Real deadlines. Real matching funds. Real consequences for inaction. When donors believe the opportunity is authentically limited, response rates can triple.

Try This:

  • Use matching gifts with real deadlines and specific match amounts
  • Create genuine urgency: “Our shelter has capacity for 50 families—34 spots are filled”
  • Never fake scarcity—donors can tell, and it damages trust permanently
  • Build urgency around donor impact, not organizational need

The goal isn’t manipulation. It’s helping donors understand that their action matters now.

💡 Pure Charity’s Fundraisers features track the number of donors and can report this information as a part of your campaigns.

Bottom Line

This week’s takeaway: Trust alone won’t reverse declining donor participation. Success requires understanding distinct donor motivations, adapting to economic realities, and creating genuine urgency for giving. The most effective fundraisers are moving beyond broad appeals to sophisticated segmentation and authentic deadline-driven campaigns.

Three actions for this week:

  1. Segment smarter — Use the new five-profile framework to categorize your top 100 donors by motivation, not just capacity. Design one targeted communication for each profile this quarter.
  2. Audit your ratings — Check your Charity Navigator profile and prepare materials for their new evaluation criteria. Use any rating improvements in your next appeal.
  3. Create real urgency — Identify one authentic deadline or limited opportunity in your programs. Build a mini-campaign around it using matching gifts and specific impact goals.

💡 Pure Charity can support your 2026 Fundraising Strategies.

 Reach out, and we can discuss.

Good In Action

Rhode Island just showed the nation how local giving gets done. The 401Gives campaign shattered records with $5,081,425 raised in 36 hours from over 20,000 donors supporting 705 nonprofits.

But the real story is Foster Forward’s sixth consecutive first-place finish. Instead of chasing dollars, they set a donor count goal — 401 donors to match the campaign name. They hit 451. Their secret weapons? Youth volunteers calling past donors before and after the campaign. Peer-to-peer fundraising that turned supporters into advocates. And matching gifts that made donors 80% more likely to give.

The creative touches mattered too. A Real Housewives of Rhode Island parody video. A Hannah Montana impersonation. Content that made people laugh, share, and donate.

The Lesson: Community giving days succeed when organizations focus on relationships over transactions. Set goals that inspire participation, not just revenue. Deploy volunteers to create personal connections. And never underestimate the power of making your donors smile while they give.

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