Everywhere you look these days in the world of nonprofits, there’s a focus on threats to the sector. The optimism about the direction of social good that was so prominent one year ago has been replaced by a strong thread of pragmatism. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”
The cuts to the social safety net imposed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), passed into law this past July, will have a domino effect on all nonprofits — whether their organization or sector was directly impacted or not. Huge reductions to federal spending on social good will force states, municipalities, foundations, and corporate social responsibility leaders to make difficult decisions about how to allocate limited resources. This reshuffling will inevitably lead to a contraction of the overall nonprofit system. With less overall funding available, many organizations are going to have to get smaller.
The one saving grace is just how slowly the federal government moves. Demands by policymakers that the OBBBA modifications be enacted within six months are colliding with the realities of such sweeping change management. What was expected to take half a year will more likely take 12–18 months, giving nonprofits a critical opportunity to get proactive in defending their castle.
Why Individual Giving Should Be a Primary Focus
Across the country, philanthropic leaders are preparing organizations for the coming wave of financial strain. Much of the early emphasis has been on internal change management: layoffs, reduced programming, and consolidation. This support is badly needed — it’s been some time since nonprofits faced an economic downturn of this magnitude.
But just as important is a renewed focus on fundraising. Finding new sources of financial support will be essential, and that means taking a harder look at individual giving. Many nonprofits rely heavily on grants and sponsorships from institutional funders while underinvesting in their ability to cultivate individual donors. Institutional sources are inherently capped — there are only so many municipalities, foundations, and companies in your orbit. But individuals who care deeply about your mission are far more plentiful.
The good news is that even in these uncertain times, Americans remain open and willing to give. A recent Vanguard Charitable survey found that 70% of Americans donated to charity in the past six months, and 87% plan to give the same or more in the next six months despite economic uncertainty. Notably, more than one-third (36%) of donors who intend to maintain or increase giving say they do so because they view charitable giving as a civic duty.
Giving USA’s 2025 report reinforces this, showing that individuals continue to account for three-quarters of all charitable giving — far outpacing foundations and corporations. In other words, while institutional funding is likely to contract and realign, the largest portion of charitable support remains accessible — if nonprofits are prepared to reach for it.
The challenge, of course, is that individuals don’t have entry points like foundations or corporations do. There is no application portal for a major donor. Building relationships with individuals requires strategy, patience, and a willingness to expand beyond your existing circles.
Creating a Focus on Acquisition
At a time when individual support is more important than ever, organizations have two clear strategies: increase investment from existing donors or acquire new donors who have never given before.
Our latest two blogs focused primarily on strengthening connections with existing supporters — moving beyond crisis messaging and designing call-to-action campaigns. These efforts may pick up some new givers, but the people most likely to respond when you communicate digitally are those who already follow and subscribe. The harder, and often more neglected, path is the acquisition of individual donors.
We call this boundary-spanning acquisition — the effort to identify, engage, cultivate, and ultimately solicit individuals who are not currently in your donor database. Hospitals, universities, and cultural institutions have long been set up to do this, leveraging grateful patients, alumni, and visitors to fuel their pipelines. Health and human service organizations, on the other hand, often lack a natural pool of prospects. With events and galas losing their luster, the question becomes: how can these organizations compete for individual donor dollars?
Building a Culture of Philanthropy
The answer lies not just in tactics, but in mindset. The organizations that succeed are those that foster a “culture of philanthropy” — one that extends beyond the development office and permeates the entire organization.
Three key components stand out:
1. Focus on Your Supportive Constituency
Donors are not simply rewarding impact; they’re joining a movement of people aligned to a cause. Nonprofits that highlight donor stories alongside programmatic outcomes create a sense of belonging that draws in future supporters. Prospects are more inspired by seeing themselves reflected in the generosity of others than by a list of program statistics.
In practice, this can look like a restructuring of your newsletter, blog, and social media to feature a steady stream of volunteer- and donor-centered stories. Interviewing and engaging these people also provides excellent opportunities to learn what got them involved in the first place and why they stay involved, which is important data to inform your future strategy development.
2. Grow Ambassadorship
Too much pressure is placed solely on board members to open doors. While governance volunteers play an important role, organizations often overlook the potential of volunteers and donors who want to deepen their involvement. A structured ambassador program allows these allies to extend your reach, helping to identify new prospects while staff lead the cultivation process. The request isn’t for them to solicit gifts — it’s to help others discover your mission.
Organizations often struggle to create volunteer opportunities because their programming and operations do not lend themselves to outside involvement. When ambassadorship is treated like volunteerism, the effort extends beyond friends and neighbors to center constituent recruitment as a way to give back. That will require creating new methods to activate this interest, raising the visibility of your organization through outreach efforts.
3. Create Targeted, Multiyear Strategies — And Stick With Them
Acquisition takes time. Quick-hit experiments rarely deliver immediate results, and too often they are abandoned prematurely. Instead, organizations should identify a tightly defined segment of potential supporters — perhaps a profession, a faith community, or a geographic area — and commit to a multiyear strategy. Like any program expansion, this requires research, planning, volunteer leadership, and measurable goals. The most successful campaigns recruit current donors to lead efforts to connect with their peers, making acquisition an extension of authentic relationships.
For example, if Bob the Architect is one of your biggest supporters, it may be worth exploring whether others at his architecture firm may have similar interests. More adventurous would be to link architecture firms across the community in a sector-wide effort that makes your nonprofit a beneficiary. These sorts of ideas come when nonprofits proactively put themselves in a position to make them happen.
Making the Most of This Gift of Time
The slow rollout of the OBBBA is, in its own way, a gift (I swear, go with me here…). The Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic hit suddenly, giving nonprofits little time to prepare. This time is different. We can see the storm on the horizon. The question is how we use the time we’ve been given.
Yes, nonprofits should prepare their operations for leaner days ahead. But they should also seize this moment to strengthen their culture of philanthropy. By embracing boundary-spanning strategies and focusing on individual giving, organizations can grow even as others contract.
At Next Stage, we believe that movement-building brand marketing offers a roadmap to do just that — aligning donor acquisition with community building in ways that create resilience and momentum.
If you’d like to explore how your organization can expand its pool of individual donors, let’s start a conversation.
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