If 2025 felt heavy, confusing, and emotionally expensive… you’re not alone.
Budgets were tighter. Expectations were higher. Trust felt shakier. And many nonprofit leaders found themselves asking the same quiet question:
Why does it feel like we’re doing everything right and still running uphill?
According to BetterUnite CEO Leya Simmons, the answer isn’t failure.
It’s focus.
During a recent 501c Drop, Leya walked nonprofit leaders through a data-backed, deeply human look at the year we just survived and why 2025 wasn’t just hard. It was clarifying.
Not because the challenges disappeared.
But because the signals got louder.
And if you know how to read them, 2026 suddenly looks a lot less overwhelming.
Generosity didn’t disappear.
Participation did.
Giving held steady. In some cases, it even grew. Giving Tuesday broke records again. Recurring giving quietly outperformed one-time gifts.
But fewer people carried more weight.
Nationally, the top 10 percent of donors accounted for over 80 percent of dollars raised. On BetterUnite, more than half of all revenue came from gifts above each organization’s median donation size.
In plain terms:
The sector is being carried by fewer shoulders.
That reality can feel scary.
Or it can become a strategy.
Most nonprofits aren’t struggling because they lack generous supporters.
They’re struggling because they lack clarity.
Who’s giving more than once?
Who’s recurring?
Who shows up every year?
Who disappears after an event?
Without that visibility, you can’t prioritize.
You can’t forecast.
And you can’t protect your energy.
Leya’s message was simple but grounding:
Let the data tell you where to pay attention.
Not what you wish was true.
What is true.
2025 made one thing undeniable. Not all revenue behaves the same anymore.
Three engines did the heavy lifting this year.
Recurring donors grew faster than one-time donors and stayed longer.
They opened emails.
They attended events.
They gave again.
Recurring giving isn’t just revenue.
It’s emotional ballast.
In a volatile year, predictable monthly support is what kept many budgets from cracking.
The reframe for 2026 isn’t “How do we get more donors?”
It’s “How do we treat recurring donors like the VIPs they already are?”
As the donor pyramid compressed, major donors carried more weight than ever.
That doesn’t mean ignoring small donors.
It means knowing your core people deeply.
Who are your top 10 to 25 relationships?
What do they care about?
How do they want to be engaged?
The takeaway wasn’t automation-for-automation’s-sake.
It was this:
Protect the relationship as fiercely as the revenue.
Not every touchpoint should be an ask.
Most shouldn’t be.
Events didn’t disappear. They evolved.
They remain one of the strongest engines for acquisition, cultivation, and belonging. But only about 10 percent of attendees actually give during events.
Which means the opportunity isn’t attendance.
It’s follow-through.
The reframe Leya offered was bold and freeing:
Events aren’t exhausting obligations.
They’re relationship accelerators.
When designed intentionally, events create a runway for year-round connection. The night isn’t the finish line. It’s the starting point.
Donors in 2025 don’t behave like donors in 2020.
Mobile giving is no longer optional.
Transparency is no longer a bonus.
Personalization isn’t impressive. It’s expected.
And belonging has replaced messaging as the strongest retention strategy.
People stay where they feel seen.
They give where they feel connected.
They return where they feel known.
This is why generic mass communication is quietly failing.
Not because people don’t care.
But because they want relationship, not noise.
Instead of saying:
“Our list is shrinking.”
Try this:
“We have a smaller, more committed core. And our job is to serve them well.”
Instead of:
“This year broke us.”
Try:
“This year showed us where our real strength lives.”
Because 2025 didn’t just test nonprofits.
It clarified what actually works.
Recurring donors.
Multi-gift supporters.
Events with intention.
Clear systems.
Human-centered follow-up.
Leya didn’t end with prescriptions.
She ended with better questions.
What is your data actually telling you?
Who are your core people?
Where are you making belonging real?
What should be automated so humans can stay human?
Because automation isn’t about replacing relationships.
It’s about protecting them.
When systems handle the routine, teams regain the capacity for stewardship, creativity, and care.
And that’s where generosity grows.
2025 wasn’t just a year to survive.
It was a year that quietly taught nonprofits how to be stronger.
Not louder.
Not busier.
Clearer.
And for organizations willing to listen, reflect, and refocus, 2026 doesn’t look like another uphill climb.
It looks like solid ground.