Thriving nonprofits share a consistent DNA: radical transparency, visible local proof, giving options and flexibility, and segmentation mastery. Even as four in 10 donors reduced their donation amounts in the past 12 months, these same donors respond powerfully to organizations that show where each dollar goes, report impact routinely, and invite flexible participation, from micro-monthly recurring gifts to rapid crisis-response surges. In this Viewpoint, which stems from the Voices for Good report published earlier this week, we’ll discuss the differentiators that will help nonprofits survive and thrive in the near future.
Voices for Good, Brand Federation’s inaugural index that benchmarks donor behaviors and motivators, has uncovered a wealth of insights that create a picture of today’s nonprofit donor. Generated from the insights of over 500 nonprofit donors from around the country, Voices for Good provides nonprofit leaders and executives with proven findings and tangible action items for navigating the economic uncertainty of today, ensuring that donor relations and expectations aren’t just met, but exceeded.
What we have learned in Voices for Good is that donor behavior is changing. Donors are focusing on organizations that make an impact visible and frictionless, and this transparency is what gives some nonprofits a competitive edge when it comes to securing philanthropy dollars. One in seven donors (14%) have reallocated support due to transparency concerns, and a quarter said they would stop giving over perceived inefficiency. Donors interpret transparency as respect—meaning clear reporting, line-item accountability, and tangible outcomes confirm their generosity is valued.
Additionally, more than half (52%) prefer to give to local organizations than national ones. This raises the flag for more community-oriented, authentic, and visible storytelling.
What’s driving these changes? There is an overarching trend of donors needing to be more in control of their gifts at a time when there is economic uncertainty. Transparency, real impact (particularly locally), and having the options to control their gifts and scale when there is urgency is are vital to meeting today’s donors where they are.
The goal of Voices for Good is to help nonprofits understand the minds and behaviors of donors today in the hopes they’ll take the learnings to distinguish themselves and thrive for months and years to come. To that end, we’re highlighting a few key takeaways from our research and final report that will help nonprofits distinguish themselves amongst the pile of appeals and asks from other nonprofits:
1. Make Transparency the Brand Promise
2. Leverage Local Proof With Scalable Platforms
3. Build Dual-Mode Giving Infrastructure
4. Match Strategy to Donor Segment
5. Address Overhead Head-On
6. Pair Emotion With Evidence
Nonprofits that will thrive in the next era of giving are those that make transparency a central part of their brand strategy. They will operationalize trust through line-item clarity, rapid reporting, and locally validated proof of impact, while designing flexible giving experiences that match both planned and crisis impulses. The data show clear priorities: expand recurring participation beyond, maintain fast-response channels for the crisis-giving cohort, and use local storytelling to capture donors who prefer community-anchored giving.
To better understand today’s nonprofit donor, download our Voices for Good report.
Brand Federation fielded 512 in‑depth, semi‑structured interviews on EmpathixAI’s CultureChat
platform. Built and overseen by PhD‑trained social scientists, CultureChat conducted large‑N qualitative interviews using a 17‑question guide that blended open‑ and closed‑ended prompts. Interviews totaled 213 hours of conversation. Transcripts were systematically coded and cataloged, combining expert-designed code frames with model-assisted classification to generate structured aggregates and prevalence estimates, which were reported in the Voices for Good Report. This approach preserves qualitative richness (what donors say and why) while enabling statistically defensible summaries across key demographics (e.g., gender, age, income, education, and religion/denomination).
Rian Chandler-Dovis is an accomplished researcher and brand strategist with two decades of experience helping organizations define what they stand for and deliver meaningful experiences. She has developed strategies for some of the world’s best-known brands, including MIT, Harvard Medical School, GM, American Express, Mercy Corps, Samsung, PepsiCo, the World Wildlife Fund, AB InBev, and Colgate.
