And how nonprofits can serve donors’ most pressing hopes for our community.
One of the best benefits of being at the same organization for 13 years is the incredible relationships I have with donors. And the honest thoughts they share.
Some donors have been sharing some pretty candid feedback with me—and it is regarding their view of the entire nonprofit landscape. Some of it was surprising to me, but it has been repeated/thematic across conversations. So I thought it important to share here…and talk about how we can adjust our communications and plans to better serve donors’ needs and hopes.
“A” Charities
One donor articulated the theme best: “We used to give to 7 or more charities. Two or three would be rated ‘A’ charities; another two might be ‘B’ charities; and the remainder were ‘C’ or ‘D,’ that we gave to because of friends’ involvement or because we always had. No more. Now, we’re only giving to the ‘A’ charities.”
Investments in Leadership
A primary factor in how much donors give to an org is not only their belief in leadership…but also their access to leadership. Our CEO often shares, “It’s not that I can necessarily do anything better than any of our other chiefs…sometimes it’s about being able to leverage the title.” The presence of leaders matters. Understanding when and how to bring CEO and Board Chair into conversations often makes the difference in major and multi-year giving.
Less Themes/Gimmicks, More “Shipping”
A chief data scientist for a prior US President became famous for a scribbled note that read: “Dream in years, plan in months, evaluate in weeks, ship daily.” “Ship daily” became shorthand for the rapid prototyping, improving, and reporting success. Donors seem tired of tiny change (and being asked to participate in tiny change). Instead, a big theme is that investment is attracted to communicated and rapidly moving progress. How often—and in what compelling ways—can you answer the question, “What impact are you making in the community issue you’re trying to solve?”
Relationship > Benefits
A mentor of mine was famous for regularly talking about the number of people in the University of Michigan Advancement Office. “If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t have 542 people and continue hiring!” And the success of donor engagement relies on personal relationship. Pen pals rarely raise money.
A second way this theme is manifesting is that I’m being asked far more regularly, “Who else is supporting this?” And I’m noticing a lot of behind-the-scenes conversations between donors/funders. Not that these didn’t always happen (they have!), but their specificity and, “I’m in, if you’re in,” nature seem especially pointed recently.
What does this mean for our mission?
In short, I think it means that we need to understand our donors a lot better—and do a much better job at delivering on their needs rather than talking about our own/the org’s.
That’s much easier said than done—but here’s a topical checklist that might help you work within your org to see where there is opportunity:
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“A” Charity: How and where do we communicate being best-in-class in a particular area? Do we know all the donors who already do or might care about/fund that area?
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Investments in Leadership: Is our team “leveraging” the right titles/roles? Is our CEO or Board Chair involved in the most important donor conversations? How is our philanthropy team actively positioning our leaders to be in those conversations?
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More “Shipping:” Do we do a good job blending personal storytelling with programmatic data? Where are we making progress—and on what regular cadence are we communicating it?
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Relationships. Do we have internal “triggers” that tell us when we should hire a philanthropy team member? And do those triggers tell us where that person should focus? (If you don’t have this set up, email me for a CFO-approved framework for adding additional fundraising staff).
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Relationships. Are we asking, “Do you like to partner with other donors with funding important projects? If so, do you have regular investment partners?” Get ahead of it and make sure donors know whether you like and can be a good partner for a team approach (…you should!).
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Relationships. Who are we hiring and how are we doing it? What partners are we using to identify, hire, train, and develop our top talent? (If you’re not nailing this, email me to talk about how we can work together on making the right hires and doing the right onboarding).
Identifying three sections for a relationship check-in isn’t a mistake. It’s how to develop the kind of donor engagement and enthusiasm only the best Philanthropy teams can generate. And those deep relationships get donors talking. If we’re listening, we’ll be able to serve their needs while accomplishing great things in the community.
This piece was originally published on the Fundraise with Impact Substack on March 30, 2026, at https://ryancorry.substack.com/p/what-donors-are-saying.
