2026 Philanthropic Landscape

A Snapshot of the

Explore our preview of the 2026 Philanthropic Landscape featuring key findings, donor trends, giving data, and fundraising insights shaping the future of philanthropy.Contents

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2040

Annual Report

A Message from our Report Co-Chairs

For 15 years, the Philanthropic Landscape has examined the trends, data, and forces shaping charitable giving in the United States. Produced annually by CCS Fundraising, this report helps nonprofit leaders understand a changing philanthropic environment and consider what it means for your organizations.

This edition pairs the latest giving data with perspective on the forces influencing philanthropy today – from evolving donor expectations and demographic shifts to advances in technology and new approaches to fundraising. Together, these insights offer nonprofits context to assess what is changing, consider the implications for their organizations, and make informed decisions about what comes next.

CCS is a strategic fundraising solutions firm partnering with nonprofits to understand their donor landscape, financial goals, organizational context, and opportunities for growth.

With nearly 80 years of expertise, we are ready to help your organization amplify its impact. We hope you enjoy this snapshot and download the full report to gain a deeper understanding of the forces shaping charitable giving today.

Welcome to the 2026 Philanthropic Landscape

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01

The Forces Shaping Philanthropy

02

Individual Giving

03

High-Net-Worth Giving

04

Institutional Giving

05

Sector Giving

The Forces Shaping Philanthropy

Three forces are reshaping the conditions for fundraising success: the increasing concentration of wealth, the complexity of donor decision-making, and the rising operational demands of giving.

No two organizations will experience these forces in exactly the same way. But across philanthropy, they are influencing where organizations find their strongest giving opportunities, how donors structure their gifts, and whether nonprofits have the people, processes, and systems to act when motivation and opportunity align.

Increasing Concentration of Wealth

Across CCS client engagements, the top 1% of donors have accounted for roughly two-thirds of fundraising revenue over the past decade.

More Complex Donor Decision-Making

In 2025, individual giving rose 4.1% and the S&P 500 gained 16.4%, while consumer sentiment fell 20.6%. Economic conditions provide context, but they do not predict how any individual donor will respond.

Rising Operational Demands

As giving vehicles, donor data, and expectations grow more complex, nonprofits need the systems, processes, and coordination to recognize and act on opportunity.

How These Forces Take Shape Across Organizations

The three forces interact differently depending on an organization’s donor base, mission, geography, fundraising model, and readiness. The same force can create a significant opportunity for one nonprofit and have little effect on another.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Nonprofits should use national trends as context for their own results, not as a prediction of what they will experience. That may mean focusing more deliberately on high-potential donor relationships, resisting assumptions based on economic headlines, or strengthening the operational readiness needed to navigate increasingly complex giving.

Want to dig deeper?

Explore the forces shaping philanthropy and what they could mean for your nonprofit on page 7 of the full report.

EXPLORE THE THREE FORCES

Individual Giving

Individuals continue to drive American philanthropy, giving $394.2 billion in 2025, or 64% of all charitable giving.

How donors give, however, continues to evolve. A donor may give directly, through a DAF or family foundation, with appreciated assets, or through an estate. Those vehicles change how charitable dollars are counted, but the relationship still begins with an individual donor.

According to CCS proprietary data, what share of major donors made their first gift below $250?

Could Your Next Major Donor Already Be Giving?

Major donors do not always begin with major gifts. A donor’s history of consistent or increasing support can reveal growing commitment before their giving reaches major-gift level.

Find the answer on the next page.

According to CCS proprietary data, what share of major donors made their first gift below $250?

The Answer: 22%

CCS analysis found that a median 22% of major donors made their first gift below $250. A median 20% reached major-gift level within three years.

An organization’s greatest opportunity for fundraising growth may already exist within its donor base. Giving history can help fundraisers identify supporters whose commitment is deepening and who may be ready for greater engagement.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Organizations should look past the giving vehicle and focus on the relationships already developing within their donor base. Use giving history, engagement, and donor data to identify relationships worth deepening and create intentional pathways from annual to mid-level to major giving.

Want to dig deeper?

See how giving history can reveal future major donors on page 19 of the full report.

EXPLORE DONOR PROGRESSION

High-Net-Worth Giving

America’s 50 largest donors gave $22.4 billion in 2025. More than two-thirds made their largest gift to an organization they had supported for at least five years.

Wealth alone does not create a major-gift opportunity. A nonprofit’s strongest potential major donors have both the financial capacity to give and a meaningful connection to the organization. Among affluent donors, 68% cited personal values or beliefs when choosing an organization to support, 57% cited interest in the issue area, and 50% cited first-hand experience.

According to CCS analysis, what share of donors are still giving five years after making a top 1% gift?

Find the answer on the next page.

According to CCS analysis, what share of donors are still giving five years after making a top 1% gift?

The Answer: 60%

Major donors, like all donors, want to understand the impact of their giving. Demonstrating that impact can help nonprofits deepen those relationships over time. In CCS feasibility studies, impact was the most frequently cited reason to give, rising from 52% in 2025 to 65% in 2026 to date. Affluent donors also want confidence that an organization will manage their support responsibly and turn it into meaningful results.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Nonprofits should start with supporters who have the ability to give more and have already shown a strong interest in the organization. Personalized stewardship should show donors what their support makes possible, how the organization is using it, and what progress it is making.

Want to dig deeper?

Explore what builds lasting major-donor relationships on page 27 of the full report.

UNDERSTAND WHAT SUSTAINS MAJOR GIVING

Institutional Giving

Foundations and corporations gave a combined $160.8 billion in 2025, more than one-quarter of all charitable giving. While both are considered institutional giving, foundations and corporations make funding decisions differently.

Community, family, and professionally staffed foundations often differ in who shapes those decisions and what they expect from nonprofits. Companies may direct support through corporate foundations, community investment programs, sponsorships, or individual business units.

For nonprofits, the strongest opportunities often come from aligning with a funder’s priorities, reaching the right people, and having the internal capacity to pursue the opportunity.

According to CCS’s 2026 Philanthropy Pulse, what share of nonprofits ranked structural change as their first priority for 2026?

Find the answer on the next page.

According to CCS’s 2026 Philanthropy Pulse, what share of nonprofits ranked structural change as their first priority for 2026?

The Answer: 44%

Institutional fundraising often starts well before a proposal or corporate gift ask. Nonprofits need the systems, data, relationships, and internal coordination to demonstrate results and pursue opportunities when they emerge.

Nonprofit leaders are already investing in that foundation. More than half of organizations placed hiring shifts or capacity building among their top two priorities for 2026, even as revenue growth also ranked as a major focus.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Nonprofits should treat readiness as part of institutional fundraising, not as a separate investment for later. Strong systems, data, relationships, and coordination help nonprofits turn alignment with a funder and access to the right people into sustained support.

Want to dig deeper?

See how organizational readiness supports institutional growthon page 44 of the full report.

EXPLORE INSTITUTIONAL READINESS

Sector Giving

Eight of the nine sectors tracked by Giving USA grew in current dollars in 2025, and seven grew after inflation.

National sector totals can show where giving grew, but they don’t necessarily explain what drove an individual nonprofit’s results or which fundraising practices contributed to them.

Some of the clearest lessons cross sector lines. Human services organizations show how outcome data can strengthen donor communications. Faith and arts organizations show why participation needs a deliberate path to giving. Health systems and universities show how to clarify what philanthropy makes possible within complex funding models. Environment and animals organizations show how philanthropic commitments can help attract additional support.

Which approach could create the greatest fundraising opportunity for your organization?

Using existing outcome data more effectively with donors
Building a stronger path from participation to giving
Clarifying what philanthropy makes possible beyond other funding sources
Using philanthropic commitments to attract additional public or private support

Continue to see how these approaches are working across sectors.

Different Sectors, Shared Lessons

In human services, 69% of surveyed organizations reported greater demand for services in 2025, while 58% still reported higher revenue than the year before. In arts and culture, 62% reported revenue growth and 66% acquired new donors, even as fewer organizations reported attendance growth.

The story behind fundraising growth is rarely straightforward. Across sectors, nonprofits are finding different ways to create opportunities, and many of those approaches can translate across missions.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Nonprofits should compare national trends with their own donor base, funding mix, and fundraising performance, then consider what other sectors can teach them about communicating impact, turning engagement into donor relationships, clarifying philanthropy’s role, and extending the reach of private support.

Want to dig deeper?

Discover the patterns crossing sector lines, beginning on page 46 of the full report.

EXPLORE SECTOR GIVING

About CCS Fundraising

Since 1947, CCS Fundraising has partnered with nonprofits around the world to strengthen fundraising and advance their missions.

As a strategic fundraising solutions firm, CCS partners with nonprofit leaders to understand their donor landscape, financial goals, organizational structure, and areas for growth. We apply deep fundraising expertise and a data-informed perspective to help organizations assess opportunities, plan and manage campaigns, strengthen fundraising programs and the teams and systems that support them, and use analytics to guide decision-making.

Nearly eight decades of fundraising experience with nonprofits of different sizes, missions, and communities gives CCS a broad view of the challenges and opportunities nonprofits face.

800+

Annual Client Partnerships

600+

Dedicated Team Members

975+

Projects Managed Annually

16

Offices Around the Globe

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A Current View from CCS

1,725

Feasibility Study Responses
2025–2026 YTD

Nearly 300

Feasibility Studies Conducted
Across CCS in 2025

Much of the philanthropic data available tells us what has already happened. CCS proprietary data offers a different perspective, capturing donor priorities, organizational decisions, and fundraising opportunities as they are taking shape.

For decades, CCS has conducted Feasibility Studies to explore philanthropic priorities, economic outlook, willingness to give, and the factors shaping potential support. CCS also draws on Data Analytics work, which uses organizations’ own fundraising data to better understand donor behavior and identify opportunities for future giving.

Throughout the report, CCS proprietary data appears alongside Giving USA and other external research. It is not intended to serve as a national benchmark. Instead, it provides a current, practice-based view of how donors and organizations are responding to the forces shaping philanthropy.

Read the Full Report

65

Client Engagements Represented
2025–2026 YTD