The target audience for CEP’s State of Nonprofits 2026 report might not be emailers.
But three findings from their survey of 380 nonprofit CEOs should be required reading for email teams navigating a changing fundraising environment.
Everyone is chasing individual donors at the same time
88% of nonprofit CEOs say they’re pursuing funding from new donors, and 77% are deepening engagement with existing ones.
The reason: Foundation grants have gotten harder to secure, and more than a third report reduced government funding.
M+R’s 2026 Benchmarks report already showed email revenue up 16% last year.
Email is pulling its weight. But that growth is about to face a stress test as more organizations pile into the same channel, chasing many of the same supporters.
More fundraising volume from more senders means inbox providers filter harder, and your sender reputation carries more weight than it did a year ago.
The move: If you’re not keeping a close eye on your bounce and complaint rates, start now. In a more competitive inbox, the organizations with clean sending practices get through.
The teams running your program are smaller and more stretched
CEP found that 30% of nonprofits have cut staff since January 2025, and 46% of CEOs report burnout as a serious concern.
Those smaller, more burned-out teams are being asked to carry a larger share of the revenue load via email.
That’s a recipe for rushed, templated sends that blend into an already crowded inbox.
The move: When you have less bandwidth, every send needs to earn its place.
Focused storytelling with a clear ask beats volume, especially when your team is stretched thin.
Individual giving is what separates a surplus from a deficit
Among organizations that ran a surplus last year, 45% credited higher-than-expected individual giving as the top factor.
Among those running a deficit, 53% blamed lower-than-expected individual giving.
Those numbers make the stakes of your email program pretty concrete.
2025’s surge in one-time giving across the nonprofit sector was largely emergency-driven, and those donors are at higher risk of lapsing.
If your program doesn’t keep them engaged, that revenue spike becomes a blip.
The move: Segment your 12-month donors and build a plan to keep them active before year-end.
The quality of your engagement matters more than the size of your file.
The bottom line
This funding environment probably isn’t temporary.
The sooner your email program is built to carry real revenue weight, the better positioned your organization will be, no matter what happens next.
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Quick hits
Big Duck profiled three social justice organizations that recently rebranded and how they used brand strategy to build momentum in a tough environment.
RKD Group makes the case for starting your year-end planning now, with a focus on mid-level donors, DAF messaging, and lapsed donor reengagement before giving season hits.
MoveOn is hiring a Senior Director of Digital Membership Strategy to lead email, SMS, and web communications for their member base. Remote, $155K, applications due June 24.
‘Til next time!
Sara