New Year’s Resolutions for Nonprofits

A new year means new goals and a chance to make an even bigger impact! Now’s the perfect time for nonprofits to refocus and recharge to maximize their fundraising results.

With insights from 1,273 organizations, the 2026 Fundraising Outlook Report covers trends, challenges, and priorities for the year ahead. These 7 New Year’s resolutions turn those insights into actionable opportunities for fundraising success.

Let’s dive in!

Balance Donor Acquisition and Retention

Winning fundraising strategies don’t just rely on finding new supporters – they build long-term loyalty from the ones already in your corner. Strong results come from balancing acquisition, stewardship, and engagement across every program.

With 97% of nonprofits prioritizing donor acquisition heading into 2026 and 96% focusing on elevating donor retention, it’s clear that nonprofits must invest time and resources in both strategies.

Here are a few ideas to balance both:

Use data to guide your nonprofit’s focus and urgent needs. Keep in mind, donor retention is where ROI is consistently stronger.
Build a recurring giving pipeline to convert new donors into sustained support and secure long-term loyalty from existing donors.
Share impact stories to attract potential supporters while highlighting the valuable impact of current donors.
Host events for donor cultivation to bring in a new audience and take the time to connect with long-time supporters.

Events are key to balancing these two. See how the OneCause Fundraising Platform can help you leverage donor data and analytics with engagement tools to strengthen both sides of your fundraising strategy. Request a demo and learn how we can help!

Diversify Your Fundraising Streams

Strengthen your organization’s fundraising by expanding beyond a single revenue stream, embracing a full mix of online fundraising, partnerships, and sponsorship opportunities.

Consider the following to expand your reach:

Boost your online fundraising efforts by planning online campaigns and optimizing your donation forms to engage supporters from any device.
Promote sponsorship opportunities through emails, newsletters, or social media posts to attract sponsors who can provide financial or in-kind support.
Secure strategic partnerships to create ongoing financial support that complements your fundraising efforts.

A diversified strategy will not only increase resilience against external factors like funding cuts but also provide a more stable financial foundation for your organization.

Embrace Auction & Event Software for Efficiency

With donor expectations constantly evolving, is your fundraising software keeping pace?

Events remain the #1 fundraising strategy for nonprofits, with 55% of organizations reporting that they generate 21% or more of their annual operating revenue through events and online fundraising. Leveraging the right auction and event software can help your nonprofit raise more with less effort.

Here’s how the OneCause Fundraising Platform can help:

Save time with easy event site set up and customization to match your brand.
Elevate your event from ticketing and registration to checkout and reporting.
Boost revenue with raffle tickets and fixed-priced items all in one platform.
Drive engagement with competitive mobile bidding and seamless donations.

Investing in tools that can optimize donor engagement, improve operational efficiency, and create more personalized donor experiences can help you achieve your new year’s goals. In the 2025 State of Nonprofit Auctions Report, 64% of auction attendees said they were likely to become recurring donors, proving the value event software can bring to your mission.

Learn How to Use AI to Streamline Workflow

Artificial Intelligence is gaining traction as nonprofits grow more confident with technology.

Nonprofit familiarity with AI grew from 24% in 2024 to 38% in 2025, and many organizations are already using AI for tasks like copywriting (56%) and fundraising (48%). While smaller teams may still face resource constraints, AI is proving to be a practical way to save time, improve strategies, and enhance donor experiences.

A few ways AI can help streamline your workflow include:

Automate daily tasks, such as email scheduling or finding optimal times to post.
Improve donor segmentation by categorizing donors based on giving patterns.
Draft compelling descriptions for your auction items to save planning time.
Optimize content and messaging when writing email copy or bylines.

Emerging technologies like AI can provide valuable insights to help tailor your strategies, improve data analysis, and boost fundraising overall. Don’t be afraid to embrace what’s next. Fundraising is evolving – and so can you!

Consider Fresh, Creative Fundraising Ideas

Don’t leave your fundraising on autopilot. Tried-and-true events bring consistency to the donor experience year after year, but supporters respond well to creativity and fresh approaches. In the 5th Edition of the Giving Study, 45% of donors said they’re more motivated to give when nonprofits show innovation when they approach challenges.

Here are our top tips to spark engagement:

Try out different fundraising formats, such as hybrid events, to offer an online silent auction that meets donors where they are.
Use resources and guides to inspire fundraising ideas for 2026 to fit your mission and audience.
Tap into industry research and trend reports to see emerging insights and donor behaviors.

Creativity not only grabs attention, but it also keeps donors engaged with what’s next. You don’t need a large budget to be innovative. Small changes to existing fundraising campaigns can make them feel fresh and bring new energy.

Host A Supporter-Driven Fundraiser

Turn your supporters’ influence into fundraising impact. It’s a perfect solution for nonprofits that may be facing limited resources and staff while still wanting to actively engage donors.

Despite 96% of organizations reporting that leveraging supporters more effectively is important to their strategy, 4 in 10 nonprofits haven’t asked supporters to fundraise on their behalf for an event.

Implement an Event Ambassador Fundraising strategy in 4 steps:

Identify your ambassadors – think board members, honorees, champions, committee members, or volunteers.
Provide them with a personal fundraising page to effortlessly share with their network, showcasing their connection to your mission.
Track their influence automatically, including tickets, donations, bids, or sponsors brought in with their help.
Measure and recognize impact with real-time insights into total revenue to keep supporters engaged.

Supporter-driven fundraising works best when your team has the right tools. Event Ambassador Fundraising in the OneCause Fundraising Platform helps manage events, empower ambassadors, and engage donors all in one place.

Leverage Free Fundraising Resources

One of the easiest ways to grow your impact this year is by staying up to date with the latest fundraising tools and strategies.

Make it a priority to engage with valuable resources like webinars that allow live questions, videos that showcase a product in action, or other available fundraising content to help your organization’s efforts all year long.

Explore more resources designed to help you raise more this year:

Event Ambassador Fundraising: Turning Influence into Impact: Explore how nonprofits can track, credit, and recognize supporter-driven impact.
Improving Donor Communications: 7 Strategies to Try: Strengthen relationships by creating meaningful conversations between your organization and donors.
11 Tips on How to Increase Event Attendance for Fundraisers: Learn how to turn your event into a must-attend celebration that inspires generosity.
2026 Social Good Predictions: Read standout predictions from Bonterra’s 2026 prediction report that will guide your 2026 strategy.