TNPA continues to work with policymakers regarding ethical AI priorities and we are closely tracking the implementation of the President’s AI plans. We are also engaging our membership on educational opportunities as they navigate this fluid landscape, speaking with our nonprofit and commercial members regarding policy priorities which include...
Our August Leadership Lab invited discussion of today’s fundraising landscape, and pretty quickly all four cohorts diagnosed a period of intense economic and operational pressure and a K-shaped revenue landscape: while high-wealth giving through sophisticated third-party vehicles is surging, we are seeing a continued and concerning decline in everyday, lower-dollar givers.
In the nonprofit sector, we sometimes talk about "the mission" as our greatest retention tool. And yes, meaningful work is a differentiator for us as employers. But the data, and our own experience, tells a different story. In our July Leadership Lab, we looked at the actual math of loyalty, exploring why salary increases – for better or worse – are not the primary retention solution, and identified five drivers that actually determine whether your best people stay or go.
We are halfway through 2026. Not almost halfway. Not approaching the midpoint. Halfway. Whatever you said you were going to do in January, you've had six months to do it. And in this month's Essential Leadership Lab cohorts, we stopped moving long enough to look back, so we can move forward with intention. This is the June installment of Lab Notes, our monthly series turning the high-level discussions of the Essential Leadership Lab into actionable insights for the broader nonprofit community. This month, we moved past the polished updates and assessed the gap between our intentions and our reality.
On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed sweeping revisions to the rules that govern how federal grant dollars flow to nonprofits, as well as to state and local governments and tribal nations. The OMB Uniform Guidance is the foundational rulebook for federal grantmaking. It governs everything from how nonprofits recover their overhead costs to how federal agencies structure grant announcements. For the tens of thousands of nonprofits that partner with the federal government to deliver services in communities across the country, these rules are the operating conditions that determine whether those partnerships are viable.
It is time for The Nonprofit Alliance’s Annual Membership Campaign! This year, we are talking about claiming your own seat at the table as we rally around our 2026 mission to “Protect Our Purpose.”
Twenty-five years ago, the day-to-day responsibilities of the heads of development teams looked different than they do today. The ecosystem was more contained, and lines of accountability were clear. That same role now orchestrates 30, 50, sometimes 100+ people across internal and external teams, technology platforms, and volunteer networks. The fundraising function hasn't just grown, it's been fundamentally disaggregated.
The April 21st federal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has sparked predictable responses along predictable lines. As the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported in an email last week, progressive organizations have rallied in defense. Conservative outlets have amplified the charges. And in the middle, where most of the nonprofit sector actually lives and works, there's silence.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming nonprofit business operations. AI provides great promise with respect to enhancing efficiency, optimizing workflows, analyzing data, and boosting productivity. At the same time, AI presents various legal, ethical, reputational, and other risks. A sound AI usage policy can enable a nonprofit organization to leverage the promise of AI without compromising work product integrity, disclosing privileged, confidential, or proprietary information, eroding its mission, jeopardizing its reputation, or subjecting the nonprofit to undue legal exposure. Leaders in the nonprofit community should consider the following practical advice when developing and implementing an AI usage policy for their organizations.
The panic is over. The policies are written. The staff are experimenting. And yet, for many of us, nothing fundamental has changed. That's the paradox we tackled in our April Leadership Lab: not whether to use AI, but what it actually takes to move from scattered experimentation to meaningful organizational impact.
