November 12, 2025 | Read Time: 5 minutes
This collection of essays is part of a special package of predictions from sector leaders and thinkers about what lies ahead in 2026 and how to respond to what will likely be another unprecedented year for the nonprofit world. Read more predictions about Major Donor Giving | Foundation Giving | Democracy and Threats to the Sector | Fundraising and AI | Equity Efforts | Nonprofit Operations | Policy Changes and Predictions for 2030.
A Firm Stance Against Contempt and Combat
Pearce Godwin
Those of us working in the nonprofit world are only human. None of us is immune to the toxic forces pitting Americans against one another and thwarting the sector’s goals. But while some may write off parts of the country as a lost cause, I believe most nonprofits in 2026 will recognize that such an approach would hurt their own causes.
Some organizations, out of pluralistic principle, will plant their feet firmly against the forces of contempt and combat. They’ll root their work in a community defined by common aspirations rather than a common enemy. And they’ll stubbornly see dignity across divides, listen with curiosity, and pursue unlikely allies willing to work together to fix something they agree is broken.
Other nonprofit leaders will put the strategic interests of their missions above their tribal inclinations. They’ll recognize that in such a politically divided country with so many backgrounds and beliefs, reaching people beyond their base is the only way to gain the support needed to achieve and sustain victories.
Some, of course, will continue to engage a narrow ideological spectrum in the hopes of building enough power to defeat perceived injustices. But that only feeds the us vs. them vortex, which harms the whole sector. I fear the bridge-building field will become fatally marginalized if it’s seen as representing just one side of the ideological spectrum. Most other social causes share this risk.
America’s destiny will be determined by the actions of individuals. That includes nonprofit leaders who must lead by example by fighting division and dysfunction. Whether guided by principle or pragmatism, I expect and hope most organizations will choose that path in 2026.
Pearce Godwin is a senior director at Urban Rural Action and the founder of the Listen First Project.
Pluralism Becomes a Must-Fund for Philanthropy
Liz Vogel
In 2026, philanthropy will come together to strengthen the civic culture that sustains democracy.
The country is living through a destructive cycle of distrust and violence that threatens institutions and communities alike. Yet beneath the noise, people are signaling that they want something else: 70 percent of Americans across all demographics say they feel a responsibility to connect across differences.
Pluralism offers a path forward. Rather than an excuse to avoid change or water down conviction, pluralism is a strategy for making progress on intractable issues. Examples abound. In Buffalo, the nonprofit Resetting the Table organized a cross-ideological, multifaith campaign to prevent hate-based violence. In Connecticut’s Naugatuck Valley, All In facilitated kitchen-table conversations across class divides that yielded bipartisan housing reforms. Research confirms what these examples suggest: 76 percent of Americans believe the country can overcome challenges and find common ground — a significant increase from 67 percent in 2023.
Philanthropy is uniquely positioned to support this work. Unlike politicians bound to short-term cycles, funders can take the long view. They need to invest in building social trust, because real progress on today’s most urgent issues isn’t possible without it.
Consider, for example, that calls to protect democracy often overlook the fact that many people feel democracy hasn’t worked for a long time. While fighting tyranny is critical, the muscles of self-governance also need rebuilding. That happens when people come together across differences to solve shared problems, building a sense of belonging, trust, and cooperation along the way.
In 2026, funders will converge around pluralism not because it’s easy, but because it’s essential. Philanthropy will help build broader coalitions where people feel valued, respected, and part of a shared future — not pushed away by shame or blame. By honoring everyone’s innate dignity and helping people solve problems together, we’ll find common ground when every incentive tells us to pull apart.
Liz Vogel is a co-executive director of the New Pluralists.
The End of the “Great Awokening”
Eboo Patel
Nonprofits will be more intentional in the coming year about including a wider range of ideological perspectives within their staffs and in their communications, recognizing that diverse views make organizations more effective. Growing numbers will also conclude that the progressive advocacy approach characterized by raised fists and cruel cancellations has failed and they will abandon that strategy.
In recent years, “progressive activists,” who make up roughly 8 percent of the country, aggressively advanced the idea that being victims of straight, white, male oppression was the most important unifying identity among marginalized and minority groups. This came across as condescending and insulting. Surveys consistently demonstrated that white progressives are far more likely than minority groups to focus on racist oppression as the defining feature of America. Minority groups, by contrast, are far more likely to be patriotic and focus on opportunities for advancement rather than oppression.
In effect, white progressives both misunderstood and misrepresented the people they claimed to champion, likely rankling them along the way.
The progressive activists who advanced this paradigm were concentrated in the fields of discourse — higher education, publishing, media, cultural institutions, advocacy organizations, nonprofits, and tech companies. This proved fatal in two ways:
- They became convinced of their own righteousness because they spoke mostly to one another. This fed the fiction that there were more of them than was actually the case, driving these activists to more extreme positions.
- Their dominance of major media platforms allowed others to be exposed to their out-of-the-mainstream views and their claims to represent communities that they did not belong to. This angered both the people they demonized, mostly straight white Christian males, and the people they claimed to champion.
Many nonprofit and philanthropic leaders already recognize that the Great Awokening was a big mistake. In 2026, they will seek to unwind its most damaging features and accelerate the long process of earning back the American people’s trust.
Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith America and the author of “We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy.” He is a columnist for the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Photos: Courtesy of Pearce Godwin; Courtesy of Liz Vogel; Courtesy of Eboo Patel.
