Five 2018 Nonprofit Trend Predictions From Someone on the Inside

A Nonprofit Ninja / Executive Director on what NFP orgs can expect going into the New Year.

This article was written by featured writer Amber Smith.

For nonprofit professionals the world over, last year was one of the more exhausting ones on record, wrought with natural disasters, political turmoil, and global tension around a number of health and poverty issues. But the new year brings a renewed spirit. Personally, I’m optimistic about 2018 and its potential to be the dawn of a new golden age for social change agents.

Here are five trends I predict we’ll see on the rise for the nonprofit world in 2018:

1. The beginning of a return to volunteer commitments: For the past decade we’ve seen a great shift towards volunteers preferring shorter-term, “weekend warrior” opportunities. But I think 2018 is going to be the start of a return to longer-term commitments, for some. Here’s why: We’re riding a tide of minimalism, contemplating self-care, and work-life balance. At the same time, many people are craving connection, authenticity, and an anchor in this crazy world. Volunteering provides a sense of fulfillment and meaning and provides that connection. I predict that while volunteers will still enjoy the people they meet during those one-and-done food sorting or house-building volunteer activities, they’ll begin craving the relationships and deep impact they can make through a longer commitment, if the cause is right. I also anticipate seeing more volunteers, especially teens and 20-somethings, stepping up into leadership positions.
2. With possibly fewer donations, those rare donations will get bigger. Trust issues abound across all institutions right now. People don’t trust government. They sure as heck don’t trust business. And sadly, many don’t trust nonprofits, either, with 81% of donors citing a concern about a lack of transparency and understanding of the impact of their donations. Some people feel like everyone is letting them down! This overall decline in institutional trust, combined with elements of the latest tax reform, are predicted to lower donations for charities in 2018. However, while there’s a chance we’ll see some decrease in donations, I predict that a tribe of heroes will rise up to help make up at least some of the difference. Those rare unicorns who make major gifts will make bigger ones. Some experts are also predicting that recurring donations, rather than one-time donations, will become more popular. This prediction aligns well with the notion that some people will want deeper commitments when they give their time, too.
3. A wave of Millennials will take the reins as Executive Directors and other top positions, combating an ancient, apocalyptic prophecy. Okay, maybe not that ancient. In 2006, the announcement of a nonprofit and community “leadership deficit” caused a ruckus across the sector. There was talk of the wave of retirements of senior CEOs and other top nonprofit brass and a lack of trained and passionate leaders in line to replace them. What they didn’t adequately predict at the time, however, was the coming flood of young, idealistic Millennials who, shaped by the events of our generation and world, will demand careers that make an impact. This zeitgeist has started to bear fruit over the past few years as more and more Millennials have come of age, graduating from college, getting community impact notches on their belt, and rolling up their sleeves to embark on their destined search for amazing leadership challenges.
4. From Technology-Starved to Technology-Pioneers: Over the past decade, many have cited the nonprofit sector’s deficiency in technology resources, prompting the launch of some pretty great technology programs designed to benefit causes over the past decades. Those programs have had results, and we’re seeing organizations not only thriving by using technology innovations, but innovating the way technology is used overall. Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit providing a free, text-based support line to people in crisis, is a prime example. They’ve opened their dataset to help researchers understand the needs and behaviors of teens and adults in crisis, a move which has cut down on the time and money otherwise required to put together such a large sample of data. In a world in which many funders and donors are still wary of funding technology and research, opening available code and data is a strategy nonprofits are taking more and more to cut through the red tape to understand the world’s problems and act on them a lot more quickly. We’ll see a lot more of this in 2018.
5. Disoriented and disillusioned, people on both sides of the aisle will finally come together. Forget what you saw everyday on your Facebook or Twitter feeds in 2017. The time has come. We’ve all hit our breaking point. We’re sick of arguing and trolls and debates with no foundation in logic that go nowhere. We’re so tired, we’re finally ready to do something about it. And the nonprofit world is leading the way. In our free market society, with the private and government sectors often at odds with one another, nonprofits are that renegade, idealistic hero in the movie that huffs at the bureaucracy and mess of it all and says “Someone has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, fly boy.” We’re seeing groups emerge like the Listen First Project or Red Boot Coalition whose sole purpose is to get people to stop yelling at each other for once so we can get something done. And I think it’s going to work, slowly, but surely.

It’s only been a week and a half so far, but I believe — I have to believe — 2018 will be a year of great promise, fueled by a resurgence of idealism and rationality.

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