We're excited to share a special episode of Sharpe Insights, a podcast about planned giving. Tune in as two Chronicle of Philanthropy editors discuss why the human element remains essential in fundraising, even in our digital age. Host Grant Miller welcomes Rasheeda Childress and M.J. Prest to discuss ways technology can shore up — or erode — donor relationships, the short- and long-term effects of damaged trust, the importance of a “good apology” and why the human touch will always be integral to planned giving fundraising.

What if the defining feature of nonprofit leadership right now isn’t burnout or bravery, but a kind of double vision—an ability to stare straight at worsening conditions and still believe, perhaps stubbornly, that impact can grow?

The Chronicle of Philanthropy joined forces with Mission Partners to take the pulse of the nonprofit world. In this episode of the Mission Forward podcast, Chronicle CEO Stacy Palmer talks with Mission Partners's President and CEO Carrie Fox and Chief Strategy Officer Brian Fox about the 2026 Insights on Purpose™ Report, which was built from interviews and a national survey of nonprofit and foundation leaders.

You can download the full report here, and dive into the Chronicle's coverage of its findings here.

This week, we look at what nonprofit and foundation leaders are really carrying right now — what they’ll say out loud, what they’ll admit in private, and why the gap between those two versions matters. This is the story of confidence and strain living in the same institutional body. About “resilience” as something everyone invokes, but fewer people can define in a way that survives contact with payroll, boards, and the calendar. About why planning feels harder when the ground won’t stop shifting — and why the answer probably isn’t a bigger plan, but a different relationship to planning altogether.

If you’re leading an organization, funding one, serving on a board, or simply trying to understand why so many leaders sound calm while feeling anything but, this episode gives you a lens — and a few powerful questions worth keeping close. The report, in their telling, isn’t a stack of charts. It’s a set of voices — unfiltered — trying to say what’s happening before the sector pays for it in closures, mergers, and communities left without the organizations they rely on.

Our great thanks to the Mission Partners for their partnership in bringing this report to life. We hope you’ll take the time to read and share it broadly.

Federal funding cuts and increased demand for their services have left nonprofits across the country and issue areas reeling — with many questioning whether they will survive. The consequences are stark, given the vital work nonprofits do in communities across the country.

To help nonprofits navigate this challenging time, we here at "Nonprofits Now" would like to share this podcast episode by our friends at the Center for Effective Philanthropy. Their podcast, "Giving Done Right," offers essential guidance to donors contributing everything from small sums to major gifts.

In this episode, CEP Vice President of Research Elisha Smith Arrillaga shares just-collected data on what nonprofits are experiencing. In conversation with "Giving Done Right" host and CEP President Phil Buchanan, Smith Arrillaga shares insights into which nonprofits have been hardest hit and what steps they're taking to respond. She also talks with Buchanan about data on the foundation response to the situation and argues that the existential challenges nonprofits are facing require bold, values-driven responses from donors.

• "Mounting Pressure: U.S. Foundations and Nonprofits on the 2025 Political Climate"
• "State of Nonprofits: 2025"
• "Challenging Times"
• For additional resources for funders, see here.