My Top 3 Recommended Habits for Nonprofit Development Teams in 2026
It’s a new year so the world is abuzz with the usual talk of goals and resolutions and change-your-whole-life-NOW vibes. Most of the resolutions we make, whether personal or professional, are related to habits. We want to start doing things that are good for us and stop doing things that are not-so-good for us.
I love talking about habits and systems! My personal and professional growth depend heavily on them, and I’m always looking for new ways to practice the habits I want to live by.
And really, that’s why nonprofit CEOs and directors come to me: they need help with habits that lead to healthy, vibrant donor relationships. In essence, they need help starting things that grow donor partnerships and stopping things that derail it.
I’ve learned plenty about habits that feed donor development growth after working with dozens of orgs and teams over the years. These three in particular stand out:
Habit 1: Add a Donor Lens to Every Outreach
Org-centered language does your missional message no favors. It’s a total snooze fest for your donors, which is why they are indifferent to your mission. Donors need to receive certain types of information from your org, and it needs to be framed for their eyes and ears, addressing: the real problem you and your donors want to solve, the solution that your org delivers, and the opportunity for donors to change the world with their partnership.
Pro Tip: If your narratives read like a sales pitch for how great your org is, you are missing the chance to connect with your donors as true partners.
Habit 2: Strategy before Outreach
Most development teams start their outreach planning by filling out a calendar with drop dates: enews goes out on Mondays, spring appeal launches March 10, and so on. Your comms calendar is important, but it’s not step 1. Before plotting any dates on a calendar, map out the donor strategy for each segment to define the journey you want to take them on over the whole year. Proper segmentation strategy ensures each segment has the engagement and outreach they need to give their best gift.
Pro Tip: If you are sending the same outreach elements to all donors, you have major potential for growing donations!
Habit 3: Prioritize High-ROI Activities
Trying to juggle ALL the comms, ALL the time, for ALL the donors is NOT a strategy; it’s a comms circus. The daily frenzy ties up your team in low-ROI tasks like social media posting or event sponsorships. Not all engagement efforts are equal, and that’s ok! Assess the return on your staff’s time and shift their efforts accordingly to see bottom-line growth.
Pro Tip: It’s ok to do fewer low-ROI outreach efforts to free up time for one-on-one connections with mid- and top-level donors!
I hope these three habits give you and your team some solid direction for the year ahead. These aren’t once-and-done tasks but new patterns that will shape how your team operates—and that’s what makes them so powerful. Teams that adopt these habits will see measured change in 2026. Just think of the difference this could make for your team this year!
Ready for more? Here are two ways Erin can help you make your mission irresistible to donors:
1. Connect with me or follow me on LinkedIn.
It’s where I talk about donor strategy ideas like these. Join the convo!
2. Work with me.
Over 12 months, I guide NP teams to fund their mission with effective, frenzy-free donor engagement strategies. ✴️ Donors fund irresistible missions… is yours? Let’s get started! Schedule your 15-minute Change Chat here and share about your nonprofit and how you’d like to improve your donor strategy.