By the CDO Council: Thirteen Chief Development Officers Leading Organizations That Raise $19 Billion Annually

We keep the lights on when governments turn away. We feed families when benefits go away. We respond to disasters, advance medical research, protect press freedom, and provide the social infrastructure that makes civic society possible. We are Chief Development Officers at thirteen of the world’s most essential nonprofit organizations, and we’re here to tell you: the scaffolding is cracking.

Last month, we gathered in New York for our first in-person meeting since the pandemic began. Together, our organizations raise $19 billion annually to address hunger, disease, humanitarian crises, and threats to democracy itself. What we discussed wasn’t fundraising tactics or donor cultivation strategies. We talked about what it will take to ensure nonprofits can continue holding up society when everything else fails.

As a sector, the data tells a stark story: Americans gave nearly $590 billion to charity last year, but for four consecutive years, the number of individual donors has declined. Wealth is concentrating among fewer givers, and with it, influence. Government funding—once a reliable partner in addressing society’s biggest challenges—continues to retreat. Public trust in nonprofits has fallen below 40%. And a generational transition is underway that none of us fully understands.

Here’s what keeps us awake at night: When the systems society relies on are stretched to breaking point, who steps in? When only 40% of Americans trust nonprofits, how do we ask them to invest in solutions? And when the next generation gives as readily to a friend’s casual WhatsApp message as to an established organization, what does institutional philanthropy even mean?

The Trust Crisis Isn’t About Marketing

Let’s be honest about the trust problem. One of our colleagues put it plainly: “You are either right or you are canceled.” In today’s hyperpolarized environment, every message risks alienating part of your audience. When public leaders downplay the impact of policy decisions while families struggle to meet basic needs, how do we communicate urgency without being seen as political?

The answer isn’t better messaging—it’s structural change in how we build credibility. We’re seeing trust migrate from institutions to individuals. Peer-to-peer giving is rising precisely because people trust people more than organizations. Generation Z doesn’t differentiate between donating to a wildfire victim’s GoFundMe and giving to the Red Cross. In fact, to them, the former feels like a more authentic response to need. 

This isn’t a crisis. It’s a signal. The next generation is telling us that authenticity matters more than legacy, that influence is the new currency, and that they want to participate, not just donate. One organization in our group launched a “creator lab”—recruiting, training, and platforming influencers to tell their story with guardrails and values intact. Another has achieved a 78% five-year donor retention rate by maintaining constant, meaningful connection across digital channels. These aren’t gimmicks. They’re survival strategies.

Trust is shifting from institutions to individuals partly because of the speed and impersonality of the digital world. Artificial intelligence has accelerated that shift, blurring the line between what’s real and what’s not. Yet, if used thoughtfully, it can also help us do what humans do best: connect with empathy and purpose. The question isn’t whether AI belongs in our work, but how we ensure it strengthens rather than replaces the human relationships that drive generosity.

AI Won’t Take Our Jobs—But Resistance Might

Every one of us is experimenting with artificial intelligence, not because it’s trendy, but because we’re slammed, asked to do more with less every year. Used well, AI can help rebuild trust by freeing people to focus on what only humans can do: connect, listen and inspire. As one colleague said: “AI isn’t going to take our jobs; it’s going to help us do them better.” But you have to give up control to gain capacity.

We’re using AI to identify which donors need human outreach versus automated engagement, to train new fundraisers by highlighting great donor conversations and to remove routine tasks so staff can focus on what’s important and can’t be delegated to AI: building relationships. The organizations that resist this shift, clinging to spreadsheets and manual processes, will struggle to keep pace.

But here’s what AI can’t replace: the courage it takes to give, and the courage it takes to ask for help. Technology can boost efficiency, but only humans can build trust. Only humans can tell the authentic stories that move people to action. And only humans can decide what’s worth fighting for. 

The Board Problem No One Wants to Name

If you want to understand why nonprofits struggle, look at their boards. Too many boards operate as obstacles rather than catalysts. We know what we need: expertise, resources, and the wisdom to stay out of our way. What we often get instead: well-meaning volunteers who lack relevant skills, resist change, and can’t clearly articulate our mission.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. One of our colleagues credits her organization’s success to its board. It took time to get the right people in the right seats, but once aligned, the board became a true accelerator, providing resources, strategic guidance and accountability that propelled the organization forward.  Another colleague transformed her board dynamic completely. Her board has clear accountability: miss three meetings and you’re out, with grace to serve in other ways. Term limits roll with intentional overlap so that new chairs spend a year with their predecessor. Diversity isn’t demographic window dressing; it’s about skills, regional representation, and connections that open doors and checkbooks. And 100% of board members give to the organization’s top three priorities—not just token amounts, but meaningful personal investment.

The result? Boards that govern, not manage. Boards that ask “Is this decision advancing our mission?” rather than “Does this feel comfortable?” And Boards that see themselves as catalysts for the organization’s success 

It’s time to ask: Is your board serving your mission, or is your mission serving your board’s comfort?

Beyond Charity: Nonprofits as Essential Systems

If the scaffolding is cracking, it’s up to us to rebuild it stronger and make its purpose visible. For decades, we’ve operated within constraints not of our making. Funders asked for low overhead, so we learned to appear lean. They asked for tidy metrics, so we measured what was easy to count instead of what mattered. In trying to prove efficiency, we stopped showing that we are essential.

Infrastructure is invisible until it disappears. When a humanitarian organization delivers relief after a disaster, people see compassion in action. What they don’t see are the pre-positioned supplies, the army of trained volunteers and the systems built over decades to make effective response possible. They see help, not the scaffolding. But the scaffolding—the structural support that holds everything else up—is, in fact, the work itself. 

What if we talked about ourselves the way we actually function? We are society’s operational backbone. We are the infrastructure that doesn’t wait for government approval. We are the response system that never goes offline. We are the scaffolding, structurally critical and too often unseen, and society needs to understand what’s at stake when the scaffolding falls.

The reeducation we need isn’t about convincing people to like nonprofits or trust us again. It’s about realizing what happens when we’re not there. Not through better marketing, but through honest naming. We are not the sector that reacts to crises. We are the infrastructure that prevents collapse. And like all critical infrastructure, we are not optional and when neglected, the scaffolding weakens and eventually fails. 

If we can reframe how society sees us, not as beneficiaries of generosity, but as builders of stability, then we can begin to reshape how the next decade of giving and governance unfolds.

What Happens Next Is Up to All of Us

We left our gathering exhausted and energized in equal measure. Someone quoted Jane Fonda: we are “guardians of what’s possible.” Another said: “There are good people out there—it’s just that the crummy people have the microphone right now.”

Here’s what we need:

Funders: Embrace trust-based philanthropy. Give unrestricted dollars. Recognize that influence comes with investment—so invest wisely and with humility. Stop asking for innovation while funding only safe bets.

Boards: Govern, don’t manage. Bring expertise, not just wealth. Give meaningfully to what matters most. Make diversity about skills and perspectives, not box-checking. And for the love of everything, get out of the way when your organization needs to move fast.

Sector Leaders: Stop competing and start collaborating. Market like the for-profits do—St. Jude didn’t transform its funding model by being modest about its impact. Embrace AI as a capacity multiplier. And let go of outdated models, even if they once worked.

Next Generation: We need you. Your influence is currency. Your networks matter now; your wealth will matter later. Help make philanthropy relevant again. Show us how to build trust through authentic storytelling. We need you.

Everyone Else: Stand behind the organizations that hold up society’s scaffolding. Give them your attention, lend them your voice, share their work and help direct resources to where they’re needed most. Make the infrastructure behind the act of aid visible. The support you give and the attention you bring can mean the difference between stability and collapse. Remember that only 28% of Americans have passports. Global thinking is a muscle we must build. Local giving matters, but so does understanding our interconnection. When you trust someone, amplify their work. Peer recommendation is the most powerful tool we have right now.

We’ve faced dark times before and lived to talk about it. But look at what survival costs: people keeping hospitals open without getting paid, volunteers showing up despite everything, community groups organizing food and shelter at a moment’s notice. There is extraordinary resilience, passion, and stubborn hope holding this scaffolding together. But we cannot build society’s future on burnout and heroism. Essential infrastructure requires investment, not just improvisation. 

Scaffolding isn’t optional. It keeps buildings standing while they’re under construction. Society is always under construction—always reaching for something better. And the organizations we lead are the framework that makes that reach possible.

The question isn’t whether nonprofits will survive the next decade. The question is whether society can afford for us not to.

The CDO Council brings together Chief Development Officers from leading global nonprofits including United Way Worldwide, American Red Cross, Save the Children, Feed the Children, New York Public Radio, USA for UNHCR, American Heart Association, Blood Cancer United, and others. Together, these organizations touch hundreds of millions of lives annually and raise nearly $20 billion to address humanity’s most pressing challenges.