About this episode

The episode discusses the decline in small donors to nonprofits and the importance of community trust for organizational credibility.

For four consecutive years, the number of individual donors to American nonprofits has declined. The steepest drop is at the bottom of the pyramid, donors giving under $500. At the same time, major donor and corporate giving has grown, which means total revenue numbers can look stable even as the base of community support is quietly eroding. That erosion matters more than the dollar amount. A broad, active community of small donors is one of the most important signals of organizational credibility you can send to foundation funders, government partners, and major donors. It says: this organization matters to people, not just to institutions. Today, we talk about how to stop the decline and invest in the future.

People in this episode

Host: Kim Williams

Topics covered

• community trust
• donor engagement
• nonprofit funding
• organizational credibility
• small donors
• fundraising strategies

Keywords

• donors
• nonprofits
• community support
• fundraising
• credibility
• giving trends

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: North Texas Giving Day, American nonprofits

More episodes of Life & Leadership with Kim Williams

• Episode 101 | Leading Change Without Losing Your Team · July 21, 2026 · 18 min
• Episode 100 | How to Face the Inevitable Budget Deficit · July 14, 2026 · 20 min
• Episode 99 | Take One Action Today to Win at Year-End · July 7, 2026 · 23 min
• Episode 98 | The Programs That Changed Everything: The Power of Engaged Giving · June 30, 2026 · 13 min
• Episode 96 | Stop Asking Donors to Fund Growth. Ask Them to Fund Excellence. · June 16, 2026 · 16 min

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