Digital trends for charities and non-profits in 2026

Things were a bit tumultuous in terms of fundraising for charities and non-profits in 2025, particularly towards the end of the year. We’re taking a look at some of the trends it’s been predicted may come up in 2026 that could have a big impact on organisations’ digital work, as well as offering a few suggestions for the future.

TLDR: We’re looking at some of the predicted trends that might affect charities and non-profits this year in the digital space

How we left things in 2025

2025 was a tricky year for organisations in the charity and non-profit sector: in December, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) predicted that charity donations would fall by £300M for the festive period, one of the most important times of the calendar year for fundraisers. Charity Excellence put this down to the cost of living crisis, with people’s salaries being stretched and the increases in energy costs named as the chief squeeze points. Alongside this, there was an increased demand for charities’ services, a theme that’s unfortunately not likely to get better any time soon with the current state of the world.

That said, it doesn’t all have to be negative – charitable organisations and fundraisers are plucky groups (they have to be in this industry), and they’ve been busy coming up with all sorts of ways to overcome these obstacles. By analysing some of these strategies and trends, we can see what many teams are likely to employ to engage with their audiences, and continue the amazing work they do. Read on for our thoughts on what we’re likely to see over this next year…

What trends in the digital fundraising space might we see in 2026?

The prevailing theme for 2026 looks to be that to best reach those you want to talk to, you need to create connection points and build relationships. People don’t want to be marketed to; they want to see the human side of your organisation and to know that it’s being run by, and is ultimately helping, real people like themselves. Below are the 5 main trends we’re seeing as predictions for this year that you should embrace in your digital strategy to do just that.

1. Building relationships with your audiences

With all the noise that’s out there these days – especially with all of the negative news and difficulties people are facing – it’s hard to stand out above it. People are also craving connection, security and novelty to take their minds off of current events. If you can deliver your message in a gentler way that touches people’s hearts, you’ll find you achieve a more effective outreach.

It’ll be key this year to deepen your links with existing supporters, ensuring the experience is a meaningful one. Joining up your campaigns across platforms will help with this. The same is true for new donors, too. Your Supporter Care teams will need to become relationship builders, engaging with your current donors and finding novel ways to bring in new ones. The more touch points you can offer people, so they recognise your brand and what you stand for, the more you’ll build upon and create memorable relationships.

2. Using storytelling to get your point across

Charitable organisations are built on the stories of the people they serve and of those who work for them. These stories are the best demonstrators of the years of hard work and perseverance they’ve been striving to achieve. Use them! Share them widely to showcase your ‘why’: your motivations, goals and principles.

This is where video comes into its own. TikTok, Instagram Reels and Stories, and YouTube Shorts are the perfect format for exploring your staff and service users’ stories. It’s storytelling that’ll bring heart and a human touch to maximise the impact you can have, particularly when trying to connect with audiences. Social media platforms are one of the main playgrounds for this, so make the most of them and try to create personable, unpolished and real clips that spark connection and help viewers to build a rapport with your organisation.

3. Continuing with AI usage, but more curated and personalised

It’s becoming somewhat ubiquitous that most organisations are using AI these days. Ever since its inception and general release around 2022, charity and non-profit marketing teams have been making use of it to assist in everything from content creation to copywriting; however, people are becoming increasingly aware of the technology’s limitations.

If you’re going to utilise your favourite AI’s writing and idea generation features, do so intentionally as a starter for 10, not the end result. It’s a great tool for assisting with ideas and building outlines, but this year is going to be all about ensuring everything you put out has a ‘human’ touch and is relatable to your audiences and service users.

4. Put yourself out there

It’s time to stop hiding the rough edges and making everything seem perfect on social media. People want to see themselves reflected back to them; to hear from others with similar experiences to them, to know that it’s okay to try, and to pick yourself back up again if you fail. Show the behind-the-scenes at one of your fundraising events: people setting up, making friendships as they volunteer, building up their stamina before a race.

This is where short-form video clips, like those mentioned above, are a great medium to get behind. You can utilise these to really demonstrate your organisation’s personality and the people behind it, e.g. having a bloopers clip of some of the marketing team as they try to film a video. Bring out the humanity in your content to help forge a bond with your viewers – this will encourage them to do the same, as they share their efforts in showing up for your cause.

5. Bring others to you

The Catalyst – a network of impacted people, allies, organisations and funders committed to achieving tech justice – have shared a great post discussing how the digital trends of last year have led to deepening inequalities across the third sector. They say that many organisations are investing in tools before investing in justice for the communities they serve. To combat this, they’ve suggested some actions organisations can take in solidarity with communities that are already leading this work:

The Charity Digital Skills Report 2025 states that only 11% of charities say they offer dedicated support for digital inclusion – that’s a very small amount. To combat this, organisations need to make digital inclusion a high priority for 2026. This means adopting accessibility best practice and implementing it is imperative to widen access for all. If not, you’re missing out on a large, passionate demographic of people well versed in highlighting causes and getting stuck into fundraising.

Other tips for strengthening your digital strategy

On top of a donations shortfall at the end of 2025, it’s been suggested that 2026 is going to be a hard one, as well – if not more so than last year. This means charities and non-profits will need to put everything into their fundraising strategies and create a digital arsenal that’ll see them through. Here are some tips we thought might be useful for doing this:

Don’t rush ahead blindly; take a moment to strategise

Take the time to assess what your strengths are, where you can make any quick wins, then plan for longer term improvements. Not only will this help you choose a solid heading for where to put your focus, it’ll allow your outreach to remain purpose-driven, and align to your organisation’s values and goals. Putting aside time to go through these things with your team(s) is a good way to get ahead and bring everyone along with you.

While trends are great, you want to be a trend setter, not a trend follower; playing catch up with what everyone else is doing won’t necessarily serve you, as what works for one organisation may not fit for yours. Like with AI, use pick the elements of social trends that do offer something to your content, but build upon it to make it relevant to your voice and brand.

Fortify your website to make sure it’s performing at its’ best

There are a number of things you can do to your website to maximise your chances at bringing along your audiences for the journey, and inspiring them to donate their time and hard earned money for your cause:

• Ensure your website complies with accessibility guidelines
• Plan some user testing sessions to check your donation features are working correctly
• See if there are any drop off points in your marketing funnel that you can fix
• Do some research into your user journey to if you can make any improvements
• Check your copy is working for you and is helping users to connect with your mission

Data is your friend

According to online fundraising platform, iRaiser, “Data remains the number one business asset,” so put your metrics to good use. Data visualisations can show the impact of your work and how fundraising makes such a difference to your ability as a charitable organisation to complete that work – we’ve previously written about how you can use data visualisations to do just that. Using your data as a storytelling tool is also a great way to bring people along for the ride.

If any of the points above have sparked an interest, get in touch with us to see how we can help you implement them. We’d love to chat through what you’re looking for and show you how we work.