Insights on Purpose.
This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.
When I wrote my first Finding the Words column on January 3, 2022, I didn’t know quite where it would take me, only that I needed a place to help make sense of our changing world.
At that moment, the lingering effects of COVID, the persistent distance between us, and the daily realities of leading a mission-driven organization through such change made clarity feel both essential and elusive. My weekly reflection seemed like a small but important way to bring nonprofit and foundation leaders together around relevant stories and some sensemaking of the day's news.
Between the lines, though, something else started to unfold. I began to notice patterns and trends among the leaders who were inspiring my columns.
While many of the patterns reflected alignment among nonprofits and foundations, there were also stark differences in how leaders were navigating uncertainty, which felt worth exploring more deeply.
And that's just what we did.
Last fall, my team at Mission Partners, in collaboration with researcher Matt Price and our friends at The Chronicle of Philanthropy, set out on a national research study to examine an essential question:
How are nonprofit and foundation leaders actually experiencing this moment—and what does that mean for their ability to deliver mission-moving change in the years ahead?
Together, we wanted to move beyond anecdote to a much richer data set of insights that could reflect the true experiences of nonprofit and foundation leaders today.
The result is a first-of-its-kind research effort. The 2026 Insights on Purpose™ Report, released yesterday, opens a window into how nonprofit and foundation leaders assess impact, readiness for change, and the outlook ahead.
What we learned is fascinating. The very forces that make the work of nonprofits and foundations indispensable—growing economic pressures, widening social divides, and a shifting political landscape—are also reshaping what it takes to deliver on their missions.
And the data is worth digging into.
Among some of the findings:
Leaders overwhelmingly describe the environment as harder than a year ago but importantly, they still believe their organizations can increase impact over the coming years.
Even though leaders talk about resilience often, there’s a gap in how resilient organizations feel versus how they are perceived. That disconnect itself is a clue for how we can prepare for storms ahead.
Nonprofit and foundation leaders told us they feel they need to change how they plan, lead, and innovate, but aren’t always sure how to do so. As a result, many are operating without a plan in place.
Nearly all organizations know AI matters, but most feel behind the curve in leveraging it. There's a new type of digital divide emerging, and it's worth paying attention to.
And while the missions of nonprofits and foundations are inherently linked, our research shows a relationship shaped by a fundamental lack of understanding that, if left untouched, will only widen the gaps between our work.
These insights don’t just highlight what’s hard; they illuminate why this moment in social sector leadership is so consequential and why understanding it matters.
As Brian Fox shared in our latest podcast episode about the research, "Leaders are calm on the surface but carrying a lot underneath." This inaugural Insights on Purpose report is a story of confidence and strain living together—and it shows up in how leaders talk about planning, staffing, and the very concept of resilience.
I hope this new body of knowledge reminds you that where we are isn't where we'll stay. Change is, in fact, constant, and each new day can bring new strength, particularly the strength of knowing that we're not alone in this work.
Because at its best, our work isn’t just about advancing our respective missions, it’s about advancing those missions together. And when we connect across organizations, across issues, and across sectors, we can see possibilities we could never see alone.
Learn more and download the full report: Insights on Purpose
Go behind the scenes of the data: Mission Forward podcast interview with Brian Fox and Stacy Palmer
This post is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
