As September approaches, development professionals begin to brace themselves for the year-end rush — fall reporting deadlines, year-end campaigns, outstanding pledges to close, new fiscal year budgets to build. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, you look up and realize that December 31 is much closer than it seemed a few weeks ago.

A few years ago, I was attending a conference and found myself chatting with a program officer between sessions. As we were catching up, one of their peers from another foundation walked over to join the conversation. We exchanged introductions, and when I mentioned that I work in fundraising, I watched something unexpected happen.

One of the most striking things about working across sectors is realizing how often industries trap themselves in the same conversations.

Anyone who has worked with me has heard me get on my soapbox about galas. Not because they aren’t energizing, and not because they don’t serve a purpose, but because we’ve allowed them to become something they were never designed to be — the centerpiece of a fundraising strategy.

Last month, I attended the CUNY Journalism School’s Unconference, where much of the conversation focused on two forces reshaping the media landscape: the rapid rise of AI and the influence of content creators.

January can feel deceptively calm. Year end campaigns have wrapped. Donors are catching their breath — and so are you.

This year has left many communities staring down a stark reality: critical services that families rely on — housing assistance, health care, education, food, access to information — are under threat.

In nature, survival isn’t about standing alone. Trees share root systems. Birds fly farther in formation than they do solo. What if nonprofits can do the same?

There is a painful paradox at the heart of the nonprofit sector: the very people most invested in change are the ones we ask to sacrifice the most.