A Decade of Impact

I started AltruNext back in 2008. For years, it was just me: one person, partnering with nonprofits to advance the greater good.

Ten years ago, that changed. AltruNext grew from a solo practice into something bigger, and my husband, Don, left his job to build it with me. It was a leap of faith for both of us. Two parents, young kids, and the very real uncertainty that comes with betting on your own business. Ten years in, I can tell you it hasn't always been easy, but it remains one of the best decisions we've ever made.

The years since haven't been easy ones—for our sector or the world. You’ve navigated a pandemic, a reckoning on race and equity, economic whiplash, and a political climate that has made the work harder and more contested. We’ve been in it with you, every step.

I don't share this to celebrate us. I share it because ten years gives you a particular vantage point. When you've spent a decade building something with nonprofit leaders, through good years and genuinely hard ones, you start to see the patterns. The shifts. The things that changed everything, and the things that never change at all.

So, in honor of this milestone, I want to step back and reflect on how our sector has evolved over the past ten years and what it might mean for the road ahead.

Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash

The Technology We Couldn’t Have Predicted

In 2016, "AI" wasn't part of the nonprofit vocabulary. Today it's everywhere, reshaping how small teams get work done.

Automation and personalization have followed the same path. What once felt like a luxury for big shops with big budgets is now an expectation. Donors notice when communication feels generic, and they notice when it feels like you actually know them.

Video changed too. The polished, expensive production gave way to something better: the quick, personal, slightly imperfect video message that makes a donor feel seen. Sometimes the phone camera beats the film crew.

None of this replaced the human work of fundraising. But it did raise the bar on what's possible, and on what donors expect.

Photo by Conny Schneider on Unsplash

A Shifting Donor Landscape

The past decade reshaped who gives and how. We've watched the rise of major and mega donors concentrate giving in fewer hands, which brings both opportunity and risk for organizations that lean too heavily on a small group.

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) kept growing, and the donor base behind them grew more diverse. DAFs are no longer a niche vehicle for the ultra-wealthy; they're a mainstream part of how people give.

Tax law kept nudging donor behavior, too, shaping the timing and size of gifts and making strategies like "bunching" part of the conversation. The donors haven't stopped being generous. They've just gotten more strategic, and that means we must, too.

Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash

The People Doing the Work

This might be the shift I feel most personally. Over the past decade, the sector finally started talking honestly about burnout and about the fact that the people doing this work need support, not just passion.

We learned a lot about ethical storytelling, too, moving away from images and narratives that exploit the very people we serve, toward stories that honor their dignity.

And then there's DEI. We watched a real surge of attention and investment, followed by an equally real retreat. The whiplash has been hard on organizations and the people inside them. That tension is still unresolved, and I suspect it will be with us for a while.

Hands Photo by Wylly Suhendra on Unsplash

What Hasn’t Changed

Here's what a decade has taught me most clearly: the tools change, the tactics change, the landscape shifts under our feet. But the heart of this work doesn't.

Nonprofits still exist to meet real needs in real communities. Generosity still depends on trust. Relationships still matter more than transactions. And the people who choose this work still show up, year after year, because they believe the world can be better.

That's the part I'm betting on for the next ten years.

We've been with you through the upheaval of the last decade, and whatever comes next, we'll navigate it together. Thank you for letting us be part of your work. It's been the privilege of a career.