If you want to raise more money in 2026, you’ve got to start by getting the right numbers.
Not just the ones that satisfy your board or make it through an audit. I’m talking about the numbers that tell your story. The ones that show your impact, the urgency of your mission, and the return on investment your donors are making.
I’ve spent most of my career helping nonprofit leaders wrangle those numbers. And if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s this: the right numbers don’t just help you run better, they help you raise more.
So let’s talk about how to start your year with the mindset, and metrics, that make that possible.
Start with Your “Why”
Before we touch a spreadsheet, let’s take a step back.
What is the story you want to tell your donors in 2026?
Because fundraising is not just about need, it’s about narrative. The most powerful fundraising doesn’t start with “how much do we need to raise?” It starts with “what change are we creating in the world?” And then, “how do we back that up with data?”
That’s where the numbers come in. We work backward from mission to math.
Which of your programs has the deepest impact? Which ones are the most tangible, the easiest for a donor to understand and emotionally connect with? Those are the programs we want to highlight. Those are the stories worth telling.
But to tell those stories well, we need three kinds of numbers....
First: The Pain Story
Every donor needs a reason to give, and a reason to give now. That urgency starts with your pain story. What challenge is your organization facing at this moment? What’s the financial hole you’re trying to fill?
Maybe you lost funding, a government grant didn’t renew, or a donor shifted priorities. Maybe you're staring down a budget deficit that threatens your programs. Fort Bend Women’s Center, for example, lost $800,000 in government funding. Another group I work with, Mission Northeast, needs $168,000 just to balance next year’s budget.
These aren’t just numbers. They’re missed meals, empty beds, therapy sessions that never happen. Your pain numbers are about translating that financial loss into human loss. How many people weren’t served because the dollars didn’t come in?
Once you’ve shown the loss, show the rising demand. Is your community growing? Are more people turning to you for help than ever before? That’s part of your story too.
Then add the final, often-overlooked piece: show what you have accomplished with what you do have. Maybe you served 3,500 people last year, but had to turn away 1,600 more. That contrast is powerful. It says, “We’re doing everything we can. But it’s not enough.”
That’s your pain story, honest, grounded, and necessary.
Next: Tangible Impact
Now that your donor understands the problem, it’s time to show them what their gift can do.
This is where many organizations stumble. They ask for money without showing the value of the gift. But when you treat donors like investors, you give them more than just a warm feeling, you give them clarity.
What does $500 actually buy?
For Fort Bend Women’s Center, $500 covers two weeks of care for a survivor, including safety planning, trauma counseling, and legal advocacy. $250 covers a bundle of crisis calls. $125 buys one night of shelter. $50 provides a full day of meals.
These aren’t vague estimates. These are bundles, based on real program costs, that translate complex services into tangible impact. And even more importantly, they appeal to the heart.
You’re not just asking for $125. You’re inviting someone to give a mother and her child one night of safety. That’s a moment they’ll remember. And it’s a moment they made possible.
Every nonprofit can do this. Whether you run a shelter, a clinic, a school, or an arts program, your services have a real cost and a real outcome. Bundle those services into meaningful giving levels, and suddenly your donor doesn’t just feel good about giving, they understand their impact.
The Return on Investment
This last piece is where things get exciting. Once you’ve shared the urgency and impact, it’s time to show your return.
Your ROI, return on investment, is what helps a donor say, “Wow. My gift really made a difference.”
Take all those outputs, the meals, the shelter nights, the therapy sessions, and connect them to outcomes. What actually changed because your organization showed up?
In Fort Bend’s case, providing emergency shelter to 414 clients meant 414 people escaped violence and avoided homelessness. The 37,000 meals they served didn’t just fill stomachs, they reduced stress, improved health, and gave people the strength to rebuild their lives.
And here’s the part most nonprofits don’t do, but you can: calculate the economic value of those outcomes.
When Fort Bend added it all up, the numbers told a powerful story. Every $1 donated generated $4.20 in social and economic return. That’s a 420% ROI, and a total community impact of $9.2 million.
When you can show that kind of return, your donors stop seeing their gift as a donation… and start seeing it as an investment.
A Shift in Mindset
Most accounting systems weren’t built for this kind of storytelling. They were built for compliance, for the audit, the 990, the IRS. Not for your development team. Not for your board. And definitely not for your donors.
So we have to shift how we look at our numbers. We have to move from financial accounting to management accounting. From static reports to program economics. From “how much did we spend?” to “what did that spending accomplish?”
That’s the mindset we’re building inside the Fundraising Accountant Community, and we’re just getting started.
2026 is a new year. But it doesn’t have to be a repeat of the old one.
Start with the right numbers. Build your story from there. And watch what happens when your board, your staff, and your donors all finally see what you’re truly capable of.
Join the Fundraising Accountant Community and let’s make this the year your numbers work for you, not against you.
Let’s grow together. Let’s raise more. Let’s lead with purpose.
You in?
