For years, we’ve talked about revenue diversification as a best practice – something every nonprofit should pursue when the time is right. In 2026, the time is right. In fact, for many Georgia nonprofits, it’s urgent.
The data tells the story clearly. According to the early results from our statewide Georgia Nonprofit Forecast Survey, government contracts and grants ranked as the single most common funding source among the 300-plus leaders who responded. That’s not surprising – but it is concerning, given what’s happening to that funding stream right now.
Thirty-eight percent of Georgia nonprofits reported government funding cuts in 2025, and 28% expect cuts again in 2026. The Nonprofit Finance Fund’s national survey reinforces the picture: More than 80% of Georgia organizations with government funding said they expect it to decrease. Add chronic payment delays – only 40% of Georgia nonprofits report receiving government payments on time – and you have a structural cash flow problem that no amount of optimism can paper over.
Here’s what makes this moment particularly complex: Most leaders aren’t panicking. Confidence in the 2026 outlook was high among 79% in our survey. Fifty-six percent expect revenue to grow this year, and 54% are planning program expansion.
That resilience is real and worth acknowledging. But confidence and preparation aren’t the same thing. The organizations that will fare best are the ones treating revenue diversification not as a future priority, but as an active project right now.
What diversification means
Revenue diversification ranked fourth among organizational priorities in our survey – behind mission impact, forecast accuracy, and program innovation, but ahead of fundraising effectiveness and financial health. That ranking makes sense: Diversification is the upstream work that makes everything else more stable.
So what does diversification actually look like in practice? Individual giving is the most immediate lever for most organizations. Individual donations ranked second among funding sources in our survey, and nearly 75% of all nonprofit funding nationally comes from individuals.
Yet many organizations haven’t built out the infrastructure to fully cultivate individual giving – from annual campaigns and multi-channel appeals to major donor pipelines and planned giving conversations. The organizations gaining ground in individual giving right now are the ones treating it as a year-round discipline, not a year-end push.
Beyond individual giving, there’s a broader landscape of funding models that most nonprofits have yet to fully explore: donor-advised funds, impact investing, earned income strategies, program-related investments, and cross-sector partnerships. These approaches are no longer experimental – they’re reshaping how capital flows to the sector. The organizations positioning themselves to access these models now will have a meaningful advantage as traditional grant funding continues to tighten.
Establishing a new revenue mix: How GCN can help
Revenue diversification also ranked among the most frequently cited pressing challenges in our survey, alongside financial sustainability and fundraising effectiveness. That’s telling: Leaders know this work needs to happen. What many need is a clearer path to actually doing it.
That’s exactly what GCN has designed two programs to address:
Revenue Strategy Cohorts is a four-session, consultant-led cohort series that gives your leadership team the tools and frameworks to analyze your current revenue mix, identify gaps and opportunities, build a realistic roadmap toward funding stability, and plan your transition step by step. This is structured, practical work – done alongside peers navigating the same terrain.
Certificate of Future Funding: Innovative and Diverse Revenue Streams is a four-part training series that introduces nonprofit leaders to the funding vehicles and strategies reshaping the sector, from donor-advised funds and impact investing to earned income models and cross-sector collaboration. Each session is designed to help you understand these tools and begin applying them at your organization right away.
The path forward on revenue isn’t about chasing every new funding trend. It’s about building a strategy that’s right for your organization – one that reduces your exposure to any single source, aligns with your mission, and positions you for long-term sustainability.
The work is hard, but it’s doable. And the organizations that start now will be the ones still standing – and growing – when the landscape stabilizes.
Karen Beavor is President & CEO of GCN.