New Fundraising Model Champions Change as Nonprofits Seek Solution to ‘Donor Exodus’

Faced with barrage of challenges, nonprofits must change way they fundraise, says DickersonBakker’s new president

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — America’s nonprofit organizations are facing a donor exodus — and are desperate to find a solution as the nation’s charitable giving patterns change.

Increasingly older, middle-income donors — the backbone of charitable giving for decades — are reducing or dropping their support, while younger people prefer to give directly to causes or individuals, often bypassing established nonprofit organizations entirely.

The shift is part cultural, part generational — but also a result of donors “craving true connection that many organizations simply aren’t able to offer them,” said Andrew Olsen, newly-promoted president of national fundraising company DickersonBakker.

“Amid this seismic shift in fundraising, we have the solution — a movement for change,” said Olsen, whose promotion puts him at the center of the company’s new approach to combine “talent, strategy, relationship fundraising, and direct response.”

The company has realigned its leadership team to “reimagine the entire concept of fundraising, providing a dynamic experience for forward-thinking ministries and other nonprofits,” Olsen said.

The top-level re-set gives DickersonBakker a highly competitive innovative edge. As head of client strategy and day-to-day operations, Olsen will work alongside Chief Executive Officer Derric Bakker, architect of the company’s growth strategy. Additionally, to integrate sales, marketing and fuel rapid expansion, Kat Landa, CFRE, CSD, has been promoted to Chief Growth Officer.

Industry ‘Hungry For Change’

“The nonprofit sector is hungry and calling for change,” Bakker said. “We saw this coming years ago and began designing a solution for the future of fundraising. We’re focused on helping nonprofits treat every donor like a major donor.”

With nonprofits struggling to combat disappearing donors and revenue, and grappling with how to integrate emerging technologies like AI into their business models, swift change is a necessity, Olsen said.

Squeezed middle-class finances, declining church attendance, growing distrust of institutions, and higher expectations among younger people have all contributed to falling donations and declining donor participation.

In a national study of 300-plus nonprofit leaders conducted by DickersonBakker, nearly half agreed that retaining existing donors should be their organization’s top priority — but pressure to bring in revenue often drives other priorities.

Nonprofits willing to make changes, however, are seeing results.

Several organizations partnering with DickersonBakker have significantly increased their donor retention rates by as much as 35%, bucking the national trend.

“This is not just because they made some tactical adjustment,” Olsen said, “it’s due to transformational culture change, and that’s led by the organizational leadership.”

DickersonBakker (www.DickersonBakker.com) has been providing fundraising solutions for nonprofit organizations for nearly 40 years. With offices in Texas and North Carolina, and full-time professionals in several states, the agency has served hundreds of nonprofits — particularly faith-based organizations — located across the U.S., Canada, and overseas.

PHOTO CUTLINE: SOLUTION FOR ‘DONOR EXODUS?’: Andrew Olsen (pictured), newly-promoted president of DickersonBakker, says nonprofit organizations are desperate to find a solution to disappearing donors. The company says its new model offers the solution they’re looking for.

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SOURCE DickersonBakker