2026 NONPROFIT NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT
WHAT IT IS
Our work is responsive to the voices of the organizations we serve. Building on our previous efforts, we conducted our survey of nonprofit needs near the end of 2025 and collected input from 158 organizations across southern Michigan.
Our survey explored the experiences of nonprofits over the first year of the second Trump administration, and gathered data on their strengths, challenges, and perceptions in the current political and economic climate. We are sharing the insights we gained from these testimonies. They paint the picture of a sector that is both precariously positioned, but with potential for action.
Michigan Community Resource’s 2026 Nonprofit Needs Assessment Report is a snapshot of the impact on the nonprofit sector of shifts in federal, local, and philanthropic priorities over the past year. In addition, we provide advice and resources from our team in response to the biggest trends we see.
WHAT IT MEANS
The relationships we have developed over our more than 25 years of legal and capacity-building service makes us well suited to collect and evaluate the information with which this positioning provides. With mounting demands on the time and energy of organizations to provide for their communities, our clients know that they can share their stories with Michigan Community Resources, and that we will use those stories responsibly. These connections give us the ability to identify sector-wide trends, based on the testimony of front-line organizations, and translate that knowledge into actionable strategy.
The report is not exhaustive, but tactical. We positioned our findings to provide clarity on the most urgent issues that our survey uncovered. By sharing these findings, we hope to provide to a broader audience our window into the experiences of those we serve. We seek to build better infrastructure for nonprofit organizations, and work towards a stronger sector by fostering a mutual understanding of the challenges that face it.
WHAT IT CAN DO
In an effort to enable our clients, partners, and allies in the sector to take informed action collaboratively, we offer the following suggestions on how this information can be applied.
TO NONPROFITS & CLIENTS
Consider whether you see your organization reflected in these findings. Whether in casual discussion with our team, or via the services MCR provides, please share your stories and experiences with the insights we share here. Understanding that each organization is unique, we highly recommend leveraging this information and your own organizational knowledge when strategizing with peers or pushing for funding.
TO INTERMEDIARY PARTNERS
By collaborating with MCR, we can move the sector towards greater support for the organizations we serve. Use this information in discussion with funders and in solidarity with clients so that we can move the needle together.
TO PHILANTHROPIC FUNDERS
Our 2026 Nonprofit Needs Assessment Report is your window into the challenges and opportunities that face the organizations we support. Please use this information when in conversation about how you and your colleagues in the sector power this work.
TO ANY INTERESTED PARTY
We challenge the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to intentionally consider how we collectively prioritize nonprofit work. In an economic reality where a significant amount of positive change is driven by the willpower of individuals who sacrifice their time, energy, and personal lives towards the end of supporting their communities, we hope our Report renders insight into the experiences of those organizations seeking to deliver on their missions.
CITATION GUIDE
The team at Michigan Community Resources has worked diligently over the past year to gather data, write, publish, and circulate this report at no cost to the reader. We kindly ask that you use our included Citation Guide to credit Michigan Community Resources when using the data, information, or language published in this report.
CONTACT US
For more information about the findings published in this report, citing this report as a source in your materials, or for other questions and support, contact our team at info@mi-community.org or 313-962-3171.