When budgets get tight, the instinct is to protect everything equally. Everything stays on the list, but everything gets less.

It’s the wrong instinct.

Not all fundraising income responds to tough times the same way. Some income streams are remarkably resilient. Others are genuinely vulnerable. The smart move isn’t to cut everything equally: it’s to redirect spend toward your most valuable income streams.

Here’s what the data shows and where to put your energy right now.

The income streams most at risk

Appeals, events, and peer-to-peer fundraising are the first to feel pressure when donors tighten their belts. If donors are going to pull back anywhere, it’s often here.

That doesn’t mean abandon them. It means don’t throw more resource at them than they’ll return right now.

The income streams worth protecting at all costs

Three sources of income hold up in tough times:

Bequests

Regular Giving

Mid-level and Major Donors

These aren’t just your most resilient income streams. They’re where most of your money comes from.

You’ve probably heard of the Pareto Principle: 80% of your income comes from 20% of your donors. Moceanic co-founder Sean Triner wondered whether the same rule applied within that top 20%.

It does. 80% of their giving comes from just 20% of them. Which means 4% of your total donor base is likely generating around 64% of your revenue.

That’s where your fundraising budget and energy should go in tough times.

Bequests

Nonprofits with longstanding bequest programs have less to worry about in tough times. Bequest income is uniquely stable. It isn’t usually affected by cost-of-living pressures, market uncertainty, or donor sentiment in the way other income streams are.

If you have a large enough file of bequest donors, you have a predictable level of income coming in each year that no recession can touch.

The donors who’ve included you in their will aren’t going to change their minds often. Leaving a gift is how they live out their values. That doesn’t shift because the world feels uncertain.

I can’t stress this enough: if you don’t have a bequest program, start one. Today. It won’t change your income this year or next. But the nonprofits who started investing in a bequest program 20 years ago are in a significantly stronger position now than those that didn’t.

Regular giving

Your monthly donors are your most stable income stream. It takes a significant number of them to stop giving to move that income in any meaningful way. And if you’re doing your job well, most of them won’t.

What does that look like right now? Keep asking, keep thanking, keep reporting back on impact. Not all at once – each of those communications deserves its own moment.

Here are some practical steps you can take:

If someone calls to cancel, offer to pause their payments, or reduce monthly donation amount.

Overhaul your thank-you strategy and make sure they know how much their gifts mean.

Keep sharing the impact stories their giving makes possible. That’s what keeps people connected.

And most importantly don’t stop your upgrade and additional asks.

Mid-level and Major Donors

Every nonprofit has a top tier of donors. For some that’s people giving $500 a year. For others it’s $5 million. The dollar amount doesn’t matter. What matters is that these are your most important relationships, and right now they need your attention.

Keep asking. Keep thanking. Keep them close to the work they care about. Make a personal phone call, send them a real update. Talk to them about your work, not just their gifts. That’s what keeps a donor giving.

Don’t assume your major donors know how much they matter. Tell them.

These donors chose you. They give because they believe in what you do. In tough times, that relationship is your most valuable asset. Don’t make the decision for them by not asking. Pick up the phone.

The practical upshot

Don’t cut fundraising spending. Redirect it. Move resource away from the income streams most vulnerable to pressure and toward the ones that will hold and grow.

Keep asking, keep thanking, keep showing impact.

And if you’ve been putting off building a bequest program or deepening your major donor relationships, the time to start is now, not when things calm down.

Things may not calm down for a while.

Talk to Sean

If you’re not sure where to start, or you want a second opinion on where your income is most at risk right now, book a free 25-minute call with Sean Triner.

He can show you where your fundraising is most vulnerable and give you a concrete first move to protect it.

Book your free 25-minute call with Sean.

Related Blog Posts:

• Finding Your Best Donors with the Secret of “Pareto Squared”
• How Accurate is the Pareto Principle?
• 9 Smart Ways to Protect Your Fundraising in Uncertain Times