Finance may not be exciting – but it is essential…. 

Budgeting. 

Cash flow. 

Income statements.

Finance is the infrastructure that every organization runs on, and when that infrastructure is designed well, everything else can grow.

In January, one of the “Waves to Ride” I identified for 2026 was the rise of Donor-Advised Funds, or DAFs, as they are more commonly referred to:

Donor-Advised Funds have been growing at an accelerating pace for more than a decade. In 2024, contributions to DAFs exceeded $89 billion, total assets surpassed $326 billion, and grants from DAFs to charities reached an all-time high of $65 billion—more than double what donors were granting just six years earlier (per the DAF Research Collaborative). – Waves to Ride in 2026

The beauty of a Donor-Advised Fund is that the dollars are pre-committed by donors and cannot be used for any other purpose than distributions to charities.

There are nearly 3.6 million donor-directed DAFs out there, representing $326 billion ready to be given, with $65+ billion given annually. 

When I was early in my career, I took an assessment that promised to help identify my strengths, motivations, and interests. As a fan of most assessments like this, I wondered what it would say – what core part of my make-up it might illuminate to help me better understand myself.

As I flipped through the report, my attention was naturally drawn towards a section labeled “interests.” Intrigued, I read on.

My top interests, according to the report, were:

• Literary – appreciation for language (92%) 

• Administrative – systems, order, and reliability (88%)

• Artistic – creation, appreciation for arts, aesthetics (78%)

• Numerical - working with numbers and data (72%)

Those all made sense. As I looked down the list to the very bottom of my apparent “interests,” I had a chuckle.

• Outdoor - work in an outdoor environment (5%)

Ouch! 

“I can do it myself – how hard can it be?”

Picture this… It’s a beautiful summer Sunday in July.

The sun is out. The windows are open. It’s one of those rare Pacific Northwest days where you feel like you should be outside soaking in nature.

Instead, I hear it.

That faint but persistent sound of a toilet running.

No big deal, right?

I lift the lid. The flapper isn’t sealing. Simple fix. Ten bucks and 20 minutes at most. I’ve watched enough YouTube to be dangerous.

Can you remember a time when you had to bring your A-game?

I can.

Early in my high school basketball career, we played one of the weakest teams in our league. We came in confident. Too confident.

We played sloppy. Turnovers. Bad shots. Lazy defense. We won, but we had clearly played down to our competition. It felt terrible.

A few weeks later, we faced our rival, a team we knew was better than us. If we were going to compete, we would have to bring our absolute best. And we did.

We were focused. Determined. Locked in. We played at a completely different level. In the end, we still lost — but we walked off the court proud, because we knew we had played up.

Can you relate? 

An opportunity just beyond your comfort zone. A moment that stretched you. A project that demanded more than you thought you had.

That’s the thing about growth – it requires playing up.

The Rise of Sustainable Giving was delayed three times. Took three years to research and write. And it was a longer road than I could have imagined. 

But this past year, more than 25,000 leaders have been exposed to the message of Sustainable Giving, through the book, the Sustainable Giving Podcast, workshops, Wave Report articles, and speaking at events. 

Fundraisers, charity leaders, board members, and donors who care about growing generosity have hope for a more sustainable way of funding their mission

This past week, 22 organizations gathered just outside Seattle for our 2.5-day Sustainable Giving Workshop. It was a time of connection, insights, and inspiration, and some 33 leaders walked away equipped to grow sustainable giving. 

One of the most essential skills in life and in leadership is pattern recognition. To be able to see connections between things. 

Patterns help us make sense of the world. Patterns help us see, understand, and seize opportunities. 

Without further ado, here are six waves I see building momentum in 2026 that I think you can ride to create growth for you and your organization.

Does it feel like January is already off to the races? 

I don’t know about you, but by the end of last week, the holidays felt like a distant memory.

In the midst of a fast start, I truly believe that 2026 will be a pivotal year for many organizations. This will be the year they embrace a sustainer-first mindset and truly tap into sustainable giving in a substantial way. For others, 2026 will be the year they accelerate on a strong base of sustainable recurring giving. 

Whether your organization is looking to tap into growing recurring giving this year or whether you have a solid base and want to accelerate growth, today’s Wave Report is for you.

Let’s start with making the message of sustainable giving more accessible – in audio form. 

January 1 has a way of sneaking up on nonprofit leaders.

At 12:01 a.m., the calendar flips – and with it, the emotional math resets. No matter how strong December was, no matter how hard your team pushed, many leaders wake up on January 1 with the same familiar feeling: Here we go again.

Back at zero.
Back at the bottom of the mountain.
Back to asking how we’re going to do it all over again this year.

For decades, we’ve accepted this as normal. We’ve planned around it, budgeted for it, even joked about it. January 1 became the worst day of the year not because leaders lack vision or discipline – but because the system we inherited was never designed to carry momentum forward.

But what if January 1 doesn’t have to feel this way?

Happy New Year. 

I hope you had a blessed holiday season and that in this time you’ve found pockets of peace, rest, and reflection.

Today’s Wave Report is a short one. I want to leave you to consider just one question.

What’s your Imago?

We love watching Christmas movies. Christmas is such a busy season that we don’t get to watch very many, so we take turns picking the movie. Often, the pick is a Christmas classic - Elf, Home Alone, The Grinch (no Die Hard, sorry not sorry).

But one of our new favorites is Journey to Bethlehem. Release in 2023, the sometimes-cheesy film is a musical retelling of the story of the first Christmas (think of it as Wicked but for Christmas 😉). The soundtrack is a standout (here’s the Spotify playlist, including songs such as Can We Make this Work, Mother to a Savior and King, and We Become We).

As we watched the film this week, I was struck by the foresight that the magi must have had as they traveled from the east to find this king to be born in Bethlehem.

I think there are several lessons we can learn from both the wise men and shepherds in the Christmas story on innovation and seeing coming waves of change.

Happy Friday. As you shift into holiday mode, I want to send a short Wave Report about what we can learn from waves, Christmas, and the spirit of aloha. 🌊🎄🤙

I wrote earlier this year about our family’s experience attending a sold-out Savannah Bananas exhibition baseball game at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. 47,000 fans filled the stands – one of two straight sold-out nights in Seattle. It’s pretty incredible for what is essentially a minor league exhibition team.

But the Bananas are so much more. 

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.

This morning, I’ll sit down in one of my favorite coffee shops and reflect on the year as it comes to a close.

Today is going to be a short one. 

Last week, I wrote about Six Insights at the Intersection of Gratitude and Generosity. 

This week, I’m trying to live those lessons out…

I believe that gratitude and generosity form a virtuous cycle. One leads to the other, and they reinforce each other.

When I practice generosity, it leads to gratitude.

When I practice gratitude, it, in turn, leads to generosity. 

Six Insights at the Intersection of Gratitude and Generosity

Tomorrow, November 15, is National Philanthropy Day. 

Officially recognized as a national day by President Reagan in 1986, National Philanthropy Day is an annual day of celebration that recognizes the contributions of philanthropy to the world. 

Simply defined, philanthropy is the use of private resources for public purposes. The giving of resources like time, talent, and treasure has deep roots in human history.

The word philanthropy comes from the Greek words “philos,” meaning “that which is beloved,” and “anthrōpos,” meaning “humankind.”

Philanthropy, literally translated, means for the love of humanity.

If you acquire any volume of new donors, this Wave Report holds the secret to perhaps the single most effective strategy you have to grow sustainable giving.

$13.1 billion. 

That’s the amount that Americans will have spent on Halloween by the time today is over, according to the National Retail Federation.

Whether it’s costumes or candy, pumpkins or parties, Americans plan to spend an average of $114 per person this holiday.