Why The Future of Giving Depends on More People, Not More Money

I came back from the BuildGood Summit in Toronto with one number I haven’t been able to shake. Mike Deurksen's keynote put it there.

Two days in a room with some of the sharpest fundraisers in the U.S. and Canada, all trying to grow the missions they care about.

Total U.S. charitable giving hit a record $592 billion last year. Up more than 6%. The strongest growth the sector has seen in five years.

In that same year, the number of people who actually gave dropped 4.5%. The fourth straight year of decline. The smallest donors fell almost 9%, accounting for roughly three quarters of the total loss on their own.More dollars. From fewer people.

I have been thinking about what that means for The Store.

We have some of the most extraordinary donors I’ve ever encountered. People who were with us before we opened our doors on 12th Avenue South. People who showed up again as we prepared to open our TriStar Centennial location. The same names that show up as volunteers, at our events, in advocacy moments, and on social media telling their friends about what we do.

I’m grateful for them in a way that’s hard to put into words.

But here’s the part I keep coming back to.

If we only rely on them, our mission won’t grow. They will feel overstretched and over-asked. And the thousands of families currently on our waiting list will keep waiting.

The challenge isn’t asking the same people to carry more. It’s widening the circle of people who believe this work matters.

That means the slow, steady work of invitation. Of asking peers to come see what we do, knowing many won’t say yes the first time. Of telling the story to a room of strangers and trusting that some will say yes. Of building a giving community that doesn’t rest on the same fifty names.

The summit reframed something for me.

A healthy nonprofit isn’t measured only by how generously its loyal donors gave this year. It’s also measured by how many new people became loyal donors this year.

To the people who have been here from the start: thank you. You built the foundation.The next chapter is about making room for more families to walk through our doors, and for more supporters to stand beside you and help carry the weight.

If you’ve been thinking about visiting, volunteering, or bringing your team through, consider this a gentle invitation. We would love to meet you.