Every time a database crashes, a report is delayed, or hours are drained in endless manual entry, we understand the truth that many organizations overlook: technology is not merely 'tools' to be purchased... it is a structure of trust that is built. Internal trust makes decisions faster and more accurate, and external trust convinces funders that impact is managed with a measurement mentality, not emotional intent. As 2026 approaches, the crucial question becomes: should we add new tools? Or should we reorder the foundation upon which every tool stands: data, governance, and security?
This article provides a focused Arabic reading on the main priorities of technology planning in the nonprofit sector for 2026, based on what Grassi Advisors presented in their specialized material and the results of the Nonprofit Sector Leadership Report 2025–26, which is based on feedback from over 200 leaders across the sector. The 'Third Bank' platform translated the content and presented it to the Arab reader to ensure clarity of concepts and the integrity of transmission, while acknowledging the source and preserving the full literary rights of the author or publisher.
As nonprofit organizations plan for 2026, technology investments play an increasingly important role in how organizations deliver their services, manage risks, and demonstrate impact. The results of the 2025–26 Nonprofit Leadership Report reveal how nonprofit organizations across the sector are adopting technology, providing a practical reference point for leaders when assessing priorities for the coming year.
At the sector level, nonprofit organizations prioritize foundational systems and foundational capabilities that improve operational efficiency and create more reliable data environments. By strengthening these foundations, leaders are in a better position to utilize data more effectively, explore practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI), and implement cybersecurity practices that keep pace with technological advancements.
The image presents a diagram titled 'Current and Planned Technology Investments' among nonprofit organizations. The basic idea is that each set of columns represents a specific technology area, showing a comparison between what is currently being invested in and what is planned for investment in the coming period, with results distributed by type of organization/field (such as health, philanthropy, social/community services, education) in addition to the total sector.
The image illustrates that investment priorities revolve around two intertwined axes: strengthening the core systems that regulate daily work and produce reliable data, and enhancing technical readiness for communication, funding, and demonstrating impact. Thus, areas such as technology supporting accounting, compliance, risk management, and cybersecurity, and project management tools emerge as components of 'operational foundations' that enhance efficiency and reduce setbacks.
At the same time, the image highlights investments that are directly related to service, impact, and interaction; such as conferencing and live streaming technologies, software tracking the history of beneficiaries/students/clients (such as documenting health records, grades, or evaluations), and AI tools. On the side of funding and building trust, tools such as payment applications for fundraising, data analytics tools that support financial reporting, tools for communication via text messaging, search engine optimization to increase visits and improve visibility, leveraging social media for crowdfunding, and finally, technologies that enhance transparency and enable tracking of donation spending appear. The image, as a whole, presents a 'map of options' that indicates that organizations do not view technology as a luxury, but as a means to regulate operations, protect data, improve service, and provide a more convincing impact story.
Current and Planned Technology Investments Among Nonprofit Organizations
According to our survey data, based on feedback from over 200 leaders across the sector, nonprofit organizations continue to leverage technology to improve efficiency, enhance consistency, and raise the level of clarity and follow-up in daily operations and reporting. Accounting, compliance, and risk management tools are the most relied upon solutions, reflecting a widespread focus across the sector on governance, oversight, and accountability.
Many organizations have also made significant investments in cybersecurity systems, data storage solutions, and virtual collaboration tools, concurrently as they transition toward more connected and integrated technological environments. With greater focus on data and analytics, a significant number of leaders have prioritized implementing integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, moving away from independent general ledger systems, thereby enhancing the foundation for more consistent reporting and supporting future innovation.
Nonprofit organizations are increasingly utilizing data and analytics to improve service delivery and enhance interaction. Responses to the survey indicate a growing reliance on software that tracks the 'service history' of a patient, student, or client, including health records, grades, and evaluations. These tools allow organizations to assess outcomes over time, monitor trends, and tailor services more effectively to meet community needs.
Leveraging Data and Analytics to Enhance Mission Achievement
The way this data is utilized varies by mission and operating model:
Nonprofit health organizations use service history data and analytics tools along with automated 'case notes' capabilities to improve care coordination.
Educational organizations utilize data on engagement, performance, and interaction to enhance teaching methods, monitor progress, and inform program design.
Social service organizations and community organizations apply beneficiary data and interaction indicators to assess program effectiveness, allocate resources more efficiently, and demonstrate impact to funders.
This shift reflects a broader focus on using data not just for reporting purposes but also to guide decisions, refine services, and enhance mission outcomes.
Practical AI Use Cases for Nonprofits
The adoption of AI among nonprofit organizations has increased from 31% in 2024 to 48% in 2025, representing a significant increase compared to the previous year. Over the next year, an additional 19% of organizations plan to adopt AI, raising the adoption level to nearly two-thirds of the sector.
The image shows that the most prominent AI applications start from the operational side of the organization: tools that increase team productivity and efficiency by automating routine administrative tasks. It then extends to the service and communication interface through chatbots/virtual assistants for providing 24/7 support, answering frequently asked questions, and guiding website visitors or donors through processes.
In marketing and engagement, content generation tools for email campaigns, social media posts, and marketing materials stand out, alongside tools supporting social media monitoring. On the funding side, uses include identifying and analyzing grant opportunities or other funding sources, as well as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools to increase digital reach.
The image then transitions to areas of governance, oversight, and advanced analytics: AI-powered fraud detection systems for monitoring risks, anomalies, and fraudulent activities in transactions and financial processes, and predictive program evaluation through analyzing previous initiatives to anticipate the impact and effectiveness of upcoming programs.
In relationship management, donor relationship management tools emerge for managing and nurturing relationships, tracking interactions, and customizing communication, as well as volunteer management by matching volunteers to appropriate opportunities based on their skills, interests, and availability. The image concludes with impactful analytical domains: donor segmentation and predictive analytics, and brand and sentiment monitoring and analysis.
The most common AI use cases today involve automating routine administrative tasks, freeing up worker time to focus on higher-value, mission-related work. Nearly a quarter of organizations report using chatbots and virtual assistants for website support, donor assistance, content creation, and sentiment analysis on social media.
With the improvement of data quality and visualization methods within nonprofit organizations, many organizations have begun to build on this foundation through machine learning (ML), which relies on historical data to discover patterns and support predictions, and through early forms of agentic AI, a newer category of systems designed to perform multi-step tasks based on predefined goals.
As nonprofit organizations establish more mature and complex data foundations, AI is starting to support more complex activities driven by analytical insights, including:
Fundraising strategy and donor management, through the use of machine learning to analyze donor databases and support more accurate and targeted segmentation.
Public communication and engagement, through brand and sentiment analysis to help organizations understand audience perception and respond to emerging issues.
Programmatic and operational planning, by applying historical data to identify patterns that guide efforts to reach beneficiaries, allocate resources, and design services.
As adoption expands, leaders are increasingly focused on ensuring that cybersecurity, governance, and internal readiness evolve in parallel with AI capabilities.
Critical Cybersecurity Risks to Address
Our Nonprofit Sector Leadership Report reveals a clear gap in the level of confidence among nonprofit organizations regarding cybersecurity. While 56% of nonprofit leaders reported being 'somewhat confident' in their ability to protect sensitive data, only 38% said they were 'very confident.'
The diagram 'Cybersecurity Protocols' illustrates the level of adoption of protective practices among nonprofit organizations, comparing the overall sector with three operational areas: healthcare and social/community services and education. It shows that the most common measures are enabling two-factor authentication (63% overall; 68% in healthcare; 66% in social services; 54% in education) and providing regular cybersecurity training for staff (62% overall; 77% in healthcare; 61% in social services; 62% in education). It also indicates a notable reliance on outsourcing cybersecurity functions (47% overall), against a marked decline in more advanced practices like regular penetration testing (32% overall), which drops to (15%) in the education sector. The diagram also shows the proportion of organizations employing an internal cybersecurity expert (21% overall). In the margin, it indicates that part of the organizations fall under 'Other', and a limited percentage reported not implementing any of these practices.
While many nonprofit organizations have implemented basic levels of cybersecurity protection, the survey indicates that more advanced protective measures are still not consistently applied across the sector:
Two-factor authentication and regular cybersecurity training are among the most common and relied-upon measures, representing the most present controls today.
Nearly half of organizations outsource cybersecurity functions, reflecting limited internal capacity.
Only about a third of organizations conduct penetration testing regularly, despite its role in uncovering vulnerabilities before incidents occur.
Data indicates that nonprofit organizations have taken important initial steps, but many are still in the process of building the skills, controls, and governance structures needed to support more integrated systems, advanced analytics, and AI securely.
Building a Technical Roadmap for 2026
As nonprofit leaders plan investments across data, analytics, AI, and cybersecurity, a 'technical roadmap' helps bring these priorities into a single pathway. By assessing current systems, data quality, and governance practices, leaders can understand how to sequence upcoming investments in phases that mitigate risks and maximize the impact of the mission.
Ultimately, the maturity of technology in nonprofit organizations is measured not by the number of tools purchased, but by their ability to convert data into decisions, decisions into more consistent services, and services into impact that can be defended by numbers prior to emotion. The year 2026 appears to be the year of 'integration': integrating systems instead of scattering them, linking security with governance instead of keeping it an isolated technical file, and connecting AI with internal readiness so it does not become a silent risk.
The practical step is not a giant leap, but a gradual roadmap: honestly assessing the current state, strengthening the fundamentals that protect trust and ensure data quality, and then building analytics and smart applications on solid ground. Only then does AI become an added value, reporting becomes a clear impact story, and limited resources become more capable of reaching.
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