Insights from CBA’s Coffee Chat Webinar on Digital Forecasting for 2026 & Beyond. Watch the full webinar below, or read on for the key takeaways.

The digital landscape is shifting fast, and nonprofits are feeling it. At our most recent CBA Coffee Chat, our digital marketing team joined VP of Client Partnerships Christina McPhillips to tackle the questions we’re hearing most from clients right now: What does AI-powered search mean for how your organization gets found? Where should you be advertising? And what actually moves the needle for donor acquisition?

Here are the key themes from the conversation.

AI Search Is Redirecting Traffic, and It’s an Opportunity, Not a Crisis

If your website traffic has dropped while searches for your organization have gone up, you’re not imagining it. AI-generated search summaries are increasingly answering users’ questions before they ever click through to a site. The good news is that the fundamentals of good SEO are still what AI engines look for. Clear, detailed, consistently updated content is your best defense, and your best opportunity to get cited.

The research backs this up: research shows charity organizations saw measurable traffic slowdowns after Google’s AI Overviews rolled out widely, even as overall searches continued to grow.

Want to know how your website stacks up? That’s exactly the kind of audit CBA can help with.

Your Owned List Is One of Your Most Valuable Assets

Donors, subscribers, volunteers, and event attendees; the contact records your organization has collected directly are worth more than ever. As third-party targeting has become more restricted and expensive, owned lists are how you retarget known supporters, build lookalike audiences on platforms like Meta, and keep your ad spend focused.

One critical note our team raised: make sure your privacy policy reflects how you’re using this data. Reviewing it regularly isn’t just good legal hygiene; it’s increasingly expected by donors and required by platforms.

Not Every Platform Is Right for Every Nonprofit

From Facebook to TikTok to Google to Snapchat, the platform question comes up constantly. The short answer: it depends on your audience, your goals, and your budget. Facebook still reaches the most donation-ready audiences. TikTok is better for organic content and audience building right now than direct asks. And Google, especially with the Google Ad Grant, remains essential for capturing high-intent donors at the bottom of the funnel.

Speaking of which: if your nonprofit hasn’t applied for the Google Ad Grant, it’s worth a look. Qualifying organizations can access up to $10,000/month in free Google Search advertising.

Not sure where your organization should be spending? CBA can help you figure that out.

AI in Ad Platforms: Useful in Some Places, Worth Watching Everywhere

Both Meta and Google are aggressively rolling AI features into their ad platforms, some helpful, some less so, and they have a habit of defaulting to “on.” Our team’s advice: know what you’re opting into, double-check your campaign builds, and don’t hand over more creative control than you’re comfortable with.

The broader question of AI-generated creative is one nonprofits are wrestling with organizationally. Our take: transparency with your audience matters more than efficiency, and knowing your community’s expectations should drive the decision.

Multi-Touch Campaigns Still Win

Digital acquisition and direct mail aren’t competing; they’re complementary. Attribution in digital marketing is messy, but that doesn’t mean the touchpoints don’t matter. When email, direct mail, and digital ads work together around a single campaign message, the results are consistently stronger than any single channel alone.

Channels to Watch: WhatsApp and Connected TV

Looking ahead: WhatsApp Channels are growing as a direct-to-audience broadcast tool, particularly relevant for organizations serving multilingual communities. Connected TV (streaming platforms like Hulu, Peacock, and YouTube TV) is moving toward fully programmatic buying, meaning audience-targeted TV advertising will become more accessible to nonprofits in the next few years.

Ready to Think Through Your Digital Strategy?

Every nonprofit’s situation is different; the right mix of platforms, content, and budget depends on your audience, your goals, and where you are right now. CBA works with nonprofits across the country to build digital strategies that actually work.

Reach out to Christina McPhillips at [email protected] to start the conversation.