Reflecting on #FRO2026
Fundraising Online: #FRO2026 brought together more than 3,000 fundraisers, campaigners, activists, and changemakers from 122 countries. A few weeks on, Resource Alliance Director of Programmes Ruby Chadwick reflects on the event.
This is a moment that feels hard to define.
Is it a crisis? A transition? An opportunity?
Maybe it’s all three.
Care, mobilisation, & trust
Throughout the day, we heard one message again and again: People still care. They care about justice, community, each other, and our world. The challenge for those of us working in social impact isn’t getting people to care, but whether we are ready to meet that care with the right invitations and whether we have the tools – and the courage – to do what is needed.
One major theme was a shift from fundraising to mobilisation. More and more, our supporters are being seen as more than donors; they are volunteers, campaigners, creators, connectors, social investors, advocates and co-owners of change. The future isn’t about asking people to give more, but supporting them to move from concern to action, and from action to belonging.
Trust was another topic we came back to again and again – in the workshops, yes, but also in the chat (which was hopping!), Q & As with our speakers, and in our live discussion sessions, we heard how lasting support is built through honesty, consistency, and visibility. Our supporters stay engaged when they feel informed, respected, and part of our stories, rather than when we only approach them with another ask.
Speed & AI
Speed matters, and artificial intelligence was a big part of the conversation, too. Crowdfunding is changing how quickly people can respond to urgent needs, with these individual campaigns moving faster than larger institutions can. Digital mobilisation is similar; attention can quickly become action, but only when we make the next steps for our supporters clear and easy.
When it comes to AI, what we heard was not what we’re used to hearing. What echoed from our speakers was a message of courage and care, and a call for our sector to lead the way in ensuring that AI doesn’t replace human connection, but helps us to act with more clarity, care, and confidence. Whether that help lies in identifying who needs a call, surfacing donor signals, improving data, or supporting internal teams, the opportunity is not to automate generosity, but to listen better, respond faster, and protect trust.
Looking to the future
The future of resource mobilisation won’t be shaped by the organisations that ask more often, automate more content, or chase every new tool. It will be led by those who continue to build real relationships in a noisy world. The ones who use technology with care and can turn attention into action, who can move quickly without compromising their values.
Fundraising Online reminded us that the social impact sector isn’t just a set of organisations, but a tide of people who care, act, give, organise, and refuse to look away.
Fundraising Online is the annual event for fundraisers and campaigners to build core digital fundraising skills, explore emerging mobilisation models, and make sense of what’s changing – from digital engagement and AI to new financing approaches and local solutions. Want to know more? Access recorded content from #FRO2026 free of charge via the Resource Alliance Global Community platform.