En PNC Bank, tenemos el privilegio de servir a miles de organizaciones sin fines de lucro de todo el país, a quienes ofrecemos servicios de administración de inversiones, custodia, banca y soluciones de préstamo, entre otros. Dicha escala nos ofrece un panorama general de lo que los directivos y las juntas directivas de las organizaciones sin fines de lucro ponen en práctica, cambian y aprenden, a menudo sobre la marcha. In the third quarter of 2026, we asked nonprofit leaders, “How have you created new revenue streams for your nonprofit?”
1. Turn strengths into earned revenue
The CFO of an arts and culture organization described a new partnership managing public arts programming for a local municipality. Drawing on their event-production expertise, they began offering this service to external partners, generating a new earned revenue stream. This strategy includes the added benefits of exposing the organization to a wider audience, building their brand as a professional arts production company and strengthening their relationships with civic leaders.
A senior operations leader at a scholarship organization shared that their organization is now marketing management services to organizations that need support in managing their own scholarship or activity funds.
An education foundation with decades of K-12 education expertise created an LLC as a wholly owned subsidiary of the nonprofit to offer a range of training and advisory services to other education foundations across the country. In fact, after a referral from their PNC Institutional Asset Management® advisor, a newly established education foundation in California hired the organization to advise on their strategic plan.
Conclusión: Organizations are finding ways to monetize their years of established experience and expertise. Consider whether your nonprofit can create an earned revenue stream by monetizing what your organization already does exceptionally well.
2. Prioritize mission-aligned, high-quality and high-demand service offerings
A community-based human service agency has begun to expand their behavioral support services in response to growing demand in the community and the organization’s desire to provide more comprehensive support to individuals and families.
The CFO of this organization shared an important lesson learned through the process: opportunity alone is not enough. Delivering new services requires specialized expertise, prioritization from management and bandwidth for staff. There is a risk that new or expanded programs can stretch staff too thin and draw resources from existing operations. To avoid this, the organization also hired additional senior advancement staff to strengthen their existing fundraising operations, which remain an important component of their revenue strategy.
Conclusión: The strongest programs and services sit at the intersection of community need, mission alignment and organizational capability. Even when mission-driven, successful organizations must offer high-quality products and services that address market demand. Before launching, consider whether the organization has the talent, systems and capacity to deliver at the quality stakeholders expect.
3. Market the various ways donors can support your mission
A membership-based organization launched a giving initiative tied to its founding year of 1922, offering the option of a $19.22 recurring contribution to create a memorable entry point for consistent participation. It also began accepting gifts of stock into a long-term fund, giving donors another way to support the mission.
The Executive Director at a university-affiliated foundation highlighted the growing use of qualified charitable distributions from individual retirement accounts to fund charitable gift annuities. Since the Secure Act 2.0 took effect in 2023, all but one of the organization’s new charitable gift annuities have been funded this way, furthering demonstrating the importance of providing donors with education and various strategies for supporting the organization.
Conclusión: Donor education and proactive guidance are critical. Payouts from donor-advised funds (DAFs), company gift matching, appreciated securities and creative planned-giving options can broaden participation when fundraisers promote them and connect them to donor goals. Organizations should consult their legal and tax advisors when designing or promoting complex gift structures.
4. Offer for-profit partners a mutually-beneficial opportunity to meet their own objectives
The CEO of a health-focused coalition added sponsored breakout sessions to a major annual conference after corporate partners asked for more direct ways to engage attendees. The sessions generated nearly $100,000 in new income while also expanding the range of topics available to participants. Leadership protected the event’s credibility by requiring organizational approval of every session and maintaining consistent standards for content and mission alignment. Positive feedback from both sponsors and attendees suggests that the new offering created value on both sides of the partnership.
Many nonprofits host volunteer and team building activities for corporations. These events allow the company to build goodwill among employees and strengthen their reputation in the community, while the nonprofit organization benefits from the volunteer work. Additionally, since these events can come with administrative fees, some nonprofits have begun to request a donation or grant to offset the cost.
Conclusión: Nonprofit and for-profit partnerships enable both sides reach their respective goals. Nonprofits can help companies meet their philanthropic goals, while for-profits are willing to pay for that service. Nevertheless, it is critical to thoroughly consider potential stakeholder risks and mission alignment before selling access to the highest bidder. The best sponsorship opportunities create genuine audience value, preserve institutional trust and give partners a meaningful role to support the organization’s mission while advancing their own.
5. Reposition assets to support the mission
The Board President at a religious foundation described a pivotal decision involving the organization’s largest asset: a building that would require new debt to maintain. The foundation ultimately decided to sell the property and use the funds to establish an investment program instead. The decision shifted the organization from spending money to preserve a physical asset to building a financial vehicle that could generate income to support the church and future grantmaking.
While managing an endowment comes with its own set of administrative responsibilities, the board knew this would better support the organization’s long-term goals. Reallocating assets can create strategic opportunities; however, governance practices must evolve as well.
Conclusión: Assets should be evaluated by how well they advance the mission — not simply by how long the organization has held them. Boards should compare the financial burden, risk, liquidity and mission value of the status quo with credible alternatives, then establish appropriate governance practices for the strategy they choose.
Preguntas en la sala de juntas para poner estas lecciones en marcha
- Which capabilities do we possess that another organization might pay us to provide? Do we have the capacity to do this well?
- If any of our funding sources disappeared, what would we do to fill that gap? What should we build now to reduce that risk?
- Can we offer corporate sponsors additional marketing value and help them achieve their philanthropic goals? Is there any risk that these arrangements could damage our brand or negatively impact our stakeholders?
- Do we offer donors a variety of ways to support our organization such as recurring gifts, appreciated assets or planned gifts? Are we effectively marketing these opportunities?
- Has our organization recently evaluated the effectiveness and ROI of our revenue generating activities? Do we have enough qualified fundraising staff to meet our needs?
- Does the board regularly evaluate our capital stack, strategic assets and revenue streams? Have they recently considered the financial and administrative resources needed to manage these assets?
Comentarios finales
Our conversations with nonprofit leaders this quarter provided practical examples of what it means to move beyond diversification and build financial sustainability. Leaders recognized that it’s not about simply doing more fundraising or pursuing every available opportunity. Rather, it is facilitating the disciplined work of aligning mission-driven capabilities with genuine demand, expanding the ways supporters can engage, and making thoughtful decisions about assets, partnerships, and organizational capacity. Ultimately, success should be measured by more than top-line revenue growth. Sustainable strategies account for the full cost of delivery, preserve mission integrity through clear guardrails, and invest in the people, systems, and capabilities needed to create enduring impact and support.
Grupo de estrategias y soluciones para organizaciones sin fines de lucro
El Grupo de estrategias y soluciones para organizaciones sin fines de lucro de PNC sirve como un socio dedicado que tiene el compromiso de empoderar a las organizaciones sin fines de lucro para que logren sus misiones. Al combinar la experiencia nacional con el conocimiento local, ofrecemos educación integral y asesoramiento sobre temas de gobierno, filantropía y sostenibilidad financiera, pues vamos más allá de la administración de activos a fin de brindar perspectivas viables que aborden los desafíos más apremiantes a los que se enfrentan las organizaciones sin fines de lucro. Gracias a nuestros fuertes vínculos con la comunidad, nuestra experiencia de liderazgo práctico en cuestiones de organizaciones sin fines de lucro y nuestra sólida presencia en el mercado local, ofrecemos soluciones significativas que optimizan los recursos y generan un impacto sostenible.
