How Nonprofit Leaders Can Use the Insights on Purpose™ Report: A Conversation with the National Council of Nonprofits

Nonprofit and foundation leaders are navigating one of the most complex environments in recent memory — and they're meeting it with more resolve than most people may think. This is the message at the center of a new interview between the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) and Mission Partners’ Chief Strategy Officer, Brian Fox, published in NCN's August 2026 Nonprofit Essentials monthly newsletter.  

In the interview, Brian shares the story behind the Insights on Purpose™ Report, which Mission Partners released with the Chronicle of Philanthropy earlier this year. The report is grounded in research informed by more than 400 U.S. nonprofit and foundation leaders, distilling their experiences into seven key insights on resilience, planning, financial realities, AI, and collaboration. Brian guides NCN through some of the most striking findings, including an ongoing trend that most nonprofit and foundation leaders say planning has become measurably harder, and nearly a quarter are operating without a strategic plan at all. Despite this, the vast majority still believe they can weather the next five years and grow their impact along the way. He also points to a gap in mutual understanding between nonprofits and foundations and flags AI as an area where enthusiasm is outpacing policy and practice. 

To read the full conversation, you can visit NCN’s website. If you'd like to go deeper, download the complete Insights on Purpose Report, with all supporting data and recommendations, at insightsonpurpose.us. 

The National Council of Nonprofits is the largest network of nonprofits in the United States, connecting more than 30,000 nonprofits to achieve transformative results through networking, tools, research, and resources.