In January, one of the “Waves to Ride” I identified for 2026 was the rise of Donor-Advised Funds, or DAFs, as they are more commonly referred to:

Donor-Advised Funds have been growing at an accelerating pace for more than a decade. In 2024, contributions to DAFs exceeded $89 billion, total assets surpassed $326 billion, and grants from DAFs to charities reached an all-time high of $65 billion—more than double what donors were granting just six years earlier (per the DAF Research Collaborative). – Waves to Ride in 2026

The beauty of a Donor-Advised Fund is that the dollars are pre-committed by donors and cannot be used for any other purpose than distributions to charities.

There are nearly 3.6 million donor-directed DAFs out there, representing $326 billion ready to be given, with $65+ billion given annually. 

When I was early in my career, I took an assessment that promised to help identify my strengths, motivations, and interests. As a fan of most assessments like this, I wondered what it would say – what core part of my make-up it might illuminate to help me better understand myself.

As I flipped through the report, my attention was naturally drawn towards a section labeled “interests.” Intrigued, I read on.

My top interests, according to the report, were:

• Literary – appreciation for language (92%) 

• Administrative – systems, order, and reliability (88%)

• Artistic – creation, appreciation for arts, aesthetics (78%)

• Numerical - working with numbers and data (72%)

Those all made sense. As I looked down the list to the very bottom of my apparent “interests,” I had a chuckle.

• Outdoor - work in an outdoor environment (5%)

Ouch! 

A series of misfortunate events forced me to bring in someone who knew exactly what they were doing – and likely saved us from far bigger damage down the line.

Can you remember a time when you had to bring your A-game?

The Rise of Sustainable Giving was delayed three times. Took three years to research and write. And it was a longer road than I could have imagined. 

But this past year, more than 25,000 leaders have been exposed to the message of Sustainable Giving, through the book, the Sustainable Giving Podcast, workshops, Wave Report articles, and speaking at events. 

One of the most satisfying things about focusing on sustainable recurring giving with as many organizations as we have is that we’ve been able to hone our ability to see patterns across different types of charities. To understand the specific ways that these organizations can take advantage of the rise of sustainable giving. 

One reason I believe The Rise of Sustainable Giving has resonated so much with charity leaders is that sustainable giving has momentum.

Sustainable giving is riding the wave of momentum of subscriptions and the subscription economy, and changing donor behavior, creating new opportunities to grow sustainable recurring giving for their charities. 

I’m thrilled to share that the audiobook edition of The Rise of Sustainable Giving is now available for pre-order and will officially release on February 3 – in less than three weeks!

For decades, we’ve accepted this as normal. We’ve planned around it, budgeted for it, even joked about it. January 1 became the worst day of the year not because leaders lack vision or discipline – but because the system we inherited was never designed to carry momentum forward.

But what if January 1 doesn’t have to feel this way?

The word “Imago” comes from Latin. It’s a word that describes a future that will be but has not yet come to pass. 

An Imago is literally the image of the ultimate form of a thing. It’s the last stage of maturity. A metamorphosis. The final shape.

If you and I saw a butterfly flying by, we would say, “There goes an IMAGO!” 🦋

I think there are several lessons we can learn from both the wise men and shepherds in the Christmas story on innovation and seeing coming waves of change.

Waves are powerful things. 

Waves can be Scary. Overwhelming. Unending. 

Waves are also Beautiful. Rhythmic. Peaceful.

When faced with the crashing waves of life, we have an opportunity to respond. Will we face them? Dive under them? Stay out of the water altogether?

While we were enjoying the game, Emily Cole, co-owner of the Bananas and wife of founder Jesse Cole, came onto the field and began to share the story of a local family that has fostered for years, bringing dozens of children into their home and adopting others.

She spoke about the power of family, and of foster care. 

She then invited the featured foster family, a local Seattle family, onto the field to be honored. 

If the moment had stopped there, it would have been a nice moment, like you might expect at any baseball game between innings. But not at a Bananas game…

What happened next brought tears to my eyes.

Reflection is the first of four things I do at the end of each year to set the tone and get clarity of vision for the new year.

My mission today is to get you to schedule time to reflect and plan for the new year before the end of this year.

Today is going to be a short one. 

Last week, I wrote about Six Insights at the Intersection of Gratitude and Generosity. 

This week, I’m trying to live those lessons out…

By keeping perspective. 

Enjoying the moment. 

Practicing the discipline of giving.

Being a blessing to others.

By spreading gratitude.

I hope that today you are able to take a moment, be present, gain perspective, and be thankful. 

I believe that gratitude and generosity form a virtuous cycle. One leads to the other, and they reinforce each other.

When I practice generosity, it leads to gratitude.

When I practice gratitude, it, in turn, leads to generosity. 

Tomorrow, November 15, is National Philanthropy Day. 

Officially recognized as a national day by President Reagan in 1986, National Philanthropy Day is an annual day of celebration that recognizes the contributions of philanthropy to the world. 

Simply defined, philanthropy is the use of private resources for public purposes. The giving of resources like time, talent, and treasure has deep roots in human history.

The word philanthropy comes from the Greek words “philos,” meaning “that which is beloved,” and “anthrōpos,” meaning “humankind.”

Philanthropy, literally translated, means for the love of humanity.

 If you acquire any volume of new donors, this Wave Report holds the secret to perhaps the single most effective strategy you have to grow sustainable giving.

$13.1 billion. 

That’s the amount that Americans will have spent on Halloween by the time the day is over, according to the National Retail Federation.