In today’s @AvalonFYI dispatch, you will find a call to speak out for nonprofit autonomy, Gen Z giving data, AI changes at Google, and the perfect place for a lively summer picnic.
Dear friends,
Thank you to everyone who responded with congratulations, thoughtful questions, and collegial enthusiasm, following Avalon’s announcement that we have entered a strategic merger with VeraData. I am especially grateful to Avalon senior leadership for guiding our staff through this important moment with intention and care, and to our team for their trust and support. It’s an exciting time!
“This is about all of us.”
Avalon supports The Nonprofit Alliance’s strong call for all nonprofits to take a stand against the recent federal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center. It is essential that nonprofits and nonprofit-adjacent organizations speak out—not only when your work or issue is under scrutiny, and not just for partisan reasons, but on behalf on nonprofit autonomy and the future of our sector, today:
The April 21st federal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has sparked predictable responses along predictable lines. As the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported in an email last week, progressive organizations have rallied in defense. Conservative outlets have amplified the charges. And in the middle, where most of the nonprofit sector actually lives and works, there’s silence.
That silence is dangerous. Not because it signals agreement or disagreement with SPLC’s mission, methods, or alleged actions. It signals that we’ve accepted a new normal, a test of long standing protections for nonprofit independence and civil society.
This is a discussion of precedent. This case should concern every nonprofit in America, regardless of your mission or political alignment.
—Shannon McCracken, President and CEO, The Nonprofit Alliance
AI Changes at Google
Avalon senior director of paid media Andrea Thorn and director of paid search Marcel Solorzano emphasized two AI-driven changes at Google that will impact digital fundraising:
- A new search experience in Chrome changes the browser into a workspace with AI functionality at its core. This allows users to interact with AI and web content simultaneously and select multiple tabs or PDFs to include as direct context for a single AI query in real-time. Nonprofits should continue to assess site content for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), ensuring it is skimmable and AI-friendly with clear headers and FAQ-based structures. In addition, provide detailed impact statements, data points, and examples for AI to cull and cite.
- Google is sunsetting Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) and will migrate them to AI Max by September 2026. This update also affects “Automatically Created Assets” (ACA) and campaign-level broad match settings. Unlike DSA, which relies heavily on website crawling, AI Max uses broader, real-time intent signals and Large Language Models to match ads to complex user queries. All assets will automatically migrate in September, but since that month is critical for awareness before year-end, we recommend getting in front of these changes during the summer.
Gen Z Giving
In collaboration with GivingTuesday, GoFundMe shared research that draws a connection between community fundraising and nonprofit giving among Gen Z donors. In a new report, “Gen Z is more generous than you think,” GoFundMe documents robust giving patterns, notes correlation between crowdfunding and traditional philanthropy, and advises nonprofits to embrace younger donors’ transformative impact on fundraising.
I agree that digital platforms create new pathways for younger donors—and want to stress the importance of multichannel attribution for applying that insight. In addition to these findings, other benchmarks clearly indicate increasing complexity in donor behavior. The connections span not only crowdfunding and institutional giving, but the full array of online and offline channels. Nonprofits should incorporate benchmark, campaign, and donor-level data for a full picture and optimal strategy.
Gen Z is not a future donor segment. They are already reshaping giving today: socially, publicly, and online. That creates a clear call to action for nonprofits: build for the ways Gen Z already engages by making it easier to share causes, rally communities, fundraise, and give in digital spaces. The nonprofits that embrace these behaviors now will be the ones that turn Gen Z participation into long-term support and growth.
—GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan
Summer Is Coming
One of my favorite places to enjoy warm weather is Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Northern Virginia. Their 2026 summer season kicks off soon with three nights of Sting at the Filene Center (May 21–23), and an America250 series will celebrate the semiquincentennial. As always, visitors can dine at Wolf Trap’s Ovations restaurant, grab concessions, or BYOP (bring your own picnic). Wolf Trap is operated by the U.S. Park Service and is “America’s only National Park for the Performing Arts”—as well as an Avalon client! We are proud to support this special place, where “music is the mission.” I’m going to the Gin Blossoms on August 12th—if you will be there, ping me and we can meet up!
