2025. What a year. Across the mission-driven landscape, we’ve seen a dramatic acceleration of trends that have been building quietly for a decade. AI has both accelerated change and flooded our feeds with slop. At the same time, social media algorithms have shifted yet again, making it harder than ever to reach new audiences. Political fragmentation has more deeply driven division on issues and identities. Cycles of outrage and cancellation have exhausted even the most engaged audiences. People are tuning out, opting out, or retreating into smaller, trusted communities.

But, underneath all of that, something promising is happening.

We’re watching a profound shift — from broadcast communications to distributed engagement — and it’s opening new possibilities for how organizations build trust, reach people, and shape narratives. Organizations that embrace this shift will find new pathways to amplify their missions and connect more meaningfully with the audiences that matter most. 

After an unhinged year, we’re looking ahead to one that brings a more meaningful, human, and effective future for digital communications. Here are some things we’re excited about in 2026:

Depth over noise 

Sprout Social says 77% of Social Media Managers are burned out, and that social teams are producing 4 times more content today than they were in 2019. But more content hasn’t led to greater effectiveness — it’s often had the opposite effect.

Audiences aren’t asking for more. In fact, many people are asking for much, much less with phone-free parties, dopamine diets, no frill phones, and digital detoxes, while seeking valuable information in specific places online. 

In 2026, less really is more. A movement towards slow social is one we can get behind. As we think about digital content and social, here’s what we’re excited about: 

• Audiences want fewer, better, clearer messages.
• Meaningful content finally has room to breathe.
• Trust grows when you stop competing for constant attention and start offering real value.

This shift rewards organizations that communicate with purpose — not volume.

Collaboration as a superpower

In 2026, collaboration moves from “nice idea” to “necessary strategy.”

The information landscape has become deeply fragmented. Trust in institutions is declining, media ecosystems are splintered, and attention is increasingly scarce. Influence no longer flows through single channels or owned platforms. Instead, it emerges across networks of partners, platforms, creators, and communities — often in ways organizations can’t fully control. This means that no single organization can single-handedly shift deeply rooted cultural narratives. 

Our recent AI research on climate answers in AI bears this out. While climate-focused NGOs collectively represented 20% of all sources cited in AI responses to climate queries, no one individual organization ranked among the top 10-20 most cited sources. Rather, the influence was distributed across dozens of organizations.

Meaningful narrative change requires coordination and collaboration across organizations, and we see this as a big opportunity. This demands in 2026 that we see: 

• More organizations will pool insights, audiences, and narratives.
• Coalitions will have more staying power and influence.
• Cross-organizational storytelling to reinforce shared truths, not siloed messages.

Belonging as the metric that matters

Audiences are hungry for spaces where they feel part of something — not just spectators to content. They want community, identity, and alignment. That’s especially true for younger audiences who see “engagement” not as metrics but as meaningful connection. 

Further complicating measurement is that when your message reaches audiences through local coalition partners, social media influencers, and AI-powered search results, traditional attribution models break down.

As a result, many mission-driven organizations are rethinking what impact actually looks like. In 2026, that means:

• Measuring meaningful engagement, interactions, and community building, not just clicks, likes, and views
• The future of influence will belong to organizations chosen by their communities, not those chasing reach at any cost.

Tech supporting human communication

A large majority of people under 45 are feeling digital fatigue, and Americans now believe less than half of what they see online. As content creation becomes faster and cheaper, low-quality and repetitive information is flooding digital spaces. The result is growing skepticism and fatigue — and a higher bar for credibility and trust. 

Tech isn’t replacing trust. It’s amplifying the need for it.

Authenticity has always been critical, but in 2026, it will be essential. That means humans must lead.  Organizations will have to stop contorting themselves to fit the tech — and instead insist that tech support the humans doing the work.

That shift is one reason platforms like Reddit are gaining renewed influence. In communities built around shared interests and lived experience, credibility is earned through participation, transparency, and peer validation — not polished messaging or algorithmic reach. These spaces reward authenticity and signal where real trust still exists online.

In 2026, we’re excited about the opportunities this presents to mission-driven organizations: 

• AI is enabling the freedom from repetitive tasks, freeing staff for strategy, relationships, and creativity.
• Strong, values-driven voices standing out in an AI-generated sea.
• Organizations with strong governance, expertise, and purpose (of which mission-driven orgs lead the pack!) will stand out.
• Tools that enable authentic connection — including more in-person and community-driven engagement.

What This Means for Your Organization

Organizations that continue operating like it’s 2025,  producing content primarily for their own channels and measuring success one metric at a time, will struggle to stay connected to where influence is actually formed.

The shift from broadcast to distributed engagement calls for a different kind of investment:

• Narrative and messaging frameworks that travel: Messages built to move through networks — partners, creators, coalitions, communities, and even AI.
• Measurement systems that reflect distributed influence: Not just clicks, likes, or views, but shared narrative lift, community engagement, partner amplification, and AI visibility.
• Collaborative relationships that sustain long-term narrative change: True connections (not transactions) that reinforce shared values across ecosystems.

2026 won’t magically simplify the digital landscape — but it will make it more intentional, more human, and more aligned with what audiences actually want. A year where depth beats noise, collaboration beats isolation, and trust beats everything.

We’re heading into a future where organizations with clarity, purpose, and strong relationships will not only stand out — they’ll lead.

And we’re excited to help build that future with you.