Insights from the 2025 Food Bank Innovation Foundry

On March 5, 2025, TrueSense Marketing held an Innovation Foundry for food banks in Chicago. As a company, we believe that innovation comes from collaboration and insight. Hosting Innovation Foundry events enables us to gather key stakeholders from across an industry or sector to address their most pressing issues and come up with actionable solutions or ideas to try. 

Although foundries — where metal is melted down, poured into new forms, and brought to life as something stronger — may not be perceived as cutting edge today, they were once the epicenter of industrial innovation, especially at our Pittsburgh roots. Foundries revolutionized manufacturing through constant experimentation and problem-solving. 

This is precisely the process we undertake during our Innovation Foundries: melting down conventional fundraising approaches, reshaping them with fresh insights, and forging them into powerful, new strategies. We take an intentional risk by allowing ideas to span the full revenue spectrum because true innovation requires both preserving what works and boldly reimagining what’s possible. 

Here are some key takeaways from this recent event: 

Generosity in the United States Is a Growing Concern 

The Giving Institute’s 2024 Generosity Commission Study explores how the ways in which people give have changed. Although many people still give money and volunteer time to nonprofits when they can, this number has declined for years. The share of U.S. households donating to nonprofits dropped by 16 points between 2008 and 2018. 

Instead, more and more giving has come from a smaller pool of wealthy donors. When the donor pool shrinks, it’s the smaller, local organizations that lose out most of all. 

Conditions Facing Food Banks 

Based on our industry data and experiences, we see that the number of active donors has dropped each year during the past five years. Numerous conditions face food banks that make it difficult to get the donations they need. 

High Costs 

Many food banks struggle with a high cost to acquire new donors. Add to this the fact that USPS postal rates and other costs have skyrocketed, making the process of donor acquisition even more expensive.  

Tipping Culture 

The expectation of tipping is replacing some traditional forms of charitable giving as people increasingly feel they’re already contributing through gratuities. 

Crowdfunding Platforms 

Platforms such as GoFundMe have surged in popularity, leading many individuals to support friends and acquaintances directly rather than donating to nonprofits. 

Online Giving 

Although digital giving is on the rise, it requires organizations to adapt their fundraising strategies to reach and cultivate a younger, more tech-savvy donor base. 

Universal Charitable Deduction 

Federal tax-law changes have reduced the tax benefits associated with charitable giving, potentially discouraging donations. 

Executive Orders 

Shifts in federal policies have made reliance on grants and loans more unpredictable. The attempted reduction of U.S. foreign-aid funding has further complicated the landscape. 

Data and Privacy  

An increasing number of states are enacting data-privacy laws that affect how nonprofits collect and manage donor information. 

Aging Donor Pool 

The traditional donor base is aging, making it essential to engage younger generations in philanthropy. 

The Digital Solution 

The effective response to many of the challenges that food banks face today lies in digital and omnichannel marketing. It’s less expensive, more flexible, and necessary to reach younger donors. Digital fundraising is: 

• More cost effective because online campaigns reduce the high costs associated with direct mail and other traditional methods. 

• Flexible and scalable because digital platforms allow nonprofits to pivot strategies quickly and tailor messaging to different donor segments. 

• Key for engaging younger donors because they’re more likely to donate online, making digital outreach a fundamental component of any modern fundraising strategy. 

The 2025 Food Bank Innovation Foundry underscored the need for a forward-thinking approach — one that embraces both the lessons of the past and the opportunities of the digital age.