The $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer is fully underway—but nonprofits are ‘paralyzed’ by how to chase millennials’ newfound wealth

It’s 2026, and the $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer has begun.

As baby boomers phase out and pass on the fortunes they’ve built to subsequent generations, a lot will change.

Namely, the old ways of philanthropic giving won’t work on younger generations, and that could be a huge problem for nonprofit organizations.

“The older generations are disproportionately providing the majority of the philanthropic dollars,” despite the Great Wealth Transfer already being fully underway, Steve Isom, chief operating and financial officer of nonprofit software company Bloomerang, told Fortune.

“Everyone knows about the transfer of wealth that has happened.

It’s going to be record-setting, and I think that a lot of nonprofits feel a bit paralyzed in how to tackle that problem.” On the surface, it may be confusing why more money flowing could be a problem.

But it’s because community-based nonprofits have built deep relationships with the “pillars of the community”—in other words, wealthy baby boomers, Isom explained.

But the further you get from baby boomers, the lower the interest in philanthropic giving.

“The level of connection tends to wane,” said Isom, who gave the example of an organization where he’s based in Omaha, Neb.

He said being involved in philanthropic giving for that organization in the 1960s and 1970s was very much a “who’s who” in town.

And those same people who gave to that organization are still its major donors today.

“Now, those donors’ kids are less involved, and then those donors’ kids are like not involved at all,” he said.

“So I think the challenge is how are you introducing these next generations, and what programs do you have that are pulling in the younger generation?” And a lot of this trend has to do with a sense of belonging, trust, and community.

Bloomerang’s 2026 Giving Signals Report , conducted with The Harris Poll among more than 1,000 U.S. donors and 400 fundraising leaders in March, shows millennials and Gen Z care most about giving because it makes them feel as if they are “part of something.” That sense of belonging matters most to millennials, who the report actually pegs as the most active generation of donors right now.