If you are a funder, vendor, data provider, or nonprofit leader, this is a moment to act, and the Data Next-Level Practices introduced here provide a tool to do so.

For more than two decades, PEAK Grantmaking has pushed the social sector to simplify processes, streamline grantmaking, and reduce unnecessary burden on nonprofits. That work has mattered. It has changed norms, language, and expectations across philanthropy.

And yet, here we are in 2026, and most grant applications still ask nonprofits to retype information that already exists somewhere else, even as many funders move toward trust-based, invitation-only, or application-free approaches.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how we analyze, synthesize, and use information across nearly every field. But in philanthropy, many of the systems we rely on remain locked in place. They are disconnected, duplicative, and resistant to reuse. AI may be accelerating around us, but the underlying data practices of the sector have not kept pace.

That is why this moment calls for something bigger than fixing individual forms.

It calls for fixing the system.

Introducing the Data Next-Level Practices

PEAK Grantmaking, in partnership with Philanthropy Data Solutions, are introducing the Data Next-Level Practices (Data NLPs), a practical, sector-wide blueprint for reusing data, sharing data, and building the data ecosystem the sector actually deserves.

The Data NLPs are not about adding new requirements or compliance checklists. They are about changing how we work together. They focus on measured, achievable shifts in practice that make the philanthropic data ecosystem more connected, more equitable, and significantly less burdensome for everyone involved.

At their core, the Data NLPs are about moving from a world where each organization reinvents the wheel to one where information flows across the ecosystem. This shift allows funders, nonprofits, and partners to spend more time on mission and less time on maintenance.

Fixing the system starts with decisions each of us can make today. The Data NLPs are designed so every stakeholder can move, regardless of where they are starting.

Read the full article about the Data Next-Level Practices by C. Davis Parchment and Kyle Renninger at PEAK Grantmaking.