2026 Winter Olympics: Six Moments To Inspire Nonprofit Fundraisers

For two weeks every four years, the Winter Olympics transport us out of our mid-winter blues into a thrilling world of athletic achievement – with primetime coverage telling us the uplifting stories of competitors from around the world who defied the odds and overcame massive obstacles to achieve Olympic dreams. Whether the athletes we cheered on made stunning comebacks or faced devastating disappointment, we were all tuned into the happenings on the same mountains, rinks, and bobsled tracks.

The closing ceremony this past weekend may have brought the Winter Games to an end, but who says that great rush of positive energy from a wave of Olympic moments can’t go on just a little longer? To keep up the good vibes, our team at MissionWired is spotlighting some of the most memorable moments from this year’s competitions. And of course, our MissionWired take would not be complete if we didn’t ask: What can nonprofit fundraisers take from the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Read on to learn six ways Olympic skiing and skating can inspire your nonprofit fundraising planning all the way into spring and beyond:

1. Alysa Liu returns to figure skating after a two-year retirement with a new outlook on her reasons for skating – and her freeskate performance wins gold.

One of the most exciting stories in U.S. figure skating this Olympic Games was the standout performance by Alysa Liu that won her the gold medal and made her the first gold medalist for the United States in the event since 2002. As the world-class athletes around her struggled with the challenges of Olympic pressure, how did Alysa Liu radiate confidence and positivity on the ice? Her story offers us a glimpse: After retiring in 2022 at 16, with incredible achievements in the sport, Liu returned two years later, having rediscovered her joy in skating. Her guiding light: “I skate now to show my art.”

What can nonprofit fundraisers take away from this? In today’s competitive fundraising landscape, it can be easy to get lost in webs of complex content calendars, trending tactics, and quick-changing breaking news moments. Remember to take a step back, and keep the “why” of your organization’s mission front and center – your nonprofit does world-changing work in service of a powerful and meaningful cause. If the moment or your messaging feels too cluttered, it’s worth taking the time to find your way back to the joy and the “why” to tell the truest, most compelling stories of your mission and work.

2. Ilia Malinin, favorite for gold in the men’s free skate, falls twice and finishes eighth. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan wins gold.

In the men’s free skate, all eyes were on 21-year-old Ilia Malinin, dubbed “the quad god” and coming off an impressive winning streak at World Championships and Grand Prix championships. After he helped the United States win gold in the team competition, Malinin fell twice during his free skate final and finished in eighth place. Still, he impressed media sources with his maturity, congratulating winner Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan (whose clean performance achieved his country’s first Winter Olympic gold medal since 1994), answering questions from the media, and achieving a brilliant performance in the exhibition gala. In a recent social media post, Malinin shared his two takeaways from the experience: “One loss doesn’t change what you have already won,” and, “You learn more from failure than success.”

What can nonprofit fundraisers take away from this? Your best laid plans, and the campaigns you think are certain to be a hit, don’t always go how you expect them to – even when everything seems lined up in your favor. It’s having the grace to handle it well, learn from the outcomes that did not meet expectations, and readjust your approach in the future that can make all the difference. Your underperforming campaigns can give you a wealth of insight into the strategies that can help your next efforts drive a powerful response.

And, if you’re the Kazakhstan skater in this story, put everything out there, even if it doesn’t seem like you have a clear path to breaking through the competition. You can never predict what will happen and what moments might propel your program into the spotlight and change your organization forever.

3. Former skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are beloved Olympic commentators today – and allies on the show, The Traitors, too.

Longtime Olympic fans of these two skating legends, who look forward to their role as commentators at the Winter Games since they first struck up a friendship at the 2014 Olympics, may have had their interest piqued by the pair’s presence on a reality TV competition airing at the same time as the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, fans of the show The Traitors, who’ve gotten to know Lipinski and Weir through their attempts to navigate the deceit and rivalry of the competition series (during which they hid their friendship at the start and communicated through code), may have been more interested in tuning into figure skating events to see the pair as co-hosts.

What can nonprofit fundraisers take away from this? Opportunities for campaign cross-promotion may come from unexpected places. How can you expand the focus of your acquisition appeals to loop in newer, broader audiences? Are there upcoming campaigns or fundraising efforts that might appeal to a new audience outside of your traditional targeting? Don’t forget to look in new places and try new angles to keep your audience growth strategies fresh.

4. Figure skaters have to meet a rigorous set of technical requirements throughout their routines. At the exhibition gala, they have a chance to experiment and play.

After the powerful comebacks and the devastating upsets, Olympic figure skaters left behind the outcomes of a tightly scored Olympic competition and returned to the ice for the exhibition gala, where there are no scores or restrictions. Amber Glenn executed flawless jumps and showcased incredible skills to Lady Gaga’s version of “That’s Life.” Ilia Malinin performed a backflip in jeans to “Fear” by NF (a move for which we tip our hats to you, Surya Bonaly). With the freedom for self-expression, play, and pushing boundaries, many skaters brought new and exciting ideas to the ice.

What can nonprofit fundraisers take away from this? Tactics and best practices are important elements to driving the kinds of incremental growth in response and revenue that power growth and help nonprofits reach new audiences and hit important fundraising goals. At MissionWired, we’re dedicated to testing relentlessly to identify those small details that drive big changes. But we’re also supporters of the bold move and the big swing – don’t be afraid to try new creative approaches to telling your story, too! You never know what risks taken will help you discover your next top-performer or best practice.

5. When asked if she saw her two silver medals in women’s freestyle skiing as “two silvers gained or two golds lost,” Eileen Gu laughed – and then delivered a stunning response.

After Eileen Gu finished second in freeski slopestyle, a journalist asked her if she saw her medals as “two silvers gained or two golds lost.” Now the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history, Gu laughed at the question and then replied: “Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else’s expectations rise.” She went on to add, “I’m showcasing my best skiing, I’m doing things that quite literally have never been done before, and so I think that is more than good enough, but thank you.” After her two silver medals and that interview, Eileen Gu went on to win a gold medal in women’s halfpipe.

What can nonprofit fundraisers take away from this? As nonprofit fundraisers, we’re always chasing the next tentpole moment, striving to hit ambitious KPIs, and measuring results for year-over-year growth – all in service of our work to drive positive change. The impact of that work is powerful, and when we remember to look first and foremost at the real-world change that those efforts drive, and communicate that impact with clarity to our audiences, results will come.

6. Lindsey Vonn returned to downhill skiing for an Olympic run after a knee replacement and in spite of an ACL tear. After suffering a devastating crash, she explains why she has “no regrets.”

Lindsey Vonn’s incredible comeback story held fans’ attention leading up to her Olympic downhill ski run – she had returned to the sport after a partial knee replacement surgery, and in the lead-up to the Olympic final, she tore her ACL. But Vonn was determined to race anyway. After a devastating crash just seconds into her run and a major surgery, Lindsey Vonn told her followers on social media that the doctor who saved her leg from amputation was essential to the major surgery she needed after the crash – and he was only on the scene because of her ACL tear. She also told supporters that she has no regrets: “I’d rather go down swinging than not try at all. What I was able to achieve was more than anyone expected to begin with. This year was incredible, and it was so worth it.”

What can nonprofit fundraisers take away from this? You may regret the things you don’t try even more than you regret the big swings you took, even if they don’t work out the way you’d hoped. When your campaigns aim high and aspire to drive powerful change, the results you accomplish along the way may be higher than you could have otherwise achieved – and the lessons you’ll learn will only help you with your next big goal.

If there’s one thing we – whose best winter sport may look more like executing an irresistible subject line or breaking records for the fastest text message sent – have in common with the incredible athletes at the Winter Olympics, it’s the meaning we find in our work and the passion for doing it as well as we can. And we’re always on the lookout for the next emerging strategy or powerful storytelling approach that helps our nonprofit partners succeed! To hear more from us about the very latest in nonprofit fundraising strategy, check out our 2025 End of Year Digital Fundraising Report, or dig into our review of top-performing creative strategies from end of year.