“Nonprofits turn human generosity into solutions to humanity’s and the world’s problems. Philanthropy powers innovation, saves lives, and uplifts communities. While fast-paced, political uncertainty and the headlines that surround it will shape and reshape our work, leaders must remain committed to—and remind their teams of— the unwavering importance of nonprofit work.”
The guidance above concluded a piece we published in January. It seems truer now than it was then.
Since the beginning of 2025, nonprofit leaders have grappled with continuing uncertainty. Some liken it to 2020 and the COVID pandemic, when policy and guidance forced significant pivots in how we did our work. Others point to the Great Recession and how instability at the heart of the economy left us questioning our organizations’ financial security. Or perhaps it has elements of the two combined together.
As nonprofits continue to seek clarity about what lies ahead, the Giving USA Foundation published its annual report on philanthropy, which reported growth in giving in 2024. As we analyzed the data, the headlines—that giving grew to $590.50 billion and grew in inflation-adjusted dollars—hit differently. The celebrations that these figures would normally elicit seem juxtaposed to other headlines from across the nonprofit sector about uncertainty, funding cuts, and job losses.
It’s easy to feel as though the trends and analysis of 2024 giving are detached from the current state of nonprofits, but the Giving USA data provides an anchor for nonprofits making decisions about how to navigate the rest of 2025 and the years ahead. Data provides a known basis from which leaders can set strategies and plan for success in a future obscured by uncertainty.
What can fundraising leaders do to help their organizations and teams navigate an uncertain moment? In the United States and across the globe, conflicts and shifting priorities have obscured how we deploy philanthropy to best serve those in need.
In January, we offered leaders recommendations for how to navigate uncertainty. In May, our colleagues Michelle Green and James Barnard offered insights into how leaders can make philanthropy a resilient, dependable financial pillar for nonprofits worthy of investment.
The 2024 giving data makes clear that philanthropy is a deeply rooted value, which means nonprofits that invest in and master the principles of effective fundraising and develop strategies to align their organizations behind raising money to accomplish mission will best weather uncertainty.
To do so, leaders will need to:
Inventory and Focus on What You Can Control
In a moment of great uncertainty, it is easy to spend so much time discerning the future and setting contingent strategies that we lose sight of what we can control and how we can plan for success anchored in what is known. You can continue:
- Communicating the mission and impact of your organization to donors, even as you navigate change.
- Focusing on key performance indicators and metrics to improve the effectiveness of your fundraising programs.
- Shifting away from the “cost to raise a dollar” language and show on return on investment (ROI)—showing the real impact of philanthropy.
- Building relationships with top donors and prospects to cultivate and solicit major and principal gifts.
- Staying focused on strategically investing in building and maintaining your base—the everyday donor matters.
While the environment will shape your messaging and cultivation strategies, it does not prevent placing significant focus on the fundamentals of effective fundraising.
Adjust Your Cultivation and Solicitation Strategies—Add Time and Flexibility
Market volatility and changing trade policies have donors hesitant to make large gifts, especially noting the potential implications of the next federal budget on corporate and individual taxes. Acknowledging this hesitation and factoring it into donor strategies—not abandoning them all together—will be crucial throughout the rest of the year.
Donors give to create impact and experience the joy of giving, both of which they can still do. Engaging them in conversations about how the moment impacts their philanthropic decision-making and how the needs of your organization have changed will help realign everyone’s expectations through meaningful cultivation conversations.
Develop strategies that will allow you to ask earlier and be flexible in your solicitations. Donors may not be ready to make a multi-year transformational gift but keeping them engaged and working to build trust will lead to more opportunities in the future.
Embrace and Uplift the Everyday Donor
Data tells us donor counts are dropping and suggests a generosity crisis is on the horizon. At the same time, nonprofits acknowledge that stewardship of base and mid-level donors needs improvement. This begs the question whether Americans are becoming less generous or looking to other organizations or outlets for their generosity.
What nonprofits must do is focus on stewardship and emphasize the impact of donors’ philanthropy. They need to build community among donors whose generosity addresses problems they seek to solve in the world to build continuity among those donors in their shared pursuit. Community reinforces the idea of cumulative impact that turns one donor’s gift into part of a movement that creates real change.
Explore Potential Giving Vehicles with Your Donors
Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) and Qualified Charitable Deductions (QCDs) from retirement accounts are likely to play a larger role during this uncertain moment.
- DAFs contain funds donors have already allocated for charity. Engaging donors in conversations about how uncertainty may change their DAF giving strategy provides the opportunity for a cushion that may inspire the donor to give more of those funds.
- Individuals over 70 and a half years old will still need to take mandatory distributions from certain retirement accounts. Ensuring your donors are aware of the tax advantages of giving to your organization as a QCD could unlock additional gifts from loyal donors.
Anchoring yourself and your team in the mission of your organization and its impact on your community has never been as important as it is right now. Taking moments to highlight the importance of everyone’s work and how it drives organizational success will provide tangible proof that your nonprofit’s work is meaningful and add positive, personal highlights to keep your team inspired. It also creates great content to share with board members and donors as stewardship and acknowledgement of their support.
Reimagine Donor Engagement and Operations in the AI Era
In the last few years, an explosion of AI tools, both stand-alone products and integrated tools, has reshaped what’s possible in how we engage donors and go about the work of philanthropy. It’s not only shops with large budgets or those embedded in large nonprofits that can benefit from the AI revolution. Nonprofits would benefit from taking a step back, mapping the goals and processes of programs, and asking how the tools being added to technologies they have (i.e., email clients, CRMs, etc.) could reshape this work. While it takes time to rebuild a process, automating or streamlining how you engage donors will create the time needed to deliver your great stewardship to more donors.
Moving Ahead
The uncertainty of the moment can feel overwhelming, and it has touched every corner of the nonprofit sector in some way. The heart of nonprofit work remains the same: It changes lives and improves the world.
That work requires nonprofits to remain focused. They must:
- Continue to focus and deliver on their missions, communicating their impact proudly.
- Invite donors to continue contributing to that impact and experience the joy of giving by continuing to ask.
- Acknowledge nonprofits have weathered uncertainty before and will persist yet again.
Nonprofits must invest unapologetically in their fundraising teams now more than ever. Philanthropy is essential to nonprofits’ ability to deliver on mission. As giving continues to grow even as it shifts, nonprofits need to build comfort and confidence across the organization that embraces the vital role fundraising plays in securing a resilient future.
Building enduring relationships with donors and funders your organization can count on will provide stability and certainty for your organization that is indispensable in accomplishing your mission and changing lives.
