Key Trends in Philanthropy Reshaping 2025

A Changing Landscape for Giving

The year 2025 is bringing change at all levels, and the philanthropic sector is no exception. The Community Foundation is not in the business of making predictions, but we are prepared to look at data and larger societal shifts to explore how the charitable landscape is evolving. Below are seven trends we expect to shape how nonprofits and donors work together to make an impact this year and beyond. 

1) Donors Look for Timely Data to Back Decisions

The facts: Data is everywhere, AI is integrated into everyday technologies, and younger generations are getting more involved in charitable giving and fundraising. In today’s information-rich world, donors still value transparency, but now expect even more tangible and timely evidence that their gifts are addressing inequalities and complex challenges. There is an increasing expectation for nonprofits to communicate both the information they use to make decisions and the data that shows their results, all while maintaining authentic relationships with the people their organization serves. 

Our work: A great example of the interplay between narrative and data can be found at ACT Rochester, an initiative of the Community Foundation. Take a bite of some data-driven brain food by reading this post on policy change and poverty measures. 

The future: We anticipate nonprofit communications will increasingly involve data and vivid storytelling featuring people, issues, and solutions, and will span multiple media, particularly video. People who give to charity will continue looking for control in how they get information, including through social media, blogs, and e-mail subscriptions.   

2) The Largest Generational Wealth Transfer Continues

The facts: The “Great Wealth Transfer” is the movement of trillions of dollars, projected to occur over the next two decades, from older adults born mostly in the 1930s and 1940s to their adult children and grandchildren. This transfer will take many forms, including giving while living, planned giving, and inheritance. According to a 2024 Bank of America Private Bank Study, 53% of men and 44% of women agree that they’ll support the same causes as previous generations.  

Our work: The John W Burandt Scholarship Fund was recently set up at the Foundation by a family member who decided to use a bequest to honor her relative’s legacy. Mr. Burandt served as a firefighter for thirty years. The fund in his name will give scholarships to firefighter families — year after year. 

The future: We expect to see new faces in philanthropy and changes in giving patterns among longtime philanthropists as the wealth transfer continues. In some instances, the philanthropy of the future will shake up the status quo. In others, descendants will look to the past for their charitable inspiration. In 2025, both professional advisors and their clients will have their eyes on tax code changes. 

3) Collective Giving Shifts Narratives and Resources

The facts: “Collective giving” is when people pool their dollars, knowledge, and networks to invest together in their community. According to an analysis by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy, between 2017 and 2023, collective giving groups in the U.S. mobilized around 370,000 people to donate more than $3.1 billion collectively — a big jump since 2000. The majority of these philanthropists are giving a few hundred or a few thousand dollars to their group per year, showing that smaller gifts can add up when focused on a particular cause or community.   

Our work: In addition to the Community Foundation’s four giving circles — which awarded more than $230,000 in community grants in 2024 — individuals can give through endowed broad field of interest funds like the NextGen Young Professional’s Legacy Fund, the Developmental Disabilities Legacy Fund, and the Indigenous Communities Fund. These funds welcome gifts of all sizes to address critical needs in specific areas, today and tomorrow. 

The future: Collective giving is positioned to play an increasingly vital role in philanthropy, both locally and on a national level. The deep engagement and direct community impact of collective giving make it a powerful force — one we expect to keep growing in the coming year and beyond. 

4) Funders and Nonprofits Deepen Collaboration

The facts: Since the 2000s, concepts like “trust-based philanthropy” have encouraged funders to make grant dollars more flexible and reporting requirements less stringent. The goal is a more collaborative relationship between funders and grantees that supports learning together and building long-term partnerships.  

Our work: We work to manage grants in ways that balance flexibility and measurable outcomes to empower nonprofits, maximize impact, and use each grant as an opportunity to learn. The Foundation’s new Arts Education grant cycle was designed based on insight from previous grantmaking, national research, and input from grantees. In a focus group with local nonprofits, a key takeaway was the pressing need for flexible dollars. In response, we put out a call for applications that would expand PreK-12 arts program access or quality, but invited nonprofits to tell us how the grant would be spent. This resulted in requests for program materials, training for staff, transportation and food assistance for students. Foundation staff will be a resource to each grantee, helping measure the impact of this approach after its first year. 

The future: We expect to see grantmakers refining their approach to evaluation in order to find a “sweet spot” that balances grantees expertise with the duty to steward the community’s dollars wisely. 

5) A Growing Interest in Environmental Philanthropy

The facts: Climate change is increasingly intersecting with health, equity, and economic stability, making it a priority for many donors. At a national level, about two-thirds of Americans say the issue of global warming is important to them, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Within our own community of philanthropists, 28% of respondents said that the environment is one of their top giving areas.  

Our work: In the last two years, the Foundation awarded over $430,000 in competitive grants focused on environmental justice and sustainability while donor-directed grants to environmental causes grew to total over $9 million. Stories like this one show how environmentally-minded philanthropists are finding local opportunities for action.

The future: Funds that support environmental causes are positioned to grow as climate-related impacts saturate the news and more individuals look for ways to invest in local solutions. 

6) Rapid-Response Philanthropy Emerges to Meet the Moment

The facts: The rise of crises, from natural disasters to pandemics, has accelerated the need for funding that can be deployed quickly and effectively. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the crucial nature of flexible gifts that can be mobilized rapidly to meet emerging needs. 

Our work: In January, a devastating fire tore through the village of Ovid in Seneca County, destroying five businesses — including the town’s only grocery store — and displacing numerous residents from their homes. As part of the Foundation’s response to this tragedy, we invited fundholders to contribute to our Emergency Relief Fund, enabling us to swiftly direct resources toward relief and recovery efforts in Ovid. Community Foundation fundholders raised more than $18,000 in just a few short weeks. 

The future: We expect to see giving at every level in response to the coming year’s unexpected crises, through digital crowdfunding platforms, mutual aid, and established flexible funds stewarded by community foundations across the country.  

7) Responding to Change by Leaning Local

The facts: Trust in institutions continues at a historic low, according to Gallup polls, which have been measuring confidence in things like newspapers, big business, and Congress since 1993. Americans are also less likely than people abroad to feel close to others in their country and community, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey (Pew Research Center). With uncertainty over who to turn to for safety, health, and civil guidance coalescing with the ongoing effects of pandemic-era disconnection, people are turning their attention to local matters and local connections. 

Our work: The Neighbors in Action program, which offers small grants and support to neighborhood associations, block clubs, and community organizations within the City of Rochester, seeks to tap into the wisdom of residents to know what their neighborhoods need. These small grants will support projects like clean-ups, public art, events, and youth engagement — opportunities not just to improve life in the neighborhood, but to form and deepen connections between neighbors. 

The future: We expect people will be looking for ways to come together in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and in the towns and cities they call home. As the peak of the pandemic recedes farther in our collective memory, we see an opportunity for nonprofits and community groups to lean in to in-person engagements to meet cravings for connection and positivity. 

Conclusion: Shaping the Future by Coming Together

Change is the only constant. Economic forces, national politics, and society-level shifts will play powerful roles in the year to come, but so will caring individuals, engaged neighbors, and philanthropists who give at all levels.  

To learn more about the Foundation’s mission and to get involved in shaping our community’s future, contact Mary Hartstein, director of donor engagement and impact, at mhartstein@racf.org.