2025 in focus: Top trends for mission-driven organisations
As leaders of mission-driven organisations look ahead to the renewed energy and fresh challenges of 2025, they anticipate a year of rapid change and consolidating trends. Stateside, a new U.S. administration in the White House will likely reconfigure the regulatory landscape, while changes in giving may require boards to adapt their messaging and brand-building.
Long-standing pressures are taking new forms. The share of Americans who donate to nonprofits, for instance, has dropped steadily from 82% in 1983 to 67.2% last year, with last year’s unexpected uptick driven by corporate giving instead. While donations have risen in the Asia-Pacific region — explosively in mainland China, and steadily in Hong Kong, India and elsewhere — spending tends to focus on local organisations, creating challenges for the majority of mission-driven institutions that are headquartered in Europe or North America.
Every year, we talk to leaders about their top priorities over the next twelve months. Last year, responses ran the gamut from financial performance to strategy and leadership. For 2025, focus has shifted to growth, communication, IT security and new ways to leverage data.
Policy priorities for new administrations
In the UK, Keir Starmer’s Labour government is already making significant changes to funding and strategy. France is seeking stability after a no-confidence vote in early December. In the United States, the Trump 2.0 administration is set to alter federal policymaking and agency guidance. These and other governmental changes are forcing leaders of charities and nonprofits to re-assess priorities and re-think elements of their strategies for growth and impact.
For organisations that rely heavily on grants, meanwhile, there may be significant new opportunities. GrantWatch, one of the most trusted sources on nonprofit funding, suggests that likely 2025 federal priorities include the following:
- Reduced compliance burdens and streamlined application processes
- Large shifts in funding initiatives for energy and the environment
- Increased support for faith-based institutions
- Expanded self-sufficiency programs, workforce development and job training
- New incentives for small businesses
- Great funding for veterans’ services
From higher education to community financial institutions and nonprofit healthcare providers, these new priorities will demand strategic responses from board members, decisions motivated by clear data, and a strong team that’s able to work well together.
Growing the team
Last year, we observed that “nonprofits have struggled to stay fully staffed post-2020,” and that both recruiting employees and maintaining volunteer networks were major focus areas. With uncertainty around funding and policy — and changing donor expectations — many organisations are also reporting increased interest in recruiting new leadership talent.
“Now is the perfect time to assess and future-proof your nonprofit leadership team,” advises executive search firm The Batten Group. Their analysis points out that, “A resilient, innovative and adaptable leadership core is key to driving impactful missions and overcoming obstacles ahead.”
Expanded teams create opportunities for growth across the organisation: extra hands and brainpower can boost fundraising and advocacy, support new projects and serve as a sounding board for tricky issues and decisions.
Data-driven decision-making
Of course, even a brilliant team needs the right material to work with. Speaking to Forbes, Michael Bellavio of HelpGood said,
“To refresh your nonprofit’s marketing, start with a deep dive into your data. Analyse metrics, look at the short- and long-term trends, develop insights and align your team on any creative, strategic or tactical changes for the new year. A data-driven strategy will ensure your nonprofit’s communications stay fresh and effective.”
We agree — but we also know that reliable, nuanced data is itself a major accomplishment and a key area of focus for many organisations. A large UK survey points to the reasons why, with nonprofit leaders saying they spent 75% of their time putting out fires and dealing with day-to-day concerns rather than engaging with the strategic bigger picture.
Integrated data systems can change that, allowing your board to adopt a birds’ eye view on key issues and ensuring that decision-makers are operating from the same starting point.
Another key benefit of data-driven decision making is that it allows for more targeted outreach to donors, partners and other outside stakeholders. Ramik Williams of the Kings Against Violence Initiative notes, “Messages get stale, so it’s crucial to revisit the analytics of your target audiences and craft revised messages, which can be fun and informative.”
Improving communication and engagement
The need to be fun and informative — and more generally, to prompt engagement — came through in responses to our survey. “Communication to bring togetherness,” one participant wrote; for another, top-of mind was the fact that “we need an engaged board.”
It’s a topic we’ve explored throughout 2024, with guidance that remains relevant for 2025:
- Mixing up the meeting structure with a “flipped agenda,” which enables richer discussions, accommodates different learning styles, and improves contributions from board members who can’t attend.
- Implementing best practices like active listening, two-way communication and a culture of trust.
- Invigorating board meetings with outside speakers, board education and regular reminders of the mission.
- Making the administrative side of board work easier by auditing processes, strengthening onboarding and storing documents in a single place.
IT security and new uses for AI
To nobody’s surprise, AI remains a major driver of change at mission-driven organisations of all kinds. It’s not without risks, though, and can be tricky to use well: tech firm Twilio’s State of Nonprofit Digital Engagement reports that 83% of nonprofits believe they are transparent about AI use…but only 38% of users agree.
There have already been several high-profile data leaks and privacy incidents involving chatbots and other AI tools at major nonprofits, and the technology remains relatively high-risk.
Still, more than 90% of Twilio’s respondents are using AI in one form or another — a number they expect to stay high in 2025 — with use cases vary widely by sector.
- In healthcare, the most common use is to speed up patient response times and boost patient satisfaction, a goal that some 50% of nonprofit respondents felt they were achieving.
- For educational institutions, AI communication platforms support more positive relationships with students and — again — faster response times to student concerns.
- Community- and aid-focused nonprofits also tended to lean on AI tools mostly for communication with recipients of their services, although 42% also said that AI helped them make more data-based decisions.
Our survey responses point toward strong interest in cybersecurity and IT systems to handle risk — and a corresponding focus on reputation management in the face of rising stakeholder activism and more frequent employment-related lawsuits.
Measuring outcomes to support growth
“There has been increased emphasis on ‘impact giving’ by individuals and foundations over the past few years,” writes accounting firm Wegner CPAs, which works with nonprofits and foundations. Impact giving shifts focus toward measurable outcomes and long-term change. Wegner writes, “nonprofits with all types of missions can benefit from educating donors on the impact donor dollars have on the nonprofit itself and the community at large.”
Global technology leader Netsuite, in their 2025 look-ahead, notes that, “One-quarter of nonprofits do not have a system in place to measure program impact, making it difficult for them to evaluate their fundraising efforts and determine the true effectiveness of their initiatives.”
Our two-part tip for the new year:
- Bring it all together, and
- Bring it online.
Fragmented data stored in disparate systems hinders decision-making, hampers risk monitoring and pushes you toward reactive rather than strategic decision-making — liabilities nonprofits can ill afford in the current unpredictable environment. The software underlying your governance infrastructure can, and should, help mitigate these problems by centralising secure document storage and providing smooth, convenient tools for review and discussion by the board.
Find your path forward this year with BoardEffect
Drawing on years of research and community feedback, BoardEffect is designed to streamline and strengthen communications, simplify onboarding and tighten cybersecurity for sensitive board information.
It offers invaluable efficiencies, time-savings and expands what your board is capable of in the limited time they have, supporting productive collaboration and proactive strategies as you look ahead to a new year.
Reach out here to schedule a BoardEffect demo.
