Philanthropy This Week

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Good morning.

Possible changes in tax law, advances in artificial intelligence, and other factors could alter the way fundraisers do their jobs in 2025.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which has likely cost charities $16 billion a year in gifts since it was enacted in 2018, will expire in 2025 — but a new tax law will almost certainly take its place.

Nonprofits are hoping for legislation to create a charitable deduction for non-itemizers. Also on their wish list: payout requirements for donor-advised funds.

And artificial intelligence will continue to advance rapidly — but are fundraisers (and donors) ready? Many fundraisers have taken a peek at A.I., but will they keep up? And do donors want them to? One study found that 70 percent of donors earning $200,000 or more would “be discouraged from giving” to a nonprofit using A.I. in its appeals, reports Rasheeda Childress.

Rasheeda explores these changes and more in 5 Trends That Will Shape Fundraising in 2025, including strains on nonprofit finances and ongoing worries about the dwindling number of donors.

Other recent highlights:

• Two nonprofit leaders offer tips on how to pull off a nonprofit merger. Both their organizations focused on coaching for children’s sports, and both wanted to expand their footprint. A merger seemed like the fastest way to achieve their goals. Those leaders, Janet Carter and Jason Sacks, explain how they dealt with communications — within their organizations and with donors and other stakeholders — and how they merged not just their organizations but their cultures and their boards.
• Young progressive heirs to mining, oil, and other fortunes are defying their families’ approach to philanthropy — and sometimes even severing family ties. Some are connecting through nonprofits like Resource Generation and Solidaire to help them come to terms with their wealth, which may have come from industries like oil or weapons manufacturing, and direct their giving to nonprofits working on climate change or disarmament. Concerned about threats to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, some are planning to use all their stock market profits to support DEI groups.
• And, finally, in our tribute to former President Jimmy Carter, M.J. Prest reflects on his extraordinary contributions to the nonprofit world in four decades after his presidency, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. “He’s going to be held up as a model for what the ideal post-presidency looks like,” Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, told M.J. “Everyone else’s post-presidency is going to be defined by him.”

— Marilyn Dickey, Senior Editor, Copy

Public broadcasting stations around the country are preparing for an intense battle to preserve their federal funding as Trump ally Elon Musk targets them in his crusade to cut government spending. NPR and PBS funding has survived conservative opposition for decades, but leaders of NPR’s biggest member stations warned in a recent report that “it would be unwise to assume that events will play out as they have in the past,” given the free rein Trump is allowing Musk to rethink government functions. Conservatives say public broadcasting mocks their beliefs, while the system’s defenders say it is a crucial source for news and information, in rural communities especially. (New York Times)

Elon Musk donated $108 million worth of Tesla shares to multiple charities at the end of 2024, according to tax filings. The unnamed recipients have no plans to sell the 268,000 shares, the documents said. Musk, who Forbes estimates is worth $408.3 billion, made stock gifts worth billions in 2022 and 2021. Some of that went to his eponymous foundation, which counts the “development of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity” among its causes. (Reuters)

Many states that ban abortion have threadbare safety nets for families, and charities struggle to meet the need. In Tennessee, for example, Medicaid coverage has been precarious, with some unlawfully kicked out of a program that was not expanded as widely as envisioned under the Affordable Care Act. Facing their own challenges, nonprofits try to pick up the slack and connect clients to the limited government aid that is available. (Associated Press)

In addition to funding pressing needs, foundation money has been reshaping the economies of some of the country’s major cities. Local foundations are helping Pittsburgh become a center of artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology research, and, in Tulsa, have funded the country’s most successful effort to lure highly paid remote workers. Insulated from the pressures of voters and shareholders, they can be flexible and patient, although they end their support once they determine a project can stand on its own. (Governing)

In their quest to expand their audience while bringing in more revenue, museums are turning all the knobs, including raising or canceling admission fees and offering a wide range of amenities. Some institutions, such as the Dallas Museum of Art, that hoped to make up for free admissions in other visitor spending have been disappointed and are leaning more on donor support. Meanwhile, many museums are going beyond restaurants and gift shops to offer classes, event spaces, and performances in the hopes of becoming community gathering spaces. (Observer)

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Education: Through the 1954 Project initiative, CAFE Group awards $1 million unrestricted grants to leaders and their organizations advancing educational equity for Black students and communities in the United States. The program is designed for leaders with a proven track record of success in education that are ready to scale their impact. Applicants should demonstrate proximity, lived expertise, and a deep commitment to advancing equity for Black students and communities most impacted by systemic inequities in education. Eligibility forms due February 23.

Houses of Worship: The National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers financial and technical support to community-serving historic houses of worship across the United States. Matching grants ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 are available for significant capital projects addressing urgent repair needs, improving accessibility, or making vacant or underused space usable for community outreach. Applications accepted from January 10 to March 3.