2025 Nonprofit Outlook: Winter Kinne

What opportunities and challenges lie ahead for the nonprofit sector?
According to a survey by Independent Sector in 2024, trust in nonprofits rebounded for the first time in four years. That’s an opportunity that the nonprofit sector needs to take hold of. Something we have to watch for is the tax bill that’s likely going to come in 2025. New budget priorities for a new administration and a different Congress are likely going to affect the nonprofit landscape. Tax policy certainly affects charitable deductions and how donors give. There is also the question of how much government funding there might be available.

National data from Giving USA cites an almost 2% increase in charitable giving from 2023, but local anecdotal data indicates a drop. In your experience, what was the state of giving this year?
The reason you see that discrepancy is because in 2017 when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed, it increased the standard deduction. Studies and surveys have to rely on tax data to know the state of charitable giving, but now those are no longer catching what I would call the “smaller donors” of $250, $500, even $1,000. It makes it really hard to say if giving is up, down, flat or sideways because you can’t point to the tax returns anymore.

How have nonprofits successfully made the case for charitable giving when day-to-day life can feel so expensive with inflation and rising living costs?
What makes folks successful is simple, easy-to-follow communication and compelling stories. We are all inundated with information in bite-sized ways, and a nonprofit is just one more entity that is trying to cut through the noise. Nonprofits have to communicate clearly and in a way that a donor has a meaningful connection to that group. It can’t feel trite or overdone.

In what ways have nonprofits attracted and retained talent in a competitive labor market?
Nonprofits are having to adjust, increase salaries and try to figure out benefits. They are having those conversations at the board level, but I don’t think everyone has that figured out quite yet. Boards of directors are really starting to understand that situation for nonprofits because it’s also hitting their own industries. No industry is without workforce and staffing challenges. There are things like flexibility that nonprofits might be able to offer more than their for-profit counterparts, which is helpful. The other thing that plays into this is succession planning. As baby boomers are retiring, many of whom have run nonprofits for years, there is a leadership shift. Certainly I have just experienced that here at Community Foundation.

You’ve previously reported that Community Foundation is on track to manage $1 billion in assets. What informs such an optimistic outlook?
Our history and growth rate over the last 10 years, especially the past five. Also, much of the assets under management here are tied to investment markets, which have been very kind over the last few years. But also, I firmly believe that nobody has to give money away. It’s not required; it’s not like taxes. You don’t have to care about your neighbors or community, but what is always so heartening to me is that so many people do. That is the positivity for me. We have local challenges and opportunities, but we are as a region full of people who genuinely want to make this corner of the world a better place.