Embracing rapid change: Trends shaping the nonprofit sector in 2025

Every year, the FutureGood team and I set aside time to predict the trends that will shake up foundations and nonprofits in the coming year. This process isn’t magic—it’s built on hours of research and conversations with hundreds of sector leaders, with an eye on sector shifts. Here are three of my top predictions for 2025: 

Embracing the digital revolution 

AI is no longer just about quirky chatbots or ads featuring characters with too many fingers, like those that have circulated online as of late. In 2025, nonprofits will fully embrace AI technology, leveraging it to streamline operations, strengthen programming, analyzing complex data, and personalizing donor engagement. This isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about amplifying impact. 

Take, for example, Joy Education Foundation, which has created a tool that acts as an AI-enabled friend. After a child reads to the AI friend for just a few minutes, the tool can offer rapid diagnosis that spots areas in need of further growth. It then provides teachers and parents with a customized learning plan, focused on ensuring students get the appropriate support for their needs. 

In another example, the American Cancer Society used AI to examine GoFundMe campaigns and found that over one-third of fundraising stories explicitly described financial hardships caused by medical issues. This finding supports health charities’ fundraising efforts and informs policy advocacy for improved health care coverage—insights that would have taken exponentially longer to gather without AI. 

According to the Nonprofit Technology Network’s 2024 Nonprofit Digital Investments Report, over 60% of nonprofits are now using AI tools in some capacity, with many outpacing their for-profit counterparts in creativity and adoption. As this trend accelerates, the sector will see an influx of consultants—tech-savvy “fairy godparents”—helping nonprofits deploy AI ethically and effectively. This shift means teams can spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time tackling the world’s most urgent challenges. 

RIP to the hubris of a 5-year plan 

Let’s be honest: the traditional five-year strategic plan has officially joined the ranks of fax machines and Rolodexes. In today’s volatile world, rigid plans built on the assumption that nothing significant will change are obsolete. Instead, organizations are adopting flexible long-term visions—30- to 50-year goals, paired with quarterly adjustments to stay on track. 

One organization leading the charge is the Missouri Foundation for Health, which is using strategic visioning to develop a clear picture of their next 30 years of impact. They understand the state’s health inequities and the need to address those gaps didn’t come about in a few short years. So their mission to help Missourians from all backgrounds have a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest lives can’t be achieved in a few short years, either. They need a long-term approach to tackle the underlying causes and ongoing challenges of health inequity. 

The nonprofit sector’s embrace of these flexible models mirrors broader trends in business and philanthropy. Organizations like BetterUp Labs have been advocating for strategic foresight over traditional planning for years. As we move toward 2025, our message is simple: Think big, stay flexible, and make adjustments regularly. 

The power of ‘Future Thinking’ in a time of rapid change 

We are living in a time of rapid change, a time of racial reckoning, school shootings, political division, and accelerating climate change.  

Future Thinking—or long-term visioning—allows leaders to anticipate trends, adapt to change, and proactively shape outcomes. In this age of exponential transformation, Future Thinking is not just a nice-to-have skill anymore; it’s mandatory. It’s the difference between being constantly in reaction mode and confidently thriving. 

One exciting example of this in action is the community-driven effort Camdentown, a people-based placemaking strategy where Black joy, culture, excellence, and ownership come together to create vibrant Black futures in the North Minneapolis neighborhood. In 2021, community members came out during a National Night Out celebration and were asked to envision their ideal future for their community. Millions of dollars have been invested in that small neighborhood to bring that community vision of the future to life. 

Data from the for-profit sector underscores the value of Future Thinking’s approach to long-term visioning. According to BCG’s January 2025 client study on the effects of strategic foresight, their guidance helped a client outperform market peers by 20% from 2014 to 2024. This degree of success means that the market is now shaped by the successful company, not the other way around. Future Thinking isn’t just about staying ahead of the curve—it’s about changing the curve entirely. 

Forecasting the future 

By leveraging technology, adopting flexible strategies, and embracing long-term visioning, nonprofits and foundations can not only weather the storms of change but thrive in the face of uncertainty and rapid change. The social sector doesn’t exist to maintain the status quo. We’re here to alter the trajectory of the future, to help create a world where equity, justice, and opportunity are more than aspirations.