Out of Crisis, Collective Power: What 2025 Taught Us—and Where We Go Next
A Letter from English Hudson’s President & CEO
As we close out 2025 – a year defined by volatility, retreat, and relentless noise – we’re reflecting on what it really took to sustain mission-driven work. If 2024 was the dress rehearsal, 2025 was the stress test. It made clear: strength without strategy isn’t enough, and strategy without discipline doesn’t hold.
But even under pressure, something powerful came into focus: the strength of collective action. Again and again, it was community–organized, resilient, and clear-eyed collaboration that moved the work forward. What carried us wasn’t heroic effort. It was coordination, trust, and shared commitment.
2025 taught us what it takes to hold the line—and where we go from here in 2026.
What We Learned in 2025
1. 2025 Demanded Unprecedented Strategic Clarity
One of the clearest lessons from this year was that being strong wasn’t enough; we had to be intentional and strategically selective. Organizations that maintained momentum were the ones that made deliberate, strategic decisions—concentrating their efforts on the work where they were strongest instead of trying to do everything and meeting urgency with panic.
2. Gratitude and Authentic Stewardship Became More Paramount Than Ever
Donor retention declined across the sector as people navigated the emotional fatigue, political uncertainty, and financial pressures of this year. Although securing and sustaining donor attention became more challenging, one approach consistently cut through: steady, transparent, and genuine communication. Organizations that centered trust over transaction—pulling supporters close through authentic touchpoints rather than constant asks—saw deeper, more sustained generosity.
3. Impact Data Became the Sector’s Quiet Divider
2025 also underscored a widening gap: organizations with strong measurement and evaluation infrastructure excelled, while those without it struggled. Impact data has evolved from a compliance requirement to a credibility marker, a strategic asset, and an operational guide for decision-making.
4. Futurism Became Essential, Not Optional
The organizations that fared best this year were those that employed strategic foresight. Leaders who anticipated shifts—such as the racial justice funding cliff—were better positioned to adapt, while those who waited to react were caught off guard. Futurism in our sector isn’t speculative guesswork; it is an essential practice of informed scenario planning grounded in data and emerging patterns.
5. Through It All, There Was Still So Much Good Work
It’s important to hold space for both truths: this year was difficult, and this year was inspiring, because hope did not retreat. Instead, it adapted. Across the sector, people identified new ways to work together, solve problems, and engage with their communities. Despite the pressures, innovation and collaboration often deepened precisely because of the intensity of political and socioeconomic pressures—and when collaboration expands, so does impact.
What to Expect in 2026, and How to Meet the Moment
As we look ahead, we cannot assume the forces that shaped 2025 will dissipate, nor can we afford to be reactive. Navigating 2026 will require a realistic, unidealized understanding of how the funding landscape and broader nonprofit ecosystem are evolving. Here’s what we should anticipate:
1. The Funding Landscape Will Shift—Again
DEI as a dominant funder priority will not return in the same form, regardless of political outcomes.
Funders will continue to consolidate their portfolios, resulting in fewer grants overall, but larger average award sizes.
The sector is contracting, not expanding. More nonprofits will merge, sunset, or be absorbed, while fewer new organizations will form.
Federal dollars may increase in select areas, but only organizations with sufficient operational infrastructure to manage large, complex grants will be positioned to benefit.
Everyday donors will play an increasingly central role due to tax code changes that make their giving more advantageous.
Marketing and storytelling will matter more than ever. If everyday donors are the backbone, message clarity is the spine.
2. The Measurement Divide Will Widen
Organizations with robust impact data will continue to differentiate themselves, and measurement capacity will increasingly influence funding, partnerships, and strategic decisions.
3. Strategic Foresight Will Be a Leadership Requirement
In 2026, leaders must be students of their environment, not just managers of operations. Scenario planning, landscape scanning, disciplined adaptation, and the ability to pivot quickly in response to emerging conditions will define organizational resilience.
These anticipations are not a call for fear—they’re a call for preparation.
What Mission-Driven Leaders Must Do in 2026
Based on everything we’ve seen—and everything we know is coming—here are the imperatives for the year to come:
Right-Size Your Strategy. Align with what you do best, and unapologetically discontinue what is not working.
Prepare to Absorb Larger Opportunities. Strengthen infrastructure, deepen compliance readiness, and ensure your organization can handle larger grants with heavier oversight.
Invest in Measurement and Evaluation. Prioritize impact data aggregation—not just for reporting, but to inform decision-making, enhance credibility, and support long-term sustainability.
Rebuild the Everyday Donor Base. Cultivate consistent, trust-centered engagement to grow the broad foundation of support your mission requires.
Elevate Marketing, Storytelling, and Brand. Communicate your value with clarity and discipline so that stakeholders understand—and choose to support—your work quickly.
Lead with Steadiness, Not Panic. Maintain focused leadership that stays anchored to the long game.
Looking Ahead with Resolve and Hope
We won’t pretend the year ahead will be easy. But we also refuse to diminish our collective capability to meet what comes. Mission-driven organizations have always done the hard things: hold nuance, navigate uncertainty, and choose courage. And as we steel ourselves to carry our missions forward, we must remember that 2026 will reward preparedness, clarity, and conviction. It will ask us to be disciplined, imaginative, and unafraid to evolve. And above all, it will remind us of a truth that has carried us through every era of change: when purpose is paired with strategy, communities don’t just survive—they transform.
Thank you for the work you’ve done in 2025. Thank you for the work you’re preparing to do in 2026. And thank you for choosing, every day, to build something better.
With gratitude and resolve,
Lynn and Marlissa
President and CEO, English Hudson