December Fundraising Developments

Well before New Year’s Day last January 1st, there were growing concerns in the charitable community about a troubling downward trend in individual charitable giving year over year. While the total amount raised in this category had recently gone up, there were fewer individual donors.

On top of those worries came the actions of the Trump administration beginning on Inauguration Day. “Nonprofits earn more than 80% of their revenue via fees for services (49%) and government grants and contracts (32%).  See About the Nonprofit Sector (June 2025) National Council of Nonprofits. Organizations “nationwide began receiving notices of federal government funding cancellations and freezes.” Many “were forced to suspend programs and lay off staff.” See How Government Funding Disruptions Affected Nonprofits in Early 2025 (October 7, 2025) Laura Tomasko et al, The Urban Institute.

“At the same time, federal agencies initiated reductions in force and offered buyouts to career staff, including program officers overseeing nonprofit grants and other awards.” There have been some litigation successes to reverse the government moves; however, the spigot from the U.S. Treasury has never before been shut off so abruptly and dramatically. And when federal funds are curtailed, the money flow to the states and local governments (that, in turn, award grants and contracts) is also interrupted.

It was apparent by early February of this year that the overall funding landscape was in shambles. By then, many 501(c)(3)s had likely ripped up their carefully developed fundraising plans for the year. The turmoil has continued all year long, with multiple added stresses on the overall economy.

December Frenzy

December, traditionally, has been the most critical fundraising period for charitable organizations – in good years and bad.

“The end-of-year giving season is a huge deal for the nonprofit sector, driving billions of dollars in the span of a month, with a vast amount of that giving coming in the final few days of December alone!”

Generally, over 40% of annual revenue is raised during this otherwise stressful and hurried year-end period. Under “normal” circumstances, the pressure is off-the-charts for a successful and problem-free fundraising finale. Of course, in 2025, the challenges have been extraordinary.

For over a decade, the December fundraising frenzy has been launched through the popular national event called “Giving Tuesday.”

We had already reported in Restricted Gifts: A Primer (December 4, 2025) FPLG Blog, about the much-needed success of the Giving Tuesday campaign this year.

Despite the “… upheaval, uncertainty, and loss in communities and across sectors,” the massive push on December 2, 2025, has met and exceeded expectations, according to top officials. “The GivingTuesday Data Commons estimates that 38.1 million people participated in Giving Tuesday 2025 and $4.0 billion was donated in the US alone.” See Generosity Sweeps the Globe: Participation and Donations Rise on Another Record-Breaking GivingTuesday (December 3, 2025) givingtuesday.org/blog.

There will be data out just after New Year’s Day 2026 on the results of the Holiday Season fundraising push that continues up to the eleventh hour.  We’ll report that news later.

Bipartisan Philanthropy Caucus

Also on December 2nd, Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and Danny Davis (D-IL) launched the bipartisan Congressional Philanthropy Caucus for policymakers to support and advance the nonprofit sector.  “On this Giving Tuesday,” wrote Congressman Moore in a press release, “I am excited to… emphasize the immeasurable impacts local nonprofits and philanthropic organizations have on communities across the country.”

“Philanthropy and charitable giving represent the best of American generosity,” Congressman Davis was also quoted there. “I know the critical role that charitable foundations and nonprofits play in helping people and communities as assistance-providers, economic engines, and employers.”

“The caucus will serve as a forum to highlight and enhance the impact that the nonprofit sector and philanthropic giving have on local communities, and to promote legislation to strengthen the sector.” See Congress Launches Bipartisan Philanthropy Caucus (December 15, 2025) Nonprofit Champion, National Council of Nonprofits. 

“The nonprofit sector is America’s backbone, delivering essential services to millions of people and strengthening neighborhoods across the nation in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike,” explained Diane Yentel, NCN’s President and CEO. “The National Council of Nonprofits looks forward to working with Reps. Moore and Davis to advance bipartisan legislation to further strengthen the nonprofit sector.”

“Use NCN’s email template to ask your Representative to join the caucus.” It includes words of encouragement like: “Joining the Congressional Philanthropy Caucus would demonstrate your commitment to the nonprofits that keep our communities strong and ensure they have a voice at the table.”

Level Up Pledge

“It’s Time To Level Up. Will You? Join fellow grantmakers who are leading with action, moving money where it matters most, and sharing their receipts.”

That’s the lead at a new website for an important initiative launched in mid-December. Crafted by a coalition of 10 philanthropy organizations and housed at Change Philanthropy (a group that promotes social justice), the just-announced Level Up pledge, “calls for funders to increase their grant making by 20 percent, or to pay out at least 8 percent of assets for at least two years.”

The current tax laws for private foundations mandate a 5% annual payout. However, that figure is not a ceiling: It is a floor. Many foundations do not reach that level in any event. In 2024, “just over half of endowed foundations met or exceeded that mark, according to a survey of 765 grant makers conducted by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. And only 12 percent paid out more than 7 percent annually.”

“More than 30 progressive philanthropies” have “pledged to increase their grant-making budgets for two straight years in an effort to buttress struggling nonprofits that have been contending with federal funding losses since the start of the Trump administration. It could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for nonprofits.” See Will Larger Payouts Be the New Norm? This Pledge Offers a Test (December 12, 2025) Alex Daniels, The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Directing the Level Up Pledge campaign for Change Philanthropy is Jodeen Olguín-Tayler. It is “an attempt to sharply alter grant-making norms,” she emphasized.

Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, one of the groups that developed the pledge at the Unity Summit of progressive philanthropy groups held in November, explained: “It is not a pie-in-the-sky goal. We wanted the percentage to be something meaningful and challenging but also really something that any funder could in fact achieve if they set their mind to it.”

“The pledge asks signatories to devote the extra grant dollars to organizations that represent people who have historically been excluded from major philanthropic funding, including groups that support Black, Asian, and Indigenous people, people with disabilities, people who are LGBTQ, and immigrants.”

A condition of the Pledge is that grant makers submit to the group copies of their IRS tax filings in each of the first two years to show they have complied with the commitment.

“The 33 signers of the pledge include national grant makers, such as the Freedom Together and MacArthur foundations, collaborative funds including Borealis Philanthropy and Solidaire, and family foundations including the Butler Family Fund.”

Conclusion

Also in December, there were interesting headlines about the recent philanthropy track records for two of the world’s most high-profile billionaires. See Elon Musk’s Foundation Grows to $14 Billion, but Gives Little to Outsiders (December 2, 2025) Theodore Schleifer and David A. Fahrenthold, The New York Times [“The philanthropy has become one of America’s biggest, but most of its giving went to charities closely tied to the world’s richest man.”]

Contrasting brilliantly against the secretive and miserly Musk is author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. See Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave $7.1 billion to nonprofits in 2025, a major increase (December 9, 2025) Associated Press. [This is a significant jump from her $2.6 billion in 2024 and $2.1 billion in 2023. “The gifts this year bring her total giving since 2019 to $26.3 billion.”]

Ms. Scott observed: “This dollar total will likely be reported in the news, but any dollar amount is a vanishingly tiny fraction of the personal expressions of care being shared into communities this year.” The AP article author added: She “seemed to urge people toward action, writing, “There are many ways to influence how we move through the world, and where we land.”

Indeed, the title of her must-read essay on her website, Yield Giving, is from a Hopi Tribe prophecy: “We are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For.”

– Linda J. Rosenthal, J.D., FPLG Information & Research Director