2026年慈善事业的11个趋势 11 Trends in Philanthropy for 2026

TENTHEDITION

11Trendsin

Philanthropy

for2026

DorothyA.JohnsonCenterforPhilanthropy

TheDorothyA.JohnsonCenterforPhilanthropyatGrandValleyStateUniversitywas

establishedin1992withsupportfromtheW.K.KelloggFoundation.Ourmissionisto

beagloballeaderinhelpingindividualsandorganizationsunderstand,strengthen,andadvancephilanthropy,resultinginasmart,adaptivesectorthathelpscreatestrong,

inclusivecommunities.

Weputresearchtoworkwithandforprofessionalsacrossthecountryandtheworld.

Throughprofessionaleducationoferings;research,evaluation,andstrategicservices;andboldthinkingtoadvancethefield,wesupportaphilanthropicecosystemdefinedbyefectivephilanthropy,strongnonprofits,andinformedcommunitychange.

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Copyright©2026DorothyA.JohnsonCenterforPhilanthropyatGrandValleyStateUniversity.Allrightsreserved.To

connectwiththeDorothyA.JohnsonCenterforPhilanthropy,email

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orcall(616)331-7585.

Tolearnmoreaboutthisreport,contactToryMartin,JohnsonCenterdirectorofengagementandknowledgebuilding,at(616)331-9039oremail

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Contents

Introduction

BeyondGoodIntentions,NonprofitsMustShowGoodWork

toBuildTrust

WeighingthePowerofAIAgainstItsImpact

PublicandNonprofitMediaareFacingExistentialThreats

WheretheGovernmentStepsBack,BusinessandPhilanthropy

CanStepForwardTogether

InnovationandSurvival:TheCharitableSectorisLookingfor

NewWaystoWork

Community-LedMovementsareDrivingClimateAction

PartnersNoMore?GovernmentandPhilanthropyNavigatea

FracturedRelationship

WeNeedDataandWeNeedContext.BothAreatRisk

EmployeeWell-BeingatRiskDuringTimesofHyperDisruption

DonorsFaceNewDangersAmidIncreasingPoliticalViolence

andAttacksonCharitableFoundations

TheEvolvingLandscapeofPhilanthropy:CollectivePractices,

DigitalTools,andtheSearchforConnection

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11TRENDS

INPHILANTHROPYFOR2026

LookingBacktoLookAhead:ADecadeofTrendsinPhilanthropy

T

hisyearmarksamilestonefortheDorothyA.JohnsonCenterforPhilanthropy

(JohnsonCenter)atGrandValleyStateUniversity:thetentheditionofour11TrendsinPhilanthropyreport.Whatbeganin2017asamodestsupplementtoourannualreport

hasgrownintoawidelyreadanddiscussedpublication,reachingmorethan100,000readerseachyear.

Eachyear’sreportisreallyacompilationof11separatearticles,eachindividuallyresearched,written,andreviewedbyteamsofauthorsfromtheJohnsonCenter.Typically,thesearticlesexplorenewshiftsorevolvingmovementsacrossthefieldofphilanthropy.

Forthistenthedition,however,wehavetakenadiferentapproach.Ratherthanidentifyingawhollynewsetofemergingtrends,wehaveturnedourattentionbackwardtoreflectonthethemesthathaveshapedoursectoroverthepasttenyears,andtonamebothenduringshiftsandnewdevelopments.

Thisreflectivelensisnotjustanodtoouranniversary.Itisalsoanacknowledgmentofthe

momentwefindourselvesin—amomentofhyperdisruption,thatcombinesbothgreatanxietyaboutwhereweareheadedandgreatpossibilityforwhatcouldcomenext.Ourfuturefeelsmoreuncertainthanever,buttheopportunitytocreateandscalelife-changinginnovationsforour

communitiesfeelspresent,aswell.

Oneofthebiggestchallengesphilanthropyfacesasitseekstoplanforandbuildthatfutureisthatourday-to-daylandscapeisshiftingsorapidlyandinsomanydirections.Asexecutiveorders,legalcontests,andlegislativedebatesplayout,wedonothaveaclearpictureofhowmuchfederalfundinghasbeenrescindedorwithheldfromnonprofitsandcommunities.Wedonotknowhowmanynonprofitshaveclosedorwillclosetheirdoors,howmanystafhavelosttheirjobs,orhowmanycommunitieshavelostaccesstocriticalservices.Wedonotknowhowmanydonorshavepausedorlimitedtheirgivingoutofeconomicanxiety,orhowmanyfoundationshaveshiftedstrategiesinresponsetothemoment.Thedataareincomplete,thetimelinesareunclear,andtherealityonthegroundkeepschanging.

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Inthisenvironment,ourbestpathforwardisnottopredictorassert,buttoreflect.To

remember,asShakespeareremindsus,that“what,spastisprologue”—nomatterhowdiferenttheworldmaylooktoday,wearestillcarryingwithuseverythingthatcamebefore.

So,asafield,weencourageyoutolookbackwithusatwhatwehavelearnedinordertocarry

thoselessonsforward.Toaskbetterquestions.Tocelebrateourstrengthswhileacknowledgingthecomplexityofthesystemswearetryingtoimpact.Toweavetogetherresearch,data,stories,andconversationsinaneforttomakesenseoftheworldwearelivingin.And,asthis11Trendsprojecthasalwaysaimedtodo,tooferideas—notanswers—aboutwhatmightcomenext.

Thankyouforjoiningus.

Aswereflectonthepasttenyearsof11TrendsinPhilanthropy,wearestrucknotonlybyhowmuchthefieldhaschanged,butbyhowmuchthisprojecthasgrown.

WhatbeganasaU.S.-focusedpublicationhasbecomeaglobalconversation.To

thecolleaguesinsevencountriesandtheCaribbeanwhohavewrittentheirown

responsestoourTrendsreports,oferinginsightsfromtheirownphilanthropic

ecosystemsandexpandingthedialogueacrossborders,wearetrulygrateful.

Toseethisprojectinspirecross-border

conversations,collaborativeresearch,andenduringprofessionalconnectionshas

beenoneofitsgreatestgifts.

StephanieAndrewsCaropepeandKyleCaldwelloriginatedthe11Trendsin

PhilanthropyconceptattheJohnson

Centerin2016.Sincethen,morethan

50JohnsonCenterstafandgraduate

assistantshavetakenpartinthiswork—aswriters,reviewers,readers,andcritics.

Toallofyou:yourengagementhasmade

thisprojectstronger,morerelevant,and

moreimpactful.Youhavehelpedcountlesspractitionersaroundtheworldseethefieldmoreclearly,andyouhavechallengedusalltothinkmoredeeply.

SpecialthanksgotoKarenHoekstrafor

consistentlymakingthisprojectbeautiful

andaccessibleonlineandinprint,toPat

Robinsonforherextraordinaryattention

todetailinourresearchandeditorialstyle,toKallieBauerandJoeVanDoornikfor

transformativeprojectmanagement,andtoToryMartinforhelmingTrendseveryyearsince2017.

Aswemarkthistenthedition,wedoso

withhumilityandhope.Humilityinthe

faceofuncertainty.Hopeinthepowerof

reflection,collaboration,andsharedinquiry.Andarenewedcommitmenttoaskingthequestionsthatmatter—evenwhenthe

answersarestilloverthehorizon.

Thankyouforbeingpartofthiswork.

Acknowledgments

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BeyondGoodIntentions,NonprofitsMustShow

GoodWorktoBuildTrust

ByEmilyDoebler,M.P.P.,JenniferLawson,Ph.D.,andBrendaFalk,M.H.R.

I

n11TrendsinPhilanthropyfor2021,Martin(2021)highlightedthatalthough

nonprofitsaretrustedmorethanotherinstitutions,theirpositionistenuous.Shesharedthreewaystobuoypublicopinion:increase

transparency,elevateconstituentengagement,andmaintainacommitmenttoequity.While

theserecommendationshavetypicallybeena

surefirewaytoestablishtrustwithcommunities,researchsuggeststhereismuchmoretothe

equation.

Nonprofitsfulfillanessentialroleinsociety.

Recognizedas“society,ssafetynet,”they

oftenprovidevitalsocialserviceswhenthe

governmentfallsshort(Lynch,2025).Evenso,publictrustinnonprofitsisshowingsignsofwear(Moore,2025).

TrustintheNonprofitSectorIsinQuestion

IndependentSectorandEdelmanData

Intelligence(2025)foundthatintheyears2024

and2025,only“57%ofAmericansreport[ed]hightrust”innonprofits.While57%isamajority,itishardlyalandslide(p.7).

InMarch2025,theJohnsonCenterdeployedanationalsurveytorevisitpublictrustin

institutions.TheresearchisintentionallyinconversationwithdatafrombothIndiana

University,sLillyFamilySchoolofPhilanthropy(2022)andtheCouncilonFoundations(COF)

(2023).FromwhenthosesurveyswerepublishedtowhentheMarchsurveywasconducted,trustinnonprofitsappearstohavegenerallygrown—from39%in2022,to43%in2023,to42%in2025.

However,whenthesurveywasfieldedagaininSeptember2025,theresultsrevealedthatmostnonprofitshadexperiencedadeclineintrustoverthecourseofsixmonths.BySeptember,only35%ofrespondentsreportedhightrustinnonprofits(Doebler&Williams,2025).

TheMeasurementChallenge:

WhyDemonstratingCompetenceIsSoHard

Notably,Edelman,sTrustBarometer(2025,

pg.24),astudyseparatefrombutrelatedto

Edelman,sworkwithIndependentSector,

measurestrustusingtwodimensions:trustinasectortogenerallyactethically,andtrustinasectortogenerallyactcompetently.NonprofitsareonparwithbusinessesandoutperformthegovernmentandmediaintheU.S.onethical

conduct.Butwhencompetenceisthequestion,nonprofits,performanceismiddlingandstillinthered(EdelmanTrustBarometer,2025,pg.17).BusinessistheonlysectorthatU.S.respondentstrusttoactbothethicallyandcompetently.

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Partoftheproblemishowcompetenceis

perceived;thenonprofitsector’simpactistoughtomeasureandcommunicateinwaysthat

mattertothepublic(Searle,2025).Howdoyou

quantifythevalueofachildwhodoesnotendupinthejuvenilejusticesystembecauseofanafter-schoolprogram?Ormeasuretherippleefects

ofacommunityhealthinitiativethatpreventschronicillnessyearsdowntheroad?These

outcomesarerealandvaluablebutresistsimplemeasurement.

Thiscreatesatensionbetweenstorytelling

anddata.Whetherforreportingpurposesor

internaltracking,manynonprofitsreportimpactby“countingheadsanddollars—sharingthe

numberofeventsheld,peopleserved,volunteersengaged,dollarsraisedorothersimilarmetrics”(Crowder&D’Avanza,n.d.).Althoughthese

numericaldetailsareundoubtedlyessentialtotrack,theyshouldnotbedecoupledfromthe

manypowerfulindividualstoriesbehindthem.

Manynonprofitsfeelstuckbetweenthesetwo

approaches,unsureofwhichstrategywilltrulybuildtrust:collectingthenumbersorsharing

thestories.Thequestionisfurthercomplicatedbythedemandsoffunders.Somefunderswantrigorousevaluationanddetailedmetrics,whileotherdonorsrespondmoretocompellingstories(fundsforNGOs,2025).Theresultisthatmany

organizationsaresimultaneouslyover-reportingtosomeaudiencesandunder-communicating

toothers,exhaustingthemselvesintheprocesswithoutnecessarilybuildingpublicconfidenceintheircompetence.

Moreover,thesocialproblemsnonprofitstackleareoftenintergenerational,intersectional,andinfluencedbyfactorsfarbeyondanysingle

organization’scontrol(fundsforNGOs,2025).A

programforunhousedfolkscanprovideshelterandjobtraining,forinstance,butitcannot

independentlyalsoaddressthelackofafordablehousingpolicyinaregionordecades-longwagestagnation.Thiscomplexitymakesitdifficultfornonprofitstodemonstrateclearcause-and-efectrelationshipsbetweentheirworkandreal-life

change.

Howdoyouquantifythevalueofachildwhodoesnotendupinthejuvenilejusticesystembecauseofanafter-school

program?Ormeasurethe

rippleefectsofacommunityhealthinitiativethatpreventschronicillnessyearsdowntheroad?Theseoutcomesarerealandvaluablebutresistsimplemeasurement.

TheTrustEcosystem:It’sNotJustAboutNonprofits

Therealityisthattrustinthesectorexistswithinabroaderecosystemthateithersupportsor

diminishesconfidenceinthesector’swork.

Considertheroleofmediacoverage.Local

newsoutlets,whichhistoricallycovernonprofitachievementsandcommunityevents,have

drasticallydecreasedinrecentyears(Abernathy,2022;Hastings,2024).Whennonprofitsdomaketheheadlines,itisofteninthecontextofscandalorcontroversyratherthaninnovationorimpact.Theresultisaskewedimpressionofthesector:failuresmakeheadlines,whiletheorganizationsservingtheircommunitieswithcareand

competencerarelydo.

Funders,too,playacomplicatedroleinthe

trustequation.Whiletheyrightfullywant

accountabilityfortheirinvestments,some

reportingrequirementsworkagainsttrust-

building.Whennonprofitsspendsignificant

staftimeproducingdetailedreportsfor

multiplefunders,eachwithdiferentformats,

metrics,andtimelines,thosehoursarenotbeingspentondirectservicedeliveryorcommunity

engagement.Thepublicseesorganizations

stretchedthinandwondersaboutefficiencyand

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know-how,notrealizinghowtheadministrativeburdensbuiltintooursectorcandraintimeandresources(Howard,2025).Restrictedfunding

thatprohibitsinvestmentininfrastructure,

technology,orcommunicationscapacityfurtherhampersnonprofits’abilitytodemonstrateandsharetheirimpactefectively.

EffortstoShiftthePublicNarrative

In2025,manyorganizationsworkedtoaddressthechallengesofpublicstorytelling.The

NationalCouncilofNonprofits(2025)andCOF

(2025a,2025b)bothlaunchedpublicawarenesscampaigns—NonprofitsGetitDoneandGivingisHereforGoodcampaigns,respectively—

providingflexiblemessaging,graphics,and

guidancefortheirnetworkstoadoptand

adapt.TheCouncilonFoundations(2025)and

theUniversityofFlorida’sCenteronPublic

InterestCommunicationslaunchedthelearningseriesBetterStories,BetterLanguageoverthe

summertohelpcommunicationsstafleveragerecentresearchonbridginglanguage.AndThe

ChronicleofPhilanthropy’snewmonthlyopinioncolumn,WatchYourLanguage,isintended

“tohelpnonprofitprofessionalsreducejargonandcommunicateinwaysthatbuildtrustandunderstandingofthesector.”

Fundersarealsoseeingtheneedtohelp

nonprofitsinvestintheirstorytelling.VanguardCharitable’sPhilanthropicImpactFund(2025)

specificallyoferedgrantsunderthe“ShiftingtheNarrativearoundtheNonprofitSector”(Watkins,2025).

QuestionsRemain

Themoreorganizationsareequippedtotakeontheworkofaccessiblestorytellingaroundbothethicsandcompetence,themorebenefitsthewholesectorislikelytosee.Fornonprofits,successreliesonhavingyourcommunity’s

trust—withoutit,organizationscannotserveefectivelyorinfluencesocialchange(Purdy,2024).

Still,fundamentalquestionsremainthatthesectormustgrapplewithcollectively:

•Howdowedefine“competence”inwaysthatresonatewiththepublic,without

oversimplifyingcomplexsocialchangeeforts?

•Howcanfundersbalanceaccountabilitywithgivingnonprofitsneededflexibility?

•Howmightwebetterleveragelocaltrusttobuildbroaderconfidenceinthenonprofitsector?

Inatimeofsocialandpoliticalturbulence,answeringthesequestionsisnotoptional,

itisessential.Thesector’sabilitytoserve

communitiesefectivelydependsonthepublic’sbeliefthatnonprofitsarenotjustwell-intentionedbutgenuinelycapableofcreatingthechangeoursocietyneeds.

References

Abernathy,P.M.(2022).Thestateoflocalnews:The2022

report.NorthwesternUniversityLocalNewsInitiative.

https://

/research/state-of-local-

news/report/

CouncilonFoundations.(2025a).Betterstories,better

language.

/page/better-stories-better-language-

communications-workshop-series

CouncilonFoundations.(2025b).Givingishereforgood.

https://

/givingishereforgood

Crowder,J.,&D’Avanza,L.(n.d.).Whynonprofitsmustthinkdifferentlyaboutmeasuringandreportingimpact.NonprofitLeadershipCenter.

/tips/communicating-

nonprofit-impact/

Doebler,E.,&Williams,J.(2025,December3).Publictrustin

transition.DorothyA.JohnsonCenterforPhilanthropyatGrandValleyStateUniversity.

/blog/public-

trust-in-transition/

fundsforNGOs.(2025,February8).Thechallengesofmeasuringsocialimpactfornonprofits.

/articles/

the-challenges-of-measuring-social-impact-for-nonprofits/

Hastings,D.(2024).Thedeclineoflocalnewspapers.Close

UpFoundation.

/the-decline-of-local-

newspapers/

Howard,H.(2024,June4).Howtosimplifygrantapplicationsandreportsfornonprofits.ExponentPhilanthropy.

https://

/blog/how-to-simplify-grant-

applications-and-reports-for-nonprofits/

IndependentSector,&EdelmanDataandIntelligence.

(2025,July10).Trustinnonprofitsandphilanthropy.

https://

/resource/trust-in-civil-society/

Lynch,M.G.(2025,July31).Thesocialsafetynet:Hownonprofitssupportandcontributetoourlocalcommunitiesinneed.The

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OpenLink.

/news-events/newsroom.

html/article/2025/07/31/the-social-safety-net-how-nonprofits-

support-and-contribute-to-our-local-communities-in-need

Martin,T.(2021,January19).Thenonprofitsectorhasauniqueopportunitytobuildpublictrust.11trendsinphilanthropyfor2021.DorothyA.JohnsonCenterforPhilanthropyatGrand

ValleyStateUniversity.

/wp-content/

uploads/2021/01/11-Trends-for-2021-WEB.pdf

Mikaelian,A.(2024).Whytransparencymattersmorethanever.TheChronicleofPhilanthropy.

/why-

transparency-matters-more-than-ever/

Moore,L.(2025,August13).Isthenonprofitsectorfacing

atrustdeficit?Forbes.

/councils/

forbesnonprofitcouncil/2025/08/13/is-the-nonprofit-sector-

facing-a-trust-deficit/

NationalCouncilofNonprofits.(2025).Nonprofitsgetitdone.

/

Purdy,J.(2024,July15).Theroleoftrustinnon-profitand

communitybenefitorganizations.FICHumanResourcePartners.

/post/the-role-of-trust-in-non-

profit-and-community-benefit-organizations

Searle,S.(2025,February19).Apracticalguidetononprofit

measurement,evaluation,andlearning.TheBridgespanGroup.

/insights/nonprofit-organizational-

efectiveness/a-practical-guide-to-nonprofit-measurement-

evaluation-and-learning

Smith,M.(2025,June4).Howtosimplifygrantapplicationsandreportsfornonprofits.ExponentPhilanthropy.

https://

/blog/how-to-simplify-grant-

applications-and-reports-for-nonprofits/

VanguardCharitable.(2025).Philanthropicimpactfund.

https://

/philanthropic-impact-fund

Watkins,M.(2025).7wordsthatcanrestoretrustinphilanthropy.TheChronicleofPhilanthropy.

/

opinion/trust-philanthropy-jargon-language/

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WeighingthePowerofAIAgainstItsImpact

ByKallieBauer,M.B.A.,andEmilyBrenner,M.P.A.

I

nthethreeyearssincegenerative

artificialintelligence(GenAI)tools

becamewidelyavailabletothepublic,

wehaveseenanextraordinaryrateofgrowthandchange.

Alongsidetechnologicaladvancements,

themarketgrowthofAIhasaccelerated.In

September2024,Bain&CompanyestimatedthatthetotalmarketshareforAI-relatedhardware

andsoftwarewouldgrowbetween40%and50%annually,reachingbetween$780billionand$990billionin2027(Crawford,Wang&Singh,2024).

Gallupreportedin2025thatregularAIuseis

growingrapidlyamongU.S.workers.Inthepasttwoyears,thepercentageofU.S.employeeswhohaveusedAIintheirrolesafewtimesayearormorehasdoubledfrom21%to40%(Pendell,

2025).

AI,supwardsurgeisvisibleinthenonprofit

sector,aswell.A2024reportonnonprofits,

adoptionofGenAItoolscitedthat58%ofglobalsurveyrespondentsindicatedtheirorganizationsusedGenAIinday-to-dayoperations.Thetopusecasesincludedmarketingandcontentcreation,fundraising,andprogrammanagement(Google.org,2024).

TheJohnsonCenterdiscussedtheAIrevolutionanditspotentialimplicationsforphilanthropyin2024,stating,“Withcostnolongertheprimarybarriertoentry,nonprofitsandfoundations

whoinvestthenecessarytimeandcapacityintoexploringthesenewtoolsandcommittousingthemresponsiblywillbenefitthemostfrom

thisemergingtechnology”(Bauer,2024).This

statementstillringstruetoday.WhileitremainsdifficulttopredictthefutureimplicationsofAI,philanthropycanandshouldremaincommittedtoitsresponsibleuse.

LimitationsofAI

TheresponsibleuseofAIcannotbeundertakenwithoutfirstunderstandingitscurrent

limitations.In2023,ScientificAmerican

releasedanarticleexplaininghowpersonal

informationisbeingusedtotrainGenAImodels.AuthorLaurenLeferdescribedhowdevelopersturntopubliclyavailableinformationonthe

internettobuildlarge,GenAImodels.Data

thatareviewableinasearchengine,suchas

personalblogs,LinkedInprofiles,images,videos,andpersonaldatafromsocialmediasitesare

incorporatedintrainingmodelsforAItools.AIcompanies,suchasOpenAI,alsofine-tunetheirmodelsbasedonuserinteractionswiththeir

chatbots(Lefer,2023).

Consequently,GenAIresultsareonlyas

valuableorreliableasthedatausedtotrain

them.Inaccuratedata,personalandsocietal

biases,andprivateinformationallplayaroleincontributingtotheresultsGenAIproduces.Herearetwoexamplesofrelatedrisks:

•In2023,Liangetal.demonstratedinan

articleforPatternsthatChatGPTandsimilargenerativelanguagemodelsbasedonGPT

frequentlymisclassifynon-nativeEnglishwritingasAIgenerated.

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•In2024,theAmericanBarAssociation(ABA)citediTutorGroupasanexampleofAIhiringdiscrimination.iTutorGroup,sAIprogram

automaticallyrejectedfemaleapplicantsage55orolderandmaleapplicantsage60orolder,resultinginageandgenderdiscrimination

duringthehiringprocess(Kempe,2024).

InstitutionsaretryingtoprovideguidanceforAIusers,inthehopethattransparencyandcautionwillbecomeworkingnormswhenpeopleinteractwiththistechnology.

•TheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation

(APA)emphasizestheimportanceofbeing

transparentaboutAI,suseinwritingand

research,stating,“Therecommendedcitationapproachistoincludetheprecisetextoftheprompt,andthenprovideareferencethat

incorporatestheauthoroftheAItool,thedateoftheversionused,andotherdetails.”TheAPAfurthercautionsthatAIdetectionsoftwareisavailablebutisalsounreliable(Huf,2024).

•IBMreleasedanarticleexplainingtheprivacyrisksofAI,includingrisksrelatedtothe

collectionofsensitivedata,collectionofdatawithoutconsent,theuseofdatawithout

permission,andbiases(Gomstyn&Jonker,n.d.).

AsGenAItoolsareusedmoreinphilanthropy,organizationsmustexercisecautionand

acknowledgethepotentialpitfallsinday-to-dayoperations.

EnvironmentalandCommunityImpacts

Alongsideaddressingissueswithdata

accuracy,biases,andprivacy,itisimportantfororganizationstoconsidertheenvironmental

impactsofAI.HarvardBusinessReviewauthorsRenandWierman(2024)writethat

thetrainingprocessforasingleAImodel,suchasalargelanguagemodel,canconsumethousandsofmegawatthoursofelectricityandemithundredsoftonsofcarbon.Thisisroughlyequivalentto

GenAIresultsareonlyasvaluableorreliableasthedatausedtotrainthem.

Inaccuratedata,personalandsocietalbiases,andprivate

informationallplayaroleincontributingtotheresultsGenAIproduces.

theannualcarbonemissionsofhundredsofhouseholdsinAmerica.(para.3)

AIenergydemandispredictedtoincreasebya

multipleof10from2024to2026andwillcauseanincreaseinairandwaterpollution,productionofsolidwastes,andapotentialincreasein

higherlevelsofozoneandparticulatematter(Ren&Wierman,2024,para.4).Especiallyforfundersfocusedonaddressingtheimpactsofclimatechangeandsustainingoverallhealthyecosystems,in-officeAIusemaybedirectly

workingagainsttheorganization,smission.

And,asRenandWiermanstate,“Inmany

cases,adverseenvironmentalimpactsofAI

disproportionatelyburdencommunitiesand

regionsthatareparticularlyvulnerabletothe

resultingenvironmentalharms”(para.11).As

officeculturesshifttoadoptingAItools,funderswithexplicitcommunityandhumanservicestieswillneedtobecognizantofthisparadox.

Funderswillalsoneedtobeawareofthe

potentialimpactsthatinvestmentsinAI

willhaveongranteepartnersandnonprofit

ecosystems.SaraHerschander,writinginTheChronicleofPhilanthropy,statesthat,“onlyatinysliverofphilanthropytodaygoestosuchinvestmentsintechgovernance,evenasmanymajorfoundationsencouragetheirgranteestoexperiment—ifnotoutrightembrace—newcorporateA.I.tools”(Herschander,2025).

Manyfundersandnonprofitsarealready

workingtorespond.HumanityAIwascreated

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byacoalitionof10diferentphilanthropic

organizationsto“[make]surepeopleand

communitiesbeyondSiliconValleyhavea

stakeinthefutureofartificialintelligence

(AI)”(OmidyarNetwork,2025).Thecoalition,sfunderscommittedtoa$500million,five-yearinvestmentinfivepriorityareasrelatedtoAI—laborandeconomy,humanities,security,

democracy,andeducation(OmidyarNetwork,2025).

TheImportanceofAIUsagePolicies

ThoughtfulAIusepoliciescangoalongway

towardssortingoutthesechallenges.Relevantpolicyelementscouldincludeallowable

andunallowableusecases,acceptableand

unacceptableAItools,howtociteAIusage,howtoworkwithvendorsandpartnersthatmayalsohaveAIpoliciesinplace,andhowtodiscloseAIusageincontractingdocuments.

TheTechnologyAssociationofGrantmakers

(TAG)foundinits2024StateofPhilanthropic

Techsurveythatonly30%offoundationsreporthavinganAIpolicyinplace(TAG,2024).TAG

ofersahelpfulframeworkonresponsibleAIadoptionthatincludesethicalconsiderations,organizationalconsiderations,andtechnicalconsiderations(2023).

TheMacArthurFoundationalsoposteditsAI

usepolicy,stating,“TheFoundationwishes

toharnessandresponsiblyuseAItoolsto

improvecreativity,efficiency,andproductivityinfurtheranceofourmissionwhilerecognizingitslimitations”(MacArthurFoundation,n.d.).

Aswelookintothefuture,philanthropic

organizationsthathavepoliciesinplacewill

beinabetterpositiontoharnessopportunitieswithAIandpreventirr