This week's newsletter is a look back on some of the biggest stories in 2025, including the launch of new AI programs; major donations to climate change initiatives during the UN COP 30 conference; and higher education's response to a tumultuous funding year. For more great content, including news, RFPs, reviews and commentary, visit us at philanthropynewsdigest.org
The use and support of AI in the nonprofit sector have expanded at almost exponential rates as foundations large and small, local and international, have launched new programs and established public-private partnerships focused on making AI ubiquitous in the work of the social sector....
Funding for climate change and environmental resilience saw big gains in 2025, although philanthropic decisions were heavily influenced by the United States government’s decision to pull funding and participation from several global organizations, and the United Nations-led COP 30 climate change conference in Belém, Brazil….
Giving included key investments to create space—literal and figurative—for American civil society to engage with its past and to look toward a more inclusive and sustainable future....
Higher education institutions spent much of the year on the defensive following changes in federal funding and public policy put billions of dollars in limbo, if not eliminating the payments altogether....
This year saw a range of super-sized long-term awards for hospitals and health systems as well as targeted funding to expand science-to-treatment pipelines, address health equity gaps in data and research, and leverage AI technologies to accelerate medical breakthroughs....
In their own words
“The stakes are too high to defer decisions to a handful of companies and leaders within them. Humanity AI seeks to shift that dynamic by resourcing technologists, researchers, and advocates who are united by a shared vision of ensuring AI is a force for good, putting people and the planet first....”
—
John Palfrey, president, MacArthur Foundation (“Humanity AI commits $500M to build a people-centered future for AI.” Andrew W. Mellon Foundation press release 10/14/2025)
This year data emerged that showed worsening levels of poverty coming out of the pandemic, while funders already increasing their support for basic needs accelerated their giving as changes to federal funding and public policies put pressure on local municipalities to address food insecurity in their communities....
In 2025, the continued expansion of the Lilly Endowment’s grantmaking has helped maintain a solid foundation of giving to religious organizations around the world, while other individual and institutional funders have also made it a significant focus of their giving....
Giving to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as well as Tribal- and Hispanic-Serving colleges advanced markedly this year with over $1 billion in related awards from MacKenzie Scott alone....
This year, following U.S. government funding and policy changes that have upended immigrant and refugee communities across the country, funders have responded with direct support for programs to bolster civil rights protections and raise awareness, share information, and provide legal services to vulnerable populations nationwide....
