This year, my attention has been constantly pulled in two directions at once: toward the immediate pressure that nonprofits are facing and toward the broad, sweeping shifts shaping the future of civil society, often in ways that feel like 10 steps backwards. Both feel heavy, urgent, and often overwhelming — and I know I am not alone in feeling this tension, or this heaviness. If anything, the more I listen to others who feel similar tensions, the more I feel the limits of a tidy summary of another year gone by.
Instead, I’m leaning into the gratitude I feel at this time of year: gratitude for nonprofits that keep our communities housed, fed, and clothed; gratitude for organizations have that provide data and art to help us collectively make sense of this moment; and gratitude that we are not shying away from difficult conversations about what’s needed to shape the direction of change.
I am also grateful to the many funders — 94 to be exact — who maintained their listening and learning from nonprofits, their staff, their donors, and other stakeholders through CEP assessments. To continue doing so and changing in a moment of uncertainty wasn’t inevitable.
Those who know us at CEP won’t be surprised to learn that we are also finding reasons for gratitude — and hope — in data, and more specifically in an AI-assisted analysis of grantee and foundation staff comments over the past decade. Throughout the year, we have explored how topics, valence, and the underlying narrative about funder practice have shifted in 10 years’ time.
Overall, what we saw is a story of meaningful evolution in the following areas that give me hope that this is just the beginning of what we can do together.
1. Funder-Grantee Relationships
About 10 years ago, the word that surfaced again and again in grantee comments was some version of “transaction.” Grantees often referred to funders’ lack of understanding of their work and their organizations, noting frustrations with the power imbalances of top-down approaches.
Fast forward to today, and grantees more often use the language of partnership. They’re talking about philanthropy that is more collaborative, more trust-based, and centered on conversations about strategy and grantees’ expertise.
What’s more, this shift isn’t only visible on the grantee side. When we look at comments from staff at funders who use CEP’s Staff Perception Report (SPR), there’s more talk of listening to the people and communities that funders aim to serve and letting that listening shape strategy and ultimately contribute to their impact. This is a notable departure from a decade ago, when staff often framed their role around managing process rather than cultivating relationships.
Then:
“The Foundation…should consider grantees experts … rather than prescribing a service approach and imposing their way.”
– Staff responding to CEP’s SPR survey, 2017
Now:
“Our staff and the relationships they have in the community are the critical element in [the Foundation] being an impactful organization.”
– Staff responding to CEP’s SPR survey, 2025
2. Art of Grantmaking
Ten years ago, grantee comments we heard through the Grantee Perception Report (GPR) read like a wish list: more unrestricted support, more multi-year commitments, less burdensome processes. Grantees were asking for funders to recognize that impact doesn’t come from short-term, project-restricted dollars, but from trust and flexibility.
When we look at the comments today, grantees acknowledge progress on each of those fronts, and we know from CEP’s broader research that the COVID-19 pandemic was a genuine inflection point in accelerating these shifts.
Still, let me be clear that there is still more to do. More flexible funding and flexible processes are still one of the most common suggestions we see from grantees and, of course, we know how important this kind of flexibility is in this specific moment when nonprofits, regardless or size and focus, are reeling.
Then:
“I would like to see deeper commitments, not just in funding, but in truly helping build organizations capacity to serve.”
– Grantee responding to CEP’s GPR survey, 2018
Now:
“[The Foundation] understands that getting big wins requires capacity building over a longer period of time.”
– Grantee responding to CEP’s GPR survey, 2025
“I have appreciated how [the] application process has been streamlined…[it] is not burdensome, and the questions are fair and relevant.”
– Grantee responding to CEP’s GPR survey, 2025
3. Breadth of Influence
Looking back, many comments mentioned how grants were narrowly focused on programmatic work, particularly direct services, with little recognition of the broader systems those programs operated within. Today, the narrative related to funder influence more often includes mentions of funding that shapes grantees’ fields and ecosystems, supports policy change and advocacy efforts, and builds networks and facilitates convenings.
Foundation staff comments, too, suggest roles have evolved to adapt to this shift, moving from roles primarily focused on program delivery to ones that are focused on strategic partnership, field-building, and shared learning with grantees. In this moment, we’re reaping the benefits of those networks in tangible ways with grantee coalitions forming across issue areas to meet emerging needs and donor collaboratives that fund large-scale change.
Then:
“We care more about how we are going to demonstrate that we moved the needle, instead of … commitment to communities.”
– Staff responding to CEP’s SPR survey, 2018
Now:
“[The Foundation’s] strategic investments and thought leadership help[s] strengthen the ecosystem in which we operate.”
– Grantee responding to CEP’s GPR survey, 2025
4. Equity and Justice
The final shift we saw related to equity and justice, which grantees a decade ago mostly raised as an aspiration rather than expectation for funders. At that time, funder staff comments often reflected uncertainty, even confusion, about where their organizations stood on these issues.
Today, grantees are voicing appreciation for funders’ willingness to support diversity and equity efforts publicly and to set clear strategic priorities around equity, and notably, over the past year, some of the most heart-wrenching comments we’ve seen from grantees are pleas for funders to stand with them in solidarity as they face attacks related to these values.
Staff, too, are urging their organizations to fully embrace this work in practice. Seeing this arc over time is an important reminder that these ideas have always been there, but require persistence, aligned partnerships, and deep trust, to make commitments and outcomes tangible. Now is not the time to walk away or retreat from this hard but necessary work, particularly in a moment of public scrutiny when specific communities are being targeted and abandoned.
Now:
“[In] the current landscape, speak out in the face of attacks on nonprofits and the people and communities they serve…”
– Grantee responding to CEP’s GPR survey 2025
“I hope we can continue to find ways to incorporate DEI despite the external pressure to remove it.”
– Staff responding to CEP’s SPR survey, 2025
Given that we’re approaching the end of the year, it’s easier to believe that these evolutions magically appeared overnight, presenting themselves neatly wrapped as a gift with a bow on top. In reality, if there’s a pattern that I keep noticing across my time at CEP, it’s that the most meaningful change more often comes from steady, values-aligned decisions made over time — especially when the costs of doing the right thing are real. I hope this retrospective glimpse into our shared progress helps contextualize how your daily efforts push us collectively towards more effective philanthropy.
I want to conclude by saying plainly: thank you. Thank you to those of you who are showing up in this moment with openness, conviction, and resilience. Thank you for letting your partners’ experiences shape your practice and for your dedicated partnership with us. And thank you for continuing to believe — even on hard days — that philanthropy can be more collaborative, more thoughtful, and contribute to a better and more just world. We couldn’t do this without you.
Alice Mei is a senior manager on the assessment and advisory services team at CEP.
