Introduction
Transforming philanthropic culture and practice to operate in service of nonprofits and communities requires a fundamental shift in how grantmakers work. This transformation demands that the philanthropic sector ground its efforts in equity-centered and community-driven practices, relationships, and organizational cultures.
Achieving the change we seek requires philanthropic institutions to provide flexible and reliable resources and capacity-building support, shift their practice around power and decision-making authority in partnership with communities, transparently share knowledge and apply learning, collaborate meaningfully across sectors, and maintain a sustained commitment to intersectional racial equity. This work involves both individual organizational transformation and collective sector-wide evolution in how philanthropy understands its role in supporting and creating lasting systems change.
Since 2008, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) has conducted a national study of philanthropic practice every three to five years to assess progress toward achieving this transformational change across the sector. Through this study, GEO analyzes where progress has been made, identifies emerging trends that may be taking root, and explores new areas of inquiry within the philanthropic and social sector ecosystem. GEO’s last field study was conducted in 20171, because the planned study in 2020 was intentionally paused in response to COVID-19 and because of the influx of surveys in the sector at that time.
As the only survey of all staffed foundations in the United States, this research enables the field to understand where practice currently stands, where progress is being made as a sector and how the sector can continue to shift to better serve nonprofit and community partners. The 2025 field study collected data from January to March 2025 from 765 grantmaker respondents on their organizations’ grantmaking practices. This report shares findings about the state of grantmaking practice from 2022 to 2024 and examines how grantmakers’ contributions to thriving nonprofits and communities have evolved since the 2017 study. Highlights from the 2025 field study include:
Progress and Emerging Trends
The study’s findings illuminate the field of philanthropy’s “new normal” and map how the field is operating within our current context and amidst the current discourse, highlighting the following shifts and trends across the sector:
Equity is central to grantmaking strategy. Most grantmakers maintain that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is central to their organization’s current strategy with 48 percent indicating DEI is “very much” central and another 26 percent stating it is “somewhat” central. This represents an increase over the results of GEO’s 2017 study, where 31 percent of grantmakers found DEI “essential” and only 14 percent of grantmakers found it “central.”
Commitment to equity signals engagement in some effective practices. Grantmakers that indicate DEI is “very much” central are more likely to engage in effective practices to support their nonprofit and community partners. This includes being more likely to involve focus populations as decision-makers and engage in participatory grantmaking.
The 5 percent payout is no longer the floor. Despite the widespread belief that most foundations only spend the 5 percent minimum, GEO’s research shows 5 percent is no longer the floor. More than half of surveyed organizations spend above this threshold with 43 percent spending between 5 and 7 percent, and 12 percent spending more than 7 percent of their endowment annually.
Grantmakers are shifting power through participatory grantmaking. Of grantmakers that participated in the study, 42 percent reported engaging in participatory grantmaking.
Multiyear funding is gaining momentum. 87 percent of grantmakers now provide multiyear funding, up from 79 percent in 2014 and 2017.
Flexible funding is catching on. Median general operating support has climbed to 38 percent of grantmaking budgets, after nearly two decades at 20 percent.
Areas for Improvement
Despite many promising findings, the study results illuminate ongoing challenges and emerging troublesome insights that point to a continued need for systems-level change that will allow nonprofits and communities to thrive.
Capacity-building support is slipping. Results showed that 77 percent of grantmakers provide some form of capacity building support for their nonprofit partners, this is a decline from the 86 percent reported in GEO’s 2017 field study.
Evaluation requirements are outpacing support. Although 80 percent of grantmakers “always,” “most of the time” or “sometimes” require grantees to conduct evaluations, 38 percent do not provide additional funding for evaluation activities, leaving nonprofits without the support needed to complete the required evaluations.
Further action is needed to align equity-centered values with practice. While 74 percent of grantmakers indicate that DEI is “very much” or “somewhat” central to their organization’s current strategy, more work is needed to live these values — of those with a commitment to DEI, only 22 percent align funding strategy to disrupt or repair the effects of historical harm, 15 percent acknowledge sources of funds and harm, and 12 percent establish grants or scholarships to address historical harm.
This web resource highlights key findings from research, illuminating the field of philanthropy’s “new normal” and mapping where the field operates in the current context. In addition, it includes stories from the sector that demonstrate the impact of this work in practice. For additional findings, deeper analysis and detailed research methodology, please read the full report.
1 Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, “Is Grantmaking Getting Smarter? A National Study of Philanthropic Practice,” 2017. Available at https://www.geofunders.org/resource/is-grantmaking-getting-smarter-2/.