Year-End Giving When the Outlook is Gloomy
Kris Kewitsch | Executive Director, Charities Review Council | October 2025
It’s a matter of fact that 2025 has been a tumultuous year for nonprofits. Budget cuts are rampant, emergency funding has run out, and uncertainty about government funding is ever-present. Simultaneously, nonprofits are providing essential services at increased rates—demand is at an all-time high.
Many nonprofits are in crisis mode, and donors may wonder how to address organizations facing the end of the year in need of significant financial support. Your support can help fill the gap and turn the tide toward long-term stability.
You are likely trying to decide which desperate plea to respond to. Is it okay to give to an organization that’s on unstable financial ground? If a nonprofit won’t make its year-end budget, is your donation all for naught? How should the news of nonprofit layoffs affect your giving?
Donors can offer confident support to organizations that provide vital services while acknowledging the challenges of this moment by applying smart giving practices:
Donors who have established relationships with organizations can draw on personal experience and consider making a year-end contribution to ease some current challenges. Remember the reason you first offered support: you believe in the mission and trust that your dollars will move that mission forward. Even in the face of financial uncertainty, nonprofits still address urgent community needs.
Donors giving for the first time can review a nonprofit’s past three years of financial information for transparency, good governance, and impact. This information should be listed on a nonprofit’s website or be available as an IRS Form 990. If an organization has the Meets Standards® seal, you can find more information on the Charities Review Council’s Reviewed Nonprofits list.
Donors should feel empowered to ask questions about short- and long-term goals. When a nonprofit meets their year-end goal, what’s next? Most nonprofits will express a path forward to demonstrate that their request for support has staying power. However, you are always free to ask more questions to get a deeper understanding of how they’re addressing current challenges and future planning.
You can visit Charities Review Council’s Questions To Ask Before Giving resource page to continue learning about making informed gifts.
If we continue showing up for our communities thoughtfully, we can make a deep impact even when a stable philanthropic environment feels far away. Every donation impacts a nonprofit’s ability to keep programs running, pay staff, and follow through on mission. Your gift is meaningful.
