“Impossible to see, the future is.” — Yoda

While it may be impossible to anticipate fully what 2018 has in store for charitable nonprofits, we think there are important takeaways from some of the hottest topics that surfaced in 2017. We’re sharing our “Hot Topics” list with you to help you spot trends that may impact your nonprofit’s operations or influence those it serves.

Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment training has been an obligatory part of the culture of most workplaces for at least 30 years, but in 2017 there’s been  a dramatic shift in how seriously people have been taking this topic. So dramatic, in fact, that Time magazine just named “The Silence Breakers” the Person of the Year. Is your nonprofit prepared to handle allegations of harassment? What would you do, as the chair of the board, if you received an anonymous complaint that the executive director was a sexual predator or simply doesn’t “get it” about unwanted sexual advances?

Natural Disasters, Gun Violence and Other Crises
As wildfires rage near Los Angeles, and smoke is still wafting over sections of the northwest from fires earlier in the year, the Washington Post published a story that assures even more violent weather-related calamities are in our future ... There is some consolation looking ahead: nonprofits and grantmakers have learned many lessons from past disasters, so now there is excellent guidance, freely available, that we encourage every nonprofit and grantmaker to take advantage of.

Donor-Advised Funds
In 2017, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund became the second largest philanthropic force, second only to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Because donor-advised funds (DAFs) are actually public charities (not private foundations), Fidelity Charitable now is also the nation’s largest charitable nonprofit. (Many people don’t realize that community foundations also offer donor advised funds, so not all DAFs are connected with huge financial institutions such as Fidelity.) Whether you love them or dislike them, DAFs are here to stay — and increasingly will be an influence on contributions to nonprofits.

Read the full list of nonprofit hot topics for 2017 at National Council of Nonprofits.