A new year is often a moment to pause and reflect on lessons for philanthropy in 2025 — about what we’ve been doing well that we’d like to carry forward into 2025, and some things that we’ll be glad to leave behind in 2024. But reflecting on ourselves in an objective, productive way can be difficult — especially in the absence of external perspectives.

We at CEP know that funders are constantly challenging themselves to be more effective partners to their grantees, reflecting on lessons for philanthropy in 2025. But gathering candid, constructive feedback isn’t always straightforward. Given the flow of grantmaking dollars, there will almost always be a skew towards the positive when nonprofit organizations are being asked by their funders to offer their input, insights, and certainly their criticism. This is exactly why the Grantee Perception Report (GPR) is a helpful tool: the GPR allows grantmakers to receive confidential, anonymous feedback from those who are closest to the ground and best positioned to let funders know what they’re doing well and what they might look to improve.

Some of the most meaningful and illustrative feedback from the GPR comes from grantees’ qualitative responses to our survey’s open-ended questions. These direct, unvarnished comments can not only reinforce the GPR’s quantitative measures, but also crystallize grantees’ perceptions, getting right to the core of what matters most in their partnership with funders. So, in this moment of reflection in the new year, and in considering what practices, approaches, and strategies to leave behind in 2024 and bring forward into 2025, we wanted to share some suggestions and acknowledgements directly from grantees.

NB: these quotes have been edited for clarity and to maintain the confidentiality of grantees who responded to CEP’s survey.

Lessons for Philanthropy in 2025: What Are We Leaving Behind in 2024?

Lacking a deeper understanding of grantees’ work:

“I believe [this funder] wants to do justice to the communities [that] our organization continues to serve. But, I doubt [this funder] has a complete understanding of what we do, the specific goals we have and are accomplishing, and what our future plans are.”

Challenges in responsiveness:

“The program staff are extremely hard to reach, and unresponsive when we send important or timely updates; and in this way, they are unusual among all of our foundation partners. I would go as far as to say that they are aloof and unavailable, and that results in so many missed opportunities to help [this funder] have more impact in our area, specific to their written/stated funding goals.”

Limited support for organizational wellbeing:

“I wish the philanthropic field as a whole would re-balance its priorities to provide greater support for general operating. I understand why the concept of administration and ‘overhead’ is less attractive. It’s more difficult to name and promote impact. But as long as leadership at non-profit organizations are pulling their hair out every day trying to stay apace with increasing costs, there is no time for true strategic planning and organizational imagination. Every effort to be innovative, envision and activate change, exists on top of the daily struggle. And this innately leads to overwhelm and burnout across these organizations. To support leadership and staff, to nurture their creativity and nourish their aspirations to serve their communities at the level they wish to serve them, a larger commitment to the daily enterprise would be hugely meaningful.”

Read the full article about lessons for philanthropy in 2025 by Emma Relle at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.