With sweeping cuts to federal grants and federal departments under the Trump Administration in 2025, the entire nonprofit world is undergoing rapid shifts. If you are struggling to get your bearings and keep up with philanthropy and grant funding trends, you are not alone. 

I have been a grant writer and fundraiser for more than 20 years. I also train and mentor hundreds of grant writers inside our Freelance Grant Writer Academy. Our students and mentees are freelance grant writers who each serve multiple nonprofit organizations, businesses, municipalities, and more. That means we have data from more than a thousand different decision-makers who are making decisions about grant funding and philanthropy in 2025. 

This gives us an incredible and rare source of information about what is happening on the ground in grant-making and philanthropy. 

Government Funding Cuts Leave Major Gap: Will Foundations Fill It? 

Candid reports that “30 percent of nonprofits rely on government grants” and that foundations would need to increase their grant funding by 282 percent to make up for the loss of federal funding.

That’s a hefty increase in revenue needs that just isn’t available. 

So, what are foundations doing to prepare for this potential inundation of financial requests when they don’t have the available funds to fill this gap?

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What Foundations Are Saying About Grantmaking Changes

So far, foundations have been somewhat quiet on responses publicly. But this doesn’t mean they aren’t doing things behind the scenes. 

From anecdotal evidence in our own programs, grant writers are  reporting that some foundations have reached out to their nonprofit clients to ask if the organization would like unrestricted funding advances. 

We’ve also seen programs like Meet the Moment, where philanthropic organizations are banding together to commit to “move in solidarity with nonprofits” with consistent funding and other capacity-building resources. As of April 2025 more than 126 philanthropic organizations have signed this commitment. 

I’ve been reaching out to certain foundations to come on the Grant Writing & Funding Podcast to share their initiatives, but many don’t want that type of spotlight right now. 

We could deem that foundations may want to remain a bit ‘hidden’ as they continue their work, and may be expanding funding primarily for current grantees.

But what I have learned about 2025 is that assumptions can be thrown out the window. 

What we have seen is that nonprofit organizations are run by people. And people are making different decisions today than they did even a few months ago.

Grant-Making Trends Snapshot 

Usually, data about philanthropy and grant-making trends is released months after all the grants are signed and disbursed. But now, conditions are changing too quickly for this type of retrospective data to be useful for grant seekers trying to develop grant funding strategies.

To capture what is happening RIGHT NOW in grant-making and philanthropy, we assessed Quarter One activities and results (January through March 2025) among the hundreds of grant writers in our programs and the thousands of nonprofits they serve. 

In Quarter One of 2025, our students secured more than $16 million in grant funding and more than $1.5 million in their freelance grant writing businesses.

This suggests several major takeaways: 

1. Nonprofits are continuing to pursue grant funding and are hiring grant writers to help. 
2. Grant writers are still submitting and winning grants for their clients. 
3. Foundation funding has not dried up but those with existing relationships may be in a stronger position. 

Going forward, we’ll be monitoring whether and how competition for foundation grant funding increases due to the decline in government grants. 

Expert Tips to Navigate Changing Trends in Philanthropy in 2025

While a lot about the future of philanthropy, grant funding, and the nonprofit sector is uncertain right now, there are several steps grant writers and fundraisers can take to increase their chance of successfully securing foundation grant dollars.

1. Prioritize grant funding for core needs and programs

You need to be highly focused on what needs to be funded this year and what programs have the biggest impact. Determine funding priorities before you even do the grant research.

Don’t mission drift by applying for a grant just because the opportunity is well-funded. 

2. Ensure alignment with foundation priorities

When you do grant prospecting, spend extra time getting to know the funding source first. Read their website, look through their 990s, and see what other nonprofits they fund. 

When I first started writing grants, many foundations were not even online. Now, it is so easy to use grant prospecting tools like Instrumentl where you can find foundations at the click of a button, including their funding cycles, 990s, websites, and more. 

3. Follow all grant application guidelines

Most foundations will have a set of grant guidelines. Some have you fill out an online application, while others require an email application. 

Your very first step in preparing a grant application should be to study the individual grant guidelines closely. Pay attention to the questions asked and how they are worded, along with format, word count, or character count requirements.

Don’t be cute and try to hand in something that goes outside of these requirements. Adding things like pictures to your proposal isn’t necessarily helpful, and may get you automatically rejected for not following the guidelines.

4. Write high-quality grants

Don’t rush your grant writing process right now. If the competitiveness of grant applications increases, you want to be submitting the highest quality grant proposal possible.

Follow a grant template process to ensure you have a competitive advantage compared to others. We’ve spent decades refining this grant template process so that you can write the highest quality grants that score well. 

Inside our Freelance Grant Writer Academy, in addition to our world-class grant training, we also have unlimited grant reviews. Having your grants reviewed by an expert before you submit them is key to having high-converting grant applications!

5. Build relationships with foundations

If the nonprofit organization already has a relationship (or funding history) with a foundation, reach out to them and ask them how they intend to continue to support you during these times. 

If you are building new relationships with foundations, you can invite them to your fundraisers, ask for 10 minutes of a board meeting to present about your nonprofit, follow and engage with them on social media, etc. 

The more connected you are to foundations, the more you will be able to stay ahead of grant funding trends while also building long-term funding relationships. 

6. Keep writing grants

With the pullback in government funding, many people are assuming that foundations will be inundated with grant applications. However, in reality, we are also seeing nonprofit organizations pull back from seeking grant funding right now.

Why? Because they are people, and with all the front-page news on federal grants, they are thinking that grants are not the best way forward to secure funding right now. 

But this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are still many grant funding opportunities out there. The fear of the sector being saturated may have some validity,  but it doesn’t mean there isn’t funding for your organization right now. 

The key is everything we’ve discussed above: prioritizing your funding needs, researching grant opportunities, ensuring strong alignment with foundation priorities, and submitting the highest quality proposals.

Philanthropy and Grant Trends for 2025 Are Still Evolving

Yes, 2025 has already brought some significant shifts in grant funding, philanthropy, and nonprofit fundraising strategy.  These could be temporary shifts or long-term shifts – or the landscape could change yet again. 

The good news is that those working in the grant funding field are continuing to get positive results for nonprofit clients. 

For those of you who are grant writers or want to be, learn more about the Freelance Grant Writer Academy.