November 12, 2025 | Read Time: 3 minutes
This collection of essays is part of a special package of predictions from sector leaders and thinkers about what lies ahead in 2026 and how to respond to what will likely be another unprecedented year for the nonprofit world. Read more predictions about Major Donor Giving | Foundation Giving | Democracy and Threats to the Sector | Fundraising and AI | Equity Efforts | Nonprofit Operations | Policy Changes | Bridge Building, and Predictions for 2030.
2 Stark Futures: Succumb to Threats or Join in Solidarity
Michael McAfee
To be a Black nonprofit leader in 2025 was to feel a deep sense of rejection — from our nation and much of the philanthropic world. This rejection of both my humanity and the equity movement shape my prediction for the year ahead.
In 2026, philanthropy will face two starkly different futures. Leaders will decide whether to retreat from decades of critical equity work or commit to substantial investments in institutions dedicated to building a just and fair society where all can participate and prosper.
In that first future, philanthropy succumbs to the threat of government attacks, abandoning many people in America, especially the nearly 85 million of all backgrounds struggling to make ends meet and the organizations that serve them. Nonprofits across the country are working courageously to defend against threats to democracy and build the governing and economic structures that will serve future generations. They are unafraid but severely underfunded. In a moment when they should have reinforcements pouring in from all sides, they are ill-equipped to fight and win.
In the second future, philanthropic leaders see themselves as founders of an America that has yet to be realized and join in solidarity to build a better nation. They generously fund the next generation of nonprofits leading these efforts. They trust the vision and strategic acumen of these leaders to create a flourishing, multiracial democracy. Funders need not see the path forward themselves: They just need to fund those who do.
The future is not predetermined. Both these realities can and will exist alongside each other. The choice now rests with philanthropic leaders to either submit or rise to the occasion with an unremitting commitment to advancing the still-unfinished promise of the equity movement, the Constitution, and the nation on its 250th anniversary.
Michael McAfee is the CEO of PolicyLink.
The DEI Acronym Will Die, but Not What It Stands For
Gara LaMarche
In 2026, two things will become clearer to nonprofit leaders: First, the Trump administration’s opposition to what it considers DEI programs — encompassing most efforts to overcome discrimination in the last 60 years — is central to its agenda. Rather than fading, that opposition seems to be ratcheting up, as evidenced by the deals the administration is trying to impose on universities. Second, most of the diversity, equity, and inclusion practices that nonprofits engage in remain as constitutional as they were the day before President Trump took office. He can’t unilaterally change the law.
That’s why nonprofits and the donors who support them need to stand firm. That doesn’t mean that nothing should change, particularly when it comes to how they talk about DEI. For starters, they should commit to using the full phrase, which doesn’t have the baggage of its much-abused acronym. Indeed, most Americans support the fundamental values behind these programs, such as increased fairness and belonging. Too often, though, advocates discuss equity in ways that people across the political and ideological spectrum find off-putting.
In the coming year, funders should find new and more inclusive ways to talk about these shared values. They don’t need to disavow fundamental ideals or pivot out of fear. But the sector can — and should — make its words and actions more meaningful and welcoming.
Gara LaMarche is a former president of the Atlantic Philanthropies and former director of U.S. programs for the Open Society Foundations. He is currently a senior adviser at Raben.
Photos: PolicyLink; Courtesy of Raben
