October through December is Giving Season and has historically been a significant time for nonprofit fundraising. Some nonprofits raise a third of their revenue for the year in this timeframe alone. But in 2025, the stakes are even higher. Recent political and economic events and trends have created greater need than ever and corporate giving and employee giving programs have the potential to make a defining impact.
In a recent episode of the Speaking of Purpose by Benevity podcast, host Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer at Benevity, spoke with Michael Thatcher, CEO of Charity Navigator, and Victoria Vrana, CEO of Global Giving, about the current funding landscape and how companies can step up to meet this moment.
Nonprofits are scrambling to recalibrate
Thirty percent of nonprofits receive some sort of government funding, whether that’s direct funding from the federal government, or indirect funding from state or local governments. When governments become less reliable sources of funding, it can put a lot of stress on nonprofits, leading to lost jobs, closed programs and even shuttered organizations. But it also presents a unique opportunity for companies and individuals to emerge and provide critical support.
With funding gaps widening, Giving Season isn’t just a chance to give, it’s a call to action. Grantmaking, employee donation drives and participating in Giving Season can help fill this funding gap.
The ripple effects of vanishing funds are being felt far beyond nonprofit offices. When organizations shut down programs, reduce staff or close their doors entirely, communities are left without access to essential services. Refugee families are losing housing support. Patients with HIV are seeing treatments interrupted. Children in marginalized communities are losing access to education and mental health programs.
"There are hundreds of organizations across 75 countries whose funding vanished overnight,” commented Vrana. “Thriving children who were stable just weeks ago are now being hospitalized because they no longer have access to medication." The erosion of nonprofit capacity isn't theoretical. It's immediate, and it's global.
Giving Season is an opportunity to fill the funding gap
In the 2024 Giving Season, over $140 million was donated to nonprofits through the Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform, and over 260,000 volunteer hours were logged by more than 21,000 individuals — a remarkable 17% increase from the year prior. And the official tally from GivingTuesday tells a similar story, record-breaking results with $3.6 billion donated and over 36 million people participating.
This proof, that employee giving and volunteering can become strategic levers to bridge funding gaps, are opportunities for nonprofits to launch Giving Season asks of their communities. And for corporations to step up.
During the conversation, Thatcher says that Charity Navigator has significantly shifted their efforts towards advocacy work in the last year as caution has become a major topic among corporate leadership. "Corporations have an opportunity to step up. But here’s the thing — they're quiet right now," he commented. "They have a voice. If we don’t use our voice right now, we risk losing it."
Despite the sentiment around caution, Benevity data from this year’s State of Corporate Purpose Report shows a 1 percent increase in leaders advocating for corporate courage, and a 2 percent decrease in those urging caution.
Trends are pointing in the right direction for this Giving Season. Thatcher referenced a surge of courage from individuals since January, as Charity Navigator has seen $11 million move through their platform.
What leaders can do right now
During times of funding uncertainty, companies play a critical role in supporting nonprofits. They can:
- Offer expertise, connections and capacity that nonprofits simply can’t support when funds are scarce, including data security, automation, scenario planning and risk analysis.
- Leverage Benevity toolkits to quickly engage employee giving and volunteering drives during Giving Season, which is a natural moment to channel their energy. Benevity research consistently shows that employees who participate in purpose programs feel more engaged, more loyal and more connected to their teams.
- Increase the corporate commitment to strategic nonprofit partners through adjustments to grant programs, additional corporate donations or creating and promoting peer matching and seed funds to boost participation in employee giving campaigns.
Now more than ever, nonprofits need reliable support and advocacy, not just for their missions and their programs, but for the people and communities they serve. As both leaders emphasized, this is a moment that demands action. With Giving Season underway, companies have a timely opportunity to step up, mobilize their workforce and help fill the growing gaps in service and funding.
