In 2025, the nonprofit sector faced a tumultuous year of legal and policy volatility, marked by sweeping executive actions, funding freezes, and major legislative changes that have reshaped the environment for charitable organizations. It is no wonder that the sector has been dealing with employee burnout. Below is our list of 10 significant news events of 2025 affecting the nonprofit sector in the United States:

1. Federal Funding Freeze – Trump Administration Orders Sweeping Freeze of Federal Aid (Politico); How Government Funding Disruptions Affected Nonprofits in Early 2025 (Urban Institute)

2. One Big Beautiful Bill Act – Analysis of the 2025 Tax Bill and Its Impact on Charitable Nonprofits (National Council of Nonprofits); Some Highlights of H.R. 1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Nonprofit Law Blog)

3. Substantial Illegal Purpose and Public Service Loan Forgiveness – U.S. Department of Education Announces Final Rule on Public Service Loan Forgiveness to Protect American Taxpayers (US Department of Education); Proposed PSLF Changes Would Undermine Nonprofits and Public Service Careers (Nonprofit Quarterly)

4. “Illegal DEI” – What’s Up With DEI? (Nonprofit Law Blog); Memorandum for All Federal Agencies from The Attorney General: Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination (Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General); DEI Initiatives in the Crosshairs of the Administration: What Nonprofits Need to Know to Mitigate Their Risk (American Bar Association)

5. Other Executive Orders and Federal Policy Affecting Nonprofits – Chart on Executive Orders (National Council of Nonprofits); Presidential Memorandum on Countering Domestic Terrorism: Legal and Enforcement Implications (Morgan Lewis); The Rules Remain the Same: Lobbying in the Wake of a Recent Executive Order Targeting the Misuse of Federal Grant Funds (Alliance for Justice); Nonprofit Legal Compliance in an Unfriendly Political Environment (Nonprofit Quarterly)

6. Rise of AI – Nonprofits Are Embracing AI, but Many Struggle to Find Funding (Chronicle of Philanthropy);How Nonprofits Can Help Shape AI Governance (Nonprofit Quarterly)

7. Dismantling of USAID and U.S. Foreign Policy – Farewell to USAID: Reflections on the agency that President Trump dismantled (NPR); USAID shutdown has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health); First 100 Days: Trump’s Foreign Policy Disruption Is Just Beginning (Council on Foreign Relations)

8. Federal Climate Policy Rollback – How Trump’s First Year Reshaped U.S. Energy and Climate Policy (New York Times); How nonprofits and academia are stepping up to salvage US climate programs (MIT Technology Review)

9. Record-Setting Charitable Gifts – Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave $7.1B to nonprofits in 2025, a major increase (ABC News); Knight Donation Tops List of 2025’s Biggest Gifts (Chronicle of Philanthropy)  

10. Immigration Enforcement – DHS moves to bar aid groups from serving undocumented immigrants (Washington Post); Protecting Classrooms: What Nonprofits Need to Know About ICE in Schools (Nonprofit Quarterly); 42 faith leaders arrested after chaining themselves to S.F. immigration court

Take care of yourselves!