Jani’s Journal Issue 36: To 2025 and Beyond!
12/10/2024
"To Infinity and Beyond!": 2025 Business Trends for Nonprofits to Anticipate.
2025 is right around the corner! While I’ve been seeing 2025 predictions for everything from weather to music, I haven’t come across any “nonprofit trends to pay attention to” articles. Fortunately, there’s a lot about 2025 (and beyond) that nonprofits can glean from the business world. Based on recent articles from Forbes, Paychex.com, and the Small Business Administration ("SBA"), I’ve compiled the top five business trends for 2025 that nonprofits should attend to along with ways nonprofits can prepare for these emerging trends.
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Trend to Attend to #1: Generative AI
🔗 20+ Best Free AI Tools 🔗
Generative AI is transforming how organizations operate, from creating efficiencies to enabling personalized interactions. For nonprofits, AI offers ways to streamline operations, engage donors more effectively, and optimize resource allocation. Forbes, Paychex.com, and the SBA all emphasizes that 2025 will be the year organizations move beyond hype and strategically integrate generative AI into their business models, unlocking new possibilities across industries, including the education and social impact sectors which frequently intersect with the nonprofit sector. Not sure where to start? This Zapier.com article lists the best Free AI tools along with their potential uses.
Trend to Attend to #2: Sustainability and Circular Economies
🔗 Circular Solutions, Community Revolutions: The Social Impact of Circularity 🔗
Both Paychex.com and Forbes note that people interested and impacted by an organization’s decisions increasingly prioritize environmental sustainability. Nonprofits that embrace sustainable practices not only contribute to global goals but also appeal to environmentally conscious donors and grant makers. This World Economic Forum article provides a primer on how nonprofits and social impact organizations can lead and participate in the circular economy. Regardless of your primary mission, demonstrating your nonprofit’s commitment to and participation in the circular economy contributes to global and organizational sustainability.
Trend to Attend to #3: Customer Experience
🔗 How to Create a Customer Journey Map 🔗
A nonprofit must consider both its funders (donors, grant makers, etc.) and the people its mission serves as customers. In a digital-first world, nonprofits must ensure smooth, cohesive engagement for donors and people served across all touchpoints. This mirrors the business trend of creating frictionless customer journeys emphasized by Forbes, Paychex.com, and the SBA to meet customer expectations and loyalty across online and offline channels. This UX Mastery video breaks down the steps to effective customer journey mapping.
Trend to Attend to #4: Workplace Flexibility
🔗 The Radical Promise of Truly Flexible Work 🔗
Paychex.com identifies workplace flexibility as critical for attracting and retaining employees, while Forbes emphasizes fostering a culture of resilience. Viewing employees as a type of customer, flexible work options also resonate with evolving customer experience expectations noted above. Nonprofits that adopt the truly flexible practices outlined in this Harvard business Review (“HBR”) article can attract mission-driven talent while fostering a culture of resilience and positive employee experience.
HBR highlights the importance of redefining workplace flexibility to improve engagement, productivity, and inclusivity. True flexibility goes beyond remote or hybrid work to encompass multiple dimensions that align work with individual strengths and needs, ensuring a more equitable and sustainable workplace. Key types of flexibility include:
Schedule Flexibility: Allowing employees to adjust their working hours, such as starting later or leaving early, to fit personal needs or caregiving responsibilities.
Place Flexibility: Offering options to work from home, a satellite office, or other locations, catering to those who benefit from reduced commutes or quieter environments.
Mode Flexibility: Tailoring work modes (in-person, virtual, or hybrid) to optimize individual performance and well-being.
Continuity Flexibility: Providing leave options, such as sabbaticals or mental health breaks, proactively supporting long-term employee resilience.
Workload Flexibility: Enabling part-time schedules, job sharing, or adjusted workloads to accommodate diverse life circumstances or abilities.
By adopting these comprehensive strategies, organizations can foster inclusion, align work with employee strengths, and drive meaningful outcomes while addressing systemic challenges like burnout and inequity.
Trend to Attend to #5: Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
🔗 Data Privacy and Cyber Liability: What You Don’t Know Puts Your Mission at Risk 🔗
Both the SBA and Paychex.com highlight the need for cybersecurity infrastructure to protect the sensitive data of all customer types—people served, funders, and employees. Robust cybersecurity measures safeguard trust and prevent costly breaches.
This article by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center highlights the critical importance of data privacy for nonprofits and outlines strategies to mitigate risks associated with collecting, storing, and managing sensitive information. Data breaches can severely damage donor trust and nonprofit reputations, making proactive measures essential. By addressing these key areas, nonprofits can better safeguard their operations and maintain the public’s trust:
Identify and Protect PII: Understand what constitutes personally identifiable information (PII) and adopt policies to safeguard sensitive data, including encryption and restricted access to information stored on devices or in the cloud.
Comply with Legal Requirements: Familiarize your organization with state and federal data breach laws, ensuring timely and appropriate notification of affected parties in case of breaches.
Invest in Cyber Liability Insurance: Coverage can offset costs for breach notifications, regulatory investigations, crisis management, and potential litigation.
Implement Robust Data Security Strategies: Regularly update software, provide employee training on data privacy protocols, and establish a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy.
Evaluate Tech Vendors Carefully: Select vendors with strong reputations and contracts that protect your nonprofit from potential harm due to vendor negligence.
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