Nonprofits are currently facing extraordinary challenges and opportunities. As we navigate through political and economic uncertainties, technological shifts, and changing donor behaviors, the need for data-driven insights has never been more critical.
This breakout report examines the current state of the nonprofit sector through the lens of accounting and finance professionals, compiling valuable insights into the priorities, concerns, and strategies shaping nonprofit organizations today. These insights are from the 2025 Nonprofit Trends Study, commissioned by Momentive Software and conducted by Edge Research.
The report will explore:
- 2024 nonprofit operational performance and 2025 strategic priorities
- How organizations are overcoming funding challenges
- Shifting technological strategies
Discover ways to help your nonprofit navigate the challenges ahead, embrace innovative approaches, and ultimately further your mission more effectively.
2024 Reflections and 2025 Projections
In a turbulent, uncertain nonprofit sector, understanding year-end performance and future projects offers invaluable insight into the state of nonprofit operations. Essentially, the data reveals mixed financial results with cautious optimism for 2025 performance.
While nonprofits saw growth across the board in 2024, finance professionals predictably expect government grants to decline, with their organization cutting both staff size and investments in technology as a result.
Despite the cuts, the optimism of finance professionals remains relatively high for the year. Fifty-six percent of respondents were somewhat optimistic (35%) or very optimistic (21%). Surprisingly, only 18% of respondents were somewhat pessimistic (13%) or very pessimistic (5%).
That optimism can be attributed to several factors but is closely tied to 2025 operational priorities and the plans to accomplish them. Nonprofit finance pros’ top priorities for the year were:
- Increasing revenue
- Developing new revenue streams
- Building trust with donors and the community
To accomplish these goals, organizations planned to take the following actions in 2025:
- Upgrading data security software, systems, or protocols
- Upgrading accounting or financial systems or software
- Upgrading to cloud-hosted software
Many nonprofits are actively pivoting their current operational strategies. Collaborating with other nonprofits has emerged as a key adaptation strategy to fight uncertainty. The main report found that 82% of nonprofits plan to maintain or increase partnerships with similar-mission organizations, and 46% specifically intend to expand these collaborative efforts.
Dialing in the research for finance professionals reveals collaboration will be just as significant going forward. Forty percent of respondents plan to increase collaboration this year, and 39% expect to maintain current levels.
Notably, as finance professionals look to build trust within their community, they anticipate expanding the services provided to constituents and their community, with 28% expecting to offer more services, 39% expecting to maintain current levels, and only 6% expecting to scale back services.
Staying Resilient, Fueling Change
Examining the priorities of finance professionals reveals technology is at the forefront. Respondents are heavily invested in technology, and most organizations consider themselves either early adopters (26%) or on-time adopters (35%). Only 35% of respondents said their organization was a tech laggard.
Finance pros were likely to agree that “technology is transforming my organization for the better” (58% overall) and that “nonprofits that don’t transform technologically within the next few years won’t survive” (50% overall).
In 2025, 18% of respondents indicated that they’d invest in new or improved technology, with 24% planning to spend more on accounting systems and 13% targeting payroll systems.
Concerning purchasing, finance professionals often exhibit circumstantial vendor loyalty. Thirty-eight percent said they purchase technology from multiple vendors; 8% look for a single provider, and 54% said it depends on the situation.
When looking to invest in technology, respondents listed several factors as a top priority, including:
- Cost: 58%
- Staff being able to use the technology: 54%
- Data privacy: 46%
- Support and training: 38%
- Fee structure: 38%
Surprisingly, professionals tended to overlook whether the technology would lead to a return on investment (28%) for their organization.
Beyond investing in new technology, tech satisfaction was of particular interest. When considering overall satisfaction, finance pros mirrored the responses of the larger study rating their satisfaction with technology as average (46%), with room for improvement. Only 30% ranked their organization as excellent or very good.
Evaluating industry-specific technology rankings improved significantly. Fifty-two percent of finance pros said their accounting technology was very good or excellent, and 49% said the same for payroll technology.
Interestingly, one of the strongest predictors of optimism for 2025 performance was being technologically prepared for the future. Nonprofit accounting professionals have not only taken that to heart but, through relatively high investment and satisfaction scores, have shown that accounting technology is increasing organization efficiency and driving results.
More than a Buzzword: Artificial Intelligence
Despite artificial intelligence (AI) permeating various industries, AI adoption in the nonprofit sector remains in its early stages. Just one in five nonprofit professionals say their organization uses it (21%).
Financial professionals are in a similar situation. AI use in accounting is low. The top uses of AI in finance include financial planning and analysis (21%), everyday accounting (16%), reporting (16%), and informing decision-making (11%). None of those were rated as top priority for AI use either.
One element that is holding back AI adoption is board policies. Only a third of organizational boards support the use of AI today, with 54% not discussing AI use or still determining a policy regarding it. The governance gap existing around AI could be stifling innovation and limiting organizational efficiency.
To start using AI, develop a comprehensive AI policy aligned with your organization’s values and existing technology governance that addresses the following:
- Acceptable uses and ethical boundaries
- Data privacy and security considerations
- Staff training and implementation guidelines
- Approved tools and vendor relationships
The increase in nonprofit AI use during the year will be an interesting driver of operational efficiency. It’s clear that AI tools have plenty of potential for nonprofits, and with adoption still, in its early stages, it’s not too late to get in on the ground floor and leverage the technology to boost efficiency.
Maintain Mission Momentum
The research shows successful nonprofit organizations embrace technological transformation, finding new ways to increase efficiency and increasing collaboration in the face of significant political and economic uncertainties. Finance professionals are at the center of it all, intertwined with organizational success and finding ways to maintain momentum during uncertain times.
Resiliency in uncertainty is key. Missions are at the center of everything nonprofits do. While nonprofit professionals have long touted the benefits of resilience, it’s truly on display this year. Where some businesses would scale back services, nonprofits are moving forward and making a difference with their constituents’ and missions’ front of mind.
A survey was conducted among 306 adults in the U.S. who work at a nonprofit organization as a Director/Manager level or higher. The online survey took place between February 25, 2025 and March 10, 2025. Due to rounding, not all percentage totals in this report equal 100 percent.
All nonprofit finance professionals work for nonprofits. Eighty-eight percent worked for general nonprofits, 8% for government entities, and 4 % for educational organizations.
