Celebrating 30 years of impact! What began as an idea in 1995 has evolved into the largest philanthropic network in the nation – more than 1,500 strong – that works together to address the hands-on challenges of lean funders.
As the Exponent Philanthropy team settles into 2026 – our 30th year advancing meaningful philanthropy – we are filled with gratitude for our community and all that we accomplished together last year. During a year shaped by political, economic, and global uncertainty, our members stayed grounded in what matters most: listening to communities, investing in local solutions, and raising a collective voice to protect philanthropic freedom and nonprofit independence.
Our 2025 Year in Review highlights how our network of leanly staffed funders came together to learn, lead, and take action. Organized around Exponent Philanthropy’s four strategic goals—amplifying the voice of lean funders, enhancing their impact, accelerating racial equity and disability inclusion, and building a strong and sustainable future for Exponent Philanthropy—it shows how your continued membership, active engagement, and generous investments in our work translate into real impact.
Goal 1: Amplify the Voice of Lean Funders
In 2025, when federal legislation threatened philanthropic and nonprofit freedom, Exponent Philanthropy mobilized our membership, turning individual voices into a powerful collective force. Together, we secured the most significant advocacy win in our 30-year history, effectively protecting nonprofit independence, preventing an excise tax increase, and making the universal charitable deduction permanent.
This work reinforces one of the key values of Exponent Philanthropy membership: We’re stronger together. The power of our collective voice enables us to influence and transform the broader philanthropic sector, leveraging our unique position and collective reach.
- Recap: Check out the “Advocacy in Action” section of our 2025 Mid-Year Update for details of our advocacy work last year.
- Programs: Dozens of members joined us at Foundations on the Hill – many for the first time – and nearly 450 members participated in our advocacy webinars to stay informed of a rapidly changing policy environment.
- Webinar: From D.C. to Main Street: Federal Policy & Actions Impacting Your Community
- Webinar: Markets in Motion: What Policy Shifts Mean for Funders
- Webinar: Reducing the Noise: What Do Recent Executive Orders Mean for Foundation Giving & Governance?
- Webinar: Leverage your Advocacy Muscle
- Publication: Advocacy Field Guide – Offers practical, field-tested guidance to help lean funders engage in advocacy and public policy in ways that are compliant, strategic, and values-driven.
- Case Study: Catalytic Leadership Practices: A Case Study of Philanthropy’s Role in Policy Change – Illustrates how catalytic leaders leverage relationships and influence to support policy change and systems-level impact.
- Blogs: Timely blogs helped funders navigate advocacy, governance, and grantmaking amid shifting conditions, supporting board understanding, response to disruption, and continued philanthropic responsibility.
- Helping Your Board Understand Advocacy
- Philanthropy in Flux: Key Resources to Help Funders Navigate Disruption
- Funding in Uncertain Times: Anchoring Principles for Responsive Philanthropy
- What Recent Executive Orders Mean for Foundation Giving and Governance
- Philanthropy’s Responsibility Persists: Staying the Course Amid Change
Goal 2: Enhance the Impact of Lean Funders
Guided by the principles of Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy (CLIP), Exponent Philanthropy focuses on strengthening the impact of lean funders by creating opportunities to connect, learn, and act together. As a national network spanning the ideological spectrum, our members share a commitment to using their limited time and resources as effectively as possible. In 2025, that meant investing in relationships, shared learning, and peer leadership to help funders navigate change and respond to community needs with greater confidence and clarity.
Connecting Lean Funders
Connection is a core catalyst of CLIP, and in 2025, Exponent Philanthropy created multiple spaces for meaningful peer exchange. Across the year, members came together at our Annual Conference, through Regional Gatherings, virtual peer circles, our newly launched CEO Roundtable, and more. These spaces helped funders share real-world challenges and solutions, reduce isolation, and strengthen decision-making through trusted peer relationships.
- Annual Conference: Nearly 500 attendees from 43 states and U.S. territories gathered in Columbus, Ohio, for one of our highest-rated conferences to date. Explore key moments and reflections in Community, Courage, and Connection: Highlights From the 2025 Conference.
- Regional Gatherings: More than 225 members gathered in person across nearly a dozen Regional Gatherings, supporting shared learning and collective sensemaking as funders navigated real-time challenges together. Highlights are featured in the “Connecting Locally, Learning Together” section of our 2025 Mid-Year Update.
- Cohort Programs and Peer Spaces: Exponent Philanthropy deepened leadership practice through structured cohort programs and peer spaces. In 2025, 16 new leaders were introduced to Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy (116 overall), 19 Next Generation leaders began their cohort journey, 20 leaders participated in a newly launched CEO Roundtable, and members engaged in three ongoing peer circles—Disability Funders, Spend Down, and First Hires— with a new Catalytic Leadership Peer Forum launching in 2026, alongside a robust online peer discussion community.
Providing Practical Tools and Insights
In 2025, Exponent Philanthropy continued to provide lean funders with clear, practical guidance grounded in research and real-world experience. Across publications, services, and member-driven content, we focused on helping funders stay informed, reduce complexity, and apply best practices in ways that align with their values and capacity.
Key highlights include: 
- Publication: 2025 Foundation Operations & Management Report – Our flagship benchmarking study offers data and trends on how lean foundations are staffed, governed, and managed. Check out this blog post for key insights.
Case Study: Growing Catalytic Philanthropy Through Seed Grants highlights how one lean foundation uses seed grants to support innovation, build relationships, and catalyze long-term impact. - Member Services: Insurance and Legal Support: Nearly half of our 1,500 members take advantage of our D&O Insurance discounts, and nearly 100 members opt in to additional Legal Services (Signature+ Membership).
- Blogs: Shaped by member questions and experience, these posts provide practical guidance on governance, compliance, grantmaking practices, and more:
Sharing Member Stories
Exponent Philanthropy strengthens the impact of lean funders by elevating member insights and translating real-world experience into practical learning. In 2025, members shared candid stories across our blog and The Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast, offering concrete examples of how lean funders are adapting strategies, responding to community needs, and using their influence beyond grants.
Member Stories on the Blog
Exponent Philanthropy’s blog amplified member voices and practical lessons from the field, highlighting how lean funders are strengthening impact through values-driven decision-making, adaptive strategies, and relationship-centered approaches. In 2025, featured stories included:
- Outsized Impact Award: Tomás Alvarez III of the Grunin Foundation was recognized for advancing equity and community-centered leadership.
- Building Bridges: The Power of Social Capital in Grantmaking
- Don’t Know Where to Start with AI? Try Using Your Values
- Animal Welfare Is Community Care: Why Lean Funders Should Pay Attention
- Catalytic Leadership Through Seed Grants: Lessons from the Howell Conservation Fund
Member Stories from the Podcast
The Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast provided deeper, conversation-based learning, featuring lean funders sharing how they navigate change, support communities, and use their influence beyond grants. Episodes demonstrated how lean funders apply judgment, stewardship, and influence to enhance impact, including:
- Building Alliances Between a City’s Nonprofits and Its Business Community: Jessica Gilmore of the Expressions of Hope Foundation shares how leveraging business relationships helps nonprofits build social capital.
- How a Lean Foundation Doubled Its Spending to Meet Urgent Needs: Ricshawn Adkins Roane of the Weissberg Foundation reflects on increasing spending and streamlining processes during a period of funding cuts.
- Making a Case for Foundations Spending More to Meet the Moment: Roane makes the case that five percent is a floor, not a ceiling, and explores responsible approaches to rethinking payout.
- Asking “What Do You Need?” Led Us to Create Capacity-Building Programs: Lauren Scott of the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund describes how listening differently led to new capacity-building investments.
Goal 3: Accelerate Racial Equity and Disability Inclusion Among Lean Funders
In 2025, Exponent continued to support lean funders who are working to better understand and address inequities. Rather than prescribing a single approach, we highlighted real examples from members who are listening differently, sharing power, and adjusting practices over time.
- Publication: 2025 Racial Equity in Lean Foundations – This year’s report highlights how foundations are moving from reflection to action and redefining risk to advance equity. It’s full of member stories and data-driven insights from across the country. Check out this blog post for key insights.
- Blogs: From data-driven analysis to first-person reflection, these posts highlight how lean funders are confronting pay inequities, sharing power through participatory grantmaking, and supporting community leadership, illustrated by:
- The Gender Pay Gap Is Getting Worse, Not Better
- Reflections on Participatory Grantmaking from a Retiring Executive Director
- Passing the Baton: How One Foundation Is Expanding Equity Through Relay Grants
- Staying the Course Toward Inclusive Philanthropy
- Lessons in Board Recruitment from Malcolm MacLeod
- Member Engagement: In 2025, we deepened our commitment to equity by grounding our work in the lived experiences of BIPOC members. We began conducting targeted user experience research to better understand how our programs, publications, and communications could more effectively support their needs and aspirations. At our Annual Conference, we hosted two BIPOC Community, Connection, and Belonging gatherings, creating intentional space for relationship-building and reflection. We also piloted a small-group dine-around for members who remain steadfast in their equity commitments amid a shifting and often hostile political climate, fostering connection, solidarity, and renewed resolve.
- Cohort Spaces: Disability Inclusion Peer Group and BIPOC Convenings
Goal 4: Build a Strong and Sustainable Future for Exponent Philanthropy
As Exponent Philanthropy celebrates its 30th anniversary, our board and staff are committed to ensuring we are in a strong position to serve lean funders well into the future. In 2025, we worked to strengthen our leadership, finances, and long-term sustainability, ensuring Exponent can continue serving lean funders for decades to come.
- Financial Health: 2025 marked a major financial milestone for Exponent – our first balanced budget in nearly a decade! Thanks to diligent expense management, a refreshed fund development strategy, and key, multi-year investments by our Momentum Builders, Exponent is well on its way toward a more sustainable future.
- Leadership and Capacity: In 2025, Paul Daugherty celebrated his 3rd anniversary as Exponent’s CEO (anniversary message). We welcomed Alex McCray as our new Managing Director of Knowledge and promoted Brendan McCormick and Althea Georgantas to Director roles. We also welcomed Aislinn Bentancourt, Associate Director, Equity, People, Inclusion & Culture (EPIC), and Laura Kruis, Executive Specialist, to the team. These leadership investments deepen Exponent’s capacity to support and amplify the philanthropic impact of lean funders nationwide. Meet our incredible team here.
- Revised Dues Structure: In 2025, guided by extensive member input, Exponent announced a new asset-based dues model, which will launch in January 2027. Today, dues cover less than 40% of our annual operating budget. The new structure moves us toward a more sustainable 60%, helping ensure Exponent remains strong, responsive, and well-equipped to serve our members for years to come.
Thank You for Being a Part of Our Continued Success!
Thank you for being part of the Exponent Philanthropy community. Your membership, engagement, and generosity power the connections, learning, and collective action that make this work possible. As we look ahead to 2026, and to Exponent’s 30th anniversary, we remain committed to strengthening our national network so our 1,500+ members can continue to learn from one another, act together, and make a lasting difference in the communities they serve.