Happy New Year! The beginning of a new year gives us an opportunity to take stock, make resolutions, set benchmarks and consider trends and challenges our organizations, communities and sector may experience in the foreseeable future. At Philanthropy Northwest, we typically share some of our New Year's resolutions at our first staff meeting of the year, and we've traditionally posted our CEO's predictions for trends we will see in philanthropy over the next 12 months.
Given that 2016 turned out to be so unpredictable, however, we thought it best to cast a wider net this time around! We've asked our staff and board, representing philanthropy leaders across our six-state network, to share their thoughts on what we can expect in 2017.
"This is a time of uncertainty and fear in our region’s most vulnerable communities," writes Kevin Walker, Philanthropy Northwest board chair and Northwest Area Foundation president and CEO. "Many of us in nonprofits and foundations have responded by insisting that our work is more important now than ever. But what does that mean? How must we adapt? How can we do better? 2017 will require courage, toughness and creativity in service to our missions."
In 2017, philanthropy will...
"Play a significant role in addressing issues of homelessness in our communities." —Cheryl Frizzell, finance director
"Welcome uncomfortable conversations about equity." —Lyn Hunter, senior program manager
"Continue to struggle to define its unique role and niche as public sector spending continues to be curtailed and the needs of those living in economic poverty remain under unaddressed." —Ted Lord, senior partner, The Giving Practice
"Step up its advocacy and public policy efforts, raising its voice on behalf of our communities." —Nicole Neroulias Gupte, senior communications manager
"Continue to be challenged by the new administration, Congress and populist voice to proactively address ways to create healthy civic dialogue and discourse in order to address the issues we care about. Health funders in particular will be responding from the fallout of a potential repeal and replace of the ACA. They will be focusing on retaining any ground gained in terms of access and coverage through potential replacement measures. Due to certain state level budget challenges and the potential reduction of federal support for health and social services, funders will be forced to confront the pros and cons of backfilling funding for nonprofits affected by sharp declines in government support. " —Elizabeth Ripley, Philanthropy Northwest board member and Mat-Su Health Foundation executive director
"See greater demand to fill budget shortfalls in programs and services that have historically relied on state and federal dollars." —Leslie Silverman, partner, The Giving Practice
"Be greatly impacted by new tax laws (repeal of estate tax, reduced corporate tax rates, tax cuts for the wealthiest." —Luke Tufts, bookkeeper
Last updated at 2:30 p.m. January 4, 2017. Check back for more updates and contribute your own predictions in the Comments section.
