Reflections on 2025 | A Year of Adaptation + Growth

By: Kaky Grant, Founder and Principal

“In the time of change, learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer, Social Philosopher

Grant Philanthropic Advisors closed its doors for two weeks over the holidays. During that time, I had the good fortune of being with my family – my children, parents and both sides of our family. It was joyous. Having this space to catch my breath offered special time for reflection – not just on the state of our world –  but on the field of philanthropy and the future of our firm. It felt especially poignant to offer this reflection as 2025 offered endless lessons on change and adaptation.

2025 was not what anyone expected. I think we can all agree with that statement. The nonprofit sector saw changes to funding streams that were abrupt and required significant pivots. Some nonprofits found themselves under scrutiny based on words and phrases in their mission statements and external communications. Philanthropists adapted and responded – and continue to do so – with creative and generous approaches to meet the moment. Our firm witnessed our clients’ acts of generosity in sharing not just financial resources, but offering acts of compassion and connection that were extraordinarily meaningful to nonprofit leaders.

At GPA, we retooled as well to continue to meet the changing landscape of family philanthropy. 

  • We served 26 clients in 2025: private foundations, donor advised fund holders, corporations, and philanthropic serving organizations.This is an increase of 13% from the previous year. Our clients joyfully gave millions of dollars to their grant partners in alignment with their values.
  • We nearly doubled the size of our team to expand our reach and our expertise. Darcy Addison, Leslie Gross, Olivia Zale and Megan Oglesby joined us in 2025. This powerhouse team adds tremendously to our advising bench, bringing a valuable next gen perspective, insights on arts and culture and expertise in political risk in philanthropy. Our firm now has a presence in Chicago and the Greater New York area.
  • We launched a new offering, Legacy in Motion, in partnership with next gen leader Megan Oglesby to help families navigate the complexities of wealth while finding their purpose.
  • We offered Lunch and Learn sessions led by Leslie Gross to educate advisors and philanthropists on how best to navigate political risk with their philanthropy in this current environment.
  • We spoke at Philanthropy Serving Organizations North Carolina Network of Grantmakers and Social Responsibility Chicago and published a commentary piece in Charleston’s Post & Courier. Our blog continues to grow highlighting our thought leadership.
  • By the numbers in 2025, the GPA team:
    • Conducted 2 executive searches for private foundations
    • Attended 3 philanthropy conferences
    • Added 4 new team members
    • Engaged 6 clients in coaching engagements with staff members and next gen family members
    • Facilitated 7 family planning retreats
    • Created 10 philanthropic strategic plans 
    • Created 10 Philanthropic Maps through our impact reporting tool, Stratlas
    • Helped to implement 12 strategic plans
    • Participated in dozens of site visits
    • Conducted due diligence on endless nonprofits

What does the future hold in 2026? We wrote about this in our anniversary post last November. We are prepared for a 2026 that will continue to offer more unexpected challenges and opportunities to adapt. We feel certain that The Great Wealth Transfer will trigger opportunities for strategic philanthropic planning and education of the rising generation of philanthropic families. Our team is well poised to connect philanthropists with their purpose to maximize social impact. It is often said that hope is not a strategy. This is certainly true. But hope is foundational to our work. It will be so again in 2026. And as ever, we work with joy-filled hearts to support our clients and all that the field of philanthropy has to offer.

About Grant Philanthropic Advisors:
We’re an independent firm helping clients to focus and maximize their philanthropy—in turn, strengthening the fabric of our communities. Founded in 2019, we help donors move from responsive patterns of giving by assisting clients to identify values and become more strategic in their philanthropy. Our goal is to help donors to become more effective as change-makers. We work with foundations (large and small staff teams), donor advised fund holders, multi generational families, individuals, philanthropy supporting organizations and corporations to design philanthropic strategies.

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