The Johnson Center for Philanthropy has released its annual trends in philanthropy report and identifies networks and connections as key trends for 2023.

‘The philanthropic sector is an ecosystem: a web of interdependent actors, infinitely variable, striving constantly to build something greater than the sum of its parts,’ reads the introduction to 11 Trends in Philanthropy for 2023, released earlier this month.

The issues the report covers this year zoom in on how the forces rippling across ecosystems are playing out at the level of individual organizations. Public accountability, investment decisions, distributed leadership – these are questions that each person and each partnership must answer for itself.

Philanthropy is also getting organized and reorganized. Funding collaboratives, unionized labour, new governance structures – individual actors are making moves, coming together to cause change on a broader scale. As ideas and methods gain attention, they introduce yet more dynamism to the environment.

The 11 trends are:

1. The rise of collaborative funding
2. Rethinking what capacity-building should be
3. Disaster philanthropy transitioning
4. For-profit news outlets exploring non-profit models
5. New organisational structure models toppling the staff pyramid
6. Policymakers are paying increasing attention to moving more money faster
7. An ESG backlash will affect philanthropy and impact investing
8. Will philanthropy stay focused on racial equity?
9. Nonprofit employees moving to unionise
10. IRS delays and other barriers to data mean real risks for nonprofits
11. The public is holding nonprofits accountable to living their mission and values

To read the full report, visit johnsoncenter.org.