For many nonprofits, 2025 was a year of instability.

Federal funding cuts forced nonprofits to rethink budgets, foundations fielded questions from anxious grantees and donors wondered where their dollars could make the biggest difference. A year later, many of those questions remain, but the frantic pace has slowed, according to several local nonprofit and philanthropy leaders.

One thing hasn’t changed: demand.

At Hunger Task Force, CEO Matt King said requests for food assistance continue to rise, driven primarily by the rising cost of everyday necessities.

Groceries cost roughly 30% more than they did five years ago, according to Hunger Task Force. Average rents have also climbed by about 30% over the same period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while energy costs have risen as well. And, for many households, wages haven’t kept pace.

The result is a growing number of people looking for help simply to get through the month. Hunger Task Force’s statewide food pantry network is now serving more than 180,000 households each month, with pantry visits up more than 50% over the past two years. Many of those visitors aren’t people who have historically relied on food assistance.

“There’s a lot of people right now seeking food assistance for the first time,” King said.

Some fall into what King describes as a gray area. They earn too much to qualify for programs like the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) but not enough to comfortably absorb higher grocery bills, rent and utility costs.

That trend is echoed throughout the nonprofit industry and isn’t unique to Wisconsin. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, which encompasses metro Milwaukee, noted in its June Beige Book report that social service organizations across the region are reporting an increase in the “newly needy” while local funders encourage nonprofits to work together to stretch limited resources.

For Hunger Task Force, federal funding changes are becoming less of an immediate disruption and more of an ongoing reality, but reductions to SNAP benefits approved last year are beginning to affect families, creating additional demand for charitable food assistance.

“The cost of living combined with continued impacts of federal cuts are working in tandem to create a lot of challenges with human services across the board,” he said.

Even so, philanthropic organizations say donor support has held up better than many expected.

Greg Wesley, president and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, said the foundation hasn’t seen evidence of donors pulling back this year, but conversations have changed.

“Donors are asking really thoughtful questions about how to maximize their giving, recognizing that there’s a great need,” Wesley said. “I think conversations have gotten a little deeper, discussing how to make sure they can make an impact. People are paying attention to the economy for sure, but the generosity remains strong.”

Last year, the foundation awarded the largest amount of grants in its history, a response both to federal funding uncertainty and local needs, with that sentiment from donors continuing into this year.

Philanthropic giving this year has ranged from neighborhood nonprofits to major educational institutions. Neu-Life Community Development and Kinship Community Food Center each recently completed enough of their respective capital campaigns to break ground on new facilities. At the other end of the spectrum, the Medical College of Wisconsin announced a $27 million gift to support cancer research, Milwaukee Area Technical College received $15 million for scholarships, All-In Milwaukee received $11 million also for scholarships and UW-Milwaukee received $10 million for its School of Freshwater Sciences. Marquette University has surpassed $100 million in fundraising this year, while Marquette University High School announced a $100 million joint estate commitment from two anonymous donors.

Tony Shields, president and CEO of Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, said funders are increasingly looking beyond individual programs and asking what organizations need to remain viable over the long term, whether that’s related to staffing, technology or something else.

“Organizations and grantmakers are engaging in very trust-based conversations about the real nuances that are happening in these organizations,” said Shields. “There was a narrative many years ago where nonprofits felt the need to always tell the positive story that’s happening in the organization and not really help the funder understand the challenges that are happening. There are a lot of grantmakers that are focusing a lot of their energy on nonprofit capacity building and sustainability, which I think is in response to some of these things happening in the community and the economy.”

That marks a shift from the early days of the pandemic, when philanthropy moved quickly to help nonprofits weather an immediate crisis alongside unprecedented federal relief. While some have looked to foundations to fill gaps left by reductions in government funding, Shields said the sector has become more realistic about its role.

“I think everybody is understanding that philanthropy is not going to be able to totally fill the gaps,” he said. “That’s why building the vitality and the sustainability of nonprofit organizations through other means is a better strategy for this particular moment in time.”