Amid New Policy Landscape, Corporate America Changes Philanthropic Priorities

Seismic shifts in the US policy landscape are prompting corporate philanthropy leaders to make big changes to their companies' philanthropic priorities for the year ahead.

According to a new survey by The Conference Board, more corporate philanthropy leaders plan to ramp up their companies’ efforts around economic opportunity and education. At the same time, they anticipate dialing back their initiatives around racial and gender equality.

“These findings signal a shift, not a retreat, in advancing gender and racial equality. Companies are incorporating these goals into broader frameworks—like workforce development, technical trainings, and financial empowerment—that better align with their core business priorities,” said Andrew Jones, author of the report and Senior ESG Researcher at The Conference Board.

When it comes to geographic areas of focus, philanthropy executives are also shaking things up. They anticipate putting more support into initiatives based in the US, followed by Mexico and Canada. But they plan to scale back their philanthropic efforts in China.

This report is based on a survey of over 120 philanthropy executives from leading US and multinational companies. Respondents shared their challenges and opportunities for the year ahead in light of the 2024 election outcomes.

Additional findings include:

Areas of Focus

Corporate philanthropy strategies are increasingly focusing on economic opportunity & education.

How do you anticipate the results of the 2024 US elections will influence the thematic focus of your citizenship/philanthropy strategy in 2025?

• More focus on economic opportunity and education: They are the top two themes philanthropy executives are increasing their emphasis on in 2025.
• Less focus on racial and gender equality: They are the top two themes philanthropy executives are decreasing their emphasis on in 2025.

Geographic Focus

Companies are turning more attention to US initiatives, while dialing back their activities in China.

How do you anticipate the results of the 2024 US elections will influence the geographic focus of your citizenship/philanthropy strategy in 2025?

• Increasing attention to US- and North America-based activities: Executives say their companies will increase their emphasis on initiatives in the US, followed by Canada and Mexico.
• Decreasing attention to China- and Latin America-based activities: Executives say they will decrease their emphasis on China, followed by Latin America (a distant second).

Challenges

The top challenge facing philanthropy executives is demonstrating their programs’ ROI.

What are the biggest obstacles you expect to face in achieving your citizenship/philanthropy goals in 2025? (Select up to 3)

• Proving the ROI of philanthropic efforts is the top pain point: 43% of executives say demonstrating the ROI of their efforts is their biggest obstacle in 2025.
  • Other challenges include measuring, verifying, or attributing societal impact (31%) and navigating political uncertainty and polarization in the US (29%).

“Executives who measure the ROI of philanthropic initiatives ensure their programs add value. Quantifying their value is an important task. Practical steps leaders can take include refining data collection on key business indicators, such as the link between employee engagement and CSR programs, as well as contributions to brand equity,” said Jeff Hoffman, Institute Leader, Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy, The Conference Board.

Communications & Terminology

The language describing philanthropic initiatives is changing, driven by the new policy landscape.

How do you expect to adjust the communications and messaging of your company’s citizenship/philanthropy initiatives in 2025? (Select all that apply)

• More than a third of executives are revising language: 37% of executives say they are revising the language and terminology used to describe their initiatives, both internally and externally.
  • The top-cited reasons for making these changes are companies responding to political, social, and legal developments (44%) and minimizing backlash (41%).

 Amid the flurry of change, the level and frequency of communications is increasing.

How do you expect to adjust the communications and messaging of your company’s citizenship/philanthropy initiatives in 2025? (Select all that apply)

• Many executives plan to increase the level and frequency of communication: 41% of executives plan to increase communications internally, while 30% plan to increase externally.
  • Less than 10% plan to decrease, either internally or externally.