Overcoming key challenges facing nonprofit finance leaders in 2025
The 2025 Nonprofit Technology Impact Report surveyed 350 sector leaders about the pressing challenges affecting their nonprofits’ ability to raise much-needed funds, work effectively, and meet the ever-increasing demand for their services.
To deliver on their missions, nonprofits will need to boost the capacity and productivity of their teams, find efficiencies, and boost visibility across the organization. With the right technology, finance leaders can ensure that teams are empowered to drive their nonprofits’ mission forward for the foreseeable future.
The economic context
When asked about the biggest external challenges their organization is facing, nonprofit leaders across different functions highlighted four critical economic pressures:
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face rising competition for funding
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face rising operational costs in a tough economy
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experience decreased funding
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see increased demand for services
The people challenge
Beyond the economy, staffing has emerged as the sector’s primary external obstacle. Factors such as an inability to compete on wages and benefits, coupled with a decline in interest from volunteers and impactful board members, are threatening nonprofits’ ability to achieve their mission.
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say staffing is the biggest external challenge they’re facing.
Breaking barriers
Internal challenges are creating costly bottlenecks as nonprofit finance teams rely on manual work and a lack of overall visibility.
Process & systems
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lack process automation capabilities
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struggle with multiple, disparate systems
Visibility & planning
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rely on manual reporting
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lack real-time visibility into key metrics and performance
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find it difficult to budget and plan ahead
The path forward
With clear visibility over financial data and an upskilled finance team, nonprofits can maximize their efficiency, plan better for the future and improve cost management. However, as the 2025 technology impact report revealed, there is still work to do.
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37%use tools for forward planning
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34%collect data but don’t fully leverage it
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31%are prioritizing finance team development in 2025
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46%need more information before adopting AI
Time to transform
Now is the time for the sector’s leaders to invest in modern financial management systems that can address those inefficiencies and bottlenecks, make the most of new automation technology, and maximize their organization’s impact in 2025 and beyond.
All statistics have been taken from the
2025 Nonprofit Technology Impact Report