By Stephanie Ellis-Smith, Founder and CEO

Happy New Year friends! I hope your holiday celebrations were warm, joyous, and restorative. I had plenty of good times with family and friends and enjoyed having quiet moments during our office closure to reflect on all that’s happened over the past twelve months. I reminded myself of lessons learned, challenges overcome, and – above all – the people, opportunities, and surprises that filled my days with light and joy. Reconnecting with all I have to be grateful for refreshed my spirit and recharged my energy to start the new year (a few days of sleeping-in over the holidays always helps, too!). 

My annual look-back felt especially important to do this year because let’s be honest: 2025 was rough! It was an incredibly challenging and often disheartening year for many of us, especially for anyone who cares about improving lives, advancing equity, and promoting positive social change. Basic tenets of justice and fairness were challenged on an almost daily basis and entire institutions devoted to lifting up communities, from USAID to the Department of Education, were dismantled. 

Against that historically disturbing backdrop, reminders of hope and compassion were more valuable than ever. Thankfully, the world of philanthropy delivered a few particularly inspiring moments just before the holidays. More than 38 million Americans participated in GivingTuesday, contributing more than $4.1 billion to nonprofits – both records! At the other end of the wealth spectrum, Michael and Susan Dell made a $6.25 billion pledge to deposit $250 into savings accounts for up to 25 million children, and days later MacKenzie Scott disclosed that she had given a staggering $7.2 billion to nonprofits in 2025, upping her lifetime generosity to more than $26 billion. 

Closer to home, all of us at Phīla experienced philanthropic success and high points throughout 2025 that are also worth celebrating. Here are a few that stand out for me: 

• We served 22 clients in 2025 who collectively directed more than $100 million to nonprofits. This is a 20% increase over last year.

• We expanded our service offerings by building new grants management and foundation compliance programs. They incorporate our signature values-aligned administration with best-in-class governance, white-glove service, seamless communication, and full integration with tax, legal, and financial teams. 

• A family-foundation client distributed $780,000 in one grant cycle through a streamlined, application-free process, bringing multiple generations together to make decisions for the first time in over 20 years.

• A client new to philanthropy went from making no contributions to giving $1M in her first year while also launching a “giving book” and a $100,000 matching campaign for her five favorite community organizations.

• Another client increased total annual giving by 850% (from an average of $1.17M to $10M), nearly tripled their average grant size (from $71K to $195K), and expanded their reach from 18 to 35 grantees.

Additionally, our team’s expertise and thought leadership continues to be sought by media and at philanthropy conferences. 

I had the pleasure of speaking to the Associated Press about a novel partnership between social media influencer MrBeast and The Rockefeller Foundation to increase youth engagement in volunteering and philanthropy. Managing Director Sofia Michelakis published an op-ed in the Chronicle of Philanthropy that shared suggestions for ways ultra-wealthy givers can overcome hurdles to giving more based on lessons learned from the most generous donors. 

We also shared our perspectives through our monthly newsletter, Insights in Philanthropy, which now has 2,000 subscribers, nearly double the following we had just two years ago. I encourage you to peruse our newsletter archives to see all of the topics we covered in 2025 – and please sign up if you aren’t already a subscriber!

Throughout the year several of my colleagues authored heart-felt and highly personal blogs that provided insights about who they are as people, why they do the work they do, and their perspectives on philanthropy.  

Four that stand out for me are Janell Turner’s sobering reflections on the rebuilding challenges facing the historically Black neighborhood of Altadena, Calif., where she grew up, following last January’s devastating wildfires, and her story of the many delightful reactions she’s received since traveling with a shoulder bag that reads, “Nothing Bad Happens When Women Have More Money.”

Lauren Janus overcame her own hesitations – and her family’s very common aversion to talking about money – to share her experiences as a Next Gen inheritor, which inform how she and the rest of us at Phīla work with multi-generational families. And Mark Greer issued a bold call to high-net-wealth donors to increase their focus on justice-centered philanthropy in the current environment – and offered tangible advice for how to get started.

If you missed any of these posts, I encourage you to revisit them as you do your own reflections on 2025 and gear up for 2026. I am so proud to work alongside the entire Phīla team and of all that we accomplished together in an unusually challenging year.

As we begin this new year, I feel charged and full of hope. I am buoyed by how communities are coming together to protect and support one another, and all the ways people are being creative to use what they have at their disposal to do real good. 2026 will require all of us–from every industry and every walk of life–to push beyond our normal limits to continue to advance our values of decency and justice. I am privileged to be leading Phīla as we play our part.