The social sector’s collective experience in 2025 was one of continual change. Fairmount’s nonprofit clients sustained a year of ongoing disruption as they re-evaluated mission statements, downsized programs hit by sudden federal cuts, and strengthened their governance capacities. Some quickly started food relief and mutual aid programs during the SNAP freeze and the prolonged federal and PA state budget crises. Many lost development staff, sometimes with fundraisers leaving the field entirely. Few knew how to confidently talk about, no less who would fund, their equity work.
Fairmount’s team flexed its core values of thought partnership and empathy to support clients throughout the challenging year. Our minds-on, hands-on approach helped clients rethink and fund programs at risk, fill development team gaps, find strong new leaders, integrate new partners, and grapple with existential questions about their purpose and impact.
We’re grateful for the confidence 50+ organizations placed in us in 2025, and we’re proud to share a few stories of what we accomplished together:
NEW LEADERS: Steadfast commitment to social good drives our sector, which means many leaders dedicate decades to their organizations. Fairmount led comprehensive, inclusive searches when Reading Allowed’s Founding Director transitioned to its board and when the Moonstone Preschool community sought a new director to help chart its future. Leadership transitions often raise fears about the unknown. Fairmount helped both clients embrace the unknown as visioning opportunities, and used the search process to clarify strategic priorities, with new, diverse leadership carrying each organization into its respective next phase.
NEW STRATEGIC GOALS: The City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department created the Workforce Professional Alliance to leverage members’ knowledge, skill, and scale to strengthen the local workforce preparation ecosystem. Fairmount drew on our extensive experience in regional workforce development to lead the 35-member alliance to a new vision, mission, action plan, and governance structure that harnesses its current momentum to organize for the future. By convening an expansive set of workforce development stakeholders and provider organizations in the spirit of shared learning and accountability, the Alliance is now well positioned for collective impact. In this period of upheaval and uncertainty, there is no better time for a collaborative approach.
NEW FUNDRAISING PARTNERS: Integrating new fundraising professionals into an existing team and orienting them to an organization’s practices and funder relationships takes time, nuanced detail, intention, and a firm understanding of internal strategic goals and fundraising priorities. This year, Fairmount built fundraising capacity by supporting new development professionals at National Liberty Museum and by working with Lackawanna College’s development team to coordinate integration, ease the transition, and transfer information smoothly as they entered into their merger with Peirce College.
In 2025, we led projects to envision, plan, connect, and realize change for 51 nonprofit, education, and public sector clients, with budgets from under $1M to more than $100M. Our geographic impact continues to expand to serve the five-county Philadelphia region, southern and central New Jersey, Delaware, New York City, and beyond. We’re proud of our recent impact in human services, museums, sustainability and energy, economic and workforce mobility, higher education, housing, youth development, civic affairs, health centers, community organizing, and philanthropy.
Of clients who completed our 2025 Client Satisfaction Survey, 100% reported that our work and our process met their expectations, and among them, 85% said that Fairmount exceeded their expectations. Here’s what clients are saying about us:
“Partners who listen closely and ask hard questions.” – Center for Family Services
“Collaborative, knowledgeable, professional but approachable, aligned with our culture.” – Main Line School Night
“We appreciated Fairmount’s approach throughout the entire process and were thrilled with the end results. Fairmount guided us through a moment of great uncertainty and provided a good balance of hand-holding with letting us go.” – Reading Allowed
Fairmount’s strategic guidance helped organizations align around priorities, shift how they talk about their work, expand their thinking about new possibilities, and increase the confidence and improve the skills of key staff.
Our team of smart, collaborative advisors are ready to help you solve emerging problems and embrace new opportunities in 2026, whether that means finding your next executive, writing a complex funding request, strengthening collaboration, or developing a strategic plan that’s adaptable to the ever-changing external environment.
Reach out to nmeyenberg@fairmountinc.com to see how we can help your organization grow and thrive.