New data shows service nonprofits are already engaging civically, bringing their communities into the democratic process. The opportunity now is to scale what’s working
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the nonprofit sector faces a familiar question with new urgency: is our current approach to civic participation and a healthy democracy enough to meet the scale of what communities are facing now, and what lies ahead? Will the voice of the nonprofit sector and the communities we serve be heard?
The past several years have placed extraordinary demands on nonprofits. Communities are navigating overlapping challenges, from economic instability to barriers to access, and trusted organizations are being asked to do more than ever. That reality is widely understood.
What is less widely understood is the critical role nonprofits play in building an inclusive democracy, and how much potential there is to build on it.
New data from a 2025 survey conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund shows that nearly one in three nonprofits in the United States are already engaging their communities in civic participation, including voter education, registration, and mobilization. At the same time, more than half of those organizations expect non civic-related service demand to rise again this year, and fewer than half believe they will be able to meet it.
Taken together, these findings point to both opportunity and urgency.
They show where civic engagement is already happening right now, embedded in the everyday community work of nonprofits across the nation. They also show that the scale of investment has not yet caught up to the scale of the moment.
For years, civic participation has largely been organized around election cycles. Funding ramps up, attention spikes, and then both recede. That model has brought many into the process, but it was not designed to carry the weight that communities are asking nonprofits to hold today.
The 2025 data suggests another path forward.
The nonprofits engaging communities civically are not primarily advocacy or election-focused organizations. They are service nonprofits. Food banks, housing providers, health clinics, disability service organizations, and community-based groups working with people every day.
They engage in civic participation because they are trusted and present. Helping people navigate systems, understand their rights, and use their voice is already woven into how these organizations support their communities.
Many of these nonprofits serve people who have historically been underrepresented in civic life. A significant share are led by people with lived experience in the communities they serve. In these settings, democratic participation is more than just a “civic responsibility,” but rather closely connected to housing stability, healthcare access, economic opportunity, and dignity.
In practice, these organizations are already functioning as civic infrastructure.
What has not yet happened at scale is treating them that way.
The same data that highlights this opportunity also shows the pressure nonprofits are under. Among organizations engaged in voter participation, more than half anticipate a significant increase in service demand this year. Only 40 percent expect they will be able to meet those needs.
Organizations are continuing to deepen their civic work while managing higher demand, staffing challenges, and limited flexibility. Many are doing so through creativity and commitment, often by stretching already thin capacity.
Philanthropy is beginning to recognize this tension. Research from Democracy Fund shows that many funders see the need to support civic engagement earlier and more consistently, and to account for the growing risks nonprofits face as trusted civic actors.
What comes next is the real test.
If civic participation is going to scale in ways that are inclusive and lasting, it has to be supported where it already lives. That means investing in nonprofit civic capacity alongside human service programs. It means supporting leadership, infrastructure, and year-round engagement so civic participation can grow sustainably, year-around, rather than episodically.
Service nonprofits are not a replacement for advocacy organizations or election administrators. They are, however, a critical and proven part of the civic ecosystem, and one that has not yet been fully leveraged.
As the nation looks toward 2026 and reflects on 250 years of democracy, the opportunity in front of us is not to invent something new. It is to recognize what is already working, and to scale it to meet the moment.
