This summer, Americans are celebrating the country’s founders for their courage, vision, and democratic ideals. But as the nation continues recognizing its 250th anniversary, it’s worth remembering that democracy endured not only because of our founding documents, but because generations of citizens, businesses, nonprofits, and civic institutions built the connective tissue that made this great political experiment work.
From the beginning, American democracy depended on more than government. It depended on people and institutions willing to organize around shared needs, solve problems locally, and build trust across communities.
Long before Benjamin Franklin was a statesman, he was a civic entrepreneur. His Junto Club, or Leather Apron Club, grew into a gathering of tradespeople and artisans committed to mutual improvement. They helped establish Philadelphia’s first lending library, the first volunteer fire company in the colonies, and a public hospital. Franklin and his peers understood something essential: When people unite around community needs and values, they can build institutions that outlast any single political moment.
AN ENGINE OF GLOBAL IMPACT
That pattern has repeated across 250 years. The result is a sector that has become indispensable to America’s future. The nearly two million registered U.S. nonprofits today employ more than 12.8 million people, representing the third-largest workforce in the country, after retail and manufacturing. Over $600 billion in donations were made in 2025 in the U.S. Nonprofits spent more than $670 billion on wages in 2017, the latest data available. That figure has likely gone up in the years since. Factor in the businesses that have built large-scale community partnerships alongside their core operations, and we have an engine of global impact and national resilience.
I’ve spent four decades working in technology, the latest chapter building tech for the social impact sector. As a first-generation American, I’ve seen firsthand what this country’s civic infrastructure makes possible—and what’s at stake when it frays. I also watch organizations tackle some of the most complex challenges in American life with extraordinary creativity and a willingness to embrace the latest tools. This social impact space is home to some of the most innovative and consequential work being done in America today.
A MULTI-SECTOR OPPORTUNITY
American civil society’s growth story remains strong: Total charitable giving continues to reach record highs. But the number of Americans participating tells a different story—one showing strain that requires our focus.
Over the last decade, while the total amount donated to nonprofit causes has continued to grow, the number of households donating to nonprofits has declined, according to the Generosity Commission. The pandemic also led to a drop in volunteering that has only just begun rebounding.
As the former co-chair of the Generosity Commission—a blue-ribbon panel convened to understand these trends and propose solutions—the finding that stayed with me was this: Americans want to give and they know it matters. But they’re often held back by time, money, and a sense that their contribution won’t move the needle.
Like every consequential challenge in American history, this is not a problem for one sector to solve alone. As employers and conveners at scale, companies have a particular role to play, and the case for why has never been clearer.
Private sector engagement with civil society isn’t just charity, but a fundamental strategic advantage. Companies that invest in their communities build deeper customer relationships, more engaged workforces, and the kind of elevated trust that differentiates brands from the rest of the competition.
TECHNOLOGY’S ROLE
For 250 years, civil society has depended on infrastructure: associations, institutions, partnerships, and the businesses standing alongside it. Going forward, technology will play an even greater role here as well.
Many organizations are already seeing a difference. AI makes fundraising more personalized, donor engagement more effective, and operations more efficient, freeing talented professionals to focus more on strategic and creative endeavors.
Those at the top of the AI-maturity scale—organizations with governance, data readiness, and accountability in place—consistently report stronger outcomes, from fundraising revenue and donor retention to staff productivity. And they’re not just saving time; they’re reinvesting those gains into advancing their mission.
Successful AI adoption supports the social impact sector’s ability to maintain financial resilience, grow donor confidence, and continue responding to pressing societal needs. When businesses help nonprofits adopt these tools, they are investing directly in the health of the sector and the civic infrastructure that has helped American communities endure, adapt, and thrive for 250 years.
The founding generation believed and proved that the country’s future could be built by the sum of its parts. Alongside the boldest political experiment in self-governance in human history, that belief called for an engaged, generous, and community-minded citizenry—and the business and civil society to support it.
That conviction is now our inheritance. We have the tools and the playbook. The next 250 years are ours to build.
Mike Gianoni is president, CEO, and vice chairman of Blackbaud.
