Corporate America is rapidly pulling back donations to nonprofits focused on diversity, international development and crisis response. Instead, the largest U.S. companies are giving to organizations that specialize in training and business development, according to new research on nonprofit giving and volunteer programs.

Just about a third of companies this year say they’re planning to support diverse-led, equity focused groups, international development organizations or crisis response nonprofits, down from almost two thirds as recently as 2024, according to Benevity, which coordinates corporate and employee giving and volunteer activities for companies. Last year it oversaw about $2.7 billion in corporate donations.

That shift reflects growing backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as well as companies’ efforts to distance themselves from unpopular foreign wars, said Sona Khosla, Benevity’s chief impact officer. The Trump administration’s decision to suspend aid programs under USAID is also adding to wariness about supporting humanitarian efforts, especially among companies with federal contracts, she said.

“I would say it wasn’t any one thing,” Khosla said. “It was this series of things like rolling thunder that started to change the incentives for companies to really invest in these areas. That’s the big recalibration that is happening right now.”

Bigger companies are much more wary than smaller firms, the Benevity research shows. In 2025, 91% of mid-size firms claimed to have “courage” when doling out donations, compared with less than a third of larger companies, Khosla said.

Corporate giving has shifted over the past decade as employers adapted to changing expectations from employees and customers, Khosla said. Before the Covid pandemic, companies focused their philanthropy on purpose-driven causes that would help them attract workers, she said. The pandemic and recent social justice movements shifted giving toward equity-related initiatives. Now, the emphasis has moved again to corporate reputation, trust and workplace development, Khosla said. Even volunteer activities are now often geared toward helping workers learn new skills.

Employee donations have been more consistent, Khosla said. Most are still directed to local projects that reflect personal ties, such as hospitals and schools, though she noted more individuals are giving to social justice groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union.