Beacon’s year in review
We’re wrapping up 2025 with full hearts and a lot to be grateful for. So, before the year ends, we want to share some reflections on what we’ve learned and who made it possible.
Looking back on 2025
What a year 2025 has been for nonprofits. We’ve watched donors give more—a 2.9% increase in total dollars—but have seen fewer people giving, with the smallest donors dropping by over 10% (Association of Fundraising Professionals). More than 60% of nonprofits have embraced AI tools (Candid), and the design world has shifted too: from minimalist sites to interactive storytelling, personalized user experiences, and immersive visual content that transforms statistics into compelling narratives.
At Beacon, these shifts remind us why reflection and gratitude aren’t just nice year-end rituals—they’re essential. When the ground keeps moving beneath our feet, pausing to acknowledge what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned together becomes the foundation for bolder, more creative work ahead. All of our work has been shaped by this rapidly changing landscape. And we’re grateful to walk through it alongside the changemakers who trust us to help amplify their impact.
Stronger together
This year’s most meaningful work didn’t happen in isolation, it happened in partnership. Every campaign we crafted, every story we shaped, and every brand we helped build was rooted in shared purpose and trust. We had the privilege of working alongside Indigenous-led organizations protecting women, children, and families; labour unions fighting for workers’ rights; and conservation leaders safeguarding ecosystems from local watersheds to vital forests across continents.
Some partners came to us for a single, bold campaign, others for comprehensive brand transformations, and still others for everything in between: social content, annual reports, branding that capture decades of legacy. Whatever the case, every project was grounded in a willingness to collaborate deeply, to trust the creative process, and to believe that thoughtful design can move people to empathy and action. That trust is never something we take lightly, and it’s what makes this work so profoundly gratifying.
Making change visible
This year reminded us that creativity isn’t decoration: it’s infrastructure. The data tells a compelling story: nonprofits that master storytelling achieve donor retention rates of 45% versus just 27% for those that don’t, and campaigns incorporating video receive 114% more funding than those without (Double the Donation).
We’ve learned that design and storytelling don’t just make missions look better; they fundamentally change how missions perform. Today’s funders demand both heart and proof—they want measurable outcomes wrapped in narratives that honour the dignity and complexity of the people behind the numbers (Daxko).
And we always aim to exercise this balance: making the abstract tangible, the complicated clear, and the distant deeply personal.
What continues to be crystal clear for us in working across conservation, labour rights, Indigenous sovereignty, and social justice is that visual content is no longer optional, they need to see impact, not just read about it.
We saw this play out in reports that transformed statistics into journeys, social campaigns that turned data points into faces, and websites that didn’t just inform but moved people to act. The most meaningful lesson? Creativity in service of mission-driven work isn’t about making things pretty, it’s about making change visible, urgent, and impossible to ignore.
When we get the story right, when the design serves the truth of the work, people don’t just understand the mission. They empathize with it. And then they move.
Where the work lives
The truest measure of our work isn’t in the products we deliver—it’s in what happens next. For example, this year, Kinship Heals completed their Phase 1 fundraising goal to acquire the land for their healing centre, Aquinnah Headwaters: A Source of Healing & Restoration, and are now halfway through Phase 2 for design and permitting (Kinship Heals). And the Working Families Party had a breakthrough year, winning mayoral primaries in Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany, and propelling victories across city councils, school boards, and state legislatures nationwide (Working Families Party).
Impact shows up in the donors who finally understood where their money goes, the community members who saw themselves represented with respect for the first time, and the decision-makers who couldn’t unsee what a well-told story revealed. We’re proud to be part of an ecosystem where our contribution is just one thread in a much larger tapestry. The organizers, advocates, program staff, and communities are doing the daily work of change—and creating the impact. We’re pleased and grateful to help make that work more visible, comprehensible, and compelling.
What we’re carrying forward
If 2025 taught us anything for 2026, it’s these fundamental truths:
Simplicity cuts through the noise: The clearest message wins. Campaigns succeed because they say the right thing plainly and boldly. Though complexity might demonstrate expertise, simplicity demonstrates respect for people’s attention.
Human stories bridge data and action: Funders want measurable outcomes, but numbers alone don’t move hearts; it’s the people behind those numbers that create connection through empathy. When we honour this in our storytelling, we not only inform audience members but also transform them into advocates.
Collaboration amplifies impact: The best work happens when we truly listen to and trust our partners’ expertise about their communities. It’s the ecosystem, organizers, donors, communities, and storytellers working in concert that bend the arc toward real, lasting change.
With thanks and hope
We want to thank the partners who trusted us with their mission this year, our clients who challenged us to think bigger and do better, and every community member whose story we had the privilege to help amplify. This work is only possible because you shared your vision, and believed that creativity could be a tool for change.
As we close out 2025, we’re grateful for the lessons learned, the relationships deepened, and the impact created together. Here’s to a new year filled with the courage to keep pushing for the world we all deserve.
With thanks and hope,
The Beacon team
