A year of shifts: What 2025 means for Corporate Impact Measurement in 2026
2025 was a year.
To me, this year felt like the rug was continually pulled out from underneath the collective us. Sometimes fast, sending all of our furniture flying, and sometimes slowly, giving us the chance to rearrange and adapt.
At Raya Cooper Impact Consulting, we have the good fortune to work with a wide range of clients in the social impact sector – corporate, nonprofit, private foundations. This vantage point has given us a front-row seat to how the philanthropy and CSR landscape is shifting—and what 2025 has meant, in particular, for the practice of impact measurement.
Across nearly all our work this year, we have heard versions of the same questions – How do we find balance, flexibility and stability in an increasingly chaotic moment? Do we know what we are here to do? How can we stand firm as the world shifts around us?
In response, teams turned to strategy and measurement, not as a compliance tool, but as anchors, to clarify purpose, prioritize limited resources, and make the value of their work clear internally and externally. Most of our projects in 2025 circled around strategy, theories of change, priority setting, and establishing practical frameworks to measure, manage & communicate impact.
“How can we stand firm as the world shifts around us?”
We believe that the landscape shifts of 2025 have only begun to shape the work of the Philanthropy and CSR sector in 2026 , and specifically what it means for the practice of Impact Measurement & Evaluation. In this blog, we share a few observations and what we believe they signal for the year ahead.
A Year of Shifts in the Impact Measurement Landscape
Although many of our clients are Corporate or Private Foundations, it is always important to remember the context in which we are living and working. While it didn’t necessarily make international headlines, the global Measurement & Evaluation sector was severely impacted by U.S. federal cuts this year. Cuts to programs, both domestic and international, led to significant (or total) budget cuts, job losses, staffing shortages, together with reduced emphasis on evidence-based policies, and access to reliable and accurate community data has downstream effects for the entire field of Impact Measurement.
Corporate teams do not operate in isolation ; many rely on the same talent pool, methodologies, and professional norms that shape the wider M&E Sector. And the nonprofits they partner with simultaneously experienced withdrawn funding, shifting revenue streams and increased pressure to do more with less – often while asking corporate and institutional partners for greater support.
2025 Trends and what it might mean for Impact Measurement in 2026
Trend 1: In 2025, Corporate Social Impact Teams sought more clarity and structure
In 2025, much of our work focused on helping companies bring clarity and structure to their social impact strategies.. As the rug was pulled, teams found it increasingly important to have a solid, well-articulated foundation. Frameworks, theories of change, and measurement plans weren’t just “nice-to-haves”—they became essential tools for aligning internal stakeholders and focusing limited resources.
Over the past 18 months, companies have become more deliberate about defining how their programs create value for both the business and the communities they serve. This “crispness” reflects rising leadership expectations for a clear line between investment and outcomes.
What it means for 2026:
In 2026, we expect many companies will continue this trend, with an amplified focus on strategy frameworks. For others, 2026 will feature a shift from Theory to Implementation. Theories of Change help us establish the structure for measurement.. and then we have to go measure. We expect teams to pilot and test measurement plans and begin building practical systems that their teams can realistically run.
Trend 2: Internal stakeholders are now a core audience of measurement and reporting
In 2025, the target audience for measurement and reporting underwent a significant shift.
Over the last 5 years, the emphasis was largely external - customers, community partners and investors. But in 2025, many of our clients began orienting to a new priority audience - the internal audience. In the corporate context, this shift reflects a growing need to ensure buy-in and business relevance. Executives are increasingly asking to see the Return on Investment for social impact work, and to understand the value it brings to the business. For employees, their company’s continued, strategic investment in social good can provide some ease in a tumultuous time.
Executives and employees increasingly expect credible, business-relevant evidence of impact. Stories alone aren’t enough; there needs to be a level of rigor that aligns with a business decision-making mindset
What it means for 2026:
External storytelling can remain lighter and more distilled – things like shorter impact reports, ESG fact sheets, or focused narratives and social posts. But internally, the bar for clarity and evidence is rising. Social Impact strategies must align with core business value propositions, be easy to understand while being backed up by rigor.
Because employee engagement programs are typically operated in-house, they represent a major opportunity area for corporate measurement & evaluation. This data is often more accessible and reliable, and is uniquely positioned for teams to test hypotheses, analyze trends and show progress more easily than other parts of the portfolio. For many companies, this may be the clearest set of programs for which a CSR department can show “ROI” or business value. This doesn’t diminish the importance of community impact work—but it does mean that employee engagement can become the most practical starting point for companies looking to build their measurement muscle.
Trend 3: Co-Creation of impact strategy and measurement is gaining traction
Over the past few years, more funders have embraced the values and practices of Trust-Based Philanthropy. And as these values and practices are becoming more integrated, companies and philanthropies alike are starting to explore how they can include community partners in the development of social impact goals, strategy and measurement. While this is not yet standard practice, it is a promising shift. In our work in 2025, this meant hearing directly from grantees about their expectations and hopes for their funders' impact goals and definitions of success.
What it means for 2026:
Though still emerging, efforts to involve community partners in defining what matters, and how it is measured, are growing. Companies will need to thoughtfully consider when and how to engage community partners– whether through advisory councils, workshops, or opportunities for individual input.
With more partners at the decision-making table, there is increasing awareness that impact expectations must match nonprofit capacity and investment scale. In 2026, we expect companies to be increasingly thoughtful about collecting data that’s actually usable—and appropriate—rather than burdensome.
Trend 4: Teams Are Doing More With Less
This is such a cliche at this point…because really, when are we not?
In 2025, we saw confirmation of what’s been said for the last few years – expectations for measurement and reporting rigor are going up, but the capacity to implement isn’t keeping pace. Many CSR and social impact teams are already juggling multiple priorities, and measurement is often layered on top of existing workloads.
In the 2024 Corporate Measurement & Evaluation Benchmarking study (Co-Authored by Raya Cooper Impact Consulting and TCC Group), 61% of respondents said that their company’s C-Suite Leadership is highly supportive of impact measurement, but only 29% say that their company has sufficiently invested in the work. Half of companies surveyed have no full-time staff dedicated to measurement and 33% have only a single person. For most teams, measurement work is secondary to primary workstreams, and staff are learning by doing with little formal training.
What it means for 2026:
In 2026, teams will need to prioritize – especially when it comes to measurement. Increased expectations without corresponding investment means that rigor must meet simplicity. Teams will need to be realistic about what they can do, narrow their focus to one or two priorities, and do them well.
When it comes to measurement, teams will need to decide on the most effective and efficient approach. Instead of a “kitchen sink” approach to measurement, teams will be well-served to focus on a small number of high-value metrics that best reflect the work and resonate with target audiences. Learning Questions can be a useful tool to help teams narrow their scope. Teams will need to consider approaches and methods that can do double duty (think quant & storytelling opportunities together), to maximize effort and return.
We don’t have a crystal ball…but here’s what we hope to see in 206
More community partners engaged throughout the process to shape impact strategy and measurement.
Greater emphasis on learning that benefits funders and their community partners. This means not just asking what our goals are, but also how we expect to get there and what gaps need to be closed to be successful.
Impact teams that can better articulate their work and business value to internal stakeholders, and secure the funding and resources they need.
Impact teams doing less, but doing it better (read: intentional, data-driven, community-informed)
More impact frameworks moving from theory to practice, and coming to life through data gathering, learning and reporting.
Impact Measurement plans that balance reality and rigor. Plans that start small, but aim to build a minimum viable system that can grow over time.
2025 has been a challenging year for our clients and our field, but we’re encouraged by what we’re seeing. Teams that want to learn, adapt, and show the value of their work with integrity. And we’re here to help build the systems, frameworks, and practices that make that possible.
Impact measurement doesn’t have to be overly complex to be effective. It needs to be intentional, right-sized, and aligned with the purpose at the heart of the work.
If you’re thinking about strengthening your measurement approach in 2026—or simply want to talk through where to begin—we’d love to connect.
