Ariadne’s 2025 Forecast report marks a transition. While the report was drafted by Julie Broome, whose vision and dedication have shaped Ariadne and its community for nearly nine years, it was finalised during Ariadne’s leadership transition and at a moment when European human rights and social change funders face significant challenges.
However, it is not just Ariadne’s transition that makes the 2025 report different. While the Forecast report is designed as a living document, evolving through dialogue with our network, early 2025 has proven to be particularly turbulent. In just a few months, we have seen the Trump administration freeze foreign funding and dismantle USAID—sending shockwaves through our sector—along with growing political uncertainty in Germany ahead of its elections and increasing restrictions on civil society across Europe. At each of our five in-person roundtables—from Berlin to London—these developments raised urgent new questions about the future of human rights and social change funding.
When faced with growing uncertainty, Ariadne members responded with renewed energy and a strengthened sense of community. To bring that energy to the rest of the network, we are including voices from the roundtables in the report, with the hope that you will find these direct calls to action from your peers equally inspiring.
January 2025 has already confirmed that this will be another difficult year for the human rights and social justice sector. Many activists and movements are operating under growing restrictions, with fewer resources and increasing exhaustion. The U.S. funding freeze compounds an overall decline in government support, particularly as far-right politics reshape priorities in key European donor countries like the Netherlands and Sweden. Funding remains a pressing concern for European philanthropy. Last year, many of you called for coordination to fill the gaps left by large funders shifting their priorities. But 2025 has made it clear—the challenge is too big, and the old ways of working are no longer enough.
Rather than retreating, you called for action. You asked Ariadne to support you in navigating both immediate crises and the longer-term work of shifting the anti-rights narrative. Therefore, this year, we will tap into the collective expertise of our network—learning from your peers how to, as one roundtable participant put it, “hack the system” and sustain critical work despite tightening funding constraints. Expect practical insights from funders supporting human rights in the most restrictive environments, collaborative efforts to build a solidarity infrastructure, and explorations of innovative funding models.
Pushing back against anti-rights forces requires more than crisis management. It also demands space to rethink and rebuild. Many of you have pointed out that the strategies that got us here will not get us where we need to go. In the months ahead, Ariadne will facilitate the necessary conversations to reaffirm our values, confront differences, and align around a shared purpose.
If 2025 is a turning point for European philanthropy, the Ariadne community is already proving it is prepared to respond—with clarity, urgency, and a renewed commitment to rights and justice.
In solidarity,
Renata Ćuk
Director of Programmes
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Click here to download the 2025 Ariadne Forecast!
Join the conversation on LinkedIn using the hashtag #2025AriadneForecast, or get in touch with Jana Stardelova to write a blog for us.