The change in presidential administrations has created new challenges for funders and the nonprofits whose work they support. Executive actions have targeted DEI and mis-characterized the work of nonprofit organizations; federal funding to crucial nonprofits has been threatened or cut; and larger foundations have been targeted for potential investigation and action. (See more on actions affecting nonprofits on the National Council of Nonprofits website.)
To follow is a curated list of resources authored by CEP staff that may be helpful to foundations and other grantmakers as they consider their response. Additional resources, including guest posts from others in the sector, can be found on the CEP Blog.
RESEARCH: Challenging Times: How U.S. Nonprofit Leaders are Experiencing the Political Context
“This data indicates both the level of anxiety nonprofit leaders are experiencing in this context — and their strong desire for more communication and support from their funders.”
CEP Staff
Published March 5, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: How Can You Know If You Don’t Ask? Nonprofits Report Primary Concerns in Recent CEP Surveys
“Asking your grantee partners about issues their organizations are facing, while being clear about the ways that your organization can support them isn’t about politics, it’s about good grantmaking.”
Mena Boyadzhiev and Joyce Cheng
Published April 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: A Wave Forming? Funders Taking Action in Response to a Challenging Context
“We have reviewed public communications from foundations through the week ending March 21, as well as media reports and listservs, and we’re seeing a growing number of funders taking steps to confront the challenging realities. … The time for foundations to act is now, and there are an increasing number that are offering up good examples of how to do so.”
Phil Buchanan, Molly Heidemann, and Kevin Bolduc
Published March 25, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: It’s Time for a New Approach to the Current Context
“There are some fairly widely-shared assumptions about operating in the Trump 2.0 era that a number of foundations, and organizations that represent them, have subscribed to that are now worth reconsidering.”
Phil Buchanan
Published March 18, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: Chaos, Cruelty, and Coercion: How Philanthropy Can Respond
“I worry that quiet discretion is out of balance with the magnitude of the threats to the sector (and, frankly our society) and will ultimately prove to be an ineffective strategy anyways.”
Kevin Bolduc
Published March 6, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: A Time of Crisis: As Nonprofit Leaders Face Extraordinary Challenges, Here’s What They Are Saying
“Nonprofit leaders are asking their foundation funders to stand up and step in — to use their power to help the sector survive and thrive.”
Ellie Buteau
Published March 5, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: How Funders Can Respond to an Unprecedented Threat to Nonprofits
“The risks we consider should not only be risks of action that are parochial to our institutions, but also risks of inaction — to our missions, values, the people we seek to help, and, indeed, our democracy.”
Phil Buchanan
Published February 10, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: Now is the Time to Lay the Foundation for Long-Term Civic Resilience
“The extent to which we prioritize meaningful youth engagement in civic and community discourse will either help to build resilience, connection, and positive association with democracy, or lead to further disconnection and decreased civic preparedness.”
David McKinney
Published February 6, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: Standing Strong for DEI
“To those who see DEI efforts as somehow in opposition to “merit,” as so many of the anti-DEI evangelists seem to, the fact is that smart DEI programs increase the level of merit of those who are hired, or promoted, not the opposite. Put simply, DEI isn’t just some moral cause; it’s also the smart thing to do if what you care about is effectiveness.”
Phil Buchanan
January 27, 2025
PERSPECTIVE: Calling All Donors (and Would-Be Donors): The Vital U.S. Nonprofit Sector is Under Threat and Must Be Protected
“Belief in the power of community organizations to do good isn’t partisan. It isn’t ideological. It’s American.”
Phil Buchanan
Published January 14, 2025
