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: Mounting Pressure: U.S. Foundations and Nonprofits on the 2025 Political Climate
A new CEP survey of nonprofit and foundation leaders reveals a nonprofit sector under significant strain and examines philanthropic responses so far.
CEP Staff
Published Nov. 3, 2025
Perspective: We Won’t Know Unless We Ask: In Conversation About Forthcoming CEP Research on the Current Context
“There is a lot of talk about sector defense, which is crucial and which I support of course. But that defense, and even the reimagining of what comes after this period of challenge, requires good data about what’s happening now.”
Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Ph.D. and Phil Buchanan
Published Sep. 9, 2025
Perspective: Guarding Against Complacency in the Face of Existential Threats
“Most foundations don’t receive federal funding. They don’t have alumni, students, or faculty whose backlash leaders need to fear. They don’t need to obsess about institutional rankings or compete with each other for students. Private foundations don’t even have to worry about bringing in revenue. They are free to do what they believe to be right and just — what is necessary to preserve our democracy.“
Phil Buchanan
Published August 13, 2025
Research: State of Nonprofits 2025: What Funders Need to Know
In CEP’s third annual State of Nonprofits report, nonprofits report difficulty pursuing their missions in a complex environment shaped by the current political climate and future economic uncertainty.
CEP Staff
Published May 28, 2025
Perspective: In Conversation: The State of Nonprofits is … Precarious
“[T]his was the highest response rate we have had in a research survey at CEP in about a decade: 66 percent. This tells you something about the urgency of the moment, and the desire nonprofits have to communicate to funders about the grave impacts of the current context — and what their needs are.“
Phil Buchanan and Elisha Smith Arrillaga
Published May 29, 2025
Perspective: In Conversation: About Those 100-and-Some Days
“I worry that silence can be too easily read as passivity or cowardice. But the reality of my current experience at CEP and with the vast majority of the funders we work with is that we’re all trying, earnestly and with good intention, to find the best way to continue our sector’s selfless work in a uniquely challenging moment.”
Kevin Bolduc and Phil Buchanan
Published May 8, 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
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: 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
