Resisting Together; Lead Article in Spring Newsletter Published on May 30, 2025
The attacks on our communities, non-profits, civil society, and our democracy has hit us at a dizzying pace over the last two months. It has been hard to process and keep up with the barrage of changes. Many service providers, organizing groups, and non-profits are experiencing federal funding cuts resulting in layoffs and pauses in their services.
Executive Orders have ended Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and gender inclusion for trans folx. We have seen corporations, colleges, and others “obeying in advance” through ending programs or removing DEI language from websites.
Public servants who protect our health, provide vital data and information, and provide public safety have been vilified. Tens of thousands of probationary federal workers were laid off and thousands more will face downsizing in the coming weeks and months. Additionally, leases are being cancelled at federal workplaces around the country. These include the National Park Service, US Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and tribal colleges.
Additionally, non-profits and grassroots organizations are facing increased scrutiny. Last summer Senator Jim Comer directed the Treasury Secretary to investigate 20 foundations and grassroots organizations for their involvement in funding and opposing the war in Gaza. This oversight is looking more carefully at international grants and support of protesters, all of which PDF has funded. Last month, a graduate student at Columbia was arrested after the administration pledged to detain and deport student activists. The recent “non-profit killer” bill would have allowed the Trump administration to revoke the charitable status of nonprofits it suspects of supporting terrorism. We expect this legislation to come back and there may be other proposals that limit tax deductibility of certain donations. This overreach will jeopardize many organizations and cause many other to be more cautious or stop funding organizing.
Many of our grassroots partners are already experiencing federal funding cuts and pull-back from foundations. These draconian measures may force organizations to end vital programs for the most vulnerable. Additionally, philanthropy will never have the resources to make up for these kinds of deep cuts.
The current moment should be a wake-up call for the industrial non-profit complex. Many large non-profits and funders have lost touch with the communities they serve. We know that the coming months and years will require more engagement and organizing. Foundations need to step and not shy away from funding organizing and issues that may draw the attention of the administration.
Internally, we have been reviewing our practices over the last few months to see how PDF can be bold and better support our grassroots partners. We recently reviewed our grant priorities to better prioritize the most vulnerable groups right now. Our participatory grant makers are currently reviewing applications for our 2025 grants, which will be announced in May. We are also shifting our rapid response fund to better serve current needs for essentials like mutual aid. We are working to build collaborations with other funders to better resource and leverage our rapid response fund and expertise for getting funds out quickly to organizations.
Lastly, we are reconfiguring our technical assistance and capacity-building programs to de-risk our partners. This includes providing short-term fiscal sponsorship for groups being targeting. Helping organizations collaborate for funding and using our influence to call on our funder partners to do more in this uncertain and destabilizing time. Now is not the time to shrink away. We will continue to pivot and find new ways to support organizing and defend grassroots partners around the country.
