The federal government’s response to the assassination of conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk has been swift and aggressive in mobilizing the assets of the state and the White House bully pulpit to go after those they say helped foment a political environment leading to his death. Despite President Donald Trump having signed an executive order to restore freedom of speech and end “federal censorship” when he assumed office, in the days since the assassination, the administration has vowed to target, or even prosecute, people and organizations for everything from televised jokes to refusing to print memorial vigil posters for Kirk.
The philanthropic sector, which has been cautiously holding its breath for months in anticipation of fresh attacks from the administration, is now squarely in its sights, with the president accusing funders such as the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations of being among “the radical left organizations in this country that are fomenting violence.”
But unlike the law firms, media outlets and universities that have been forced or chosen to bend the knee to the administration, a broad array of philanthropy, civil rights and nonprofit organizations are signaling they aren’t going to be easily cowed.
In three open letters released this week, three coalitions collectively representing more than 800 local and national philanthropies and nonprofit organizations have publicly called on the administration to cease attacks on First Amendment rights. All told, these organizations hold several billion dollars in assets and are supported by more than a million Americans.
All three of this week’s statements condemn political violence. They are equally clear that censorship and the abrogation of First Amendment rights are not the solution.
First out of the gate on Wednesday, Sept. 17, was a coalition of 146 philanthropic funders with a “Statement on Political Violence and the Fundamental Freedom of Speech” published under the tagline of the Unite in Advance solidarity campaign. Many of the statement’s signatories are household names in the philanthropic sector, including Borealis Philanthropy, the Bush Foundation and the Marguerite Casey Foundation. There is also overlap between the philanthropies behind this latest open letter and April’s Council on Foundations-hosted public statement from philanthropies, also standing up for their right to grant their money as they see fit. The McKnight Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Solidaire Action, for example, are signatories on both, as is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. But while the most recent letter has far fewer signatories than the earlier statement (which clocked in at over 700 funders and related organizations as of July), the Sept. 17 letter is also far more pointed.
“Organizations should not be attacked for carrying out their missions or expressing their values in support of the communities they serve,” the statement says. “We reject attempts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms, like freedom of speech and the freedom to give. Attempts to silence speech, criminalize opposing viewpoints, and misrepresent and limit charitable giving undermine our democracy and harm all Americans.”
One signatory explained her organization’s thinking behind their move. “For Borealis Philanthropy, safeguarding democratic freedoms isn’t abstract; it’s about ensuring movements have the tools to build collective power and comprehensive belonging,” said Borealis Director of Communications Carrie Kholi-Murchison. “When speech is restricted, so too is our ability to organize, to resist, and to build a multiracial democracy where everyone can thrive.”
A day after the Unite in Advance statement, a coalition of 586 nonprofits came together under the banner of one of the country’s largest public interest organizations to issue an open letter urging the country to “Stand Together Against Trump’s Threats to Non-Profit Organizations.”
Public Citizen co-President Lisa Gilbert told Inside Philanthropy that it took only three days to recruit the signatories, which collectively represent a wide range of national, local, faith-based and secular nonprofits engaged in direct service and nonpartisan advocacy for the communities they serve.
Public Citizen’s letter is as direct in rejecting violence and speech crackdowns alike as the one published by Unite in Advance. “Political violence has targeted those of every political persuasion and of no political persuasion,” it says. “It is un-American and wrong to use this act of violence as a pretext for weaponizing the government to threaten nonprofit and charitable organizations, other perceived adversaries, or any class of people. They did not commit this murder, and the vast powers of the government should not be abused to threaten their constitutionally protected free speech and other rights.”
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And on Friday, Sept. 19, the civil rights community made its voice heard. In an open letter coordinated by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), 108 civil rights, faith-based and labor organizations issued the declaration that “Civil Rights Groups Will Not Be Silenced.”
“This administration has made clear its intent to protect discrimination over civil rights and use any opportunity to silence dissent and target nonprofits that oppose its policies,” the statement says. “It attacks philanthropic institutions, unions, teachers and universities that support diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, the freedom to protest and to learn our history. We cannot be silent as they turn government power against our rights.”
LCCHR President and CEO Maya Wiley told Inside Philanthropy: “We write this letter in support of civil rights because it’s unfair to attack us because we fight hate and bias.”
“It’s wrong for the government of the United States to use rhetoric and baseless attacks to suggest our rights should be violated, for serving the vulnerable and doing our jobs. It’s sad that our defense of civil rights should be attacked because that leaves vulnerable people more vulnerable. We can only confront this by being loud, being united, and refusing to be intimidated,” she continued.
In an earlier, saner era of American politics, publishing open letters like the ones recently released by Unite in Advance, Public Citizen, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights may or may not have signaled anything more impactful than a shared opinion. But during a week when the full weight of the federal government is being thrown against the exercise of free speech, these statements, individually and collectively, amount to drawing a sharp line in the sand.
