Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on April 10, 2025.
An array of powerful organizations from across the philanthrosphere on Wednesday showed a united front against political intimidation, issuing a pre-emptive public declaration in defense of their right to give as they choose under a reading of the First Amendment that treats donations as a form of Constitutionally protected expression.
The effort has grown rapidly in just a single day. Launched with 10 signatures, by Wednesday’s end, the statement was signed by 21 major foundations, regional and local funders, and philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs), from centrist sector groups to funders known more for their giving to progressive causes or democracy and civic engagement work. The call for signatories remains open and the total is expected to grow. In fact, it has already more than tripled: as of Thursday afternoon, the total had risen to 73.
The statement of solidarity comes in response to growing threats from the Trump administration, which has promised to investigate foundations and others it believes are engaged in what it considers illegal DEI work, and also has steadily defunded nonprofits whose agendas and work many of these funders have a long track record of supporting.
Wednesday’s signatories represent an astonishing collection of philanthropic power players, with the funders collectively holding net assets of more than $31 billion. Between members and supporters, the PSO signatories alone are supported by more than 700 members or donors, including funders across the private, family and corporate sectors. Another signatory potentially brings an exponentially larger number of players to the field all by itself: United Philanthropy Forum’s membership network consists of nearly 100 regional and national PSOs, which in turn represent more than 7,000 funders.
If all of these organizations and the groups they represent presented a united front, they could wield a lot of legal and PR firepower in a moment of crisis for the field. “We’ve seen attacks where leaders in a given sector have sort of been peeled off and have agreed to certain terms that have then put other members of their sector at a disadvantage,” James Irvine Foundation President and CEO Don Howard told IP. “I’m proud of our leaders in philanthropy, that we are preparing in advance so that when those threats emerge, we won’t see a division within our community that undermines the basic right to give. I think that we’re seeing that [division] in other sectors so we’re trying to avoid it in ours.”
The scope of the organizations involved is another measure of the statement’s potential impact. Funders as geographically and programmatically diverse as the Irvine, Freedom Together, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur and McKnight foundations are all signatories — the presidents of Freedom Together, MacArthur, and McKnight jointly announced the statement in an April 9 editorial in the Nonprofit Quarterly. On the philanthropy-serving organization side, Fund the People’s backing reflects the organization’s strong pro-nonprofit-worker, pro-democracy stance. Larger PSO signatories like United Philanthropy Forum and the Council on Foundations, meanwhile, cover a wide range of ideological ground among their membership.
Bringing together organizations from different giving arenas and ideological perspectives was one major point of the statement, according to one signatory. “I’ve been impressed that folks from a really diverse set of perspectives have come together around this core animating priority of protecting the right to give, and I appreciate that we as a community are creating this coalition and getting ourselves aligned before the actual threats emerge, and they most certainly will,” said Howard. “We also respect that other people have different beliefs, other foundations see the world differently in various ways, and we respect their right to be able to support the causes they want to support.”
The statement itself reflects this point. “We don’t all share the same beliefs or priorities. Neither do our donors or the communities we serve,” it says. “But as charitable giving institutions, we are united behind our First Amendment right to give as an expression of our own distinct values.”
A modern Ben Franklin moment
MacArthur President John Palfrey and other leaders I spoke with about the statement said that the move had been in the works for several weeks, a collaboration made easier by the overlapping professional circles they have shared for years. Surdna Foundation President Don Chen was among those who shared that view: “Foundation presidents collaborate frequently. We sit at different philanthropic tables on a regular basis, and so this has been part of our ongoing conversation.”
Irvine’s Howard held up the leadership of Palfrey and McKnight Foundation President Tonya Allen, praising their foresight in getting funders and PSOs united before the promised anti-DEI investigations begin. When Palfrey and Allen reached out to him to ask for Irvine’s participation, Howard was reminded of a famous quote attributed to American founding father Benjamin Franklin: “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
But while funders are definitely at risk, Howard stressed that the nonprofits they support are even more vulnerable. “As a philanthropic community, I think we also have the opportunity to learn together about how we can help our grantees stay safe and secure and be able to do their important work. So I see that as an important aspect of what the coalition can do,” he said.
Fund the People founder, President and CEO Rusty Stahl also put nonprofits front and center in a statement to Inside Philanthropy explaining his organization’s support of the coalition. “As the national organization that advocates for investment in America’s nonprofit workforce, Fund the People is deeply concerned with the layoffs, furloughs and intense instability facing nonprofit professionals and organizations as a result of the Trump administration’s misguided efforts to defund, delegitimize and silence any dissent from philanthropy and civil society,” he said.
Stahl also cited his organization’s participation in the “Meet the Moment” call to action organized by the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project in collaboration with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and the National Center for Family Philanthropy. That effort, which urges funders to take steps including advocacy, moving more money, and committing to multi-year, unrestricted grants, had 71 signatories as of Thursday morning.
Statements provided by the April 9 coalition’s other original signatories affirmed values including their organizations’ belief in the right to give as they choose, the importance of protecting civil society, and their own sense of civic duty in explaining why they’ve signed on.
“McKnight is proud to stand with other courageous leaders and philanthropic organizations to defend our fundamental right to give,” said McKnight Foundation President Tonya Allen. “We may come from different places and have different priorities and views, but we are united in our commitment to show up powerfully for our sector, the nonprofit organizations we support, and the people from every walk of life and every corner of America who benefit as a result.”
Spencer Foundation President Na’ilah Suad Nasir said her organization has joined because “it’s such an important moment for us to find ways to work together in strategic alliances to protect fundamental rights and civil society.”
Another signatory — the Council on Foundations — emphasized the importance of protecting philanthropy’s independence now and into the future. “The Council on Foundations’ number one job is to make sure philanthropy remains a powerful force for good in American society for generations to come,” said Kathleen Enright, president and CEO of the Council, which is also acting as the statement’s online host. “It has always been central for us to protect the rights of all generous donors to give in ways that align with their values, which is why we’re proud to stand alongside the Freedom Together, McKnight and MacArthur foundations in launching a public call.”
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Will words equal actions?
The Nonprofit Quarterly op-ed, the public statement itself, and some leaders I spoke with all urged other funders from across the country, and across ideologies, to join them.
MacArthur’s Palfrey said the eventual goal is to grow a funder coalition from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., to defend funders’ First Amendment right to give as they choose.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President and CEO Dr. Richard E. Besser said he hoped others in the philanthropic space would be moved to sign or at least consider coming on board as signatories. “Philanthropy has the power and privilege to protect the values that unite us and the freedoms to uphold them,” Besser told Inside Philanthropy. “Foundations like RWJF must stand in solidarity as a sector with the grantees, partners and communities nationwide who — despite countless barriers, challenges and uncertainty ahead — are charting a path to a healthier, more vibrant America. That is why we signed the pledge. I hope everyone in philanthropy considers doing so, as well.”
But however large this new coalition grows, the question remains: Just how willing are the signatories to match the potential power of their words with concrete action? “It’s too soon to say,” said Surdna’s Chen. “I would characterize the statement as an initial statement of strategic alliances so that we can begin to stand together for just the fundamental principles that are at stake here.”
One thing that’s certain is that the opportunity to “stand together” is probably coming soon. The Trump administration’s anti-DEI executive order, signed in January, gave government agencies 90 days to identify institutions, including philanthropic funders, engaging in what it claims are “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and begin investigations. The administration has the force of the federal government, a highly ideological U.S. Supreme Court and a seeming willingness to deploy armed agents to achieve its political aims. Meanwhile, funders’ endowments have to be feeling at least some of the effects from the administration’s chaotic approach to tariffs and consequent stock market rollercoaster.
At the same time, though, the administration’s legal efforts will no doubt be at least somewhat constrained by the number of attorneys who are resigning from government service rather than enacting Trump’s agenda in servile contravention of law. And while the public isn’t overly trustful of philanthropic funders, polls show public sentiment is more on their side than with Trump, whose numbers are starting to tank.
As a new resistance movement builds in the courts and the streets, a united front of funders and related organizations combining their legal, financial and public relations arms would be well positioned to provide another front in the defense of America’s existing freedoms and institutions. The rapid growth of this new coalition may well indicate that such a fight is about to begin.
