Trump’s Uncharitable War on Charity (2025)

Conservative policymakers love to talk about what makes America great. I’d argue that our nation’s generous tradition of individual and corporate philanthropy should be high on that list. To give money voluntarily and freely to causes we care about is an American tradition. Compared to our peers among wealthy industrialized nations such as Canada, the United Kingdom and France, we are between twice and 15 times more generous, respectively, in our private giving.

Because of the generosity of Americans, nonprofit organizations from medical charities to museums have for generations solved problems where government action has fallen short. They’ve combatted disparities and inequities in disadvantaged communities and united Americans from different backgrounds around critical issues. Unfortunately, certain politicians are dishonoring this great American tradition by trying to control how some philanthropies spend their money and how some Americans contribute to causes they believe in.

Since President Donald Trump has taken office, he has labelled diversity, equity and inclusion efforts – including work by philanthropic groups – as potentially discriminatory. In an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” he refers to diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) practices as “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences … that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.” These efforts, combined with Republicans’ dishonest rhetoric about “DEI,” could have a destructive impact on our freedom to donate to the charities that we hold dear.

Already, we’re seeing a chill in corporate philanthropy that promotes racial and gender equality, according to The Conference Board, an economic research organization. Meanwhile, some of the largest companies in America, including Pepsi, Target, McDonald’s and Goldman Sachs, have announced they are scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, including some involving philanthropic work.

Americans should be free to donate to any organization they wish. The government has no right to limit donations because it doesn’t like “DEI” policies and doesn’t want to see them advanced. Trying to impose ideological litmus tests on nonprofits is not only wrong but it also contradicts the First Amendment.

The First Amendment protects expressive conduct as much as it protects the spoken or written word. In the landmark 1989 flag-burning case Texas v. Johnson, the court said that it has long recognized that the right to free speech "does not end at the spoken or written word.” According to this precedent, when philanthropic organizations grant money to groups to further their missions or advocate for their viewpoints, they are engaging in expressive conduct that is protected by law. So the government telling a foundation that it cannot give to a certain civil rights organization is the equivalent of the government telling a foundation it cannot publicly say it supports civil rights.

Aren’t conservatives supposed to be champions of free speech? Don’t they oppose cancel culture? Aren’t they critical of governments around the world that curtail free expression?

The extent of the hypocrisy here is matched only by its disgracefulness. It’s a playbook taken directly from authoritarian regimes in Russia, China and Iran – countries that use the full power of the government to undermine and discredit civil society organizations.

What the Trump administration is doing also follows the playbook that private conservative groups (many of them, ironically, nonprofits) have been deploying for years. Consider the misguided lawsuit filed against the Fearless Fund, a venture capital firm and charitable foundation that invests in under-resourced entrepreneurs, including women of color-led businesses seeking financing, for which I serve as their legal counsel.

In 2023, the American Alliance for Equal Rights, a self-described “organization dedicated to challenging distributions and preferences made on the basis of race and ethnicity,” sued us for providing a grant to Black women-owned small businesses to support and expand their businesses. That grant was in direct furtherance of the Fearless Fund’s mission to address the alarming disparity in venture capital funding available to women entrepreneurs of color. Of the tens of billions of dollars invested annually in venture capital in recent years, less than 1% of that funding has gone to Black women entrepreneurs, according to Crunchbase, a business information website.

The case was successfully settled, allowing the organization to continue its work to support underresourced entrepreneurs. But the suit made clear the depth of the efforts being made to undermine race-conscious grantmaking.

I believe the Trump administration's attack on philanthropy that is aimed at leveling the playing field for people of color is a test-run to see how far the government, the courts and their powerful allies can go in rolling back fundamental freedoms for people of all races and political beliefs. If the government can dictate where private and philanthropic money can or cannot go, it can dictate Americans’ speech, assembly and even protest. The same logic can be turned against mutual aid networks and any collective action that challenges entrenched power at an unprecedented scale.

We must fight back against legislation and executive actions targeting nonprofits and file lawsuits to halt these illegal actions whenever possible. We must also support protections for nonprofits outside of the courtroom to ensure that donors are not intimidated from supporting causes they care about.

Philanthropy plays a critical role in creating lasting change. It can act as a safety net and incubator for new ideas when government action falls short. In a political environment in which equity and justice are under relentless attack, nonprofits have a more critical role than ever before.

President John F. Kennedy once said that philanthropy is “truly a jewel of an American tradition.” President Ronald Reagan elaborated on that principle by saying, “without economic liberty, political freedom may be no more than a shadow.”

To “make America great,” stop meddling with philanthropy.

Tags: philanthropy