The Trump administration’s campaign against DEI is having an unseen and underreported effect on the nation’s nonprofits: Some of the largest corporations are reducing or eliminating support out of fear of being too compassionate toward minorities.
This news is so shocking that I didn’t believe it at first. But a firsthand report from a trusted friend today set me straight. MAGA’s anti-DEI campaign and the far-right evangelical campaign against empathy are on the way to devastating even secular nonprofits that do good.
My friend is a leader in a regional Texas chapter of a national nonprofit that helps underserved communities secure safe housing. Except now, this nonprofit cannot use the word “underserved” because it is one of 250 words or phrases banned by the Trump administration.
A spring fundraiser that normally has a dozen big-name corporate sponsors — some of the biggest names in a related field — has only one such sponsor this year. The reason: Fear of running afoul of Trump and his anti-DEI bias.
A spring fundraiser that normally has a dozen big-name corporate sponsors has only one such sponsor this year.
That’s right. Private corporations that are in no way controlled by the federal government are kowtowing to Trump’s bigotry by cutting back on charitable giving to nonprofits that also are not controlled by the federal government. This is how much fear Trump has sparked in America’s corporate board rooms — fear based in being sued or libeled for being too compassionate.
An irony of this challenge is that pre-Trump, many corporations had moved their charitable giving efforts into their DEI offices. Supporting “underserved” communities became part of the noble effort to increase diversity, equity and inclusion.
As my friend explained to me over coffee today, until this year, her nonprofit had to prove to corporate donors that it was working toward DEI goals, that it had a DEI policy. But now, in the Age of Trump, they must certify they have nothing to do with DEI.
This is how radically things have changed since the November presidential election.
It’s one thing for Trump and his allies to purge federal agencies of DEI, but it’s another for private corporations to obey in advance and act out of fear.
My friend explained to me that other regional chapters in her national nonprofit are facing the same difficulties and that other nonprofit leaders she has reached out to report the same thing: Corporate giving is drying up out of fear of even the appearance of engaging in DEI work.
Business journalist Cheryl Winokur Munk predicted this back in February. In an article for CNBC, she wrote: “As more companies scrap or pare back DEI pledges and goals related to hiring and supplier diversity, from Amazon to Target and Meta, corporate philanthropic activities are also ripe for review. Companies routinely support DEI initiatives through foundations or other corporate giving programs. According to a new survey by The Conference Board, changes among corporate philanthropy leaders are already under way to reflect the new political reality and intense focus from the Trump administration on DEI practices within both the government and business world.”
Munk cited Christen Graham, founder and president of Giving Strong, a consulting firm that advises corporations, foundations and nonprofits on corporate social responsibility and philanthropy: “Companies have started to expand their thinking into the potential impacts on corporate giving and philanthropic efforts. Companies are asking, ‘How can we succeed without being sued?’”
One of the best-known examples of a corporation rolling back DEI programs out of fear of Trump is Target, which currently is the subject of a national boycott as a counterpunch. Target’s stock price and sales both have dropped as a result of the boycott by pro-DEI customers. By some accounts, the retail giant took a $12.4 billion hit in stock value in February alone.
Still, fear rules corporate offices these days, it seems, and that fear is seeping into America’s nonprofits that depend on charitable giving.
Were it not for some reserve funds, my friend’s nonprofit in Texas would not make it through the year. Those small reserves at least will buy some time for her organization to seek new sources of funding. But that’s a stiff challenge in these days.
“I’m wondering if we need to begin figuring out how to wind down,” she lamented.
Related articles:
Why empathy is under assault today | Opinion by Rodney Kennedy
Have you heard the one about empathy being a sin?
Here’s who’s behind the war on empathy | Analysis by Alan Bean