NCRP members share what nonprofits need most from foundations and donors as they advocate for and organize communities around equity, inclusion and social justice.
“This election taught us many things. One lesson for sure is there is no time to pause and look inward. The sustained effort for equity and justice will require commitment from philanthropy to work on structural change, power building and inclusivity.
I heard Ava Duvernay tell a story about when she was making Selma; there were moments when she would get a lot of resistance. She said not only did Oprah provide resource and mentorship, she would call those who were being resistant and say, ‘Let the Sister through.’ We need philanthropy to say and do just that.”
– Joia Crear-Perry, Founder and President, National Birth Equity Collaborative
“We are experiencing a normalizing of extreme and explicit racial bigotry and seeing disturbing new directions in federal policy. At the same time, progressive movements are increasingly mobilizing for resistance and protest. Our response is to expand our community lawyering model serving directly impacted communities and to lift up the effectiveness of sustaining social justice movements at the state and local levels.
“Using a racial equity framework and a deep commitment to community-determined priorities, we will use advocacy, organizing, communications and litigation to expand opportunities for civic engagement, to prevent voter suppression and gerrymandering, and to end the school-to-prison pipeline and mass incarceration.
“Foundations can best support our efforts by strategically focusing on state and local initiatives that build capacity where systemic changes are most likely to gain traction in this new environment and by committing to a long-range vision of change that prioritizes multi-year, general support funding.”
– Anita Earls, Executive Director, Southern Coalition for Social Justice
“Nonprofits committed to fighting for justice and equity were already feeling the pressure before Trump entered the picture. As grantmakers, the best gift we can give them is a real voice at our tables and the reassurance that we’re not going anywhere.
We need to let them know we’re committed to providing them with substantial flexible, reliable support. That at least takes one worry away and frees them up to use their power to double down on the advocacy and community mobilizing that will be important for the fight ahead.”
– Kathleen Enright, Founding President and CEO, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations
“This new political moment, especially since Donald Trump’s election, is marked by a wave of ugly threats and attacks. We anticipate a scale and breadth of attacks the likes of which we have not seen in many years, as governmental and nongovernmental forces attempt to undermine, disband, disrupt and roll back the progressive policies, organizations and communities that our partners have organized, strengthened and won over the past several years.
Now, more than ever, we need funders and donors to facilitate resources going to organizations that help them inoculate themselves, be on alert for attacks and remain prepared and well-defended.”
– Emily Goldfarb, Director and Consultant, RoadMap
“It might not be flashy, but the truth is that social justice movements need more of the same kind of financial support they have always needed – now. More than ever, they need the public, unequivocal, unrestricted support of funders.
Philanthropy needs to firmly, vocally plant itself on the side of social justice. Funders and donors cannot distance themselves from or reduce support even if it becomes unpopular or even dangerous to speak out for social justice. Philanthropy needs to demonstrate that it will not abandon those who bear the brunt of racism, sexism, Islamophobia, homophobia, economic inequality and more.”
– Iimay Ho, Executive Director, Resource Generation
“Common Cause needs crisis funding to deal with the unprecedented challenges democracy faces. With staffed chapters in 23 states and a rapidly growing activist base of more than 700,000, we give voice to the people through inclusive democratic reforms like voting, transparency, redistricting and small donor public financing to promote economic and social justice.
From Watergate to Citizens United, we fight money’s corrupting influence. While battling unprecedented ethics and accountability issues in Washington, we will work with broad coalitions to move redistricting, voting, transparency, national popular vote and other reforms at the state level to break down barriers to participation.”
– Karen Hobert Flynn, President, Common Cause
“Unpredictable and unprecedented are the public affairs watchwords for the next four years. Nonprofits serving the vulnerable and those organizing for the thousand-points-of-policy-battles are more important than ever.
What we need isn’t complicated: we need unrestricted, multi-year core support. Instead of focusing on predictable outcomes, instead of focusing on identifying the ‘best’ nonprofits, we must all seek to strengthen our nonprofit ecosystems.
Unrestricted, multi-year, core support. It’s the strategy that allows leadership to be remarkable.”
– Jan Masaoka, Chief Executive Officer, California Association of Nonprofits
“The 2016 election results will bring important transitions, policy shifts and strategic questions for the nonprofit sector. Partnerships with foundations and donors will be paramount, as we understand and navigate this new context together.
This will be an important time for the public voice of nonprofits, including public education, about the role and benefits of governmental activity and its valuable partnerships with the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofit leaders, managers, boards and volunteers will need more peer connection and support to counter discouragement and burnout.
As policymakers press for possible cuts to funding for social programs, nonprofits will need to employ defensive strategies in public policy and have increased access to more practical information on the financing of the nonprofit sector.”
– Jon Pratt, Executive Director, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
“We believe that President Trump will work to fulfill his campaign promises to detain and deport millions of undocumented immigrants, expand racial profiling through stop-and-frisk policies, and repeal important policies such as the Affordable Care Act and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. As the largest network of faith-based groups in the nation, we know we can continue to move issue agendas in this climate, but we also know we must create greater scale to do so.
Our foundation and donor partners can support us in building that scale, which will allow us to take defensive action to protect our families now and seize opportunities for offensive action that will build the long-term change we need.”
– Scott Reed, Executive Director, PICO National Network