Overview of Regressive Philanthropy Initiative
What is the problem?
From the Civil Rights Movement to today, philanthropy has played an important role in advancing a healthy and representative democracy and in supporting movements that uplift the needs of those with the least power, wealth, and opportunity in American society.
But that’s not the whole story.
Foundations and giving vehicles like donor advised funds are also being used to attack representative democracy and to attempt to reverse progress on racial, gender, and economic justice in the United States. There are thousands of funders who use the tools of philanthropy to maintain their own disproportionate wealth and power and to undermine or roll back efforts for a more democratic and just society.
What we call Regressive Philanthropy – philanthropic giving designed to resist progress, maintain inequities, and ultimately take us backwards as a society – has played a significant role shaping the authoritarian present. Across multiple issue areas, regressive philanthropy funders are giving more – and more effectively – than funders who support justice and equality. Unless funders start resourcing movements with long-term flexible funding, policies that threaten public health, due process, an independent judiciary, a diverse civil society, and basic human rights will be expanded and entrenched.
What kinds of regressive funders are we studying?
NCRP is starting with a focus on the issue areas of Anti-Democracy, Anti-LGBTQ+, and Anti-Immigration based on the salience of these areas in the current political moment. We believe that attacks against against queer, trans and immigrant communities are being leveraged to support the backsliding of our democracy.
Using our existing knowledge and relationships with allied movement thinkers, NCRP began to plot the ecosystems of individuals and institutions who are interested in using philanthropy to maintain their own disproportionate wealth and power and to undermine or roll back efforts for a more democratic and just society. We’re documenting how much money we are talking about, where it comes from, what types of nonprofits are receiving which kinds of contributions, and what has made these investments so successful.
About the movement
Nearly 30 years after NCRP first documented the “strategic philanthropy of conservative foundations” in Sally Covington’s landmark study “Moving a Public Policy Agenda,” and 15 years since the Supreme Court demolished election spending rules in favor of corporate personhood with Citizens United v. FEC, the space for right-wing donors to finance anti-democratic civil society has exploded.
While the anti-democratic movement has grown in size and sophistication, much of the through lines we reported on 30 years ago have remained the same. Regressive philanthropy is modeling how effective trusting aligned, grassroots issue-focused leaders can be for conservative funders in achieving right-wing goals.
Allied funders that share NCRP’s vision – that frontline movements fighting to restore and advance our democracy operate in abundance versus constant survival mode – need to start resourcing grantees from a reactionary position. We need deep investment in power-building infrastructure directed toward a shared progressive vision.
What do we know
NCRP tracked 3,500 private and public funders between 2020 and 2022. In that time, $1 billion in total foundation funding went to 155 election denial and anti-voting rights organizations.
According to a Democracy Fund analysis, using data from Candid, Giving USA, and other grantmaker data, democracy funding spent on voter education and engagement is barely keeping up. From 2017–2018, between $4.9 to $5.4 million (in 2023 numbers) was spent for initiatives designed to enlist and engage new voters. By 2021, that number had risen only slightly to between $6.5 to $7.7 million, despite the unprecedented threats to our democracy within those 4 years.
Why does it matter
Allied funders who care about the fabric of American democracy should be looking to support and strengthen democratic institutions with multi-year grantmaking strategies that help build local power through a series of elections in every cycle and not just in presidential election years.
Philanthropists with regressive policy plots have been highly effective in supporting the goals of a polarizing right-wing agenda. These funders have done so primarily by giving multi-year, unrestricted funding to “anti-movement” leaders and focusing on long-term, nonlinear change.
Between 2020 and 2022, 52% of all foundation funding for these anti-democracy organizations was given as unrestricted general support, and only 8% of that foundation funding was granted for a specific program, project, or campaign. Comparatively, at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, only about 38% of funding for social justice movement organizations was given as unrestricted general support, and at least 20% was project based.
Stay informed
NCRP research and analysis continues as we grow our knowledge of ecosystems of individuals and institutions who are interested in using philanthropy to maintain their own disproportionate wealth and power and to undermine or roll back efforts for a more democratic and just society.
Read more about the Regressive Philanthropy Initiative or follow us on socials:
Bluesky
About the movement
The Spring 2015 Supreme Court decision on Obergefell v. Hodges ended marriage discrimination across the United States. By then the groundwork had already been laid for North Carolina’s HB2, which passed in March of 2016. and became the first of many attempts to pre-empt local anti-discrimination ordinances and ban transgender people from bathrooms. Since then, the results of a well-financed 60-year campaign to roll back major movement-won advances made on racial, gender and economic justice have continued to unfold. Policies that conservative leaders and activists market as “strengthening family values” and “protecting women” are really an attempt to enforce patriarchy and erase LGBTQ communities and histories and even eliminate LGBTQ people from public life. As trans leaders warned us: it started with bathrooms, but it has not ended there.
In more recent years, this focus on trans people, and gender overall, is a result of resourced conservative activists, established think tanks, and investments in consistent narrative messaging and testing over time. Mostly subtle but consistent efforts have accumulated to a place where now we see in 2022 alone over 100 anti-trans state-level measures were passed.
Organizations of, by, and for the LGBTQ community need our resources but they also need our protection. Allied philanthropic leaders should not only be showing their support through multi-year unrestricted dollars, but through their leadership and through their advocacy. Solidarity with our queer and trans friends needs to be bold and it needs to be now.
What do we know
NCRP tracked 1,000+ private and public funders between 2020 and 2022. In that time, $420 million in total foundation funding went to 133 organizations focused on the denial LGBTQ people’s lives, experiences, and equality.
According to Funders for LGBTQ Issues most recent tracking report, there has been a decrease in funder support with over half of the top 20 donors for LGBTQ issues decreasing their giving in 2020 compared to 2018.” “For every $100 awarded by U.S. foundations in 2020, only 23 cents specifically supported LGBTQ issues.”
Between 2020 and 2022, 56% of all foundation funding for these anti-LGBTQ organizations was given as unrestricted general support, and only 4% of that foundation funding was granted for a specific program, project, or campaign. Comparatively, at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, only about 38% of funding for social justice movement organizations was given as unrestricted general support, and at least 20% was project based.
Why it matters
Almost a third (27%) of the anti-LGBTQ organizations that NCRP tracked were nationally focused. Of the local state-based organizations we tracked, a majority of states, (32) were represented with at least one organization focused on the anti-LGBTQ movement. Unsurprisingly, some of the states with the most dedicated organizations – and therefore time and label as well – to the anti-LGBT movement, are also the states highest level of bills against the LGBTQ community. A lesson we are learning in real time is wins at the legislative level start with building local community power.
Stay informed
NCRP research and analysis continues as we grow our knowledge of ecosystems of individuals and institutions who are interested in using philanthropy to maintain their own disproportionate wealth and power and to undermine or roll back efforts for a more democratic and just society.
Read more about the Regressive Philanthropy Initiative or follow us on socials:
Bluesky
About the movement
In 2015, two years after the failure of comprehensive immigration reform in the House of Representatives, now-President Trump began his first successful campaign for the presidency with an infamous speech dehumanizing and slandering millions of immigrants living in the USA. Since then, attacks on the humanity of immigrants and refugees in mass media have escalated and the number of policies that impact the safety and security of new Americans has increased significantly. What is not so recent is the fear tactics being used to criminalize these and other communities.
For years, NCRP has reported on the insignificant amount of funding that moves in support and solidarity of immigrant and refugee communities. Our latest look at the anti-immigration movement, and research analysis used in the Regressive Philanthropic Initiative shows that while there is less detected dedicated funding for this movement, it is also deeply connected to the anti-democracy movement. Almost half (43%) of the anti-immigration organizations tracked by NCRP also had explicit work on election denial and/or anti-voting rights. People and institutions invested in maintaining power and wealth in the hands of a few, understand that our multiracial democracy depends on safety and protection for all.
Every federal policy push, narrative campaign and legal strategy ultimately relies on grassroots community-driven groups to build the power and political will for change. Funding that supports immigrant communities is deeply intertwined with funding that supports building our democracy – and it should be funded that way..
What do we know
NCRP tracked 700 private and public funders between 2020 and 2022. In that time, $260 million in total foundation funding went to 44 organizations focused on inhuman policies and criminalizing legal immigration avenues. During that time, 73% of all foundation funding for these anti-immigration organizations was given as unrestricted general support, and only 11% of that foundation funding was granted for a specific program, project, or campaign
Conversely, funding to explicitly benefit immigrants and refugees only grew from 1.3% of all foundation funding in 2011-2015 to 1.8% in 2016-2020. Similarly, money for movement advocacy and organizing never exceeded 0.4% of U.S. foundation funding in any of these years. At the peak of the pandemic in 2020, only about 38% of funding for social justice movement organizations was given as unrestricted general support, and at least 20% was project based.
Given that 14% of the people living in the United States were born abroad, this continued underfunding is striking, and a missed opportunity.
Why it matters
About half (53%) of the anti-immigration organizations that NCRP tracked were nationally focused. Of the local state-based organizations we tracked, 15 total states were represented with at least one organization focused on anti-immigration. Unsurprisingly, this included many of the states that are considered to have the strongest anti-immigration laws. But it also included well-funded organizations who are in states that are not widely considered hostile to immigrates – like presidential election swing state, Michigan.
The Plot Against Immigrants has helped show all of us that the anti-immigration movement is not isolated to one part of the country, and it is not operating in silos. NCRP’s growing research adds a funding analysis to these dedicated to outline the gravity of the risk that immigrant and refugee populations are up against.
Stay informed
NCRP research and analysis continues as we grow our knowledge of ecosystems of individuals and institutions who are interested in using philanthropy to maintain their own disproportionate wealth and power and to undermine or roll back efforts for a more democratic and just society.
Read more about the Regressive Philanthropy Initiative or follow us on socials:
Bluesky
- NCRP Research on Funding for Anti-Democracy Organizations by Katherine Ponce
- Right-Wing Donors and Foundations Spent $1 Billion to Keep People From Voting Last Year by Aaron Dorfman, NCRP
- The philanthropic strategies and networks attacking our democracy by Katherine Ponce, NCRP
- Axis of Ideology by Jeff Krehely, Meaghan House and Emily Kernan, NCRP
- Moving a Public Policy Agenda: The Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations, Sally Covington, NCRP
- Who Is Targeting State Supreme Courts to Limit Our Freedoms by Proteus Fund
- Inside the “Private and Confidential” Conservative Group That Promises to “Crush Liberal Dominance”, by Andy Kroll and Andrea Bernstein, ProPublica, and Nick Surgey, Documented
- How billionaire Charles Koch’s network won a 40-year war to curb regulation, By Justin Jouvenal, Jon Swaine and Ann E. Marimow, Washington Post
More about the data
NCRP is producing original research that reveals the funding patterns and practices of regressive philanthropy in key issue areas. We’re helping funders who share our values better understand what their grantees are up against and the importance of supporting organizing, advocacy, and movement work on the issues they care about.
This project reflects NCRP’s role in the sector: to reveal truths about philanthropy, spark necessary conversations in the sector, and hold funders accountable to serving the public good and the needs of communities with the least wealth and opportunity.
Using internet research and 990 keyword analysis, NCRP researchers assembled a list of organizations which advocated for policies which undermine our democracy and/or the human rights of LGBTQ+ people and/or immigrants. Some examples included:
- Laws which make it harder to vote
- Policies which make LGBTQ+ people less safe at work and school
- Policies which make the immigration process less humane and/or punish immigrants for their status
Based on this list of nonprofit names, NCRP tables of IRS 990 data published by Giving Tuesday to match filings by these anti-democracy, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigration organizations to filings by their institutional funders. Anti-democracy organizations’ EINs were used to match public charity funder filings, and normalized, cleaned organizational names were used to match private foundation funder filers.