124 U.S. funders write open letter denouncing political violence, prepare for Trump backlash
Why It Matters
As U.S. political division widens, non-profits are now in the crosshairs of the Trump administration - again. While several Canadian non-profits were affected by the recent USAID cuts, the loss of more funding for American non-profits could affect Canadian-affiliated chapters.
More than 100 American philanthropic organizations have issued an open letter denouncing political violence and warning against attempts to curtail the work of left-leaning non-profits, amid signals of an impending crackdown from the Trump administration.
The statement, published Wednesday on Medium, followed the homicide of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week and the earlier murder of Melissa Hortman, former speaker emerita of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The signatories described both incidents as “acts of political violence” that undermine American democratic values.
“Our country is built on the premise that everyone has the right to express themselves, even when others don’t agree with or like what they say,” the letter said. “No one should fear for their safety simply for expressing their views.”
Some of the country’s largest grant-making institutions, including the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, signed the document. Several regional organizations, such as the Silicon Valley and Marin County community foundations, also joined the effort.
“Organizations should not be attacked for carrying out their missions or expressing their values in support of the communities they serve,” the letter stated.
“We reject attempts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms, like freedom of speech and the freedom to give.
The Trump administration has accused some of these groups of fostering division and hinted at measures that could include revoking tax-exempt status or broadening the definition of hate speech.
In a podcast earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance specifically named the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations as examples of organizations he claimed “foment, facilitate, and engage in violence.”
Canadian non-profits, meanwhile, have been watching the unfolding situation in the U.S. regarding non-profit funding and the dramatic cutbacks to U.S.A.I.D., which halted critical aid work around the planet earlier this year.
Canadian aid organizations affiliated with USAID. have called on the federal government to step up in the wake of the USD $35 billion funding cuts to help restore and continue their lifesaving work.
The federal budget will be tabled on Nov. 4.
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