New York Nonprofits Race to Prepare for Trump Assault

By Samantha Maldonado, THE CITY | Editorial credit: Joshua Sukoff / shutterstock.com 

Nonprofit organizations across the nation and in New York are gearing up amid threats from the Trump administration.

Groups are on high alert as rumors fly about the administration possibly revoking their tax-exempt status or investigating them for illegal actions or noncompliance with executive orders. 

“We’re all hearing about these executive orders that are supposed to come out but honestly have no idea about when and what they’ll target,” said Michelle Jackson, executive director of the Human Services Council. “We’ve heard climate and democracy as kind of the focus, and that creates real fear amongst all types of nonprofits.”

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Climate nonprofits are preparing for a possible executive order targeting their tax exempt status that could come down on Earth Day, according to multiple reports. Several national and local environmental nonprofit groups declined to comment or did not respond when THE CITY reached out.

The Trump administration has targeted climate and environmental programs, and the president signed an executive order to end programs that fall under “DEI,” including environmental justice efforts. Environmental justice focuses on often nonwhite communities that are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change and pollution.

Attorney General Letitia James’ office is hosting a webinar next Monday to offer guidance and equip nonprofits ahead of any federal moves. So far, over 1,000 groups have signed up for the event. 

(A Trump official last week asked his Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation of James, who won a civil case against Trump, involving a mortgage loan she submitted). 

“The Trump administration’s threats against nonprofit organizations have had a chilling effect throughout New York and nationwide. We are already seeing the real impact of these harmful policies,” James said in a statement. “My office is fighting back against these reckless cuts in court, and we are committed to ensuring nonprofits receive the funding necessary to protect the New Yorkers they serve.”

Nonprofit budgets have been at risk as the administration has cancelled or frozen grant money across a slew of programs. The attorneys general of several states, including James in New York, as well as nonprofits, filed lawsuits to fight back against those federal actions.

James’ call will follow a similar virtual briefing for nonprofits nationwide that took place on Friday, hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Citizen.

THE CITY obtained a recording of that call, which maxed out at 5,000 attendees as more tried to join. The briefing touched on preparing for any incoming attacks on the nonprofit sector with collective action and to defend individual organizations that may be at risk.

After the call, the groups circulated a solidarity letter condemning Trump’s targeting of nonprofits, which nearly 600 organizations signed onto as of Monday mid-day, based on a document THE CITY reviewed.

“Efforts by the president of the United States to defund, discredit, and dismantle nonprofit groups he disagrees with are reprehensible and dangerous — a violation of a fundamental freedom in America,” the letter states.

Many nonprofits interpreted the targeting of Harvard University and the Vera Institute of Justice, both nonprofit institutions, by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s proto-governmental Department of Government Efficiency as signs of what’s coming. 

Trump threatened to yank Harvard University’s tax-exempt status and about $1 billion in research funding after the university declined to meet the administration’s demands for eliminating DEI programs and instituting mask bans at protests, among others.

Trump on Thursday called tax-exempt status “a privilege” that’s “been abused by a lot more than Harvard.”