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.”
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.”
While states determine non-profit status, those groups generally apply for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. The status allows groups to skirt certain taxes while those who donate to them qualify for a tax deduction. The Trump administration could try to change IRS rules to eliminate climate change as a qualifying topic for tax-exempt organizations.
In New York, charitable nonprofits, which generally qualify for tax-exempt status, are required to have a purpose that is charitable, educational, religious, scientific, literary, cultural, or involves the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. THE CITY is itself a nonprofit organization).
Nonprofit organizations were also spooked after DOGE tried to assign a team to the Vera Institute of Justice, a criminal justice nonprofit, because it received federal funds. Vera’s staff said DOGE indicated it sought to do the same for all nonprofits that received Congressionally appropriated funds.
“While we are the first to be targeted in this way, we know that we will not be the last,” Vera posted on social media.
While DOGE was conceived as an effort to cut waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government, it quickly sprawled to become an all-purpose instrument of control. It’s tried to embed its staff within NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit for affordable housing and community development, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested DOGE could also audit New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Nonprofits across the country and locally have been feeling the squeeze of funding cuts and uncertainty about the future as they have attempted to meet growing needs, even before the Trump administration came to power, said Megan Allen, CEO of the New York Council of Nonprofits.
“This federal impact is making the stress on our sector even worse,” she said. “We were stressed as a sector before this. We were already starting to see more nonprofits needing to dissolve. Every time that happens, that means there’s fewer services and support for communities all over.”
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