We’re Still Not Going Back.
Here’s What Comes Next.
What Now?
In the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election, we find ourselves facing the return of old threats and the emergence of new ones.
Whether you’re a dedicated supporter of nonprofits or part of the staff and leadership that powers these vital organizations, there are concrete steps we can take now to protect rights, sustain missions, and build for the future.
Below are practical and strategic actions to guide individuals and institutions alike in navigating this moment with purpose and strength.
As a supporter of nonprofits, there are impactful ways you can contribute to sustaining their work and advancing their missions during this challenging time:
Stay Informed and Educate Yourself: Keep up with the latest policy changes and social issues affecting the causes you care about. Understanding what’s at stake will help you make informed decisions about how to support nonprofit efforts.
Donate Strategically: Consider making contributions to nonprofits that are on the frontlines of defending rights and providing critical services. Monthly or unrestricted donations allow these organizations the flexibility to respond to crises and changing needs.
Amplify Their Message: Use your voice on social media and in your community to raise awareness about nonprofit initiatives and campaigns. Share stories, reports, and calls to action that spotlight important work and encourage others to engage.
Volunteer Your Skills or Time: Offer your support by volunteering for nonprofits whose missions resonate with you. Whether it’s lending your professional skills, joining a phone bank, or helping with local events, your contribution of time is valuable.
Join Advocacy Efforts: Participate in campaigns or actions such as signing petitions, attending rallies, or calling legislators. Grassroots engagement is a powerful way to influence policy and demonstrate public support for nonprofit work.
Engage in Conversations: Start discussions within your social circles about the importance of nonprofit work and the challenges they face. Conversations can inspire collective action and build a broader base of informed supporters.
Support Local Organizations: Don’t overlook small or grassroots nonprofits in your area. These organizations often have a deep understanding of local issues and can make significant impacts with community-focused initiatives.
Be Consistent in Your Support: While major events often spur bursts of giving and action, ongoing support is what helps nonprofits maintain their operations and plan for the future. Regular engagement, whether through donations, volunteering, or advocacy, ensures sustained impact.
Stay Hopeful and Engaged: It’s easy to feel disheartened in challenging times, but your continued belief in positive change supports the resilience of nonprofits and the communities they serve.
Connect and Collaborate: Encourage your friends, family, and networks to get involved. Organize group donations, volunteer together, or host a fundraiser to amplify your collective impact.
For those working within the nonprofit sector or supporting it through philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, strategic and collaborative actions are essential to navigate this moment effectively:
Reinforce Strategic Planning: Revisit and update your strategic plans to include scenario responses for potential policy changes, funding challenges, and increased demand. Ensure your organization or initiatives are positioned for adaptability.
Prioritize Staff Wellness and Sustainability: Support your team’s morale and mental health. Encourage practices that sustain energy and resilience in the face of challenges. For funders, consider funding initiatives that support nonprofit staff well-being.
Support Capacity-Building Efforts: Fund and develop programs that help nonprofits bolster their communications and strategic capabilities, enabling them to effectively leverage this moment.
Engage in Cross-Sector Partnerships: Strengthen connections with other nonprofits, funders, and CSR programs to build coalitions that can pool resources, knowledge, and support. Collaborating can amplify efforts and mitigate risks.
Advocate for Flexible Funding: For funders and philanthropic leaders, ensure that your funding allows for adaptive use, supporting nonprofits in shifting resources as needed. For nonprofit staff, communicate openly with donors about the importance of unrestricted support.
Invest in Communications Strategy: Make sure your organization has a clear, powerful narrative that can engage your audience, inspire action, and counter disinformation or opposition. Utilize social media, newsletters, and public relations effectively.
Enhance Digital Advocacy Capabilities: Ensure that your digital tools and platforms are optimized for rapid response, community engagement, and storytelling that compels action. Digital readiness is crucial for effective mobilization.
Direct Funding to At-Risk Groups: For philanthropic and CSR leaders, identify and prioritize funding to organizations working with marginalized and vulnerable communities, especially those that may face the brunt of policy changes or funding restrictions.
Equip Communities with Resources: Create and share toolkits, action plans, and educational materials that help your partners and stakeholders understand how they can respond effectively to changes in the political and social landscape.
Leverage Media for Advocacy: Collaborate with journalists and media outlets to ensure that stories of impact, challenge, and resilience are shared widely. Use your platform to elevate the voices of those who are directly affected by policy shifts.
Maintain a Long-Term Vision: While immediate response is critical, keep a strategic eye on long-term sustainability and impact. Invest in capacity-building, leadership development, and programs that will continue to drive change beyond the current moment.
What Role Do You Play?
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Preparation is not optional. Assess your vulnerabilities now—stability of funding, readiness of advocacy strategies, and staff well-being are critical. Adaptation will define whether organizations can continue serving communities effectively. Build adaptable strategies, strengthen donor networks, and reinforce your internal capacity to respond swiftly.
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Your role is crucial. Sustained, flexible funding can empower nonprofits to weather the uncertainties and push forward with mission-critical work. The choice to invest in resilient, unrestricted support can be the difference between endurance and retrenchment.
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Your commitment can set an example. Mobilize your company’s resources not just to buffer your brand but to amplify community resilience. Your actions can shape industry norms for the better.
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Your role in telling the stories behind these shifts, and speaking truth to power, is essential. By highlighting the impact of any administration or policy on communities, you foster understanding and hold power accountable.
“It’s OK to be angry, but being angry is just the start. It’s what you do with that anger that counts. If you’re unsure of what to do next, we’re here for you. We’ve supported strategic advising and communications, coalition-building, digital advocacy, and collaborative partnerships and planning to counter threats from Congress, the White House, governor’s offices, and state legislatures.
We stand proudly and unabashedly with the change-makers, the justice-seekers, and the fiery good-trouble-makers who refuse to sit idly by. We’ve spent years channeling rage into real, meaningful support for nonprofits and movements fighting on the frontlines of change, from growing dollars and followers to increasing volunteers and grants. We hope you’ll call on us if ever you need it.
Your voice, your time, your money, your action — they all count. Use them wisely.”
KINDRED MOTES, FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, KMSG
RESOURCES
For Nonprofit Leaders & Funders
As leaders working towards a more just and equitable world, it's crucial to stay informed and equipped to navigate the evolving post-election landscape. This resource guide compiles essential tools, strategies, and insights to support nonprofit organizations and changemakers across sectors as you continue pushing your vital work forward, no matter the election outcome. Whether your focus is on policy advocacy, community empowerment, or systems-level transformation, we hope these resources help you effectively and proactively lead during this pivotal time.
PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) recently published a resource guide, “How to Talk Bridge-y,” as part of their Civic Language Perceptions Project. Read the report to learn more about terms related to democracy and civic engagement that are perceived to bring people together and drive them apart. Amy McIsaac, Managing Director of Learning and Experimentation, also discussed findings and PACE’s post-election resource guide with The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
“Nonprofits must be prepared for political upheaval if Trump wins. Many aren’t” - Kindred Motes, KM Strategies Group
In a recent Fast Company article, KM Strategies Group Founder Kindred Motes outlines the election’s potential impacts on nonprofits and discusses the firm’s report on nonprofit election preparedness.
Election-Year Resource Center for Nonprofit Leaders - Laura Lanzerotti & Nishi Mehta, The Bridgespan Group
The Bridgespan Group’s Election-Year Resource Center for Nonprofit Leaders includes tips and resources for post-election planning, including a downloadable election scenario template.
Civic & Democracy Grants for Nonprofits - Inside Philanthropy
Inside Philanthropy provides information about key trends in democracy-related giving and lists top funders in this area of philanthropy.
“Leading a Nonprofit Through Election Week? Here’s Your Survival Guide” - Sara Herschander, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
This guide offers tips for navigating uncertainty and other challenges during Election Week.
For Supporters of Nonprofits
Search for local nonprofits in your state.
Look up community foundations in your area.
Donate to organizations, including our amazing partners and clients, that are defending critical rights, civil liberties, and access to services (a few are below):
Global Project Against Hate & Extremism
GPAHE (Global Project Against Hate and Extremism) monitors and exposes extremist hate groups that spread racism, bigotry, and religious intolerance globally while promoting human rights for diverse democratic societies. This year, GPAHE has been laser-focused on analyzing and explaining the fair-right initiative - "Project 2025" - to help the public, advocates, and press understand its implications. Their research has been particularly valuable in combating disinformation during the pre-election period. This work is far from over
Acacia works to promote community resilience and systemic change for immigrant communities by championing meaningful and impactful justice for immigrants at risk of detention or deportation. Their mission is to deliver essential legal services and advocacy to protect the rights and freedoms of vulnerable immigrant populations. No matter the election outcome, there is an urgent need to drive meaningful change, resist harmful policies, and build upon positive reforms.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Office and State Affiliates
We’re currently working to support both the ACLU of South Carolina and the ACLU of New Jersey. In South Carolina, the LGBTQ+ community is under attack as the state legislature continues to introduce anti-LGBTQ bills. The ACLU of New Jersey is actively working to reduce the state’s incarcerated population through The Clemency Project. Both of these chapters are visionary leaders in their states, and their efforts to combat discriminatory legislation are essential to safeguarding their communities. Our founder, Kindred Motes, also serves on the board of directors for the ACLU of Alabama, which is doing incredible work to defend reproductive rights access, end mass incarceration, protect LGBTQ+ people, and end the criminalization of poverty.
The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) works to end mass incarceration in California and transform the criminal justice system to be more just and equitable for all people. ARC empowers formerly and currently incarcerated individuals to thrive by providing a robust support network, comprehensive reentry services, and opportunities to advocate for policy change. By uplifting the voices of those directly impacted, ARC is leading the charge to dismantle the systemic inequities within the criminal justice system.
Jeremiah Program (JP) aims to disrupt cycles of generational poverty by supporting single mothers and their children on their road to economic mobility. Beyond direct services at their nine campuses across the country, they focus on shifting public policies to increase living wages for childcare workers, expand access to emerging workforce opportunities, and address student loan inequity.
Additional Resources
"Beyond the Ballot: Understanding Post-Election Processes in America" - Movement Advancement Project (MAP)
MAP’s report explains the processes that take place after voting, including resources like infographics and maps.
Snapshot: Democracy Ratings by State - Movement Advancement Project (MAP)
The Democracy Maps display MAP’s ratings of state election laws and policies with additional data and policy information broken down by state.
Messaging Guides: Talking About LGBTQ Issues - Movement Advancement Project (MAP)
MAP’s Messaging Guides were created to help shape discussions about LGBTQ issues to create common ground and work toward equality for LGBTQ people.
What we’re reading to stay up to date: