The Attack That Wasn’t…But Will Be
Dear friends,
We hope that everyone is hanging in there, and that you are able to stay centered as you attempt to keep up with the news, the anticipated news, and the planning needed to respond to the possible upcoming news. It’s a lot.
We know that nonprofit workers were overworked and under-resourced before the current cultural shifts began imposing themselves front and center on all that we do within our organizations. And the advice from most nonprofit hubs can feel still more overwhelming — compliance check lists, anticipatory planning, financial planning for myriad scenarios, and, for those who go this route, web-scrubbing and mission changes. Not to mention all the webinars, legal analyses, info-sessions, articles, and legal briefs. Those of us who needed twice as much time and staff to get through the week successfully in the before times now need at least three times the time and personnel.
Recently, we at Ultra have been tracking specific threats to the nonprofit sector such as:
1. Myriad threats to revoke 501c3 tax-exempt status — including Harvard. Nonprofit Quarterly discussed this in some depth HERE.
2. The Supreme Cout has ruled that nonprofits lack standing to litigate against Trump’s action, as seen HERE.
3. Members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) forced their way into the US Institute of Peace’s (USIP) offices, under President Donald Trump’s directive, despite its status as an independent nonprofit. This has far-reaching implications that we can read about HERE.
4. And, two weeks ago, we read about leaked plans for upcoming EOs targeting nonprofits with the broadest scope so far, with rumors ranging from particular organizations, to specific areas of charitable activity, such as environmental conservation and international aid work. You can read about that HERE.
It is a ridiculously dizzying time.
When the EOs mentioned above didn’t materialize on the week of earth day, as expected, further recon indicated that a reprieve had been granted, due to the death of Pope Francis — but that they were coming soon. However, so far, the EOs haven’t arrived, and we don’t know if they ever will.
In the meantime, we are now all reading that Trump is threatening to abolish the beleagured, Letter of Compliance-addled, National Endowment for the Arts. This seems to indicate that, as we had suspected, the Letter of Compliance requirement was simply an exercise in clocking which groups would sign something agreeing to refute Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or ‘Gender Ideology.’ Now that this pointless excerise in debasement is complete, we are looking at end of an agency that was probably never going to survive this administration. In its wake are the letters, leaving us either disappointed that any of our peers would sign them or hopeful that they only did so to then follow up with lots of art that boldly defied the letters.
One clear facet of the above situation: Our strength will not be found in compliance but in resistance. We know how overwhelmed everyone is, and we are too. It’s exhasting to keep up with the threats, to clock threat-level one’s organization is, or may soon be, facing. It’s a major effort to get out of our defensive postures and into positions of clarity and strength. Only solidarity will get us through. So find one another, find us, find solidarity — and know that you are and will be held in these crises within the community you choose.
More from us soon. Stay Together and Stay Strong!
