"In 2020, the nation witnessed an unprecedented moment of collective reckoning that philanthropy and corporate America could not ignore. Pressure to speak and act came from all sides. Protests filled the streets, employees and customers demanded change, and funders competed to demonstrate visible commitments to racial justice. The moment moved even institutions that had long been hesitant or outright resistant."
"Now, in 2025, that external pressure has subsided, and in its place is a chilling retrenchment. Justice-centered organizations face unprecedented material constraints. As federal funds are pulled back and institutions from philanthropy to corporations like Target hit pause, many nonprofits were left to operate in survival mode. For some, this retreat is a return to their comfort zone because the commitment was conditional."
"As Black women leaders of consulting firms that support funders and systems change initiatives across the country, we've had front-row seats to the sector's transformations and its hesitations. We've built our careers by taking calculated risks as founders and facilitators, and we know that in this moment, what may feel like "safety" is, in fact, the most dangerous position of all."
In 2020, widespread protests and public pressure compelled philanthropy and corporations to make visible commitments to racial justice, moving even resistant institutions. By 2025, that external pressure subsided, replaced by a chilling retrenchment and unprecedented material constraints for justice-centered organizations. Federal fund withdrawals and corporate pauses forced many nonprofits into survival mode. Some organizations revert to conditional commitments, while others confront urgent threats and search for footing. Fear, rather than movement pressure, now drives decisions. Leaders call for radical imagination, long-term planning, different partnerships, internal organizer support, and bold coordinated action to rebuild.
Read at Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
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