Key facts
- Foundations are launching a campaign called "Generosity Builds" to emphasize their positive community impact.
- The campaign seeks to counter negative perceptions of philanthropy as partisan or fraudulent.
- Recent political actions, including proposed tax increases on foundations and cuts to social service grants, have increased pressure on the sector.
- Vice President JD Vance has publicly criticized major foundations.
- The Gulf Coast Community Foundation supported the development of an affordable housing complex for veterans.
A nationwide network of charitable foundations is launching a campaign called "Generosity Builds" to highlight their positive contributions and counter negative narratives that have led to increased scrutiny. The Council on Foundations, representing about 1,000 nonprofits, aims to address a "perception gap" where many Americans may not recognize their reliance on the charitable sector.
CEO Kathleen Enright stated that popular notions of philanthropy as a tool for the ultra-wealthy to fund partisan projects or commit fraud have made the sector vulnerable to political attacks. These perceptions influence policies that can hamper essential community services. Enright cited personal examples of relying on nonprofit services, noting that people often don't associate these services with philanthropy.
Recent political actions have amplified these challenges. Negotiations over President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill included proposals to tax private foundations. The Trump administration also froze, cut, or threatened social service grants, labeling them as corrupt. The Department of Justice has charged the Southern Poverty Law Center with defrauding donors. Vice President JD Vance has publicly criticized major foundations, calling them "cancers on American society" and accusing them of promoting "woke capital."
Kathryn Thomas, vice president of communications for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, described the current environment as the most challenging in nearly six decades, citing congressional efforts to increase taxes on foundations' investment incomes and the Trump administration's funding cuts. She emphasized the need to better articulate the sector's purpose in an era of polarization.
Enright also noted growing concerns about the influence of billionaires and the argument that the charitable sector allows moneyed interests to dictate public spending rather than elected officials. The "Generosity Builds" campaign will focus on the idea that many donors simply want to give back, especially at the local level, and that financial support from foundations is a tool used by community leaders to solve problems. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation's support for a 10-apartment affordable housing complex for military veterans in Sarasota, Florida, was highlighted as an example of this work.