Many national nonprofits that expect to clash with Donald Trump’s incoming administration have seen donations surge and are reporting that thousands of people are signing up to volunteer since the president-elect’s surprise victory last week.
In particular, charities that advocate for minority populations, civil and human rights, and the environment are seeing a big spike in support.
It’s common for groups to send fundraising appeals and other messages around big news events and to see a short-term bump in giving. But many national nonprofits say they are seeing unprecedented levels of support following Mr. Trump’s win.
During the campaign, Mr. Trump called for deporting all undocumented immigrants, banning Muslims from entering the country, and punishing women who seek abortions. He’s also called for withdrawing the United States from the landmark Paris climate accord and for reducing regulations on industries that cause pollution. Although Mr. Trump has moderated some of his hard-line positions, many are still fearful that as president he will take strong action on some of his most controversial rhetoric.
The incoming president has philanthropy pondering the big changes that lie ahead in the new administration and what they mean for fundraising, tax policy, spending, immigration, regulation, advocacy efforts, and more.
Since Mr. Trump’s victory, protests and marches opposing his win have broken out across the nation — and nonprofits say they are tapping into that energy.
“Since Election Day, the ACLU has seen a renewed sense of urgency from hundreds of thousands of Americans to protect civil liberties,” said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in a statement.
‘See You in Court’
The ACLU has received more than $7.2 million in donations since Election Day and has heard from thousands of people who want to volunteer. Its Facebook following increased 25 percent to nearly 1 million after Mr. Trump’s victory, according to the statement released Monday.
Last week, the civil-liberties group posted an eye-catching message to the president-elect on its website that got a lot of news-media attention. At the top of its home page, next a photo of Mr. Trump, is the statement “See You in Court,” with a link below that encourages people to become monthly donors.
The ACLU has also made other digital appeals, including on social media. One tweet sent on Wednesday last week read: “A lot of you are donating to the ACLU today because you’re not sure what else to do. We’re in this with you.”
The organization says it’s going to focus on fighting mass deportations and obstructing efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and ban Muslims from entering the country, among other issues. It will “pivot” to other causes as needed, according to its statement.
Grass-Roots Efforts
Other groups say they have seen more donations even though they’ve sent few direct appeals.
The National Immigration Law Center, which represents and advocates for immigrants, has received more than $115,000 in donations since the election, with almost 1,900 new donors giving. That’s much higher than normal for the center, which has a three-person development team that has been in place only a few years, said Marielena Hincapié, the group’s executive director.
Ms. Hincapié said the nonprofit has been in “rapid-response mode” since Mr. Trump’s victory, sending messages to supporters by email and on social media and forwarding materials to undocumented immigrants educating them of their rights.
One Facebook appeal reads: “Over the last months, our team has been preparing for the possibility of a Trump administration. … We want you to know that the National Immigration Law Center is ready to fight against unjust new immigration laws and policies at every turn, using the courtroom if necessary.” The message goes on to encourage people to donate.
Ms. Hincapié said that most new contributions appear to be unsolicited, with many donors giving less than $100. Some are coming from very unexpected places; she recently learned that a pub in Portland, Ore., was collecting donations this week for the group, which has two offices in California and one in Washington, D.C.
“This is all grass-roots for the most part,” Ms. Hincapié said.
Online Actions
Last week, many people started creating Facebook groups that called for direct action in light of Mr. Trump’s win, including staging protests and donating to nonprofits like the International Rescue Committee and the ACLU. Some people online circulated lists of nonprofits to support, with some including the National Immigration Law Center.
In an interview with 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Mr. Trump said he plans to deport 2 million to 3 million undocumented immigrants that he suggested are dangerous criminals and said he would come through on his promise to build a border wall with Mexico — although he noted part of the barrier would likely be fencing.
Ms. Hincapié said the nonprofit probably will have court battles with Mr. Trump’s administration over his immigration proposals. In the past few days, lawyers have called to say they’d work pro bono with the group to assist with litigation. Other volunteers have asked if they can help with duties like taking phone calls and translating government documents, she said.
Pleasant Surprise
Other groups that represent minorities say they have been encouraged to see that people of all backgrounds are giving to their nonprofits.
“Most of the donations that we’ve received since Wednesday morning have been from non-Muslims,” said Farhana Y. Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, a national legal and education organization. The nonprofit has seen close to 100 donations come in since the election, adding up to almost $10,000 — an unusual amount for the group in such a short period.
“It seems like it’s a way people feel that they can respond and do something to take a stand,” Ms. Khera said. She sent a message to supporters last week immediately after Mr. Trump’s victory, and the group has posed direct appeals for donations on social media and one in an email last Friday, too.
Still, like other groups, most of the giving has been spontaneous. She said the last time the nonprofit, which has been around since the mid-2000s, saw a big donation surge similar to this was when Mr. Trump called for banning Muslims from entering the country in December last year. The nonprofit received $20,000 in gifts in 24 hours after Mr. Trump’s statements, largely due to a $5,000 matching grant from a donor, she said.
Fighting Cyber-Hate
The Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism and bigotry, saw a 50-fold increase in dollars raised online a few days after the election compared with the same period last year. Some 70 percent of the gifts are from new donors, according to a statement. Some big donors have said they plan to give more this year, too, with some pledging six-figure gifts.
“Many if not most of the donors are most interested in seeing ADL scale up its work in the cyber-hate space, where the anti-Semitism and hate speech has been most alarming,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League. He added that the organization’s 27 regional offices are also seeing much higher call volumes from people seeking to volunteer.
The call to fight cyber-hate may be even more urgent with Mr. Trump’s announcement Sunday that Stephen Bannon would serve as a chief strategist to the White House.
Mr. Bannon led the Breitbart News Network before joining Mr. Trump’s campaign as chief executive in August. Under Mr. Bannon’s control, many charge, Breitbart became a haven for racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic material. Mr. Bannon has described the website as a platform for the “alt-right” movement, which has been embraced by white nationalists and online “trolls.” Many fear that his appointment will embolden the alt-right and online harassment will spike.
Mr. Trump’s team has said that Mr. Bannon’s White House role will be on par with that of Reince Priebus — the Republican National Committee Chairman the president-elect tapped to be chief of staff.
Mr. Greenblatt released a statement condemning Mr. Bannon on Sunday. “It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premier website of the ‘alt-right’ … is slated to be a senior staff member in the ‘people’s house,’” he said.
Celebrities Encourage Giving
Celebrities are encouraging people to donate, too. John Oliver, host of the satiric news show Last Week Tonight, devoted an episode to the election results Sunday and then tweeted links to several charities he recommends supporting. They included nonprofit investigative-news website ProPublica, LGBTQ support-group the Trevor Project, and Planned Parenthood — which has seen 128,000 people give in the past few days.
Singer Katy Perry said on Instagram Friday that she donated $10,000 to the women’s health-organization. Comedian Amy Schumer, model Amber Tamblyn, actress Jaime King, and others have also encouraged social-media followers to give to Planned Parenthood in vice president-elect’s Mike Pence’s name.
As governor of Indiana, Mr. Pence cut state funding to Planned Parenthood clinics and signed a law in March prohibiting abortions that are carried out on the basis of a fetus’s race, gender, or genetic abnormalities. The law was blocked by a federal court in June.
Planned Parenthood and other women’s health groups are alarmed that Mr. Trump said in his 60 Minutes interview that justices he would appoint to the Supreme Court would overturn the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, which granted nationwide access to abortion. Mr. Trump said the issue would be returned to the states.
“The truth is that the majority of Americans, including Trump’s own voters, support access to health care at Planned Parenthood and do not want to see women lose access to safe, legal abortion,” said Cecile Richards, president of nonprofit, in a statement Monday. “We will never back down, and we will never stop providing the care our patients need. These doors stay open, no matter what.”
Heather Joslyn and Rebecca Koenig contributed to this article.
