Some of the nation’s largest philanthropies have proclaimed a steadfast commitment to programs and grantees following President Trump’s targeting of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. But there is scant evidence any are devoting more money to the cause. And some are pulling out altogether.
A decision from the U.S. District Court for the State of Maryland, issued February 21, put on hold the Trump administration’s plan to halt federal contracts to groups promoting DEI. But it left in place a provision that directs the attorney general and federal agency heads to investigate possible “illegal” DEI practices at private corporations, associations, and foundations with assets of more than $500 million.
That means some of the nation’s 280 largest foundations could be targeted for investigations in their grant making to nonprofits that support women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, people of color, and low-income people — the groups under the DEI catchall.
President Trump has directed federal agency heads to scour grant-maker websites for words and phrases like “diversity” “unconscious bias,” or “historically disadvantaged” in search of clues that foundations are supporting efforts that run counter to the White House’s view that DEI is discriminatory and thus illegal.
Progressive foundation leaders whose organizations have poured billions of dollars into racial justice and equity programs over the past five years say on background that while they are talking with one another about their options, a definitive response from grant makers to the threat of investigation and attempts to stifle DEI programs has not materialized in the early weeks of the Trump presidency.
Leaders of at least one major philanthropy have conformed to the president’s order. Shortly after the executive orders on DEI appeared, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, publicly backtracked on their support.
In 2021, following the murder of George Floyd and the racial justice protests that followed, the couple’s philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, dedicated $500 million to DEI efforts. A year later, Chan publicly touted her philanthropy’s Science Diversity Leadership program, which supported nonwhite midcareer faculty at medical schools and research institutions.
“Put simply — supporting Black, Latina/o/x and indigenous researchers advances biomedicine and broadens the perspectives of the field, grows the impact of the science within impacted communities and builds a solid bench of role models for the next generation of researchers,” Chan wrote on CZI’s website.
In a February 18 letter to staff, Marc Malandro, CZI’s chief operating officer, said the organization was scrapping its social advocacy work in favor of a focus on biology and A.I. and that staffers involved in DEI programs were reassigned.
Silent, Defiant, Private
Many philanthropy leaders are remaining silent on their DEI plans. The Ford and Gates foundations, for instance, did not respond to requests for comment, and the Nathan Cummings, Hilton, Kellogg, Mellon, Packard, and Wallace foundations declined to comment.
Others issued statements of solidarity with their grantees.
Candice Jones, president of the Public Welfare Foundation, which listed assets of $568 million in 2023 and supports efforts to reshape criminal justice, was defiant.
“We will not mince words, scrub websites, or capitulate from ushering in a world that demands justice that is truly just,” she wrote in a statement on the foundation’s website entitled "... The Silence of Our Friends.”
Within the Public Welfare Foundation’s 5.5 percent payout rate, which was budgeted for last fall, it has a discretionary account of $4 million at its disposal, which has yet to be committed. A spokesperson, following up on Jones’s statement, clarified that the foundation supports efforts that are “racially just” but does not support DEI programs specifically.
Jim Canales, the outgoing president of the $2.8 billion Barr Foundation, said Barr has not changed any of the language in its grant agreements or on its website.
“We remain anchored in the values of this foundation,” he said. “And one of them happens to be centering racial equity in our work.”
Barr has not made any decisions to augment its DEI support or launch any new bodies of work, Canales said.
Referring to the paucity of public response from progressive foundations, Barr said conversations with other grant makers were happening in private. Different foundations may have a different comfort level with making public statements early in the new Trump administration, he noted.
“We respect that and acknowledge that everyone operates independently,” Barr said. “Each funder has its own mission, its own set of values, its own governance structures, and its own reasons for making the decisions that it makes.”
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is not making new investments related to DEI issues, save a few grants related to legal support and the provision of security, but remains heavily invested in the topic as a result of its $90 million commitment of multi-year grants to community-based organizations, said Rich Besser, the foundation’s president.
Foundation leaders have a responsibility to respond forcefully to the Trump administration’s “regressive” views on DEI, even if it triggers scrutiny from the Justice Department, Besser said.
Foundation leaders enjoy a privileged position, Besser said. “If we’re not willing to stand up and use that privilege to help defend the work of those who are being attacked at this moment, we shouldn’t be in these jobs. It’s that simple.”
In the coming weeks, more foundation leaders may join the chorus. That’s the hope of Tynesha McHarris, co-founder of the Black Feminist Fund. The fund was started in 2021 with $30 million from the Ford Foundation, the Solidaire Network, and the Farbman Family Foundation. It has since also received support from the Hilton Foundation.
In response to the early Trump orders on DEI and gender, the Black Feminist Fund is in the process of putting together a new funding round dedicated to support racial and gender justice. McHarris, who was unavailable for an interview, did not indicate in an email how much she hoped to raise or what kind of response she has gotten thus far.
“This is the moment to act. Funders have a choice — to move money boldly with courage and integrity or to stand on the sidelines while those on the front lines risk everything for our freedoms,” she wrote.
Drew Lindsay contributed reporting to this story.
