Nonprofits agree they are worse off under Trump

BOSTON (SHNS) - Hundreds of workers and leaders at nonprofits across Massachusetts overwhelmingly agreed that the Bay State will fare worse under the Trump administration, voicing concerns about funding cuts and heightened stress on vulnerable populations.

New survey results published Monday by the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, The Boston Foundation and MassINC Polling Group found that only 2% of nonprofit staff polled feel Massachusetts will be "a little better off" or "much better off" with President Donald Trump in office.

Ninety-one percent of respondents said the Bay State will be "a little worse off" or "much worse off," with more than three in four selecting the latter, more dramatic assessment.

Jim Klocke, CEO of the Mass. Nonprofit Network, described the results as indicative of an "existential threat."

"The nonprofit sector is under attack, as are other pillars of civil society," Klocke said at an event to unpack the survey. "We have a long, hard road to travel, but we as a sector, we also have a lot of great strengths that we can bring to this work."

Nearly six in 10 organizations covered by the survey receive federal funding. Asked how their nonprofit's work would be affected by the Trump administration, 31% said they think the administration's policies will impact the populations they serve professionally, 16% said federal policy conflicts with their organization's mission or values, and 11% described fear, anxiety or low morale as a result of the Trump administration.

The survey involved 523 respondents and ran between Feb. 25 and March 24. MassINC Polling Group President Steve Koczela said in that span, many nonprofit workers feared potential Trump administration actions and funding cuts that have since become reality.

About 8% of respondents said they had lost federal funding during that February-to-March survey window. MassINC senior research associate Zayna Basma-Doyle added "we anticipate that number would be a lot higher if we did the survey right now."

Koczela also said the pessimistic trend remained consistent across different facets of the nonprofit sector.

"It varies only a little bit when you look at different nonprofits based on which populations they serve. In other words, they all pretty much -- this is kind of the shape for all types of nonprofits and whoever they serve and whatever their mission is," Koczela said. "You're seeing 75 to 85% [think Massachusetts will be] much worse off, and 90 to 95% saying some variation of worse off."

More than 500,000 Bay Staters work at nonprofits, according to Klocke, who said more than 1.1 million residents also made charitable donations to nonprofits last year and hundreds of thousands more served as volunteers, board members and advisors.

During his first four months in office, Trump has ramped up immigration enforcement, moved to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and sought to slow clean energy development such as offshore wind, many of which are ideas on which he campaigned.

He's also pushed to curtail federal spending, including on grants and programs that both nonprofits and state governments use to help build their own budgets.

"It's really not only federal dollars, because as federal dollars shift, the shape of the need shifts, and the shape of where philanthropic dollars go shifts -- [that's] what a lot of nonprofit leaders are anticipating," Koczela said.

Most nonprofit workers who participated in the survey said they expect to face higher demand for programs and services they offer under Trump, and nine in 10 said the administration will make it harder to do their jobs.

Diane Yentel, president of the National Council of Nonprofits, said at Monday's event she sees "no way for the nonprofit sector to end this year in a neutral place."

"There's no way to end the year more or less where we started," Yentel said. "We'll either end the year somewhere on a spectrum of harm, from somewhat harmed to really potentially decimated, or I really believe we can end it strengthened in the way that we respond to this moment."

The National Council of Nonprofits is part of two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's actions, Yentel said, and is also crafting communications strategies to help navigate a response to the upheaval.

Other nonprofit leaders are similarly fashioning their responses. Shanique Rodriguez, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table, said her group is "looking at pulling together rapid response funding" alongside partner groups like Lawyers for Civil Rights.