Executive Orders Affecting Nonprofits

Why this matters: President Trump has signed dozens of Executive Orders that impact nonprofits and organizations on a broad range of issues.

​Call to action: Check out this chart of the Executive Orders that will impact nonprofit organizations to stay educated. LINK: Chart of Executive Orders

Last week, President Trump passed dozens of Executive Orders (EOs) during his first week in office, covering a broad range of issues, as well as rescinding several EOs from the previous administration. These EOs impact nonprofits directly or indirectly in areas including diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; government grants and contracts; civic engagement; immigration; and certain nonprofit subsectors. Some of these EOs won’t take effect immediately and many are expected to be challenged in court.

We at the Idaho Nonprofit Center understand that there is a lot of confusion and frustration surrounding the direction that the Executive Government is taking and the impact it will have on many of the programs and populations that nonprofit organizations serve here in Idaho.

Here is a breakdown of these areas of impact for nonprofits and how they could be impacted:

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Federal government DEI programs and trainings, often provided by or in partnership with nonprofits, will be eliminated. In addition, President Trump has signed EOs extending “anti-DEI” efforts to the private sector. In these efforts, the Attorney General will investigate and enforce “anti-DEI” within the private sector.
  
  
• Federal Government: Nonprofits partnering with federal governmental agencies or receiving federal funding, especially through government grants and contracts, may experience longer wait times and slower processing, loss of points of contacts, or difficulty reaching them, and increased strain on relationships.
  
  Nonprofits should advocate for and talk to government partners about government grants and contracting reform and provide specific examples of how processes and reporting requirements could be streamlined. Additionally, nonprofits will no longer have direct White House connections through the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
  
  
• Immigration: Nonprofits working with immigrant populations, providing legal assistance or training, or delivering humanitarian or other direct aid, may see the need for services increase, may lose funding, and could be targeted by law enforcement. Human services and social services could also be targeted.
  
  
• LGBTQ+: Charitable nonprofits serving LGBTQ+ communities, and providing gender-affirming care and other services may experience loss of federal funding, increase in demand for services, and have strained relationships with government partners.
  
  
• Environment: Nonprofits receiving or expecting funding from Elective Pay (sometimes known as “Direct Pay”), Inflation Reduction Act, or other Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act programs may have the programs and funds terminated.
  
  
• Census and Community Engagement: Lays the groundwork for legislation and other actions to exclude noncitizens from future Censuses.
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• Other: Nonprofits working on specific issues and from various subsectors seen as providing information contrary to the Administration may be targeted.
  
  Arts and culture nonprofits, museums, and libraries will no longer be “integrated into strategies, policies, and programs that advance the economic development, well-being, and resilience of all communities”, among other things, by the Trump Administration. Additionally, nonprofits that provide foreign assistance may also be targeted.

For a full breakdown of the executive orders and their impact toward nonprofits, find a full breakdown provided by our partners at the Council of Nonprofits here.
LINK: Chart of Executive Orders