How Philanthropy Can Flip the Conservative Playbook Before It’s Too Late
Authors: Maureen Silva
As the trend of ruthless conservative action crowds the headlines, we’ve also seen a troubling trend in ”progressive” philanthropy: fair-weather friends running from the racial justice movement. We’ve all heard the thinking that philanthropy’s embrace of racial justice was less about conviction and more about unlocking mega-donor wallets—a strategy that allowed the pendulum to swing back with ease, exposing just how fragile their commitments truly were.
This piece is for those in philanthropy who believe in us. Over the past four years, conservative groups have worked to dismantle civil rights using all the tools of the U.S. government and democracy as their vehicles. But this isn’t just an attack on our government and nonprofits—it threatens each and every one of us. Philanthropy has a real chance to flip the script with us, and to fight for democracy, by investing boldly, and finding new, creative ways to sustain this work.
Here’s how:
Commit to Shifting Narratives, Not Just Language
Before our eyes, conservative groups have planned and funded their vision to further entrench power and wealth in the hands of the few rather than the many. They've used tactics that have distracted us thanks to manipulative storytelling and narrative control. They have a script, standard talking points, and clear targets on which they pin their ad-libbed fear mongering. They have their versions of narratives about our society regarding who deserves dignity, and who can be sacrificed or scapegoated for an economy with few winners at the expense of the suffering of many, which use false connections based in tribalism to appease a loss of belonging for people who feel left behind—and those narratives have been extremely effective.
Narrative Change, defined by Becca Hovland is “a process of evolving the stories told in and about our culture by centering and distributing accurate, empowering stories. It’s a powerful tool for raising awareness and gaining support, and it often opens the door to other types of change or audience engagement.”
As conservative forces, and those they have swayed, try to set the terms of our debate around a host of initiatives–immigration, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, abortion, gender identity, and many others—and push the philanthropic sector into defensive positions, we must resist their harmful narratives. We know that the real cause of social and economic inequity is white supremacy and racial capitalism; philanthropy needs to recognize and name these dynamics, and fund narrative work—both to safeguard gains for racial justice and combat the rising threat of authoritarianism.
Social justice activist and co-founder of the Center for Cultural Power Favianna Rodriguez, and Ford Foundation's Lane Harwell and Anita Khashu highlight a powerful example with a comic-book-style story featuring Victor, a young asylum seeker in the U.S. The story follows Victor as he is detained due to his undocumented status, enduring harsh conditions that take a toll on his mental and physical health. Despite these obstacles, he perseveres, ultimately breaking through systemic barriers to support others facing similar struggles.
Testing conducted by the Center for Cultural Power revealed this narrative work significantly influenced public perception, leading to a 6.1-point increase in awareness of the harmful conditions in immigrant detention centers and a 5.7-point increase in support for policies that provide undocumented youth with pathways to legal status.
We’ve seen funders like Ford Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fund narrative change initiatives over the past several years, investing in voices that disrupt the dominant crisis-driven narrative perpetuated by conservative media. Yet, imagine what could be possible with a more united progressive philanthropic-non-profit movement.
Piecemeal Funding Won’t Build a Just Economy. It’s Time to Go All In
Just as we’ve seen the power of narrative change through the conservative playbook, we’ve also seen what happens when a movement (albeit conservative extremism) is fully funded: through Project 2025. In preparation for the election and transition, the Heritage Foundation recruited thousands of individuals and organizations to build a 900-page detailed plan for dismantling the federal government through Project 2025. Funder networks representing six ultra-wealthy industrialist families in America donated more than $120 million to the Project 2025 advisory group. Of note, this was not their first collaboration—these ultra high net worth donors have clocked previous collaborations and policy wins. By 2023, the foundation surpassed $150 million in total cash and donation commitments from their constituents.
Progressive movements have the talent to change the world, to create an economically viable society that restores the health and wealth of communities that have been most harmed. But as conservative groups pressure foundations to eliminate racial justice work, making the sector fight for limited funding when our communities need it most, funders have the chance to make a long lasting impact by doubling down on reparative work—even if it means getting creative or lending in new ways.
This starts with reimagining the structure of portfolio-based funding. Especially with work aimed to change systems, there is no singular category that organizations advancing systems change fit into. I’ve seen it in action: funders shopping around initiatives to other portfolios, with program officers creating bargaining options with each other when funding dollars are scarce or tapped for that year. Portfolio funding fragments resources across initiatives and prevents the alignment necessary to address system-wide issues.
If funders could un-tether themselves from the portfolio and align their dollars with their vision for the future, they would create an ecosystem for the iterative processes and long-term strategies essential for sustainable systemic transformation. This shift reinforces the interconnectedness of racial justice with broader economic, climate, and social justice work, embedding equity into the fabric of economic transformation.
Even when one program officer can’t change the institution, they can get creative under the terms they are given–which is exactly what we experienced with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Managing Director Deborah Bae, who helps support leaders who are advancing justice across the nation, understood that our work did not fit neatly into a single portfolio. Thinking creatively, she brought together program officers from three different portfolios to pool funding together for advancing discrete, but complementary, work. RWJF offered an additional 40% in funding for leadership development–which allowed for more experimentation and capacity building around the emergent needs of the communities we support.
Dismantle the Unnecessary Risk of Grant Contracts
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruling against the Fearless Fund found that a grant program designed to address the lack of Venture Capital funding available for Black women, was discriminatory and a violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1966. Though the decision was limited only to that jurisdiction, we’ve seen a cooling effect among our partners in philanthropy that once resourced work to advance racial equity without reservation. This begs the question that nonprofits have been advocating for years: what if philanthropy—which has happily placed the burden of meeting contract terms on nonprofits—eliminated risk by doing away with the grant agreements instead of the funding?
Conservative funders move money swiftly and with less restrictions to advance their agenda. After all, Edward Blum—who sought to defuse the Fearless Fund and led efforts to overturn affirmative action in university admissions—received donations from foundations and organizations that host donor-advised funds (DAFs). Per Blum,“Those donations were simply granted to us without any kind of a contractual agreement.” When philanthropy insists on strict grant contracts instead of moving funds more freely and flexibly, it creates unnecessary risk—as it may implicate the kind of “race-based grant-making” that, while not illegal outside of the 11th circuit, are certainly more scrutinized and used as a legal weapon to stop justice work.
Unlike traditional charities, DAFs can be structured in multiple ways: as dedicated corporate funds, as pooled funds where large institutions contribute to a centralized DAF, as individual donor accounts for managing philanthropic giving, and so on. This versatility makes them a popular and strategic option for corporations, institutions, and individual donors alike. Several of our foundation partners have provided funding through a DAF that has ranged from grants of $500,000 to over $1M– facilitated through community foundations. In these cases, we received an award letter and a check for general operating support, but were not required to sign a grant contract or agreement.
Beyond utilizing DAFs as vehicles for grant distribution, philanthropic advisors—whether at community foundations or private firms—can also play a role in shaping how high-net-worth donors engage with transformative racial justice work. Many large donors are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of funding opportunities, often defaulting to familiar institutions like churches and universities or unintentionally hoarding wealth by parking funds in DAFs indefinitely. Since the IRS imposes no timeline for distribution, money meant for impact often sits idle simply because donors lack the time or guidance to navigate meaningful giving. With funding for racial justice becoming more restrictive and policed, this is an opportunity for philanthropic advisors to step up—not just as gatekeepers, but as advocates for movement building.
Remember That We Are Winning
The most common reaction to a loss of power is fear and anger. The growing white supremacist attacks on racial justice work are a testament to this, and are a targeted response to the work of transforming systems in ways that threaten entrenched power structures.
The backlash is not a sign of our collective defeat but one of progress; it is the reaction of a crumbling status quo trying to hold its ground. These attacks underscore the power and necessity of racial justice work, serving as evidence that the movement for a more equitable future is making a profound impact.
“There have been a lot of victories. We have changed the landscape of this country and everything that it thought it was. That is why we are experiencing what we are experiencing right now. Because we were so successful in changing people’s hearts and minds around race and gender and class, the people in power wanted their power back.”—Black Lives Matters co-founder, and Freedom Together Foundation SVP of Movement Infrastructure and Explorations, Alicia Garza.
In a few short years, we’ve seen more government dollars move into community-based safety initiatives, Black and Indigenous grassroots organizations increase longer-term investments—allowing them to build sustained power beyond moments of crisis, and national narratives on justice, equity, and economic liberation have moved from activist circles to everyday conversations. This is philanthropy’s moment to push back against the conservative wave trying to erase this progress: through commiting to shifting narrative, funding movements, and dismantling unnecessary weak points for conservative attacks.
We’ve seen what happens when a movement falls in line, using talking points to shift narratives and bolster funding—and we’ve seen it work. Together we can make sure we are emboldened by the change we are already beginning to achieve, and not paralyzed by fear to turn these years into the blip forgotten by history.
Maureen Silva, Director of Philanthropic Partnerships
In her role at Common Future, Maureen oversees the organization’s strategic fundraising efforts for diversifying and deepening Common Future's portfolio of donors and institutional funders in partnership with the Impact teams and Co-CEOs.
Prior to joining Common Future, Maureen was the Director of Fund Development & Communications at Mandela Partners. She led the fund development strategy from the ground up, doubling the organization's operating budget. Maureen holds a Master's Degree in Public Health from San Jose State University, and in her free time you can find her gardening, metal working, and going on nature walks with her family.
