Foundations Launch 'Generosity Builds' Campaign to Highlight Local Impact Amid Political Scrutiny

NEW YORK — A national coalition of charitable foundations is asking member organizations to emphasize the everyday services they provide to communities as part of a new 250th‑anniversary initiative aimed at countering growing political and public scrutiny.

The Council on Foundations, which represents roughly 1,000 nonprofits, unveiled the "Generosity Builds" campaign to close what CEO Kathleen Enright calls the sector's "perception gap." The group says portrayals of philanthropy as dominated by partisan billionaires or marred by fraud have left the sector vulnerable to policy attacks that could reduce funding for community services.

Enright noted that many Americans rely on nonprofit services without recognizing them as acts of philanthropy. A 2023 report from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy found about one in 20 adults said they or someone in their immediate family received nonprofit services in the prior year.

"This week I got an MRI at Georgetown University Hospital, I participated in my church at St. Columba's, my daughter was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society — four or five nonprofits have been instrumental in my life this week," Enright said, adding that people often do not mentally tag these services as charitable work.

The campaign arrives amid debates over proposed changes to federal tax policy that could affect private foundations. Enright warned that last year’s negotiations over federal tax and spending legislation included proposals to impose new taxes on private foundations, moves she says could divert resources from local communities.

FILE - Volunteers Anja Lichtenau, left, and Marlene Rotstein organize food in a walk-in refrigerator at a non-profit food pantry, which receives federal funding to provide food and other social services, Jan. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)(AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Political rhetoric has intensified scrutiny of nonprofits. The Trump administration curtailed or threatened a range of social service grants, describing them as "government largesse" prone to corruption, and the Department of Justice has charged the Southern Poverty Law Center with defrauding donors related to informant payments — a case that has been cited by critics as evidence of partisan bias.

"All across our country, we have nonprofits — big foundations — that are effectively social‑justice hedge funds," said Vice President J.D. Vance during his 2021 U.S. Senate campaign, criticizing major foundations and university endowments.

Enright and other foundation leaders reject broad-brush portrayals that paint the sector as overly politicized or wasteful, calling such narratives "extreme minority stories." Surveys generally show higher public trust for nonprofits than many other institutions, but foundation leaders say the sector must do a better job telling its story and quantifying impact.

Kathryn Thomas, vice president of communications at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, said the sector has not faced such a politically challenging environment in nearly six decades. "In an era when everything is under partisan attack and there's so much polarization, we really have to do a better job of emphasizing why we exist," she said.

Advocates emphasize that most donors give locally and modestly. "Money does not solve problems. It's a tool that creative people and institutions inside communities use to solve problems," Enright said, praising nonprofit, religious and civic leaders who deliver services on the ground.

The campaign will highlight concrete local examples. In Sarasota, Florida, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation helped complete a 10‑apartment affordable housing complex for military veterans by assembling $2.2 million in private donations, $800,000 in city funds and support from federal representatives. Foundation leaders said their relationships and long-term commitment were decisive in getting the project across the finish line.

FILE - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks as FBI Director Kash Patel listens during a news conference at the Justice Department, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

"Most people think that foundations like us deal with money and donors. We really don't. We deal with relationships and trust," said Jon Thaxton, the foundation's director of policy and advocacy.

The Council on Foundations will also elevate historical examples of everyday philanthropy — from an 18th‑century sailor who funded Boston's first charity hospital for seamen to a formerly enslaved man who donated land for an African Methodist Episcopal church — to illustrate that charitable giving has long been woven into American civic life.

Lillian Kuri, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation — often cited as the nation’s first community foundation, founded in 1914 — welcomed the campaign's focus on ordinary donors. The Cleveland Foundation has unveiled new investments aimed at converting vacant industrial land into job-ready sites and a fund that allows donors to invest in local companies, growing assets that can later support nonprofits.

"Generosity cuts across everybody," Kuri said, adding that community foundations provide a way for everyday people — not just the wealthiest — to support the change they want to see in their communities.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For more philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.