Last week, the congressional Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency gathered at the Capitol to attack nonprofits in a hearing called Public Funds, Private Agendas: NGOs Gone Wild. What was advertised as a hearing to “expose how radical Democrats have funneled billions of taxpayer dollars to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)” was yet another attempt to weaponize the federal government to punish organizations that do not align with the Trump administration’s dangerous agenda.

In President Trump’s second term, the Republican Party has turned to a familiar authoritarian playbook to dismantle civil society: weaponizing the three branches of government to weaken its pillars. After attacking law firms, the media, and Ivy League universities, the Trump administration’s latest target is nonprofits—particularly the public charities, philanthropies, and educational institutions known as 501(c)(3)s. Along with Vera, the administration has already directly attacked Harvard University, the American Bar Association, the United States Institute of Peace, the Chinese-American Planning Council, NeighborWorks, and more—and it is clearly not finished.

Supporters of cutting federal funding argue that nonprofits contribute to government waste and are in the pocket of Democrats and left-wing causes. In actuality, the country’s 1.3 million nonprofit organizations provide essential services, spur innovation, promote civic engagement, and advocate for new ideas for a healthy and inclusive democracy in all 50 states.

All 501(c)(3) organizations are required to work without any involvement in political campaigns. Nearly half of United States hospitals are nonprofits, as are many zoos, schools, museums, and religious congregations. Nonprofits conduct research that makes life better for countless people. The nonprofit sector takes the lead in many areas where the government or the private sectors can’t or won’t.

The Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have attempted to hinder the nonprofit sector by cutting off federal funding, using the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other government entities to intimidate organizations, and, in the case of Harvard, threatening to revoke charitable status. The discourse surrounding charitable status has never been more hostile, and never more strongly tied to threatened and concrete actions by the government.

Luckily, there was some truth at last week’s hearing. Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, delivered an eloquent defense of the way nonprofits make the country safer, healthier, and stronger. As she told the subcommittee, “The work of charitable nonprofit organizations . . . throughout the United States improves lives, strengthens communities, and bolsters the economy. From hospitals to libraries, churches to food banks, from veterans to school children, and artists to researchers. . . . nonprofits touch and benefit all Americans throughout our lives.”

This attack comes amid other attempted cuts by this administration that undermine safety, like to affordable housing and substance use and mental health treatment, with potential cuts to Medicaid further risking community safety. Nonprofits have long done the essential work to keep communities safe, including in cooperation with state and local governments who will be worse off for their absence. Recent cuts of over $800 million in Department of Justice (DOJ) grants have affected law enforcement and nonprofits alike, terminating at least $168 million for community safety and violence intervention and $71 million for police and prosecution, according to an analysis by the Council on Criminal Justice. Many groups doing vital work to prevent violence, support survivors of crime, prevent hate crimes, improve school safety, and more have already had to stop work or lay off staff in response. Community-based violence intervention programs across New Jersey, for example, have laid off employees and some have ended services entirely. These programs, which promote behavioral change, have helped reduce violence across the state, leading to a 16 percent drop in gunshot injuries in New Jersey between 2023 and 2024.

Vera and a coalition of nonprofits have filed a class action lawsuit to fight the termination of federal safety and justice grants. We will continue to work together to oppose the Trump administration’s unprecedented assault on civil society and encourage others to fight back as well. Together, we must forcefully resist these attacks on our safety and democracy.