FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
JULY 2025
“An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger” – Confucius

Hannah Arendt wrote that the banality of evil is the instinct to survive— to rationalize, to minimize the harm as we comply, to go private, to not endorse, and to not challenge. History teaches us that we must make moral choices and take action to confront injustice, respond to reality as it is—not as we wish it were— and inform our plans for the future accordingly.

The United States is not pre-World War II Germany or today’s Poland. Our longstanding and resilient federalist structure—anchored in strong state, city, and county governance—creates meaningful points of resistance and adaptation. Similarly, the sheer diversity and size of the country also represent meaningful differences.

Yet, one cannot readily deny that there will be needless human suffering until the current disinvestment is reversed. Hard-earned progress over the past 50 years is being attacked and undercut, and the economic consequences will be profound for those most impacted.

At this moment, philanthropy’s role is evolving into one as vital and daunting as it was during the early decades of the civil rights movement, when it aimed to undo Jim Crow and create pathways to economic and political opportunity. No single foundation, organization, or individual can stop or reverse all that is being done or undone. But if each of us remains relentlessly focused on our locus of control and expertise, preserving what we can and preparing for what comes next, we will be ready when the time comes to do even more.

Why it Matters: A Context We Cannot Ignore

The overt attacks on policies that ensure inclusive, even-handed opportunity—those that are reparative in response to past harms or that represent leaders who are women or people of color—are not acceptable. These are not simply matters of personnel preference when the preference defaults to white men; they are acts that oppose inclusion.

The federalization of the National Guard to quell mostly peaceful protests is not a neutral law enforcement decision; it is an effort to stifle dissent, discourage public discourse, and intimidate. The alarming cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in the Senate-passed budget bill, alongside deficit-expanding tax breaks for the wealthy, reflect a government relinquishing its fundamental role and instead to consolidate power and appease the well-healed few who desire it.

The elimination of tax credits for clean energy conversion (solar, heat pumps, and EVs) and the withdrawal of committed funds for economic development are not business-friendly policies. They are disruptive, harmful to public health, job-killing, and stifling to innovation. Forcing coal-fired plants to remain in operation—despite opposition from both plant owners and utilities—is not a strategy for growth or asset protection. It is an insidious effort to serve narrow interests, undermine science, and reverse progress for decades to come.

Undercutting core government functions is not about efficiency, fraud prevention, or deficit control. These are not routine policy disagreements or temporary shifts in ideology. They increasingly appear to be part of a broader strategy to consolidate power and increase wealth gaps.

These and other actions are generating economic uncertainty, reintroducing racism and sexism, and fundamentally changing how we will interact with our government. We, of course, also understand the very real threats facing immigrants and democratic institutions that our peer PSOs are rightly focused on.

What Comes Next: Questions to Drive a Just Economy

As AFN moves forward with our content and regions, we will be exploring essential questions our members are asking as they seek to address their roles in ensuring households have the opportunity and the economic wherewithal to thrive:

  • How do we, at local and state levels, continue to invest in more pathways to good jobs (including inclusive clean energy expansions) and economic development that enhances economic security?
  • How can philanthropic impact investing push the systemic levers that expand access to capital for small businesses and help expand shared or equitable ownership of business and grow inclusive community solar solutions?
  • Within the systems of capitalism and philanthropy, can we work together to grow the amount of affordable housing built or renovated for home ownership, especially in communities with low rates of homeownership?
  • If the federal government continues its role as a high cost, post-secondary lender, how can we work and innovate with states and institutions to make college affordable, i.e. without debt, for those who wish to go?
  • How can philanthropy help each state modernize its laws defining exemptions of income, checking balances, and retirement savings from garnishment so households can continue to meet their current and future obligations without penalty?
  • What can be done to increase health outcomes without diminishing wealth?
  • How do we preserve assets, mitigate the effects of severe climate, and support the business case to continue the movement to clean energy?
  • How can local funders work with local media to tell the stories and put a face on what policy changes do, helping to counter the continued failure of national coverage and deepen communities’ understanding of what is needed to achieve an inclusive equitable thriving local economy?

These are not hypothetical questions. They are practical, urgent, and rooted in the lived experience of the communities our membership serves. We know progress is possible because our members and partners are already leading the way.

AFN will continue to support and engage philanthropy and trusted grantees to learn from one another and deliver local actions that minimize harm to those most disadvantaged, lay the foundation for youth to thrive, expand inclusive economic opportunity, accelerate the clean energy transition, and shape long-term strategies for a more just and equitable economy.