LGBTQ+ and Disability Rights Organizations Are Resisting Trump’s Nonprofit Crackdown

Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, his administration has escalated efforts against marginalized communities and the nonprofits that serve them. A sweeping review of federal funding has placed advocacy groups, humanitarian organizations, and independent media under increased scrutiny, forcing many to reconsider their operations.

In January 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) suspended federal funding for foreign aid; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; and environmental programs under Trump’s anti-DEI executive order.

“This order could decimate thousands of organizations and leave neighbors without the services they need,” Diane Yentel, National Council of Nonprofits president and CEO, said in a statement.

The directive triggered legal action from a coalition of nonprofits, including the National Council on Nonprofits, Democracy Forward, the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance, and SAGE. While a federal judge blocked the order and the OMB later withdrew its memo, the disruption has already destabilized nonprofit operations nationwide.

On February 11, a federal appeals court ruled that some federal funding remains suspended despite the policy reversal, leaving organizations reliant on these grants unable to plan for the future, retain staff, or meet growing community needs.

“The work of charitable nonprofits covers a wide range of causes and efforts, and executive orders have the potential to impact funding, staffing, and general operations of critical community services,” the National Council on Nonprofits said in an explainer on the impact of the recent executive orders.

“Removing this vital funding or dismantling these organizations will not just diminish the United States here at home and around the world, it will cost lives.”

Additionally, a White House memorandum issued on February 6 directed all federal agencies to evaluate funding for NGOs, citing concerns that “many…actively undermine the security, prosperity, and safety of the American people.”

Nonprofit leaders have raised concerns that the order’s broad language could be used to justify sweeping funding cuts to organizations providing essential services and advocacy that the far-right administration does not agree with.

“While there are many unresolved questions about the memo, it appears to apply to all nonprofit organizations and is intended to ensure organizations align with the priorities of his administration,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement in response to the executive order.

Yentel called the memo “the latest in a troubling series of attacks on nonprofit organizations.”

“Removing this vital funding or dismantling these organizations will not just diminish the United States here at home and around the world, it will cost lives,” Yentel said.

These measures aim to reshape the nonprofit sector by defunding organizations that don’t align with the administration’s agenda. As legal battles unfold, nonprofits face financial instability and legal hurdles, while marginalized communities—particularly LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities—are already feeling the impact.

LGBTQ+ Nonprofits Face Financial Insecurity and Political Repression 

Nonprofits serving LGBTQ+ people face dual threats: political suppression and financial instability. Larger organizations, such as the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, and The Trevor Project, have announced major staff reductions due to funding cuts.

Private sector donors, reacting to political pressure, have also withdrawn DEI support, further limiting resources.

“The federal freeze could have a detrimental effect on services provided to the LGBTQ+ community. Especially to domestic violence shelters and other critical emergency services,” transgender activist and LGBTQ+ legislative researcher Allison Chapman told NPQ.

Many of these organizations depend heavily on federal funding. The National Domestic Violence Hotline in Austin and the Houston Area Women’s Center, for example, rely on government sources for about 80 percent of their budgets.

“There is no clear guidance. Honestly, my approach is to laugh at it right now.”

Transgender housing service providers also have serious concerns about potential funding cuts and housing instability due to recent federal policy changes. Sisters PGH, a Black- and trans-led nonprofit in Pennsylvania, relies on state funding—sourced from federal grants—to sustain its transitional housing program. This funding is now at risk under the Trump administration, threatening the organization’s ability to keep the program running.

“I want to be clear: Project T is our home,” Ciora Thomas, founder and executive director of Sisters PGH, said in a post about their transitional housing program. “Five years ago, I was able to purchase this house through the organization for our community. It will always belong to Sisters PGH and to all of us who need it. But ownership alone doesn’t cover the costs of maintaining it. We have bills, we have siblings living there, and it takes funding to keep the space safe.” 

Federal Scrutiny and Digital Censorship

Federal agencies have provided little guidance on compliance with Trump’s executive orders, leaving nonprofits to navigate legal uncertainties alone.

“There is no clear guidance. Honestly, my approach is to laugh at it right now,” Z Williams, director of client support and operations at Denver-based Bread and Roses Legal Center, told NPQ.

However, the Department of Justice and other federal bodies have intensified audits and scrutiny of grant recipients, creating an atmosphere of fear and instability. Some organizations report feeling pressured to modify programming, tone down LGBTQ+ content, or self-censor by removing language and resources from their websites to avoid potential funding cuts or legal action.

This crackdown has already had tangible consequences. NGOs like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children “are being forced to remove all content about LGBTQ+ identities from their website and may be forced to deadname missing and exploited children,” Chapman said.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) also quietly removed all references to LGBTQ+ individuals from its website. Transgender activist and journalist Erin Reed reported that the domestic violence support organization Futures Without Violence, The Victim Rights Law Center, and The Boys & Girls Club of America have also eliminated references to gender identity and trans issues from online materials.

However, advocates urge organizations to resist and refuse compliance.

“So much of the data that we are relying on and have been using is now gone.”

“Don’t do anything that you’re not explicitly being told to do….Hold the line as long as you can,” Dom Kelly, cofounder and CEO of disability rights nonprofit New Disabled South, told NPQ. “So much of this is going to be challenged in court.”

Federal agencies have also been forced to remove content to comply with recent executive orders, which is impeding the work of advocacy organizations. The Hill reported that more than 80,000 pages were removed from over a dozen US government websites following Trump’s executive orders restricting “gender ideology” and DEI initiatives.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reportedly ordered scientists to retract research containing terms such as “gender,” “transgender,” and “LGBT,” silencing studies on LGBTQ+ health. The deleted content includes resources on LGBTQ+ youth, sexual health, contraception, and gender-affirming care.

According to the Center for American Progress, the Trump administration has removed over 350 government web pages containing LGBTQ+ policies and information.

“So much of the data that we are relying on and have been using is now gone,” Kelly said. “Thankfully, a lot of it has been backed up….It actually means for us that we have to do even more of what we’ve been trying to do…gather data ourselves, do our own original research.”

“The long-term consequences are the mental health repercussions this is going to have on LGBTQ+ individuals no longer seeing material that fits their lives and identity.”

Although a court later ordered the Food and Drug Administration and CDC to restore materials, the Trump administration added anti-trans disclaimers to the webpages.

LGBTQ+ organizations say this is part of a broader effort to erase LGBTQ+ visibility from public discourse and government platforms. The National Park Service, for example, recently removed references to queer and transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website, prompting outrage from activists who argue that the Trump administration is erasing trans people and their history of resistance.

“The long-term consequences are the mental health repercussions this is going to have on LGBTQ+ individuals no longer seeing material that fits their lives and identity,” Chapman said.

In fact, The Trevor Project, a leading organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth, reported a sharp rise in crisis hotline activity on Trump’s inauguration day. This spike followed an unprecedented 700 percent surge in calls, chats, and texts on November 6, 2024, when he was elected.

“Everyone is panicking now. The chaos caused by this administration is worse than the actual impacts of his orders,” Williams said. “I am begging people to stay on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) every day. Don’t cancel anything. Fight with all the fight you have. Do not comply.”

Mutual Aid and Financial Independence as a Resistance Strategy

The uncertainty surrounding nonprofit funding and digital content has left LGBTQ+ advocates deeply concerned, especially as the Trump administration intensifies its attacks on queer and transgender people.

In a series of executive orders, Trump has restricted transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, directed federal agencies to recognize only male and female as fixed sexes determined at conception, reinstated a ban on transgender military service, cut federal funding for medical institutions providing gender-affirming care to minors, imposed new limitations on trans students in K–12 schools, and eliminated DEI initiatives.

“LGBTQ+ individuals are scared right now. Seeing such widespread and far-reaching attacks on our community is horrifying to watch and leaves a lot of questions about the future,” Chapman said.

Despite the challenges, organizations remain committed to serving their communities and finding ways to adapt.

Chapman added, “Grassroots mutual aid is popping up and a lot of transgender people are working on organizing within their local communities to ensure that everyone has access to the resources they need.”

“We knew that the administration would be targeting…these really critical programs,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t mean that we’re stopping what we’re doing. It actually means that we’re finding ways to meet the moment and figure out how we show up for our community in a way that’s going to really help fill the gap that will be there when a lot of organizations actually lose their funding because they won’t get federal grants.

For example, organizations like the Black Trans Fund, Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund, Trans Continental Pipeline, and Trans Love Fund provide financial assistance for transgender individuals seeking gender-affirming care, relocation support, gender-affirming clothing, and other essential expenses.

As government support dwindles and political attacks intensify, LGBTQ+ advocates say that sustaining these grassroots initiatives will be essential for ensuring transgender people can access the resources they need.

“The biggest challenge is going to be to keep the doors open while having a lack of funding. The best way to support the LGBTQ+ community is by giving and helping provide resources directly to those who need it, or by reaching out to and connecting with local communities,” Chapman said.

However, while these groups may not rely on federal funding and are less vulnerable to direct government control, the Trump administration has also threatened to freeze federal funding for states and cities that refuse to comply with its immigration enforcement agenda—which could affect other nonprofit funding sources—and has vowed to weaponize the Department of Justice against mutual aid organizations.

“Many of our organizations have been prepared for this moment and distanced ourselves from federal funding for years,” Williams said. “We will experience pain, and we also know that counting on the government to help trans folks is a losing fight, [but we also] know there are enough resources in our community for this struggle.”

Bread and Roses Legal Center has provided support for survivors of the Club Q tragedy, advocated for state legislation to protect transgender people, and organized alongside other Denver-based groups to protest Denver’s Children’s Hospital after it halted gender-affirming care in response to one of Trump’s anti-trans executive orders.

“Change doesn’t happen from compliance. It happens from people and organizations refusing to cooperate,” Williams said. “We need to remember the people we work with are feeling lost and powerless. We should help them build their power by saying no. Not just no, but hell no. You cannot attack trans people. If that means our organizations come under attack or investigation, let it. Resist that, too.”

While New Disabled South also operates without government funding, Kelly warned that the Trump administration’s actions pose a broader threat to the entire nonprofit sector: “We know that this administration has promised to go after funders who fund this kind of work [and] grassroots organizations.”

Kelly highlighted Trump’s executive order targeting advocates for Palestinian liberation, as well as a directive from state attorneys general instructing the Department of Justice to investigate private sector corporations engaged in DEI initiatives. “[This] is going to impact all of us,” Kelly said.

However, Kelly emphasized that despite the risks, New Disabled South remains committed to providing services: “We have no intention of changing anything about what we do, who we serve, [or] who we are as an organization.”

Refuse to Comply in Advance 

The Trump administration’s agenda is a direct assault on nonprofits serving marginalized communities, using funding freezes, executive orders, and digital erasure to reshape the sector in its image.

While legal battles continue, nonprofits struggle to stay afloat, frontline programs are at risk, and advocacy groups must navigate an increasingly hostile landscape.

But still, there is resistance.

“Here at Bread and Roses…we are fighting harder than we have before. We double down. We are not going away,” Williams told NPQ.

From mutual aid networks stepping in to fill funding gaps to legal challenges pushing back against sweeping policy changes to nonprofits refusing to submit to anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders in advance, organizations and activists are refusing to cede ground.

“We should refuse to comply. We should support people when they need us. That is our job. We should not comply until any of this is enforced and even then, we should raise every challenge possible,” Williams said. “I also think all of our organizations need to be more in tune with the movements on the ground. How are they resisting state repression? We need to be far more discerning in our approach to all government. Look to the people fighting this fight. Fight like they do.”