Philanthropy Today

A legal nonprofit backed by major conservative donors is challenging the Trump administration’s new tariffs against China in a federal lawsuit. Lawyers for the libertarian-leaning New Civil Liberties Alliance are representing a Florida business owner who argues that her business has been harmed by the tariffs and that the president overstepped his authority in imposing them. The alliance has received millions from powerful conservative groups including the Charles Koch Foundation and Donors Trust, which has financial ties to Leonard Leo, who advised Trump on appointing the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority. A spokesman for Stand Together, the umbrella group for Charles Koch’s philanthropies, said it is “not involved in this case.” (New York Times)

Employees of Elon Musk’s DOGE project have taken over an online clearinghouse for federal grant opportunities, according to sources for the Washington Post. After a DOGE engineer deleted many officials’ permissions to post grants to the grants.gov site, officials must email their notices to an inbox at the Department of Health and Human Services, where someone at DOGE will review them. The website posts about 5,000 notices of grant opportunities, worth more than $500 billion, annually for nonprofits, universities, and local governments “for activities that include cancer research, cybersecurity, highway construction, and wastewater management.” (Washington Post)

More News

• Human Rights Foundation Launches Bitcoin Alliance to Aid Global Civil Liberties (CryptoSlate)
• State Threatens to Terminate Nonprofit That Oversees 16 Charter Schools In Minnesota (Minnesota Star Tribune)
• Funded by $15 Million Gift, New Training Program for All Chicago Police Supervisors Aims to Reduce Gun Violence (Chicago Tribune)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Philanthropy’s Push to Stop Gun Violence
• $30 Million in Medical Debt Owed by Eastern Mass. Residents to Be Eliminated (WGBH)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: MacKenzie Scott Gives Rare Third Gift to Medical Debt Relief Group
• How an Arkansas City Became an Epicenter of the Biking World (New York Times)

Local Humanities Cuts

• Hundreds of Museum and Library Grants Terminated Overnight (Hyperallergic)
• Massive Federal Funding Cut Hits Austin-Based Nonprofit That Supports Hundreds of Texas Arts, Cultural Groups (KVUE)
• DOGE Cuts Pennsylvania Humanities Nonprofit’s Funding (Axios Pittsburgh)
• Pa. Library Leaders Press for New Funding Options as Trump Cuts Are Set to Hit Libraries, Museums (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Federal Cuts Mean Arizona Museums, Libraries Could Lose $3.8 Million (KJZZ)
• Vermont Museums Left Reeling After Federal Funding Cuts (NBC 5)

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