Sophia Shaw: Nonprofits may fill in the gap left by federal abandonment. But that isn't desirable.

Chicago Tribune

04-05-2025

It has been a painful few months watching federal support for health and human services, museums, libraries, public broadcasting, science, education, diplomacy and environmental protection be intentionally and indiscriminately gutted by President Donald Trump. What's more troubling is that neither Congress nor the courts have meaningfully stopped him.
To me — and to many — public investment in these areas has always been a backbone of our nation's health, prosperity and rich cultural life. These investments give muscle to the promise of 'liberty and justice for all.' Yet clearly, there are those who see these same programs as bloated, ineffective or ideologically expendable.
Since the founding of our republic, nonprofit organizations have supplemented the work of government. This hybrid model of public and private investment is, in many ways, part of what makes America unique — and even admirable. Alexis de Tocqueville recognized this spirit in 1831 when he observed:
'Americans of all ages, conditions, and dispositions constantly unite together. … Americans group together to … build inns, construct churches, distribute books. I have frequently admired the endless skill with which the inhabitants of the United States manage to set a common aim to the efforts of a great number of men and to persuade them to pursue it voluntarily.'
Even in times of federal austerity, nonprofits have rallied. We sharpen our pencils. We fundraise harder. We merge, streamline, evolve. We try — desperately — to fill the gaps.
In theory, I support this hustle. There is no shortage of wealth in America, and nonprofits are capable of supporting the most vulnerable and creating immense positive social change.
But here is our sector's catch-22: What if nonprofits actually were able to close the funding gaps caused by federal abandonment? What if private philanthropy — individuals, foundations, corporations, donor-advised funds — steps up enough to replace the billions once invested by the government? What if nonprofits were able to absorb the shuttered missions, personnel and responsibilities of gutted agencies?
Is that a win? It might look like one. But it would be a hollow victory. One that weakens — not strengthens — the American social contract.
In such a scenario, public goods are preserved but no longer publicly governed. Scientists, teachers, librarians, rangers, curators and nurses would serve at the pleasure of private funders. The people who benefit from their work would have lost their democratic stake. No longer accountable to voters or taxpayers, these public servants become beholden to the values and priorities of private wealth.
Yes, funding might still flow, at least for a time. But what gets funded — and who gets left out — shifts in troubling ways. Which causes align with a donor's ideology? Which communities are deemed 'marketable'? Who sets the terms of success? What if the tides turn again?
These are not just practical questions. They are philosophical ones. If we believe the services provided by public agencies — and the nonprofits that partner with them — are essential, then those services must remain accountable to the people. To all people.
Yes, nonprofits can — and certainly should — pursue efficiencies. Yes, more strategic mergers, stronger governance and better planning would help the sector thrive. That is not what's in question. What is on the table is that we are witnessing the dismantling of public institutions without warning or reckoning. And then we're told to fix it.
And who even knows. Maybe the nonprofit sector, and with it the Internal Revenue Service 501(c) code, could be gone before we know it. This isn't American ingenuity or government efficiency. It's a slow-moving abdication.
When the government fails to honor its commitments — and asks others to pick up the pieces — we risk not only inequality and inconsistency but also something deeper: the erosion of civic trust.
It's time to ask ourselves: By cutting federal funding and turning to nonprofit philanthropy, are we preserving the safety net, or replacing it with a patchwork quilt sewn by donors? Either way, the threads are fraying, and we all have to stand up to the evisceration of our federal agencies and federal granting systems. Their existence is part of what makes America great — now and throughout its history.
What can we do?
Let's come together across sectors and across parties and look out for one another. Corporations, individuals, nonprofits, Republicans, independents and Democrats, we are all Americans. Our North Star blazes in the words of our bold and beautiful Declaration of Independence: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'
Let's get online, to the voting booth and to peaceful in-person uprisings — together — before it's too late.
Sophia Shaw is the co-founder of PlanPerfect, which provides artificial intelligence-assisted strategic planning for nonprofits. Shaw is a former president and CEO of the Chicago Botanic Garden and an adjunct professor of social impact at the Kellogg School of Management.