Trump’s Assault on Liberal Institutions Has Nonprofits Panicking: Are We Next?

The White House says it is not drafting an executive order to target nonprofits’ tax-exempt status, but groups are still strategizing how to fight back.

President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Alex Brandon/AP

For weeks, nonprofit organizations in Washington have braced for President Donald Trump to issue a sweeping executive order they fear would target their tax-exempt status — and threaten their very existence.

Trump’s Friday Truth Social post saying the government would revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status raised the fears of nonprofit groups to yet another degree. Although lawyers say there’s not a legal pathway for a mass revocation of status by the president, nonprofits are worried not just about the prospect of an expensive legal battle, but also about major donors getting jitters.

Rather than await a possible attack with a bullseye pinned to their backs, environmental groups and other not-for-profits of all types are trying to preemptively prepare for a fight.