Reimagining Funder and Nonprofit Relationships
A 7-minute read. Don’t have time? Scroll to the end for 4 actions you can take today to support AFG and our community.
The Current Landscape
Right now, we are standing at a crucial intersection - politically, economically, and socially. From threats on immigrant rights, trans rights, reproductive rights, and Medicaid to the rollback of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) commitments and programs, quality public education, and civil liberties, the systemic dismantling of hard-won rights are reshaping the world our young people are inheriting. These aren’t isolated threats - they’re part of a sweeping backlash that targets the most vulnerable among us, and the nonprofit organizations working to protect them.
At the same time, these nonprofits – including those serving girls and gender-expansive youth of color – are experiencing deep instability. Funding is being pulled, often abruptly and with little explanation. These cuts come at a time when our communities need us more than ever. In our upcoming 2025 Political Impact Report, 78% of our member organizations cited funding uncertainty as their top concern. And 64% named the current political climate and policy restrictions as a direct threat to their work.
The Reality of the Nonprofit Sector
Nonprofit funding models have never been perfect – we can all acknowledge that the Nonprofit Industrial Complex is real. Even as many social justice leaders and organizations try to reimagine nonprofit structures to center equity and sustainability, we’re still operating within a capitalist society that privileges wealth and power. Philanthropy exists because inequality exists. Yet philanthropy, especially large institutional funders, still operates within the same power structures that maintain inequality.
This power imbalance between philanthropy and nonprofits persists today. While many funders have moved toward trust-based philanthropy – and some even embrace community-participatory grantmaking – true mutual accountability is still rare. The burden of accountability overwhelmingly falls on nonprofits to prove why our work is needed, why it is impactful, and why it costs what it costs to do this work, while funders are rarely asked to explain shifts, delays, or denials that can, and often do, deeply destabilize our work.
Nowhere is this imbalance clearer than in our budgets. Nonprofits are asked to do more with less and to respond rapidly to growing needs without the infrastructure or long-term commitments that allow us to truly thrive. By contrast, many private foundations are still structured to exist in perpetuity, only required to distribute 5% of their net assets each year for charitable purposes. Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have no legal requirements to distribute funds within a specific timeframe or at a certain rate, even though donors receive immediate tax benefits.
Organizations serving girls and gender-expansive youth have always had to fight for recognition, resources, and respect. We’re not new to scarcity – we’ve always had to innovate, stretch dollars, and operate beyond capacity. According to an article by Ada Williams Prince from Pivotal Ventures, in 2022, just 0.5% of all philanthropic funding went specifically to women and girls of color. This number in itself is telling, and with political shifts reshaping the philanthropic landscape, we’re seeing a tightening of funding opportunities across our sector – just when demand for work is growing.
This model is not sustainable. If philanthropy continues to operate reactively – pulling support in response to political pressure or strategic pivots – our organizations will not survive. More importantly, the young people we serve will be left without the support, safety, and rights they deserve.
What Must Change
Philanthropy and nonprofit partnerships must evolve. This is a moment that calls not for passive observation, but for intentional, coordinated action. To shift from allyship to co-conspiracy. To move beyond transactional giving to shared strategy and systems change. Funders must commit not just to supporting nonprofits, but to reimagining the conditions under which we all work.
Philanthropy – not just nonprofits – must be accountable to the communities they claim to serve.
Funding must be sustainable, multi-year, flexible, and relationship-based – funding our full missions, not just programs.
Funders need to trust nonprofits when we say project success in the communities we serve does not fall into simple quantitative indicators – this is especially true for advocacy and systems change work.
Philanthropy must co-create and strategize alongside us – don’t just fund systems change, stand in solidarity with us.
We are calling for a relationship that is rooted in trust, collaboration, and equity. A relationship that reflects the reality that we are working toward the same goals: justice, equity, and liberation for all girls and gender-expansive youth.
For more information on how philanthropy can do this, the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project created Meet the Moment: A Call to Action for Philanthropy in 2025 (and Beyond).
Deep Gratitude and a Call to Action
We are so grateful to program officers and grant managers from current and past funders who leaned into trust, vulnerability, and co-conspiring with us. Your support allows us to keep doing what we do, even in the face of adversity, and your partnership is crucial to the wins we’ve achieved. Let’s continue building this future together.
To our individual supporters – those who give what they can when they can – your role is vital. Much of what’s outlined above is applicable to you too. Real change requires all of us and we thank you for standing through thick and thin with us.
Here are 4 Things You Can Do Today:
Commit to monthly donations to girl and gender-expansive youth-serving organizations (Alliance for Girls or any of our 120+ member organizations). One-time gifts help – but monthly donations help us plan, grow and fight long-term for gender equity.
Share our upcoming 2025 Political Impact Report with your networks when it's published later this month and help us amplify the findings. This report highlights the real experiences and needs of the girl and gender-expansive youth-serving sector today.
Repost AFG’s social media content on LinkedIn and Instagram. Amplifying our voice on your platforms ignites important conversations and draws more people to this work and the work of our members.
Join the discussion. AFG will be hosting an event in early fall, bringing together our funders to discuss what is currently happening in the girl and gender-expansive youth-serving sector, best practices that funders are doing to support the sector, and strategize ways we can collectively anticipate and respond to challenges faced by girls and gender-expansive youth, especially those of color, in the current political landscape.
We need to stop just reacting to crises. Let’s build together – intentionally, proactively, and powerfully. If we truly want to create a world where all girls and gender-expansive youth, especially those of color, are valued, respected, and safe, we need all hands in now.
