Dear Colleagues,
We have had just days to grapple with the rapidly unfolding agenda of the Trump Administration, with drastic impacts on work for racial equity, gender justice, migrant rights, and humanitarian aid. As funders, many of us are thinking about how best to safeguard and advance all of this important work, whether by raising our voices, organizing to protect the most vulnerable, or deepening our advocacy for rights and justice.
Earlier this month, I co-authored an article—titled To Fight Growing Militarism, Philanthropy Should Embrace a Feminist Playbook—with Hanni Hanson, Director of Programs at the Compton Foundation, and Christine Ahn, Founder of Women Cross DMZ and a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. In it, we spotlight the strategies of feminist pro-democracy leaders, in the US and worldwide, who have pushed back on strong-arming tactics to roll-back rights, often up against the threat of military action. We write:
“[President] Trump has promised to use the military to go after his political opponents, or “the enemy from within,” and has said he would deploy troops to carry out mass deportations—without due process and in violation of human rights. To ensure that his plans proceed, Trump has promised to fire military officers who might oppose him. And […] he said he wouldn’t rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.
The message couldn’t be clearer: Militarism is bad for democracy. Fortunately, it also isn’t inevitable. Across the globe, highly effective but under-recognized grassroots efforts, made up largely of feminist organizers, are confronting militarism and advancing democracy—even in authoritarian environments. U.S. grant makers and advocates can draw important lessons from their successes about how to effectively bolster democracy and push back against autocracy.”
The full article is available at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and we hope it provides some useful ideas for how philanthropy can respond to this moment. This is a time for learning and exchange, and I am part of a group of funders learning together about alternatives to militarism. If you’d like to learn more, I welcome you to contact me.
Sincerely,
Diana Duarte
MADRE
Senior Director, Advocacy and Policy