U.S. non-profit organizations dedicated to addressing climate change are preparing to counter a potential initiative from the Trump administration aimed at revoking their tax-exempt status, which could occur as early as this week.
In recent days, these climate-focused groups have been sharing memos that outline anticipated executive actions from President Donald Trump. These actions may include altering IRS regulations to exclude climate change from the list of qualifying charitable purposes and prohibiting the use of U.S. grants for international projects.
This apprehension stems from Trump’s remarks targeting the charitable status of Harvard University, which many view as a preliminary strike against other 501(c)(3) organizations, a designation in the tax code that allows charities to be exempt from income tax.
On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Citizen hosted a Zoom meeting to help charities strategize for a potential executive action. The session attracted significant interest, with over 5,000 participants registering.
The political law firm Sandler Reiff distributed a memo to its non-profit and philanthropic clients on Friday, advising them to remain calm in the event the administration attempts to revoke their tax-exempt status or suspend international operations.
“The President cannot unilaterally revoke any organization’s tax-exempt status,” the memo, reviewed by Reuters, stated, emphasizing that any executive order attempting such a move “lacks legal validity.”
Since his inauguration in January, Trump has targeted leading U.S. universities, accusing them of enabling antisemitism. He has also swiftly worked to dismantle or bypass environmental regulations, undermine climate science research, and cut federal support for clean energy initiatives.
Last week, Trump indicated on social media that he was contemplating the possibility of revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
Environmental organizations and grant-making philanthropies are on high alert for any actions from the Trump administration that could hinder their climate-related efforts.
Charitable foundations have expressed their commitment to oppose any efforts to restrict their donations. The MacArthur Foundation, which has approximately $8 billion in assets, has announced plans to contribute an additional $150 million to charitable causes over the next two years.
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“We possess the capacity to act with greater protection and resolve than we realize,” stated John Palfrey, the Foundation’s President, during a recent gathering of philanthropic organizations in Britain. “Let’s eliminate any unnecessary restrictions and provide support wherever possible.”
Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Harvard Law School, commented that any attempt to alter the tax status of nonprofits would likely face significant legal challenges.
“There is no likelihood that a court would determine that Trump has the authority to modify the tax status of any organization unless there was a prior investigation that established the organization had broken the law,” he noted.
