Gov. Affairs | Issue 19 | September 18, 2025
Updated September 18, 2025 - This content will be updated as developments unfold.
Latest Developments: The Good News
September 17: 100 Liberal Philanthropies Prepare to Push Back Against Trump Crackdown - New York Times
Many progressive philanthropies have spent the opening year of Mr. Trump’s second term unsure about how to engage publicly. Some want to speak up to defend their values, but others are nervous about drawing unwanted attention from a president who often targets his enemies. The institutions published an open letter to defend their missions amid fears the Trump administration could target their tax-exempt status. The letter reveals the nonprofits who would be expected to be at the forefront of pushing back on any attacks. Its other signers include the MacArthur Foundation; the Knight Foundation; the Omidyar Network, funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar; and the Schmidt Family Foundation, funded by the former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.
September 16: The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Resumes After Action and Advocacy by Leading Nonprofits - National Council of Nonprofits
The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN), the nation’s largest network of nonprofits, today celebrates a major victory for nonprofits and communities across the country as the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lifted its stop-work order on the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). This decision ensures that the country’s largest federal workplace giving program, which has raised nearly $8.7 billion for charitable organizations nationwide since its inception in 1961, is dispersed to organizations across different regions, all at no cost to the taxpayer.
This reversal comes after weeks of advocacy led by NCN, United Way Worldwide, and other nonprofits across the country. On August 26, 2025, OPM put a halt to the 2025 CFC campaign, which was scheduled to launch in September 2025. Nonprofits immediately sounded the alarm, warning of the broad impacts that the loss of this critical source of funding would have.
September 11: New Lawsuit Challenges Trump-Vance Administration’s Targeted Punishment of Applicants for Federal Housing Funding - Democracy Forward
The National Alliance to End Homelessness and other groups filed a lawsuit against HUD and Secretary Scott Turner challenging new restrictions on federal housing grants that exclude applicants in jurisdictions with sanctuary protections, harm reduction services, or transgender-inclusive policies. The plaintiffs argue these changes unlawfully politicize funding decisions, coercing communities to adopt the administration’s ideology instead of focusing on need and effectiveness. They are asking the court to block the restrictions and restore fair access to grants so qualified providers can continue serving vulnerable populations without penalty for their local policy environment. On September 12, the temporary restraining order was granted.
The Not So Good News
August 15: Nonprofits Sound Alarm on Unlawful Barriers to Student Loan Forgiveness as Public Comment Period Opens - National Council of Nonprofits
The Department of Education is proposing an unlawful overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, a move that could have harmful impacts on the entire nonprofit sector. PSLF is a bipartisan program that provides federal student loan forgiveness to individuals who work full time in public service jobs, and make loan payments for at least ten years, including at charitable nonprofits. With nonprofits making up nearly 10% of the U.S. workforce, we are the second-largest category of eligible employers after government agencies.
The Trump administration is now attempting to unlawfully limit the types of charitable nonprofits that could serve as qualifying employers. If implemented, these changes would exclude certain nonprofits based on their mission or the communities they serve, undermining the core purpose and effectiveness of the program and harming nonprofit workers across the country.
Nonprofits and the public had until September 17th to submit comments opposing the proposed overhaul of PSLF. We will monitor this issue as the challenge moves forward.
Action: Send a message to your member of Congress to remind them that hashtag #NonprofitsGetItDone: https://lnkd.in/edgi9adT
More info on PSLF:
Over $4.5 billion in PSLF forgiveness was provided for approximately 60,000 borrowers in 2024.
Millions of borrowers are in the PSLF pipeline: Advocacy groups and government data indicate that millions of public service workers have federal student loans and could be eligible for or are currently pursuing PSLF. One analysis from the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) estimated that over 9 million public service workers with federal student loans are eligible to pursue debt cancellation.
The total amount of debt at stake is in the hundreds of billions: The SBPC estimates that proposals to eliminate PSLF could saddle approximately 3.6 million public service workers with more than $250 billion in additional student loan debt.
SBPF estimates that borrowers in the State of GA could be denied over $12 billion in loan forgiveness, while borrowers in Maryland and Virginia combine for over $16 billion in potential forgiveness losses.
September 10: Court Allows Mass Termination of Grants at National Science Foundation as Case Continues - Democracy Forward
A coalition of educators, researchers, and advocacy groups is suing the Trump-Vance administration and NSF after over 1,600 NSF grants worth more than $1 billion were abruptly cancelled following a shift in agency priorities. The plaintiffs argue the cancellations violate laws including the Administrative Procedure Act, separation of powers, and due process, especially because many of the grants supported STEM participation by women, minorities, and people with disabilities—mandated by Congress. A court declined to issue an injunction to prevent the terminations while the case proceeds, meaning the cancellations will stand for now, though the lawsuit continues.
Resources:
Webinar: What Nonprofits Need to Know About the Current Federal Grant Landscape, National Council of Nonprofits, October 6, 2025, 3pm EST
Why Protecting Democracy Means Protecting Nonprofits - Nonprofit Quarterly
State of the Field: Temp Check – Federal Policy Impacts on Fiscal Sponsors - Social Impact Commons
