The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) is an advocacy network of organizations that promote left-of-center policies towards the federal, state, and local levels of government. On its website, the NCN claims to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs while seeking to support said programs through increased government support. Since November 2024, the NCN has stated its opposition to certain policy actions taken by President Donald Trump’s Second Administration. ^{1 2}

Advocacy

The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) advocates left-of-center policies at the federal, state, and local levels. This includes a support for maintaining or expanding tax incentives for groups that donate to nonprofit organizations. ²

NCN supports increasing government expenditure on initiatives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the public and private sectors, opposes what it considers “arbitrary and across-the-board budget cuts at any level of government,” and advocates against “offloading government services onto nonprofits.” ²

NCN supports maintaining the prohibition on organizations that receive tax-deductible donations from engaging in political advocacy. However, NCN supports allowing for nonprofit organizations to engage in election-related activities including voter registration, voter education, and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities. NCN also supports raising the lobbying limit for nonprofits. ²

Second Trump Administration Response

The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) tracks “executive orders affecting nonprofits” made by President Donald Trump during his second administration. ^{3 4}

On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memorandum pausing all federal grants and loans while federal agencies reevaluates these programs to determine whether they comply with other new executive orders. According to the New York Times, the memorandum was an effort by President Trump “to purge the government” of “‘woke’ ideology” and led to “mass confusion across the country” as federal agencies were unsure of the status of funding for many programs. In the ensuing hours, several agencies lost federal funding, though funding was soon restored. ^{5 6 7 8}

On January 28, U.S. District Judge Loren L. Ali Khan blocked part of the order by preventing a pause of federal funding for “open awards.” That same day, NCN president Diane Yentel announced on X (formerly Twitter) that NCN was filing a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order with Democracy Forward in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the memorandum. Yentel claims the memorandum “would be catastrophic for nonprofit organizations and the people and communities they serve” and “cost lives.” ^{5 6 7}

On January 29, the OMB rescinded the memorandum, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that the OMB and Trump administration would continue to fight against woke ideology in the federal government. ^{5 8} NCN released a statement “[celebrating] this victory for nonprofits.” ⁹

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

On its website, the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) claims “we embed diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our organization and the ways we carry out our mission, purposefully and tangibly applying these principles in our internal operations, programs, policies, and leadership.” ¹

NCN provides “tools, research, and resources” to help nonprofits achieve their DEI objectives including a Statement of Social Equity, a Social Justice Glossary, a tool it claims will test employees’ “implicit/unconscious biases,” and assistance in designing a DEI action plan for nonprofits. ^{10 11}

Leadership

In January 2023, Diane Yentel became the president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) after working as the president and CEO of the National Low Income Coalition since March 2016. Previously, Yentel worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the director of the Public Housing Management and Occupancy Management Division and as a senior housing program specialist. Earlier, Yentel worked at Oxfam America as a senior domestic policy advisor, at the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless as a housing policy coordinator, and as a community health education specialist for the U.S. Peace Corps. ^{12 13}

Sabeen Perwaiz is the chairman of the board of NCN, and the president and CEO of the Florida Nonprofit Alliance. ^{14 15}

Funding

The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) lists the following nonprofits and individuals as “core mission partners” for their financial contributions: the Barr Foundation, the Fidelity Charitable Catalyst Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and MacKenzie Scott. ¹⁶

1. “About Us.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/about-us.
2. “Public Policy Agenda.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/public-policy-agenda
3. “The Impacts of the Recent Executive Orders on Nonprofits.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/impacts-recent-executive-orders-nonprofits.
4. “Executive Orders Affecting Charitable Nonprofits.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/files/media/documents/2025/chart-executive-orders.pdf.
5. “OMB Memorandum on Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs.” NAFSA. January 31, 2025. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.nafsa.org/regulatory-information/omb-memorandum-temporary-pause-agency-grant-loan-and-other-financial.
6. Hansler, Jennifer; Rose, Andy; Luhby, Tami; Cole, Devan. “Judge temporarily blocks part of Trump administration’s plans to freeze federal aid.” CNN Politics. January 28, 2025. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/27/politics/white-house-pauses-federal-grants-loan-disbursement/index.html.
7. “Diane Yentel.” X. January 28, 2025. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://x.com/dianeyentel/status/1884284681115279821.
8. “New Administration Highlights: Freeze on Federal Funds Rescinded, and Trump Signs Law to Ease Path to Deportations.” New York Times. January 29, 2025. Updated January 31, 2025. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/29/us/trump-federal-freeze-funding-news?smid=url-share#federal-freeze-grants.
9. “National Council of Nonprofits Reacts to Rescinding of OMB Memo Ordering Funding Freeze.” National Council of Nonprofits. January 29, 2025. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/pressreleases/national-council-nonprofits-reacts-rescinding-omb-memo-ordering-funding-freeze.
10. “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/running-nonprofit/diversity-equity-and-inclusion#:~:text=on%20Nonprofit%20Boards-,Diversity%20on%20Nonprofit%20Boards,take%20full%20advantage%20of%20opportunities.
11. “Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Matter for Nonprofits.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/running-nonprofit/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/why-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-matter.
12. “NLIHC Announces Leadership Transition with Upcoming Departure of President and CEO Diane Yentel.” National Low Income Housing Coalition. October 17, 2024. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://nlihc.org/news/nlihc-announces-leadership-transition-upcoming-departure-president-and-ceo-diane-yentel.
13. “Diane Yentel.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-yentel-8221466/.
14. “Sabeen Perwaiz Sayeed.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabeenperwaiz/.
15. “Sabeen Perwaiz.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.flnonprofits.org/contacts/sabeen-perwaiz.
16. “Our Supporters and Mission Partners.” National Council of Nonprofits. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/about-us/our-supporters-and-mission-partners.