Charities for the Trump Era
By Alexander J. Rivest and Ronald L. Rivest
Want to stay active and engaged against the policies that are likely to be implemented by a Republican-controlled House and Senate, while Donald Trump is President? Fuming in private does little good; you need to do something to make the world a better place.
There are many ways to do so. Here we suggest some 501(c)(3) charities you may wish to support.
We list nine issues that may concern you in the Trump era, from climate change to voting and elections. For each, we suggest two charities to support, based on our own assessment of their effectiveness. We used Charity Navigator to assess the ratings, size and histories of the above charities and cross checked them with Guidestar and CharityWatch. We tried to pick charities that would make effective use of your donations on the listed issues. Some of the charities listed address multiple issues on our list.
Whether or not Trump’s individual cabinet nominees become confirmed, or specific policies become enacted, the ideologies they represent will continue, and the charities listed below will continue to be relevant during the Trump Era.
1. Climate and Environment
Donald Trump has explicitly stated that he thinks Global Warming is a Chinese hoax, has threatened to try and pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and has nominated Scott Pruitt, a climate-change denialist, to head the Environmental Protection Agency. The GOP ranks are full of climate-change deniers. Senator James Inhofe, of the Environment and Public Works committee, even wrote a book calling climate change “The Greatest Hoax.”
2. Women’s Health Care
Donald Trump famously stated that women who have abortions should be punished, and Mike Pence has led the GOP push to defund Planned Parenthood, which they have voted to defund 8 times. As of January 2017, Paul Ryan has announced that the GOP will vote to defund Planned Parenthood, which spends 97% of their funds on cancer screening, STD prevention and treatment, and basic women’s health issues (only 3% go to providing women with access to abortions).
3. Science
Donald Trump thinks the National Institute of Health is terrible and believes that vaccinations cause autism. Lamar Smith (R-TX), chair of the Science and Technology committee, has proposed to cut funding for basic research which he calls “frivolous and wasteful.” For years, the GOP has attacked scientific evidence and funding for issues that their political ideologies don’t agree with.
4. Equality / Justice
Donald Trump’s campaign was championed by hate groups such as the KKK and leaders of the alt-right movement, groups that call for white supremacy. Since the election hate crimes towards minorities have been on the rise.
5. Education
The nomination of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary under a Trump administration means a shift in thinking about public school funding. DeVos has spent her life trying to influence government to allow a school-voucher programs. These programs seemingly allow for more parental choice, but often segregate lower income students into poorer performing schools.
- Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
- FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
6. Immigration and Refugees
Donald Trump has threatened to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants (DREAMERS included), regardless of how long they have been in the country, and plans to immediately deport 3 million once he takes office. An unpredictable and potentially aggressive foreign military policy could accelerate the worldwide refugee crisis.
7. Journalism
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump continually lambasted the press, especially when unflattering things were revealed about him, a practice inspiring some of his followers to similarly harass journalists. Journalists need to cover his many potential conflicts of interest and have concerns about adequate press access to Trump.
8. Internet and Privacy
The proposed appointment of Jeff Sessions to the position of Attorney General. Is a big red flag to privacy and anti-surveillance advocates. The Daily Dot reports, “Sessions has made it clear that he is incredibly hostile to Silicon Valley, the internet in general, and the First and Fourth Amendments,” as the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Nate Cardozo told the Daily Dot in a phone interview. “He will be a big-government, anti-liberty attorney general.”
9. Voting and Elections
The 2016 election was particularly tumultuous, with numerous allegations of “rigged elections” and “Russian hacking.” We need to ensure that our elections have rock-solid results, based on voter-verifiable paper records and routine post-election audits or recounts.
Give generously
How can you make the biggest impact with your donations? We think generously supporting the charities listed above can have significant positive impact. We encourage you to do your own research and support organizations that are fighting for what you believe in.
Stay active and constantly fight for what you believe in. The void left by inactivity or “couch anger” simply allows opposing world views to take root and assume power.
About the Authors:
Alexander J. Rivest holds a neuroscience PhD from MIT and works on science communication.
Twitter: @alexrivest_phd
Ronald L. Rivest is an Institute Professor at MIT, in the department of computer science; his professional website is here. (Full disclosure: he is also on the EPIC Advisory Board and on the Board of Verified Voting.)
He is also Alex’s dad.
