August 18, 2026
There is a particular kind of caution that presents itself as prudence but functions as abandonment. It shows up in grant cycles designed around measurable outcomes rather than uncertain bets. In climate philanthropy that teaches frontline organizers to perform for funders rather than fixing who controls the room. In tech philanthropy that frames extraction as a prelude to generosity. In the assumption that women of color holding the line on democracy will absorb risk on behalf of everyone else—and that no infrastructure is needed to catch them when they fall.
This issue asks whether the sector’s giving matches the scale of what this moment demands.
The Fight for $15 offers a case study: it succeeded because the Service Employees International Union made a $50 million annual bet on fast food workers at a moment when no one gave them a shot—and held it for years. That magnitude of investment should cause every philanthropic donor to ask whether their current giving matches the scale of the change they seek.
Consider the fact that youth-led climate justice groups received under one percent of major foundation grants between 2022 and 2024—not because they lack talent, but because access runs on relationships the field has never made room for. NPQ’s partnership with Counterstream Media continues to amplify exactly those voices: the latest issue of Peace & Riot centers climate leadership from the frontlines, in communities, and in the culture—the people the funding ecosystem most needs to hear and least often funds.
The tech industry’s “third wave” of giving is already taking shape, and a sector that cannot see its own complicity in extraction cannot advocate clearly against it. And the women of color—state senators, county commissioners, school board members—who are doxed, censured, investigated, and stripped of resources for standing on the right side of history are too often left to figure it out themselves.
The question is not whether philanthropy cares about these fights. The question is whether it’s willing to fund them at the scale, the risk, and the trust that actually winning requires.
In solidarity,
Coty Poynter
Senior Editor
Newsletters
