Left-wing nonprofits raked in unprecedented revenue during Trump’s first term
Within hours of Donald Trump’s election night win, a California progressive group rebranded its website to marshal activists against “authoritarianism”—a sign that left-wing nonprofits are once again preparing to rake in big money through anti-Trump fervor.
The organization, We Are California, is an arm of California Calls, which mobilizes Golden State voters to pass tax increases through both its nonprofit and political advocacy branches. Its wealthy funders include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the anti-police Akonadi Foundation, and the Tides Foundation, a progressive dark money group.
We Are California’s Wednesday afternoon announcement unveiling its new website portrayed the group as brand new, even though it first launched in 2016 as California Calls’s public face. Rebranded as a coalition, We Are California now advertises a long list of partner organizations, including immigrant rights groups, like Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, that have received millions of California taxpayer dollars. It previously raised money and recruited activists for progressive causes.
“A bold and growing movement called ‘We Are California’ launched today after the presidential election was called for Trump,” the group wrote in its press release. “Hundreds of California’s most passionate organizations and communities … are aligning to stand up for California values of inclusion and community and defend democracy.”
The nonprofit’s rapid rebrand and relaunch in the wake of Trump’s victory is a sign that the Golden State’s left-wing groups are preparing to again capitalize on progressive angst over his return to the White House. After he was first elected in 2016, liberal nonprofits across the country saw an unprecedented surge in donor dollars.
California governor Gavin Newsom (D.) has also signaled his own ambitions to helm a liberal resistance to Trump. Thursday morning, he announced an “emergency” state legislative session next month to “safeguard California values” by investing taxpayer money in an anti-Trump lawsuit fund and state agency budgets.
He said officials from both his office and the attorney general’s office “have been preparing for a potential second Trump term for more than a year.”
“We are marshaling the arguments and evidence needed to challenge in court unconstitutional and unlawful federal policies,” Newsom wrote. He added that “preparing to litigate repressive potential actions” requires additional funding.
Last year, a PAC Newsom launched spent millions of dollars on political consultants, advertisements, and red-state photo-op tours, suggesting the governor was positioning himself to replace President Joe Biden on the 2024 ticket should he drop out. Even before Tuesday’s election, Newsom has been floated as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
Trump, meanwhile, promised in September 2023 to “liberate” the state in his second term by tackling its soft-on-crime policies, water rationing, and scheduled gas vehicle ban, as well as policies that allow public school officials to keep kids’ social gender transitions secret from parents.
As of Friday afternoon, Trump had flipped 10 California counties red, with more than 5 million votes left to count.
So far, We Are California hasn’t specified how it will fight Trump beyond offering sign ups for Californians to join regional or online organizing sessions called the “People’s Congress.”
However, its parent group California Calls, as well as some of its partner organizations reaped financial benefit from Trump’s first stint as president as well as from California officials’ commitment to progressive causes.
In 2015, California Calls’s nonprofit arm reported $2.9 million in grants and contributions. In 2016, the year Trump was elected, its revenue jumped to nearly $6.2 million and has remained high, peaking in 2021 at $14.5 million, according to its latest available tax filings.
Other partner organizations in We Are California’s coalition similarly benefited under Trump. Catalyst California, for example, boasted its highest-ever annual income of $24.5 million during the president-elect’s first term. The group’s CEO called Trump’s win “the third existential crisis our communities have faced in a decade” in Wednesday’s press release.
Some also receive California taxpayer funds. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights collected nearly $3 million from the state last year; the Dolores Huerta Foundation for Community Organizing received more than $1 million; and InnerCity Struggle took in $600,000.
We Are California’s media representative, Change Consulting, did not respond to a request for comment. The firm describes itself as a “social change communications agency.”
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