How to Power a Pro-Democracy Movement that Confronts Authoritarianism

President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) on Sept. 25, probably the greatest threat to the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors yet posed by the Trump Administration.

The Reconnecting Youth Campaign has advocated with and on behalf of Opportunity Youth (OY) since 2017. Across hundreds of meetings with policymakers, we’ve tried out and refined different ways of introducing the OY population, talking about the problem of youth disconnection, and explaining the benefit of programs that serve OY.  This post captures a few things that we have learned. 

Through tangible actions, the United States’s robust nonprofit and philanthropic sectors can act as a key catalyst and accelerant for a Pro-Democracy Movement (PDM). But first, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders must see themselves as advocates, and act accordingly. Leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors can take actions within five categories to build a strong and well-resourced PDM…

Today Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a hub for youth organizing around President Trump’s right-wing authoritarian movement. But this comes after several reinventions, benefiting from a Leo Model-type approach from its funders. 

Over decades, Leonard Leo has reshaped America through a model of network building that prizes patience and long-term vision, a willingness to keep failing until something works, and a concern for taking care of people in the movement.