In this moment of profound turmoil, we urge leaders across the nonprofit, philanthropic, government, and corporate sectors to publicly denounce the escalating violation of human and civil rights in Minnesota and beyond. Silence in this moment is not neutral. It poses both immediate and lasting consequences. In recent weeks, friends and colleagues have reached out to us seeking guidance on how to voice their organization’s opposition to the Trump administration’s rampant lawlessness and brutality. This instinct is healthy, as it reflects an understanding that leadership is about the moral courage to act when it matters most.
Here, we outline the elements of an open letter from your nonprofit, foundation, company, or community-based group.
First, establish clear decision-making criteria
Operate with clear criteria for why, how, and when your organization will publish an open letter or call to action in what is a politically charged moment. No matter what you say, critics could accuse you of speaking out on a topic that may not appear to be directly related to your mission.
- Create a clear decision-making structure as a reference for staff and board members that includes a process for appropriate, well-defined avenues for consultation and input by key individuals.
- Clearly define why you feel it’s important and appropriate to issue your call to action. How does this impact your mission and ability to carry out your work? For example:
- Is there a major drop in people accessing your programs due to the threat of ICE activity?
- How do attacks on democracy affect your work, your people, and your mission?
- Do you have special influence or credibility with decision-makers that is important to the issue?
- Is weighing in helpful to groups working on the front lines of the issue?
- Is it important for your supporters or customers to hear from you about the issue? Etc.
A sample structure for a call to action or open letter:
Note that the public statement template below is a call to decisionmakers to act – or halt an action – and is distinct from a solidarity statement, which is an expression of support for the communities impacted by injustice. Here are ways to show support for impacted communities, rather than calling on decision makers.
- Begin a call to action by describing your organization’s core values and organizing principles. What do you stand for? Your institutional values could be around respect for others, truth and integrity, transparency and accountability, dignity for everyone, and a safe environment for employees. Values that you need everyone to adhere to could be the rule of law, justice and due process, and other fundamental principles of living in our democracy.
- Follow with the threat to your organization’s values and principles. What is at stake? You don’t have to list everything here—that list could get long pretty quickly. Stick to a maximum of five examples that tie back to your opening, like threats to employees’ civil rights.
- Tell stories, whether it is a tipping point in the national psyche or a simple moment of realization for a staff member. One group might write that one-third of their employees are BIPOC and now must carry national identification when commuting to your offices each morning and worry about being unlawfully detained by ICE.
- Consider whether your organization has a distinct, unique perspective or access to power in the situation that can be additive to the conversation. Express that in the call to action.
- Make clear the action you want your target (the federal administration, specific individuals, or others) to take. Name specifically the law or norm that has been violated.
- Add a second call to action detailing how your secondary audience (for ex., your supporters) can also play a role; for example, “Call your members of Congress and demand that there be constitutional limits on executive power.” Or you can close by sharing a curated list of additional resources and organizations to support, and where and how to boycott.
- End on a proud or even optimistic note. Your goal is not to depress people but to activate them! Your final sentences are a good time to speak to your hopes and dreams for this country and what is possible if we pursue justice for all even in moments like this when this country feels like a tinderbox of unrest and cruelty.
- Write these two elements last:
- Your headline: Now that you have laid out your position in this public statement, how can you summarize the What and the Why in just five to 10 words? For example, “Speaking out for democracy” states succinctly what you are doing (speaking up) and why you are doing it (to protect democracy).
- A pull quote: Whether or not you think the media may pick up on your statement, pull one sentence from your open letter and place it in quotation marks, italics, and with attribution just under your headline.
Before publishing:
If you are the CEO or executive director, notify your staff of your intent to issue a statement and where it will be posted (on your website, on your social media channels, sent to the press). Don’t surprise them! Share your statement internally before you publish it externally. In particular, consider what additional measures may be needed to protect staff who are most under siege by this administration. Protection could look like either physically safeguarding them, digitally protecting them from doxxing and online vitriol, or both. In terms of who may need extra care and safety, this could include staff who are immigrants, transgender, BIPOC, or from other communities that are most likely to incur any backlash from your statement.
In the midst of this national crisis, the deliberate choice to make your voice heard can give other organizations the courage to speak up with equal clarity and conviction. If each of us exercise our power and our voice, together we can protect our rights, our freedoms, and our democracy.