It’s no secret: Foundations could be the next American institutions under attack. Why does this matter? Because millions of people across the nation depend on nonprofits to meet their basic needs—and those nonprofits depend on resources from foundations to deliver important services, support their communities, and pay their workers, showing the importance of philanthropy uniting in solidarity to protect civil society. Which is why today we are announcing a public solidarity sign-on campaign to support philanthropy’s freedom to give.

Nonprofits promote economic opportunity, invest in education, foster healthy communities, support scientific research, and protect the rights of vulnerable people. From legal aid clinics helping veterans in Alabama, to religious groups supporting refugees in Minnesota, nonprofit organizations are the connective tissue of our communities and our American democracy. And they rely on support from foundations to keep that civic infrastructure strong.

The onslaught of executive orders; revenue and funding freezes; and investigations against universities, law firms, and businesses demonstrate a pattern of attacks foundations may see next: attacking individual institutions to silence a sector and forcing concessions that seek to limit our freedoms.

It does not have to be this way. Philanthropy can unite in solidarity.

We’ve seen this before in American history and across the globe. Weaponized oversight. Intimidation dressed up as transparency. It is not new. But our response must be.

We in the philanthropic community must not wait like sitting ducks. We must prepare and unite to defend our freedom to support the millions of people who rely on charitable foundations to build stronger, healthier communities and opportunities for all.

We three are presidents of foundations responsible for supporting tens of thousands of organizations over a collective 128 years. We are also presidents of foundations responsible for the care and health of our own teams and staff. We know the risk of standing up to a hostile government.

But complacency is complicity. Philanthropy can unite in solidarity, and foundations must lead—not just with grants, but with guts.

Read the full article about philanthropy uniting in solidarity by Tonya Allen, Deepak Bhargava, and John Palfrey at Nonprofit Quarterly.