When Funders Try to Silence Your Advocacy with Maria Rio and Caitlin McBride

What happens when the money your organization needs comes with a muzzle attached? In this bold and necessary conversation, Maria and Caitlin tackle one of the most uncomfortable truths in the nonprofit sector: funders using their financial power to silence organizational advocacy and control community narratives. 

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, co-hosts Maria Rio and Caitlin McBride don't hold back as they share real stories of organizations facing pressure to stay quiet, stay neutral, and stay safe in exchange for funding. From the Ontario Trillium Foundation's anti-advocacy clauses to prolific donors demanding ideological alignment, this episode exposes how censorship happens behind closed doors and what nonprofit leaders can do to protect their mission. 

If you've ever felt pressured to soften your stance, avoid political issues, or accept funding that made you uncomfortable, this conversation will validate your concerns and give you practical strategies to stand your ground. Because serving your community means advocating for your community, even when it costs you. 

The Highlights: 

• The OTF investigation: How political appointments led to anti-advocacy clauses in funding agreements, and how public pressure eventually got them removed 
• Real consequences of saying "yes": Caitlin shares the personal story of turning down a longtime funder whose new agreement would have muzzled not just the organization, but individual staff and board members from speaking out 
• The Band-Aid trap: Why organizations that don’t advocate for systemic change end up keeping communities in cycles of dependency 
• When politicians weaponize nonprofits: Examples of how elected officials use organizations for photo ops and political gain while simultaneously trying to control their messaging 
• The performativity problem: How organizations publicly claim values they privately compromise through the funding agreements they sign 

 Resources and Links: 

• Gabe Oatley's investigation into Ontario Trillium Foundation's anti-advocacy clauses  
• Connect with our cohost, Caitlin McBride