Philanthropy Urged to Learn from Post-9/11 Mistakes to Defend Democracy
An opinion piece by Dimple Abichandani, a philanthropic adviser and author, argues that philanthropy can learn three crucial lessons from its response to the post-9/11 era to better defend democracy today. Abichandani contends that funders were slow to support communities under attack, were constrained by organizational silos, and focused on short-term safety rather than long-term flourishing. Following the 9/11 attacks, anti-Muslim hate crimes surged, and policies enacted under the 'war on terror' eroded human rights, disproportionately affecting Black, African, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities. While some national funders supported civil liberties organizations, few invested directly in the targeted communities. This created a critical gap, allowing the infrastructure of surveillance and criminalization to persist and later be repurposed against other groups, including immigrants and protesters.
