The CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation is taking action to defend what she called the “freedom to give” in the face of pressure on the sector from the Trump administration.
Speaking at Devex Impact House on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, Nancy Lindborg said that she viewed the events of 2025 with “a deep, deep sense of sadness and loss” after watching the harm done by aid cuts to several institutions she had worked for and in some cases led.
“I feel survivor’s guilt as I watch so many amazing colleagues who put their heart and soul into this work, who are doing deep, mission-driven work — often with some of the shackles of being a federal civil servant — who are summarily pushed onto the street. And then the impact around the world: We’re reading about food that’s rotting in warehouses, contraceptives that are being destroyed in warehouses.”
About the author
David Ainsworth@daveainsworth4
David Ainsworth is business editor at Devex, where he writes about finance and funding issues for development institutions. He was previously a senior writer and editor for magazines specializing in nonprofits in the U.K. and worked as a policy and communications specialist in the nonprofit sector for a number of years. His team specializes in understanding reports and data and what it teaches us about how development functions.
