November 19, 2025

Imagine What's Possible: Understanding Funder Responses to the Trump Admin. War on Charity - with Megan Thomas, Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties

39 minutes

This episode explores the stages of foundation responses to the Trump Administration’s War on Charities, through the lens of a place-based funder network. Rusty sits down with Megan Thomas, CEO of Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties. This regional funder association has worked with its members and local nonprofit advisors to build several rounds of collaborative funding, including cash flow assistance loans.

You’ll hear:

The stages of local funder reaction and response to the Trump Administration's shock-and-awe tactics in their 2025 attacks on nonprofits and philanthropy;

Why and how local funders began organizing with one another to create collective funding;
How persistent leadership and courage can spur collective, partnership-based responses;
The consequences of the Trump Administration’s actions on the local social sector

Megan is a longstanding leader in the philanthropic community, and her organization, Catalyst, is one of Fund the People's partners in the California Talent Justice Initiative.

This episode is part of our biweekly Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Series, as well as our ongoing efforts to feature our California Talent Justice Initiative partners across the Golden State.

Transcript:

Edited PDF of Episode Transcript with Time Stamps

Related episodes from FTP Podcast:

Defend Nonprofits, Defend the Social Safety Net - with Edward Hershey, CEO, Home of Guiding Hands (San Diego)
Nonprofit Staff Resilience and Wellbeing in Turbulent Times - with Loretta Turner, Founder and Strategist, Do Good Leadership Collective
MacArthur President Chooses Courage, Not Quiet - with John Palfrey, President, MacArthur Foundation

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties
USD Nonprofit Institute Report (March 2025)
Coordinated Regional Response Collaborative
Resilient Response Fund
Sustained Support Fund
San Diego Solidarity Network
Community-Centric Fundraising

Guest bio:

Megan serves as Catalyst’s president & CEO, providing strategic leadership and partnership to the entire Catalyst staff, board, members, and community partners. Megan oversees Catalyst’s facilitation of collaborative efforts among its funder members and other stakeholders; leads the production of philanthropy and impact investing skills-building and issue based learning; and spearheads Catalyst’s work related to championing equity and opportunity. She strengthens Imperial and San Diego County communities through shared learning and pooled and aligned funding strategies, and initiatives fiscally sponsored by Catalyst.

Megan brings 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic fields to this role, having most recently served as Executive Director of San Diego Coastkeeper where she built partnerships among the nonprofit, business, and public sectors to advance environmental goals across San Diego County. Megan received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University and her Masters in Business Administration from Yale School of Management. She serves on the board of directors for the United Philanthropy Forum (national) and the Museum of Us (San Diego).

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