A plot to strip Americans of their ability to join together and make their voices heard through the organizations they create and support is multiplying rapidly in red, blue, and purple states. Through legislation and ballot initiatives, activists are pursuing a sweeping effort to revoke the free speech rights of incorporated entities, threatening the ability of citizens to work collectively in support of causes, candidates, ballot measures, and public policy reforms.

To counter this threat, People United for Privacy Foundation (PUFPF) is launching the Right to Participate (RTP) Project, a national initiative dedicated to defending the First Amendment rights of Americans to speak, associate, and participate in civic life through the organizations of their choosing.

“As efforts to silence nonprofits and other private organizations through disclosure mandates have failed, censors are pivoting to a new strategy that targets all of civil society’s First Amendment rights. We are launching the Right to Participate Project to monitor and engage on this growing new threat to nonprofits’ ability to advocate for their members,” said Heather Lauer, CEO of People United for Privacy Foundation.

The new threat to free speech and donor privacy was announced in 2025 by the Center for American Progress (CAP) as “CAP’s Plan to Beat Citizens United.” The proposal exempts news media corporations but prohibits other incorporated entities, including think tanks, advocacy nonprofits, labor unions, and trade associations, from engaging in any so-called “election activity” or “ballot-issue activity.” These terms are purposefully defined broadly to prohibit even “indirect” support or opposition, leaving minimal room for nonprofits to advocate on issues or legislation that may be associated with candidates or ballot measure campaigns.

CAP’s coordinated effort to promote these restrictions on civic participation has produced quick results. While individual efforts are sometimes referred to informally as the “Montana Plan” (or formally as the “Corporate Power Reset Act”), versions of the proposal have already appeared in more than 15 states. One such measure has already been enacted into law in Hawaii, where it is being challenged in federal court by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, with representation from the Institute for Free Speech, as a violation of the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech and association. Some proposals take the form of ballot initiatives, while others are introduced as traditional legislation or legislatively-referred constitutional amendments.

PUFPF has already begun to forcefully respond. In Colorado, PUFPF successfully challenged a proposed ballot measure modeled on these restrictions, preventing it from reaching voters after state officials determined it violated Colorado’s single-subject requirement. PUFPF is also monitoring a similar measure from the Transparent Election Initiative, titled “The Montana Plan Act,” where supporters face a June 19 deadline to submit signatures for ballot qualification.

These proposals threaten donor privacy as well as free speech. In effect, they function as an end-run around donor privacy protections, forcing any group that wishes to speak about elections or public policy to organize as a political action committee and publicly report their donors. While these schemes do not directly require donor disclosure, they revoke the speech and association rights that allow nonprofits to participate in civic debates without putting their members and supporters in harm’s way.

PUFPF envisions a world where every American is free to support the causes they believe in, so that all sides of a debate may be heard, and no one faces censorship or retaliation for their views. The activists behind these restrictions envision a world where the government decides not only who can speak but when participants in public debate can be forced to expose themselves and their supporters to surveillance, threats, and harassment.

The Right to Participate Project will carry PUFPF’s mission into this new and urgent fight to ensure that Americans remain free to join together, support the causes they believe in, and make their voices heard through the organizations they choose to support.