No state successfully passed legislation directly forcing nonprofits to expose donors in 2026, despite 172 problematic bills in 42 states, PUFPF finds.

People United for Privacy Foundation (PUFPF) today released a new report examining threats to nonprofit donor privacy and associational rights in the 2026 state legislative session. The “2026 Post-Session Report: Freedom of Association Perseveres Despite Mounting Pressure From Multiple Directions” finds that 42 states considered 172 bills threatening nonprofit advocacy or donor privacy in 2026. PUFPF engaged on 44 of those bills across 23 states, successfully defeating all threats that warranted more sustained involvement.

The report follows PUFPF’s 2026 Mid-Session Report, offering a deeper analysis of the year’s most significant bills and trends, including coverage of an array of legislative victories that strengthened privacy protections for nonprofits and their supporters. PUFPF will host a virtual Lunch & Learn on October 14 to discuss the report’s findings and what they mean for nonprofits heading into 2027.

“The overwhelming failure of nonprofit donor disclosure attacks demonstrates that lawmakers across the political spectrum remain deeply skeptical of these anti-privacy, speech-chilling measures. In contrast, pro-privacy reforms continued to make gains in the 2026 legislative sessions,” said Matt Nese, Vice President of PUFPF and co-author of the report.

Proactive privacy reforms adopted in this year’s legislative session include measures to redact donors’ home addresses in campaign finance reports, modeled upon PUFPF’s Protect Donors at Home Act (PDHA). Three states – Minnesota, Utah, and West Virginia – passed PDHA-inspired protections in 2026. Three other states – Connecticut, Louisiana, and New Hampshire – raised donor disclosure or reporting thresholds to protect small givers from exposure, with a fourth such bill pending in New Jersey. A bipartisan contingent of Oregon lawmakers acted decisively, with support from a strange bedfellows coalition, to narrow a problematic disclosure law that was wreaking havoc on the state’s nonprofit community as well.

Despite the good news for freedom of association, several troubling trends portend bigger fights on the horizon. The political landscape for nonprofit donor privacy continues to shift, with threats emerging in red, blue, and purple states and from lawmakers in both parties. Some Republican lawmakers proposed bills that would explicitly mandate donor disclosure for nonprofits that interact with the public, not lawmakers, about policy issues. Separately, a Center for American Progress-inspired plot to strip corporations, including nonprofits, of First Amendment rights in elections and ballot measure contests has quickly spread to 22 states, with proponents pledging to introduce this scheme in 30 states next year.

“Post-election years are notorious for generating new threats to donor privacy, as some politicians will inevitably try to exact revenge on nonprofits that criticized their records or opposed their agendas. With a new generation of disclosure threats already on the move and an increasingly complex political landscape to navigate, nonprofits and donors can anticipate tough fights ahead in 2027,” explained Alex Baiocco, PUFPF Director of Government Affairs and the report’s co-author.

PUFPF will discuss the report’s findings in a 30-minute virtual Lunch & Learn on Wednesday, October 14, at 12:30 PM ET. The webinar will examine key trends from the 2026 session, highlight the year’s most important bills, and identify major threat categories on the horizon for 2027. The discussion will feature Nese, Baiocco, and Senior Director of Communications and Policy Luke Wachob.

PUFPF’s 2026 Post-Session Report is available now to read online or download.