Letter from Michael Corey, HSC Executive Director

One of my heroes is Charles Hamilton Houston. One of the most influential lawyers in America’s history, Hamilton’s contributions to a more equitable post-WW II America are largely overshadowed by what his most famous protege, eventual Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, achieved over the course of his remarkable life. Together, Hamilton and Marshall brought down Jim Crow by convincing the Supreme Court to rule unanimously in 1954 to overturn “separate but equal” doctrine.

It was Marshall who successfully argued that case, Brown v. Board of Education, before the Supreme Court. But it was Hamilton who served as the architect of the strategy to get it there. Importantly, Houston did not simply seek to stack together wins in court to disentangle Jim Crow from American law; he knew that much more would be necessary to effectuate systemic as well as practical change.

“Lawsuits mean little unless supported by public opinion,” he wrote in 1935. “But the really baffling problem is how to create the proper kind of public opinion.”

That problem—seizing and shaping public opinion—feels like one of the key hurdles the nonprofit sector must overcome in this environment of misinformation and disinformation about the work, workers, and people served in the social services sector as we now begin year two of the Administration in Washington which has not been shy in targeting and vilifying nonprofits over the last 365 days.

Countering this is imperative in the fight for public opinion, and public action.

As the National Council of Nonprofits explained when it launched a media campaign in spring 2025 about the vital role of nonprofits in American life: “At a time when the role and rights of local community organizations and charitable nonprofits are being called into question, Nonprofits Get It Done offers a celebration of the everyday impact nonprofits make, uplifting the people, places, and possibilities they help bring to life across the country. Using real stories of actual nonprofits, we are able to remind the public, and our elected leaders, that nonprofits are essential partners in creating stronger communities.”

This is as critical now as it was a year ago. The landscape in 2026 will be much more challenging than the historically tumultuous landscape of 2025. And no subsector of nonprofits has been, or will be, immune, even as attention has been justifiably focused on the seismic shifts in funding and regulation to SNAP, Medicaid, affordable housing, homelessness, child care, and of course, immigration.

For example:

• A new analysis is out from the Journal of American Medical Association which predicts that, due to lost Medicaid coverage, millions of people will lose access to cancer screenings as a consequence of last year’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” HR1. This will directly and indirectly affect several of our members and the people they serve.
• Several of our members in the coffee business have been affected by recent tariffs that have increased the cost of coffee.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics-Ohio is working hard to correct the record about childhood vaccinations, while the national entity fights to preserve government funding in federal court.

The trickle-down effect of all the changes that 2025 wrought—more uncertainty, fewer resources, and rising demand—also affects the entire ecosystem with higher costs, and fewer local dollars available to make up for the enormous shifts that began a year ago. Relatedly, there is also less bandwidth—in the press, and in the public eye—for issues that aren’t deemed “essential” but that we all know are pivotal for the health and humanity that the nonprofit sector defends and builds in the Columbus Region.

At the Human Service Chamber, we will remain steadfast in supporting each of our members, and seeking to work with each of our elected officials no matter their political party, to advance this work. But we know it will not be done without the community’s understanding and commitment.

Or the government’s.

Last week, $2 billion was abruptly and inexplicably terminated by the federal government. A national uproar ensued. And then the federal government essentially said “nevermind.” All within 24 hours.

As our friends at the Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies wrote, “We believe in working hand-in-hand with government partners to advance effective, accountable policy. That partnership is strongest when it is stable, transparent, and grounded in respect for the realities on the front lines. Frankly, human service agencies deserve better than whiplash. Service recipients deserve better than uncertainty.”

We agree.

And that will only happen as public opinion and public action lead the way.

We see hopeful signs all around us. People are doing more than looking for the helpers, as Mr. Rogers famously urged us to do in times of trouble. People are looking to support them.

Just in the last month, people rallied around Our Helpers’ work serving our communities immigrants and refugees, just as people rallied around our foodbank and food pantries as the federal government blocked distribution of SNAP dollars during the government shutdown. And nationally, volunteerism is on the rise as people look for ways to help, in so many ways.

This is the way forward, together, through whatever 2026 may have in store.