Reining in greed and recklessness on Wall Street and in corporate America is a major challenge for U.S. democracy. Powerful interest groups work around the clock to undermine regulatory oversight and block any new measures to safeguard workers, investors and consumers. Despite a long series of corporate and financial scandals over the past quarter-century, it remains an uphill fight to build the countervailing power needed to protect the public interest and advance equity. Below, we explain why donors should give to regulate Wall Street and reduce corporate power, spotlight strategies for advancing reform work, and offer advice for donors getting started.

Why Donating for Regulating Wall Street and Corporations is Important

The actions of major corporations and top financial firms impact all Americans. Risky practices on Wall Street can crash the entire economy, as we saw in 2008, while the growing clout of corporate monopolies and private equity giants serves to undermine worker power, reduce consumer choice and fuel inequality. The effects of this behavior cascade into numerous areas of U.S. society, harming communities and making it harder to achieve progress on issues like poverty, climate change, health, housing, and more. No matter what causes donors care about, they should give to ensure democratic control of the most powerful actors in our economy. 

Where to Donate to Rein in Wall Street and Corporations

• Organizations advocating strong oversight through policy advocacy and litigation. The battles in Washington, D.C., and state capitols over regulating corporations are heavily tilted in favor of private power. Business interests spend heavily on lobbying and political donations to influence both the legislative and rule-making process. The arcane nature of many regulatory issues, especially around finance, makes it challenging for the public’s voice to be heard in this area. Donors can level the playing field by supporting organizations like Public Citizen, the Center for Progressive Reform, the National Consumer Law Center, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, which seeks to unite people harmed by private equity firms; and Better Markets and Americans for Financial Reform, two D.C.-based groups that focus on regulating the financial industry. 

• Groups organizing to build momentum and engage voters at the grassroots. Effective policy advocacy needs to be backed up by grassroots organizing. Groups working to organize ordinary people around issues of corporate power and equity include the Center for Popular Democracy and Community Change, two key national hubs supporting organizing efforts across the country, and United for Respect, which organizes retail workers to fight back against Wall Street firms that buy their companies and bring them to financial ruin. 

• Organizations working to advance ideas and change the meta-narrative about government and the economy. Upstream from work to directly influence policy and legislation is the important work of researchers, scholars and writers seeking to reframe economic debates. This is a place where momentum is especially strong, with neoliberalism facing growing attacks from both the left and the right, creating openings for different ways of thinking about the free market and capitalism. Donors can support organizations like the Roosevelt Institute, which runs a program on corporate power; Open Markets Institute, which focuses on monopolies and concentrated corporate power; and American Economic Liberties Project, which also focuses on monopolies and the need for antitrust enforcement.

For Donors Getting Started

• Learn more about reform efforts aimed at Wall Street and corporate America. Donors can learn a lot by reading the reports, briefs and blog posts on the websites of many of the organizations listed above.

• Make giving even easier with an intermediary. For donors looking to get involved right away, donating through an intermediary can often be a great way to give without taking on too much legwork. The Economic Security Project distributes money to organizations fighting corporate power through its Anti-Monopoly Fund; for donors especially interested in giving for political organizing, Movement Voter Fund is a great intermediary option that distributes money to a diverse array of progressive grassroots organizations.

• Think about your giving in the bigger picture. Greed or irresponsible behavior by corporations and financial actors can have massive downstream effects across U.S. society. While many donors may see this area as outside their main interests, every issue is touched by the choices of the most powerful actors in our economy.