Donations to groups opposed to Trump's policies are still surging days after the election by Michelle Mark on Nov 16, 2016, 9:29 AM Advertisement
 Less than a week after President-elect Donald Trump's upset victory, nonprofits and charities dedicated to opposing policies he campaigned on are still being flooded with donations — some at an unprecedented level. On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union announced a whopping $7.2 million in donations over the last five days. By comparison, the same five-day period in 2012 had seen 354 donations totaling $27,806. The nonprofit published an open letter after Trump's election win, promising its "full firepower" should his administration pursue unconstitutional policies. The ACLU also emblazoned the homepage of its website with the message "See you in court" beside an image of Trump. Planned Parenthood also reported a record surge of 80,000 donations since Election Day, according to The Atlantic. Many of the donations were sent in the name of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — but also in the name of Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the fiercely anti-abortion Indiana governor who fought to defund Planned Parenthood and signed a law requiring miscarried or stillborn fetuses be buried or cremated. The money is coming at a critical time for organizations such as The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that offers suicide prevention services such as a 24-hour hotline for LGBTQ youths. The Trevor Project had been running $200,000 behind in donations before Trump's election, deputy executive director Steve Mendelsohn told Business Insider. But over the last week alone, the project has received more than $165,000 from donors in 20 different countries, and has signed up nearly 1,000 new supporters to donate on a monthly basis. "We were having trouble raising money before the election … We believe that we were behind because people were focused on giving money to the candidates," Mendelsohn said. "Now we're getting back to where we should be." The Trevor Project was one of several organizations touted by comedian John Oliver on his Sunday episode of Last Week Tonight, in a segment on Trump's election. Mendelsohn confirmed that Oliver's shoutout helped boost the organization's donations and web traffic even further. A website called ragedonate.com also sprang up Monday, presenting visitors with various inflammatory statements Trump has made about minorities or marginalized groups, accompanied by suggestions for organizations visitors can donate to. Here are some other nonprofits that have reported spikes in donations since Trump's election: Center for Reproductive Rights: The legal advocacy organization has pledged to continue defending Roe v Wade, should Trump seek to overturn it by appointing pro-life Supreme Court justices. The center tweeted on Monday it had registered 500 new supporters who have committed to monthly donations. ProPublica: The investigative journalism nonprofit reported a surge in donations after being mentioned in Oliver's Last Week Tonight segment, receiving "multiple donations per minute" up to 12 hours after the show aired, ProPublica president Richard Tofel told Poynter. The Council for American-Islamic Relations: The Muslim civil rights group has received a "simply unprecedented" 500 volunteer applications, according to The Atlantic. International Refugee Assistance Project: The organization dedicated to providing legal protections for refugees raised more than $55,000 from 1,233 donors over the last four days. SEE ALSO: The ACLU has received nearly $1 million in donations since Donald Trump's election
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