2025 was a pivotal year for our movement. As attacks on our freedom, safety, and democracy escalated dramatically in 2025, Sunrise took the bold step to expand our focus and take on the threat of authoritarianism head-on.
The truth is simple: there is no way to stop the climate crisis under an authoritarian regime that is beholden to oil and gas interests. We cannot build a powerful, winning climate justice movement if we cannot freely protest, if elections are not fair, if the federal government targets organizations that oppose them, if everyone is afraid of getting shot by masked agents on our streets.
We’re in an all hands on deck moment. The only way to meaningfully address the climate crisis and win a Green New Deal is to stop Trump’s authoritarian takeover and build a mass popular mandate for an economy and society that works for all of us. That’s the work we began in 2025.
Building a powerful mass movement
Over 2025, as authoritarian threats reached a new peak, thousands of young people stood up, eager to take action, and defend their futures. As leaders in the youth movement ecosystem, young people are signing up to organize with Sunrise in record numbers.
Sunrise moved fast to meet that energy, train students in organizing skills, and helped them turn fear into collective power. We added 1,600 new members, seeded 40 new hubs, trained over 6,000 people, and held 1,300 hub events with over 32,200 participants.
Leading the Youth Movement Ecosystem
Our student organizing program has scaled to over 100 campuses and high schools across the country. These chapters are building mass noncooperation practices on their campuses to resist authoritarianism and demand our institutions rebuff Trump’s attacks on academic freedom.
When the Trump administration sent nine universities a threat letter in the fall, demanding political favors and censorship in exchange for federal funding, we successfully organized students and workers at more than 100 schools across the country to reject Trump’s corrupt “Campus Compact.”
“Trump thought he could steamroll these nine schools and then make hundreds more fall in line,” said Simon, a sophomore with Sunrise Brown.
“He was wrong. Tens of thousands of students and workers fought back against Trump’s attacks and won. We won’t let Trump dictate what we are allowed to study and research, who is safe on campus, and what we can speak out about. When he comes for our campuses again, we’ll be ready.”
Even more powerful than those numbers is the feeling of hope and power that is rippling out.
Charlie, a new student organizer who joined Sunrise during the September 2025 Student Walkouts, shared this reflection on what it felt like to step into our movement for the first time:
“When we study history or watch movies, we always find ourselves asking “how do everyday people let this happen?” The answer is fear. I felt fear too, when I first thought about joining these protests last week. Will I get kicked out of my school? Will I be arrested?
I won’t say those fears have fully gone away, but from the first moment I saw the crowd gathering, I felt something else: relief. Relief that I wasn’t alone.”
Around the world, youth organizing has always been at the heart of movements that beat back authoritarianism. Young people are often the first to rise and the last give up.
Together, we’re constantly growing our base by meeting the energy young people are feeling right now, putting forward a bold vision, and serving as an antidote to the fear and isolation people feel right now.
Your Impact
THANK YOU TO ALL THE FUNDERS AND DONORS WHO ARE MAKING OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
We know that to win a Green New Deal, we need a country where people are free to protest, speak out, and organize for change. We’re fighting for a democracy that works for all of us — not just billionaires and politicians.
From training new leaders, to mobilizing voters, to holding those in power accountable, Sunrise is turning the kind of energy we saw in 2025 into the movement that can put a stop to Trump’s authoritarianism. But we couldn’t achieve any of this without your support. In 2025 we were supported by over 61,000 contributions from thousands of grassroots donors giving an average of $40.
Thank you for believing that young people can still turn the tide, that this generation can save democracy and the planet. Together we’re building a powerful youth-led, pro-democracy movement that can stare down authoritarianism and win.
We couldn’t do this vital work without you having our backs.
The activities described here are part of Sunrise Movement, a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(4) social welfare organization and Sunrise Movement Education Fund, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
