UNCIVIL’s June 2026 funder analysis found that leading supporters of campus “pluralism,” “viewpoint diversity,” and “civil discourse” programs are deeply invested in conservative and pro-Israel organizations. The materials linked on this page (see “File Directory”) extend that analysis by documenting the statements and actions of the donors, nonprofit leaders, university presidents, and others who shape what we call the Civility Industry. These are the Civility Files.

These files demonstrate that the recent proliferation of privately-funded centers, projects, and initiatives dedicated to “civility” and “civil discourse“ in higher education is anything but politically neutral. It echoes and reinforces the Trump administration’s efforts to characterize leftist, pro-Palestinian, and anti-racist expression as inherently intolerant and threatening. The Civility Industry is dominated by billionaires who use the rhetoric of “pluralism” and “viewpoint diversity” to promote conservative viewpoints, vilify progressive activism, and justify the repression of political dissent.

In these files, we see the mechanics of the Civility Industry laid bare. We see the head of a prominent civility organization urge donors who are “fed up with how college students are behaving” to “fund a campus pluralism center”; we see a higher ed think tank tell university trustees to protect “civil discourse” by dealing with encampments through surveillance and punishment instead of de-escalation; we see university presidents invoke “dialogue”, “civility,” and “listening” after calling in police to arrest Palestine solidarity protesters; and we see billionaire patrons of civility programs brand campus activists as “mobsters” and “extremists” who should be “dragged off campus.”

We also see the extraordinary concentration of wealth behind the civility industry: 36 funders identified in The Civility Files are billionaires or billionaire-linked entities. More than half of those 36 support at least two profiled organizations. The Charles Koch Foundation alone appears as a funder in 15 entries. The result is that the same money, people, and policy prescriptions circulate through ostensibly distinct institutions: Koch and other billionaire-linked foundations fund multiple civility nonprofits while simultaneously bankrolling anti-BDS groups and MAGA-aligned think tanks; those think tanks supply personnel to university civics centers and craft model legislation for higher ed; their proposals then reappear as campus rules, state-mandated academic centers, and Trump administration policy.

The Civility Files show us what this process of manufacturing political outcomes looks like on the ground. Consider, for example, restrictions on protester face-coverings. Human rights groups including the ACLU and Amnesty International oppose anti-masking regulations because they can leave political dissidents vulnerable to surveillance and doxxing, but key players in the Civility Industry champion these anti-activist policies. We see calls for restrictions on protester face-coverings promoted by ACTA, the Heritage Foundation, ADL, and the head of College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, and reflected in campus rules at institutions including Chapman, NYU, and Stanford. These files are filled with similar examples of the Civility Industry’s repressive consequences.

The Civility Files is not a comprehensive inventory; rather, it is meant to offer an illustrative sample of the individuals, organizations, funding relationships, and institutional practices that make up the broader civility industry ecosystem. We endeavor to ensure that the information provided in these files is accurate and up-to-date, and we will make every effort to correct any errors as quickly as possible. If you have an institution or program that you would like us to include, or if you would like to submit a correction, please email us at info@uncivilcollective.org.