Don’t be afraid to be Sticky-outy. Staying true to your values in Trump’s America.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably exhausted.

Photo by Stacey Koenitz on Unsplash

Not just sleepy-exhausted, but soul-exhausted. The kind where you wake up in the middle of the night with your jaw clenched and your heart pounding, wondering if you're going to have to explain—again—why your nonprofit puts “inclusion” on its homepage. 

Or if your next grant report will get flagged for having the word “diversity” in it. 

Wondering if investors will want to back your lovely social enterprise, which has “equity” as one of its core values and objectives. 

Or how you can protect the jobs of people in your company who get up every morning trying to bring a little more goodness into the world. 

And this famous quote,

Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

which you used to easily know the answer to (“Stand out? Oh, yeah!”) now makes you hesitate. A lot. 

Having lived through the first six months of President Trump’s administration, standing out often feels like the last thing you want to do. And who could blame you? There has been a whirlwind of executive orders, public vilification of “woke” companies, and relentless attacks on DEI. The White House's stance has emboldened states, funders, and certain media outlets to question, defund, and demonize work that we once assumed was simply a matter of human decency. Diversity? Equity? Inclusion? These have been rebranded as dangerous ideologies rather than the basic building blocks of justice and compassion.

And yet.

And yet, there are companies and nonprofits out there—maybe even yours—who are not backing down. Who are choosing, day after day, to stay the course. Who are remembering who they are. Why they come to work in the morning. And why it matters. Some, who are surprisingly, making even bigger statements, and raising their heads a little higher than before.

So, we made a list of a few to share with you. 

Because honestly? Thinking about them – seeing the example they’re setting - that gives us hope. And courage. Something we could use a lot more of right now. Maybe you could too. 

Penzey’s Spices: Seasoning with spine.

Let’s start with Bill Penzey, the CEO of Penzey’s Spices, who is, frankly, spicy. And yes, controversial. 

Long before this administration came in hot with anti-DEI messaging, Penzey was naming racism, calling out Trumpism, and turning email blasts into truth-telling epistles.

When President Trump first took office back in 2017, Penzey branded the GOP the “number one threat to this country.” Then, in 2024, he paid for a highway billboard during the Republican National Convention, calling out Trump supporters' 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

This past January, when Trump came back and doubled down on his anti-woke crusade, Penzey didn’t backtrack—he told his customers, “We will not be retreating. We will not be quiet.”

And here’s the wild part: while the backlash has been loud, so has the support. Every time Penzey’s stands up, new customers flood in. This company leans into its values. And people respond. His small but mighty privately held company is reportedly doing well financially. Proof that courage (with a side of audacity) doesn’t kill a brand—it can become its lifeblood. 

Costco: Common sense with a conscience.

You may not think of Costco as a warrior in the cultural battles, but here’s what they’ve done that deserves a standing ovation: they didn’t cave.

In early 2025, within days of Trump's inauguration, some large retailers began scaling back their DEI programs. Target, for example, did a big rollback, ending its three-year DEI goals, stopping reports to external groups like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, and terminating a program focused on carrying more products from Black- or minority-owned businesses. But Costco? They didn’t have much to say. 

They just kept doing the work.

They maintained their supplier diversity programs. Continued internal training. Renewed their partnership with the Human Rights Campaign. At its annual meeting, more than 98% of shareholders voted against a proposal to review the risks associated with its DEI programs. 

And it’s paid off. A survey from Numerator, a consumer analytics firm, reported that in terms of year-over-year visits, “Target saw nearly 5 million fewer shopping trips during the four weeks ending on February 9. By contrast, Costco saw nearly 7.7 million more visits during the same period.”

Unlike Penzey, Costco didn’t choose to make a lot of noise with their stand on DEI through emails and social media. However, they did end up all over the news and social media – because other people were talking about them. 

Sometimes, resistance looks like not flinching when everyone else is fleeing. And letting your actions speak loud and clear. 

Nonprofits that refuse to blink while staying true to their values.

And then there are the nonprofits. 

Being told they can no longer use words like “underserved,” or “accessible,” or “carbon footprint,” since they are on an ever-growing list of  350 words or phrases banned or flagged by Federal Agencies. 

Losing not only government funding, but also dealing with corporate sponsors pulling back support, or pulling away completely.

Still, in the face of all of that, there are organizations like Race Forward, who responded to this new administration’s attacks on DEI by launching a downloadable toolkit which “offers a road map to respond to the threat posed by Project 2025 to equitable, democratic and accountable public institutions, particularly our federal agencies, as well as longer-term strategies for turning public administration into a force for equity and justice.” 

Not a shy and quiet move on their part. (And it seems like a toolkit a lot of us might want to download!)

Then there’s The Trevor Project, which provides suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth. They’ve been attacked in courtrooms and on cable news, but instead of retreating, they’ve expanded their crisis services, launched a public awareness campaign with a short film, to address the public health crisis of suicide among LGBTQ+ young people in rural communities, and launched a Pride Belongs Everywhere campaign this spring. 

If they’re fearful of losing funding, they certainly aren’t letting that fear stop them – they're continuing to be true to themselves and proudly who they are.

Religious organizations making their voices heard. 

Churches and other faith-based organizations are a different sort of nonprofit. While they may not receive government funding, they do rely on donations to keep their doors open. Pastors, while called to lead their church, also often feel pressured to avoid addressing topics that are too sensitive or too divisive out of fear on their part, or from their board of elders, that people will stop supporting the church financially. 

That fear didn’t stop Jamal Bryant, the Georgia-based senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.  He was one of the key instigators of the Target boycott. After they walked back their DEI initiatives in January. Bryant said: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not charity. It’s not a handout, and the African American community is a valuable partner. So, we want to know: If you can take our dollars, how come you won’t stand with us?” And of course, the boycott he started was instrumental in taking a big swipe out of Target’s profits. 

Clackamas United Church of Christ, in Oregon, is a small congregation just outside of Portland that has used its front lawn sign as a powerful and disruptive messaging tool ever since its senior pastor, Adam Ericksen, joined them in 2018, during the height of the first Trump presidency. 

No one knew what their church was about, what its values and beliefs were, Erickson realized, so the lawn sign seemed like a way to quite literally, “put it out there.” As CNN reported in 2019, the messages that Erikson started adding to the sign week after week went in hard for diversity, equity, and inclusion - they slammed white supremacy, backed transgender rights, and urged tolerance toward Muslims. Often with a side of humor. 

Pastor Adam started posting photos of the church sign on Instagram and Facebook weekly, and the internet went wild. These posts have been shared widely – and gratefully – by many who had given up on Christianity because, as Upworthy suggests," each one is a snapshot of the church’s deep-rooted theology: love above all.” 

During the current Trump presidency, that Clackamus UCC sign hasn’t been taken down or toned down. If anything, the messages have gotten more pointed. Like: “Cutting Medicaid and giving tax breaks to the wealthy is sinful.” The haters have gotten louder and more insistent in the comments, but so have the supporters. And a little church no one had ever heard of is now one that is being noticed. 

This is not the time to whisper.

There’s a temptation, we know, to go quiet. To scrub your website of anything that could raise an eyebrow. To play it safe so you can protect your funding, your people, your future.

Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

But the truth is, people appreciate organizations and companies that aren’t silent on things that really matter.

A 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer report found that 63% of global consumers want companies to take a stand on social issues, even when controversial.

And 69% of employees say they won’t work for a company that stays silent on important issues.

(Source: Edelman, 2024 Trust Barometer Special Report: Business and Racial Justice.)

Silence is not a strategy. It’s a slow erosion of everything you set out to do.

The Risk is Real. So is the Reward.

One of the things we advise our clients to do when we’re working with them on their branding, messaging, and marketing is to take seriously this famous quote from Oscar Wilde: "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." And then we add, “And have the courage to be "sticky-outy.”

“Sticky-outy” is a phrase a Creative Director that Mylene worked with at Ogilvy NY used to say. And we gotta admit… It stuck with us. Of course, it sounds a little funny and childish and not very “corporate.” (It even makes some of us think of people with outy vs. inny bellybuttons…a visual that doesn’t leave your head quickly…)

So, the phrase “sticky-outy” is, in and of itself, “sticky-outy.”

We tell clients, “You want to be sticky-outy because the alternative is invisibility. And, by the way, being truly yourself often makes you sticky-outy.”

We are not going to pretend that being true to who you are and being sticky-outy in this time, in this environment, is easy. We aren’t going to say this is without risk. In fact, we’ve got to be honest. We debated about whether to call out “Trump’s America” so blatantly in the title of this blog and even about writing this blog in the first place. We had to wonder, would we lose clients if we were so obvious in our position?  

But what if the risk of hiding is greater than the risk of being true to yourself?

What if this moment—yes, this hard, terrifying, uncertain moment—is actually your organization’s invitation to deepen, not dilute, your mission and messaging?

To be clearer, not quieter.

To be bolder, not more bland.

To say: “This is who we are. This is what we do. And we’re not going anywhere.”

Most everything that you want is just outside your comfort zone.

That’s something author Jack Canfield once said, and we’ve been sitting with that quote around here in the SmallGood (virtual) offices recently. It reminds us it’s okay to be uncomfortable and afraid. And fear doesn't mean we’re doing it wrong. Fear often means we’re right on time.

And one of the things that helps us with the fear is that  on a daily basis, we’re inspired by so many of you:

The nonprofit that hasn’t scrubbed the word “justice” from your homepage. 

The small local company that kept your Pride flags up even when others took theirs down. 

The start-up that just added “racial equity” to your strategic plan instead of avoiding it.

The board of directors deciding, “No—we’re not going to dilute who we are.”

Keep Going. We’re With You.

One of the most powerful results of the “No Kings Day” protests across the country was the reminder that we are not alone. 

No Kings Day Rally 2025, Chicago

Whether you were out there on the street with a sign in hand or watching on social media, this is one of the messages that came through most powerfully:

There are so many folks whose hearts are breaking in all the same places. So many folks who aren’t willing to remain silent. And so many folks who aren’t backing down or backing away from justice, compassion, or the principles of democracy. 

That’s true of companies and nonprofits as well. There are so many who aren’t lying low, trying to keep their heads down to survive. 

You are not alone.

And it might not always feel like it, but you are making a difference. You are part of a larger story. A longer arc. 

Even when you’re tired, and anxious, and uncertain, but showing up and being sticky-outy anyway. 

Especially then.

And we are with you. 

Keep going. 

By the way, if you need reminding (and who doesn’t need reminding these days?), we made a tee-shirt. Proceeds support The Trevor Foundation. You can get your own here.