“In light of President Trump’s disturbing actions and words, we have deep, ongoing concerns over Mr. Ross’s failure to renounce his support for the President,” the letter read.

Letter from World Resources Institute employees

Each year, WRI grants a Ross Prize for Cities to a business, nonprofit or local government that has brought “transformative change” to a “city’s economic vitality, resilience, environmental sustainability or quality of life.”

“While we understand the importance of funding to WRI’s fiscal health, we believe that key steps still need to be taken given Mr. Ross’s sizable contribution to WRI’s budget and his ongoing prominent association with the organization, ​which exposes WRI to significant and potentially lasting reputational harm,” staff wrote in the letter.

The nonprofit, whose most recent tax filings show revenue topping $140 million in 2018, recently accepted “a substantial contribution from Mr. Ross without adequately addressing the concerns that a significant number of staff expressed last year and without consulting staff in any meaningful way about the implications of this decision for our collective work,” the letter read.

“We are extremely disappointed that Mr. Ross has failed to meet with a representative group of staff from across the organization, despite explicit indications from senior management that such a meeting would take place,” the letter said.