Delaware nonprofits detail impact federal funding freeze would mean to providing services

The impacts of the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze on Delaware nonprofits and recipients of their services, if allowed to happen, became a little clearer in a survey released by the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement.

Results from the survey released on Thursday found there would be reductions in vital services for things such as health, housing, food and education. One center said more than 2,000 older adults who rely on food through a Nutrition Services program would no longer receive those meals.

“This entire situation is unprecedented,” Sheila Bravo, the alliance’s president and CEO, told Delaware Online/The News Journal. “This is the first time there ever has been a threat to this degree of federal funding being cut or eliminated altogether for nonprofits.”

Last month, Trump signed an order freezing federal grants to states and cities. Trump’s order was stopped on Jan. 31 when a federal judge in Rhode Island agreed with a coalition of state attorneys general – including Delaware’s – who had filed a lawsuit asking U.S. District Judge John McConnell to pause the freezing of the funds.

More: Confusion abounds in Delaware after Trump administration rescinds memo on federal grants pause

The coalition returned to McConnell earlier this month, saying Trump’s administration was not complying with his court order to unfreeze federal funds needed for critical programs and services.

By withholding the nearly $3 trillion that had already been approved by Congress, the coalition said many states could face cash shortfalls, making it difficult to administer basic programs such as funding for health care and food for children.

More: Delaware AG, others file motion to enforce court order to unfreeze federal funding

‘They are worried’

The Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement’s survey appears to be the first attempt to this extent to quantify and share how a funding freeze would impact Delaware nonprofits broadly.

The survey found that Delaware nonprofits, which serve more than 500,000 people, could face immediate and significant consequences should attempts to freeze, reduce or eliminate federal funding. Nearly 90% of respondents told the alliance that any halting on grants and loans “is extremely concerning to their operations.”

“Several executive orders directly impact the work of nonprofits, and (the alliance) has been inundated with questions and concerns from nonprofits across the state,” Bravo said. “To put it bluntly, they are worried.”

“(The alliance) wanted to attempt to quantify the very real risk that these federal actions could have on Delaware organizations,” she said. “Federal funding is essential for them to continue offering services to residents. We are sharing the information, along with the examples of services some nonprofits would be forced to discontinue, to help the public more fully understand the impact these federal actions can have on services they rely on.”

The survey, consisting of more than 300 completed responses, found that more than 80% said freezing federal funding would have a notable fiscal impact, with 62% saying the effects would be immediate.

Of the organizations that said they would take a fiscal hit if the federal funds were halted, the Delaware alliance said 44% provided dollar amounts totaling $229 million in direct federal funding and federal pass-through funds from the state, county or a municipality that would be frozen. Most of these funds, $211 million, would be lost this budget year.

Respondents also shared examples of the impact that the funding issues could have on the residents they serve, including:

• Reduced access to vital services for health, housing, food, security, education and arts and culture
• Mental health and trauma experienced by those who are losing access to services
• Fear and harassment of immigrants, whether documented or undocumented
• Loss of housing and learning
• Inability to get a job

At least two organizations named in the alliance’s release provided specific examples of how their operations would be impacted.

The Modern Maturity Center, a Dover center that serves seniors in Kent County, said they would not be able to provide adult day care services, caregiver resource services or senior employment opportunities; the administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would have to be discontinued; and more than 2,000 seniors who rely on food through the Nutrition Services program would no longer receive those meals.

Prevent Child Abuse Delaware, which for more than 45 years has provided resources to help prevent child abuse and neglect, said they would likely lay off workers, scrap a possible partnership with state agencies on infant early childhood mental health consultations and cease community programs building protective factors for at-risk families.

The alliance said it has partnered with Delaware Community Foundation, United Way of Delaware and Philanthropy Delaware to provide resources to nonprofits and residents impacted by this federal action and other executive orders.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.