(This column originally appeared in the Inquirer)
Many small nonprofit organizations in the Philadelphia region have traditionally received federal funding to help their operations, and they’ve been bracing for the worst this year.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump’s Administration and his Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE — says it has cut government spending by $190 billion, with as much as 30% being attributed to contract, grant, and lease cancellations.
So how are local organizations navigating in these uncertain times?
Food4Philly, a student-run food distribution service in Hunting Park that counts more than 150 members nationwide, has only been indirectly affected at this point, adviser Milan Varma said.
The cuts are beginning to show in the “constantly dwindling amounts of food that food pantries received through the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program,” Varma said. And in the greater Hunting Park community, tree-planting and climate resilience projects lost $500,000 of federal support through DOGE cuts, Varma noted.
Amid the “overall uncertainty” surrounding the permanence of some of these cuts and the impact to national supply chains, Varma said, his organization is taking action.
“We have been exploring further ways to receive and donate food, such as going straight to wholesalers and diversifying our streams of food (such as partnering with more businesses, chains, etc.) beyond our current donation partners who are mostly nonprofits,” he said. “Our team and volunteers love the work we engage in, and it is our hope that the current political climate of the U.S. does not drastically change that.”
Sue Daugherty, the chief executive officer at MANNA, which provides medically tailored meals and nutrition education to people with serious illnesses, said her organization has not yet been significantly affected but is expecting big changes.
“The federal funding we receive is about $4.2 million, which represents 40% of our annual operating budget,” she said. “Although there is not, at this moment, an immediate threat to our operations, proposed federal spending cuts could impact these programs, which would affect our ability to nourish our neighbors with serious illnesses.”
Daugherty said many of her organization’s clients receive MANNA meals through their Medicaid managed care contracts. MANNA also provide funding for clinics and housing assistance. She worries that reduced government funding would “directly affect” the number of clients they are able to serve. The organization is continuing to advocate at both state and federal levels and increasing their outreach to private funders and healthcare partners to make up potential shortfalls.
“We are continuing to focus on building relationships, growing partnerships, and identifying new philanthropic opportunities to strengthen this area of support for our work,” she said. “Our priority is — and always will be — to make sure our clients receive the nourishment they need to heal, no matter what’s happening in Washington.”
Philadelphia’s Clean Air Council, an environmental health advocacy organization, already saw one of its grants fully canceled, according to Eve Miari, director of programs. Two other significant grants from the Environmental Protection Agency are “struggling to move forward” due to “holdups and setbacks related to DOGE,” Miari said.
Over the past few months the organization has been busy documenting their difficulties and filing appeals, all activities that take away from their environmental work.
“Our Delaware City Refinery air monitoring grant was canceled because it fell into an ‘Environmental Justice’ category,” Miari said. “Our other federal grants are also uncertain at this time. This leads to many internal meetings, hiring delays, and other repercussions.”
TJ Edmund, a volunteer and board member at From We Can’t To We Can, says his Vineland, N.J., organization has been “absolutely” impacted by DOGE. They are stepping up weekly fundraising events and outreach to corporate sponsors and individual fundraisers.
“For the past seven years, we’ve worked to empower children with disabilities and their families through inclusive events, resource sharing, and community support,” he said. “But with federal budget cutbacks, it’s become much harder to maintain and expand that mission. When funding is scaled back, access to resources and visibility for disability communities are often the first to go.”
At Inperium, a Reading-based networking and resource-sharing organization for businesses and nonprofits, leadership expects to be negatively impacted by federal budget cuts. The organization has been focused on cutting administrative and other overhead costs while simultaneously reaching out to community benefactors to “weather the impending storm,” senior vice president Jay Deppeler said.
Deppeler said Inperium is also working to educate others on the potential impacts of the budget cuts on their community.
“Many of our programs are funded, in part or whole, by Medicaid dollars or through federal grants,” he said. “Our affiliates administer behavioral health programs for children, adults, and families along with programs to address housing insecurity, substance use disorder (SUD), and programs to support individuals with ID/A in the community.”
And, Deppeler added, “As those dollars shrink, we do not expect the state to increase their contribution to help stabilize service provision.”
