Executive Orders Update: Uncertain Future for Nonprofits
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Federal funding for nonprofits is in flux.
A recent White House memo led to a freeze on funding, only for a federal judge to put it on hold. Meanwhile, key public health datasets disappeared, with some now being reinstated.
What does this mean for nonprofits relying on federal support?
In this episode, we break down the latest legal battles, agency shifts, and what nonprofits can do to stay ahead.
Skip Ahead:
(01:15) The funding freeze—where things stand now
(02:13) The datasets that were removed (and partially restored)
(03:21) What these changes mean for federal grants and contracts
(05:10) How nonprofits can advocate and prepare for more uncertainty
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Drew Reynolds: [00:00:00] Over the past month, a wave of executive orders from the White House has reshaped the nonprofit and social sector. Particularly those working in education, healthcare, social services, and an international aid. These policy shifts have introduced a great deal of uncertainty for organizations that rely on federal funding.
Drew Reynolds: Two weeks ago, we shared a summary of the biggest executive orders impacting the nonprofit sector. Today, we're providing important updates that will help you stay informed and hopefully prepare for the things ahead. Now, before we begin a few things first, be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast.
Check us out on our YouTube channel as well. We have a great channel check it out at common, good data podcast, and also visit our webpage at commongooddata.com/podcasts. And just know too, that as I go through what I'm sharing today, that I'm sharing what I've heard in research, but I want to be clear that I cannot provide legal or financial advice here.
And so you may wish to seek additional counsel to address your own organization's need. [00:01:00] Let's dive into the latest legal challenges to executive orders and where we are currently right now. So since our last episode, several of the executive orders that I mentioned have been challenged in court. And while there are some temporary pauses have been granted on some different items, the future certainly remains a bit uncertain.
So what we know so far is that the federal funding freeze that initially came out with the white house's OMB memo that led to that across the board, federal funding freeze has been paused and that pause has continued from a federal judge. The broader debate over federal funding is by no means over.
There have been a number of challenges in court related to some of the executive orders, including ones on DEI, research funding, and others. So what we know is that some of that funding has been restored I think around indirect costs and NIH funding for those of you who do academic and research work but at least temporarily have been while it gets further examined and makes its way through courts.
But there will continue to be challenges that come up on these topics. And so right now, the most challenging thing for nonprofits [00:02:00] is the uncertainty as we don't know the outcomes of these challenges and the legal landscape continues to shift as these things work their way through. So that's been a real challenge.
I think for nonprofits is to figure out how to respond given that shifting landscape. In addition there was the federal data sources, right? So a little over two weeks ago, federal agencies in response to one of the executive orders started scraping websites and data sets on related to different topics like gender, equity, diversity, bias, et cetera.
Basically not all agencies necessarily responded in the same way, but in general, the approach was to remove data and websites that were associated with terms that were related to these executive orders. This led to, for example, the CDC removing the data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
It led to a lot of data and information being removed, at least temporarily, including information that was effectively collateral damage that might not have been related to those issues at all. And there are concerns certainly in the research community around impacts on free speech and knowledge and sharing and research and these data that are so important for public health.
We do know that [00:03:00] one organization, Doctors for America, has filed a lawsuit challenging The removal of key health data and federal websites arguing that it's so important to have access to that data to be able to for healthcare to be able to provide their services and to do their jobs. That's where that piece stands.
Some of that information is starting to come back online though it may be redacted or have different parts of data removed. So taking a step back from all of that right now, what are the broader trends that we're seeing? First, what we're seeing is that we should anticipate in the nonprofit sector, a reduction in federal dollars.
So regardless of the executive orders and courts, we should anticipate that federal contracts and grants are likely to decrease in size. So even no matter what happens with the executive orders. There are going to be decisions further on along the line, including around the budget that are likely going to see a reduction in grants and federal contracts and grants.
It's also possible that they might change in formats and how their approach, certainly what their focus areas and priorities are may change and how they're put together may [00:04:00] change depending on what those priorities are. So we should anticipate that would be something that the nonprofit sector will experience moving forward or at least should be prepared for should it come.
Then there are also decisions being made now and in the midterm about how these are going to be implemented. So agencies are continuing to work out how they're going to interpret these executive orders and then carry them out in practice at the agency level. So non profits should continue to be in communication with agencies and seek agency guidance on these issues. And it's also important for them to stay in communication for you all to stay in communication with project officers. So if you have a federal grant, be in touch with your project officer.
They might not be able to or they might have some restrictions on how they can communicate with you in the near term, but it's just important to stay in communication. And to be on top of it in addition, there's going to be a budget spending bill coming from Congress in March, which will give some clue as to how Congress is going to be approaching the spending environments.
Some proposals, I believe, have already been put forth on both sides of the House [00:05:00] and Senate. So we'll see where those ultimately come out. So paying attention to those will be important too, because it'll give you a clue as to what areas of funding may change, may, may as a result of the current.
In terms of what you can do, what are some action items that you can take on as a nonprofit or some advocacy opportunities? First and foremost, the most important thing to do is to continue to tell your nonprofit story. So if you've been affected directly by some of the changes in funding or some of these executive orders, it's important to share that information with the people you serve.
Share it with the public about how it's impacting you. What would a loss of funds do to the programs and services that you offer? There are also organizations like the National Council of Nonprofits who are collecting. Collecting and gathering stories so that the whole sector can communicate and in broad ways about the impact of these actions on the ability of the sector to execute and work on its mission.
In addition, it's important to also contact your member of congress. So nonprofits they do have to remain nonpartisan and can't endorse candidates and should [00:06:00] avoid criticizing characteristics of individuals or engage in any kind of partisan behavior. But you can speak to issues that on specific bills and acts of legislation that affect your work.
And it's important for nonprofits to take that. Important stance. And so you can reach out to your member of Congress and talk about, your concerns about a particular funding area or change in legislation and how that might impact your ability to provide services to their constituents.
I've also heard that when calling a congressperson, you can speak to the policy wing side of things, which is people who receive information about what people are looking for on voting and whatnot, but there's also a constituent services side of many congressperson's offices.
And so when you go to the constituent services side you're looking to solve a very specific problem for a constituent now, back in my nonprofit days when I was a program director, I used to call constituent services offices to help children who need to get surgeries in the United States, to help them figure out how to go through the visa process, to be able to come and receive that surgery, and so I've [00:07:00] had those communications before it's a lot of people can be really great and really helpful on the constituent services side.
And you may find that it might even be a person that's not necessarily Somebody who you thought would have been supportive of your work, but actually it can be very helpful. So I do recommend going through a constituent services side of the office of your particular elected official. And when you call always be, it's important to be specific about the particular area of funding that you have and ask for an update or information just to gather more information to help inform you about what to anticipate.
With that particular piece of funding and then to share exactly how you're using that to, to serve their constituents. Also, it could be helpful to on the data side of things, if there are particular sources of data that you no longer have access to, to also communicate that to your elected official or congressperson.
So lastly, And there's also this question, what should we be doing? How should we be changing? Should we not be changing what we're doing based on any of these executive orders? And first off, it's important to seek legal counsel and guidance on this. So I highly recommend that you do that if you have [00:08:00] concerns about how you should approach that.
I do know that also that there have been folks in this sector who have talked about the potential danger of preemptively making changes that were not covered under the action or the executive order that could compromise your mission. So I think it's important to keep in mind that's also a potential.
Thing to be thinking about when you ultimately go forward and make decisions on how you're going to continue to advance and work on your mission. So in conclusion, it's going to be a difficult and uncertain time for the sector. I would say that now is certainly the time to lean in, stay engaged, stay on top of what's happening in the sector.
And of course, support those around you continue to tell your story. Always so important to do that in nonprofits, but even more so now. And share your impact so that the public and elected officials know how important nonprofit work can be in helping their fellow citizens, their constituents and their communities continue to thrive.
So I hope this is helpful and look forward to sharing more great information on this, but also other topics for sure in the future on this podcast. So thanks so much for listening.
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