All aboard the worry train.
The longest U.S. government shutdown in history has the already overburdened nonprofit world on alert. The National Council of Nonprofits joined the National Governors Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in condemning politics as usual when it sent a letter to President Trump and members of Congress, calling the shutdown “a tragic failure of leadership” with “very real and lasting consequences.”
Tim Delaney, president of the charity advocate, said in an interview that the shutdown is “an unnatural disaster.”
But there isn’t time to dwell. People in need are looking to community-based organizations for assistance, ranging from basic nutrition to help with their taxes. And some of those funds are drying up as a result of the shutdown.
Sabeen Perwaiz Syed, executive director of the Florida Nonprofit Alliance, said a major source of funding for domestic-violence shelters are in jeopardy because they come from grants received through the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Crime Act, both administered by the Department of Justice. Syed said eight groups in the state are in talks to reduce staff within the next three weeks because of a funding lapse.
Jessica Castello, assistant director of the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County in South Bend, Ind., told the Chronicle that about 40 percent of its operating budget comes from the Department of Justice because the group is a grantee of the Office on Violence Against Women.
Similarly, Beth Goodrich, executive director of the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said 32 shelters serve the state’s 75 counties. All of them are still operating, but that might not be the case in a month.
“When no one is present at DOJ to process reimbursement requests, state administrators cannot draw down those funds and they cannot reimburse local programs,” she said in an email. “For some programs, it simply eliminates a position or two in the agency, for others it makes up a majority of their total funding.”
She added: “The longer the shutdown continues, the scarier this becomes not only for the agencies but for victims themselves. They begin to question, How long will I have a place to live? Some people who have left abusive partners may feel they have limited choices on where to turn if the program that is assisting them now has to close.”
Steve Taylor, senior vice president for public policy at United Way Worldwide, said he expects increased pressures on local organizations, especially ones that are helping federal workers and contractors who may not have ever needed goods or services from a nonprofit previously.
“It’s easy to forget that federal employees are located all across the country. There are national parks and TSA agents everywhere so the services they need are in those local communities,” he said. In some cases, federal workers and contractors could be shifting from being donors and volunteers to clients in need.
At the New York Common Pantry, which distributed more than 6 million meals last year, a handful of former volunteers came in to get bags with emergency food and other supplies, said Neill Bogan, senior director of development and communications. Some flashed their federal identification cards as proof of why they were there.
“I’ve heard of at least three cases of people being uneasy or upset about the process of needing to present themselves at a food pantry, which for many people is not something they expect or hope to have to do in their lifetimes,” he said, noting that for those with a lower income it’s not exactly a proud moment, either.
SNAP, Housing, and Taxes
The fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, may be among the top worries for many advocates of the poor. For now, the benefits continue to flow, but the shutdown could interrupt SNAP assistance if it drags on much longer.
“We regard the SNAP benefits as fundamental to do what we do, so much so that we think helping people get their SNAP benefits is almost as important to us as distributing food.”
In fact, the first thing the staff asks people coming through the door is, “Are you eligible for SNAP benefits?”
Bogan said his organization is preparing for its 11th annual fundraising event, the “Fill the Bag Benefit” in March.
The shutdown has also created financial concerns for individuals getting ready to file taxes. While the Trump administration has promised that the Internal Revenue Service will do what is necessary to send refund checks, Taylor is skeptical, partly because there may be a learning curve with the new tax code.
“There are a lot of people that file their tax returns as soon as they possibly can, knowing that they are going to get the earned-income tax credit, and they have that money earmarked for important expenses,” Taylor said. “That’s a $60 billion a year program.”
Also, some local organizations receive grants through the IRS to help low-income people prepare their taxes.
Another safety net to watch will be housing assistance. Syed said the Department of Housing and Urban Development has informed landlords and local groups that support the elderly and others that its ability to continue payments depends on how much budget authority the agency has, raising the potential that housing assistance could run out.
Nonprofits Do Their Best
Meanwhile, volunteers are scrambling to keep the nation’s national parks from being misused and vandalized. To that end, the National Park Foundation established a Parks Restoration Fund, modeled after its Disaster Relief Fund, to help repair parks like the Grand Canyon Yellowstone, and Yosemite.
But there is a catch. Even with a total of $400,000 pledged from REI, an outdoor gear and clothing company, and others, the money cannot be accessed until the parks reopen.
“There’s a growing sense of urgency. People love their parks. There’s an emotional, almost spiritual relationship with these places. They develop a love for them and just want to make sure they’re OK,” said Will Shafroth, president of the foundation. Rangers don’t want to push away volunteers, he said, “but the Park Service needs to be there to oversee the work and make sure things are safe.”
Meanwhile, at the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., executive director Lara Litchfield-Kimber led efforts to provide a retreat for federal workers and government contractors and their families.
Litchfield-Kimber was hoping the first planned event would be its last. But this week, it announced another and left the door open for more.
