PRESS RELEASE: Maryland Nonprofits Urges Federal Government to Lift the Pause on Grants

“Our member organizations serve as vital lifelines in their communities, and this funding freeze could force many to scale back services or close their doors entirely. When a domestic violence shelter has to turn away survivors, or a suicide hotline has to put people on hold or reduce its hours, these aren’t just budget items on a spreadsheet – these are real people whose lives are at risk. We urge the federal government to lift the pause and to fully understand the essential services our communities depend on.”

Kate Farinholt, Executive Director, NAMI Maryland:
“NAMI Maryland is monitoring this situation closely on behalf of Maryland individuals and families who rely on federally funded services to access mental healthcare, community supports, housing, and other necessities. Many Marylanders with mental health conditions are able to survive and even live in recovery, in part because of federally funded programs.”

Jean Henningsen, Chief Communications Officer, TurnAround, Inc.:
“This pause will deeply impact TurnAround’s ability to serve those fleeing intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking, including children in our dedicated home for children who have been trafficked. Timely access to the funds we are contractually owed for the services we are providing every day is essential to meeting the safety and basic human needs of people in crisis, including emergency shelter, transportation, and food.”

Karen Herren, Executive Director of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, and Leader of the Maryland Violence Prevention Coalition:
“This is a devastating attack on our nation’s social safety net at its most basic level. The dollars at stake fund critical services—from law enforcement and childcare to community violence intervention, victim services, and countless other programs that support families and strengthen communities. Stripping these resources undermines efforts to lift up people and build better and safer futures. This ‘burn it to the ground’ approach is not just an attack on these essential programs—it’s an attack on the American people, serving only to consolidate power at the top while leaving families and communities to struggle and die.”

Danista Hunte, President and CEO, Maryland Philanthropy Network:
“Maryland Philanthropy Network as a statewide organization of philanthropic entities, we are concerned about the recent freeze of grant funds and the devasting impact that might have on the nonprofit sector including disproportionately affecting vulnerable neighborhoods while rolling back the progress we have made in supporting historically marginalized and disinvested communities. Not all nonprofits have endowments for reserves. Smaller and mid-size nonprofits are not in the same position as larger national nonprofit entities. As an organization committed to the health, sustainability, and equitable distribution of resources for nonprofits, MPN and its members are committed to engaging in conversations to identify a path forward. Although philanthropy cannot replace federal dollars, we do have latitude to give differently, to give more, to be innovative and to stand in solidarity with nonprofits while bringing forth solutions and leveraging our voices as a demonstration of our collective power.”

Celeste Iroha, CEO and Founder, President, Enough of Gun Violence:
“As a survivor of gun violence who founded an organization working to help combat the Public Health Epidemic of Gun Violence, this pause is detrimental to the work we do in our communities as they are impacted by Gun Violence on a daily basis. Our impact on our communities help create positive change on working to end Gun Violence in our country as a whole and this grant pause does not benefit anyone at all, except the rich and wealthy.   As a healthcare professional that has helped to treat communities with gunshot wounds, this pause does not make anything easier.”

Lisae C Jordan, Executive Director and Counsel, Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault:
“Rape crisis centers across Maryland are concerned that the pause in federal grant disbursements will lead staff to leave their jobs out of fear they won’t be paid, make vendors reluctant to work with programs, and lead to fewer services for survivors of sexual assault.”

Grace A. Morris, MPA, Executive Director, Heritage Housing Partners Corp:
“If this EO impacts HUD contracts for housing, hundreds of seniors and persons with disabilities may end up on the street.  The HUD contacts fund 70 percent of our operating costs at each property so our nonprofit organization that has existed since 1967, would go out of business costing people their jobs including staff and contractors. These cuts could put over 50 chronically homeless people at risk for losing their housing thus putting them back on to the streets.”

Jennifer Pollitt Hill, Executive Director, Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence:
“The recent executive order presents both a short- and long-term problem for the 24 domestic violence service providers (DVSPs) in Maryland.  The short-term problem is the potential of not making payroll during the time that federal grant funds are frozen.  The long-term problem is that should, after evaluation, it be determined that funds establish by law such as VOCA and VAWA will not be continued, the vast majority of DVSPs will be irrevocably impacted and will face closure.  That means that victims of crime will not receive emergency shelter, legal representation in protective order hearings, counseling services or any other advocacy service.  These programs rely on federal funding for 75% to 95% of their funding.”

Molly Sherman, Executive Director, Carroll Technology and Innovation Council:
“As an organization committed to advancing digital equity and fostering digital citizenship, we deliver digital skills training and support businesses with talent recruitment, training, and technology integration. Our work uplifts underutilized talent and prepares them for impactful jobs in industries experiencing labor shortages and expecting massive opportunity for artificial intelligence. The recent Executive Order pausing federal grant programs jeopardizes programs like ours working to working build a resilient and competitive economy.”

Denise Woods, Founding Director, Food Justice DMV:
“Already escalating food insecurity will now skyrocket and impacted communities already living on the edge of survival will face a new normal of not being able to feed their children. This is inhumane and immoral. It should not ever be a privilege to eat but a human right!”