Nonprofits are bracing for funding impacts, and many have already had to adjust to the new landscape of federal cuts.
A new University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization report identified $126 million in federal funding for Hawaiʻi nonprofits as politically vulnerable. The 74 grants in jeopardy account for over 50 nonprofits.
Many local nonprofits already had funding rescinded, like Women in Need, which helps women facing homelessness and domestic violence. The organization’s federal funding to house domestic abuse survivors and their families was cut.
“What we did is we opened up a house for women, children, and their pets, and it's very successful. It was run perfectly. They felt very at home. They felt very loved. They had all the services, wraparound services they needed, and that was what we got cut federally, completely gone,” said Women in Need founder Mary Scott-Lau.
“We had to rehouse them. We found homes for five of them. Two of them we couldn't find a home for. They went back, which is very sad. It's really a crisis right now for domestic violence.”
As a result of the cuts, Women in Need has also had to lay off half of its employees.
Aloha United Way CEO Michelle Bartel explained that many nonprofit organizations are hesitant to talk publicly about their lost funding.
“They're very concerned about retaliation. They're concerned about looking vulnerable and weak to other potential funders, and they're very protective of the populations that they are serving, so they really have gone into retrenchment mode. They are not sitting idly by,” she said.
“Our nonprofit leaders are very resourceful, very innovative. They're all scrambling to do what they can to ensure that they can continue providing the services, but this is where we all have to come in and help.”
In response to the cuts, the state Legislature set aside $50 million to disperse to nonprofits. It’s not yet clear when that will be distributed, but Rep. Jenna Takenouchi and Rep. Daniel Holt were appointed from the House as part of the four-person selection committee.
The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation has also reactivated its Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund to get money to nonprofits that have been impacted by the cuts. Some of the foundation’s funds went to UHERO to support its report.
The foundation’s CEO, Terry George, explained that the tipping point for nonprofits began in the spring, and has been exacerbated by the HR-1 megabill passed by Congress in the summer.
“ We needed clear data at the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation to know how we ought to respond so we could understand strategically which services and communities face the greatest risk so we can target support effectively,” he said. “The initial findings were just so alarming enough that we've already reactivated the Hawaiʻi Resilience Fund, which we had activated during COVID.”
HCF wants to grow the fund to $1.8 million by the end of the month to continue to give grants to organizations in need.
