Nonprofits in Kentucky are keeping a close watch on changes in Washington D.C. Federal cuts and contract cancellations could result in millions of dollars lost and thousands of people who work for nonprofits in the Commonwealth losing their jobs.
Danielle Clore is the CEO of the Kentucky Nonprofit Network. This group helps strengthen the nonprofit sector and advocates for nonprofit organizations.
She said it is extremely difficult to tell where these organizations stand when it comes to federal funding.
“Frankly, what we're hearing from some folks is one day they're getting a message saying “we're not continuing the grant,” three days later, “we are,” a week later, “we're not.” It is a roller coaster that I cannot accurately describe.”
She said federal cuts and contract cancellations put these groups in tough situations.
“They're hearing from different federal agencies, “Well, we're not going to get you the contract, but we want you to go ahead and provide services while we work on it.” Many organizations are simply saying “No, they can't do that.” They cannot operate without a contract because then they aren't sure if they can pay people.”
Clore said recent data shows that Kentucky nonprofits received nearly 1,400 direct federal grants and contracts totaling $834 million between 2023 and 2024.
This does not include additional federal funding distributed through state and local government partnerships for programs like affordable housing and early childhood education.
She said Kentucky has nearly 163,000 nonprofit employee jobs that are potentially at risk because of federal funding uncertainty. These jobs allow hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians to work because of the support they receive from charitable nonprofits.
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