Since Trump Took Office Nonprofits Are Under Attack — It’s Time to Rethink Sustainability
Since Donald Trump took office, I have received multiple emails from different partners expressing their inability to move forward with partnerships or release funds that were already granted. These messages come with familiar language: projects on pause, grants frozen, and partnerships dissolved — all due to the uncertainty and direct impact of federal funding cuts targeting grassroots organizations. One recent message I received reads, “There is no guarantee that federal funding will be made available to our organization in the coming months.” That message, like many others, reflects a nonprofit sector scrambling to stay afloat.
We need to talk about this honestly. What we are witnessing is not just a momentary funding hiccup — it’s a systemic weakness that’s being exposed. For decades, nonprofits have been a lifeline in our communities, stepping in to provide services where government systems have failed or refused. Yet, these same nonprofits are often entirely dependent on the very governmental systems that are now undermining their ability to operate.
We cannot ignore the reality: when funding is weaponized by politics, our work and the communities we serve become collateral damage. Even worse, we will soon see many organizations, out of sheer survival, begin to betray the essence of their mission just to secure the next check. When the pressure is high, mission drift becomes real.
The Trap of Dependency
Let’s be clear: this is a wake-up call. Too many organizations — especially those rooted in justice work — have been built around the assumption that large grants, government contracts, and institutional funding will sustain their missions indefinitely. But what happens when that faucet runs dry? What happens when the political climate shifts and the programs you built your community’s hopes around can no longer be funded?
This isn't just theoretical. We are living it right now. And while these cuts hit everyone, they are particularly dangerous for people returning home from incarceration who are often drawn into nonprofit work with hopes of meaningful employment and leadership development. The harsh truth is that when an organization cannot sustain itself, it also cannot sustain you. Justice-impacted individuals should think critically about how much they invest in these organizations for long-term stability, because these same nonprofits often struggle to secure their own futures.
We Need a New Model: Entrepreneurship and Innovation
So, what’s the alternative? We need to radically rethink sustainability in the nonprofit world. Nonprofits must start moving toward models of self-sufficiency that don’t rely solely on federal funding. This means adopting entrepreneurial mindsets and building business models within their organizations.
Here are just a few ways nonprofits can begin to shift:
Monetize Services: Many nonprofits already offer incredible training, workshops, or consulting. These can be packaged and sold to other organizations, schools, or businesses.
Grassroots Fundraising: Community-based fundraising is powerful. It not only diversifies your income stream but also strengthens community ownership over the work.
Collaborative Fundraising: Organizations can work together to raise funds around a shared cause or campaign, pooling their networks and resources to amplify their reach.
Collaborative Service Exchanges: Build networks where services and resources are exchanged between organizations, reducing dependence on cash transactions.
Membership Models: Create subscription or membership services that provide value to stakeholders while generating recurring revenue.
Hybrid Structures: Consider launching mission-aligned social enterprises that can fund the nonprofit’s core work.
It’s important to acknowledge that making this shift is not easy. It requires a total mindset change, capacity building, and often new skills that many organizations have not yet developed. But this work is urgent. If we don’t start building these systems now, in another five to ten years, we’ll be facing the same crises — or worse. Imagine a future where the majority of today’s grassroots organizations have dissolved, leaving critical gaps in services, lost trust in communities, and a generation of young leaders disillusioned by broken promises. That’s the road we’re on if we don't pivot now.
A Word to Justice-Impacted People
I especially want to speak directly to my justice-impacted people: it’s natural to be drawn to nonprofit work because it often feels like a space that values your experience. But don’t let that blind you to the instability that many of these organizations face. Too often, I see returning citizens invest years of their lives in nonprofits, only to find that when funding dries up, their growth and leadership trajectories are cut short. Worse yet, many of these organizations — under political pressure — begin to water down their advocacy or shift away from their original mission altogether.
We deserve more. And we have the power to build more.
The Path Forward
The days of operating solely within a charity-based model are over. If we want to see long-term change and security for our communities, we need to blend social impact with economic power. This isn’t about abandoning nonprofit values — it’s about strengthening them with innovation, ownership, and resilience.
Our liberation can’t wait for the next budget cycle. It’s time to build models that are independent, flexible, and ready to stand firm no matter which way the political winds blow.
— Isaac I. Scott
Refernce:
The Guardian. (2025, May 4). Arts agency terminates dozens of grants after Trump proposes eliminating NEA. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/nea-terminates-grants-trump-proposes-eliminating-agency
CT Insider. (2025, May 4). Trump plan to end Head Start would affect thousands of CT children. Retrieved from https://www.ctinsider.com/politics/article/trump-head-start-child-care-connecticut-20300055.php
New York Post. (2025, May 4). Schumer, Gillibrand slam Trump and RFK Jr. over cut 9/11 program: 'Political chaos is jeopardizing healthcare of heroes'. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2025/05/04/us-news/schumer-gillibrand-slam-trump-and-rfk-jr-over-cut-9-11-program-political-chaos-is-jeopardizing-healthcare-of-heroes/
Times Union. (2025, May 4). Local cultural organizations brace for uncertainty amid federal grant cuts. Retrieved from https://www.timesunion.com/preview/article/local-cultural-organizations-brace-uncertainty-20307185.php
The Guardian. (2025, May 4). NPR and PBS push back against Trump's order to cut funding: 'This could be devastating'. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/npr-pbs-funding-trump-order
AP News. (2025, May 4). AmeriCorps cuts leave people who serve and community organizations scrambling for alternatives. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/f9f15b48cd67d0ca5dc7b18643f0ca4a
Axios. (2025, April 30). Iowa nonprofits reeling from federal AmeriCorps cuts. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2025/04/30/iowa-nonprofit-crisis-americorps-funding-cuts
San Francisco Chronicle. (2025, May 4). Trump's cuts halt UCSF study that gave Black young adults guaranteed income. Retrieved from https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/trump-nih-cuts-ucsf-study-20301382.php
Washington Post. (2025, May 1). After 100 days, the toll of Trump's foreign aid cuts has begun to sink in. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/01/trump-aid-cuts-hunger-hiv-100-days/
Urban Institute. (2025, March). Government Funding Cuts Put Nonprofits at Risk across the Nation. Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/government-funding-cuts-put-nonprofits-risk-across-nation
Candid Insights. (2025, March). How reliant are nonprofits on government grants? Retrieved from https://blog.candid.org/post/how-many-nonprofits-rely-on-government-grants-data/
NCRC. (2025, March). Trump's Federal Funding Freeze Devastated Nonprofits. Was It Legal? Retrieved from https://ncrc.org/trumps-federal-funding-freeze-devastated-nonprofits-was-it-legal/
Urban Institute. (2025, March). What Is the Financial Risk of Nonprofits Losing Government Grants? Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/research/publication/what-financial-risk-nonprofits-losing-government-grants
United Way of Greater Cincinnati. (2025, April 14). Federal Funding Cuts Would Significantly Affect Local Nonprofits. Retrieved from https://www.uwgc.org/federal-funding-cuts-would-significantly-affect-local-nonprofits-survey-shows/
The Chronicle of Philanthropy. (2025, April). 10,000 Job Cuts in 70 Days. Introducing the Nonprofit Layoff Tracker. Retrieved from https://www.philanthropy.com/article/10-000-job-cuts-in-70-days-introducing-the-nonprofit-layoff-tracker
