NYCON Update: Federal Pause on Funding
January 28, 2025 – As you may be aware, the White House released an Executive Order late Monday that pauses all federal funding nationwide, including, for grants and other assistance already committed to nonprofits.
The order is slated to go into effect at 5 pm tonight, and would last through mid-February, according to media reports. Excerpted from the Executive Order:
“Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities. Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Admin priorities… To implement these orders, each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s EOs. In the interim, to the extent to permissible under applicable law, federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
“This temporary pause will provide the Admin time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities."
Such an order would be devastating for nonprofits across our state and the U.S., and the communities we serve.
But, I encourage us to wait and see what happens next before we assume the worst. We have been in communication with the National Council of Nonprofits, our national network of state nonprofit associations, and they are working quickly to learn more about what this means and to figure out an appropriate response on behalf of all of us. They are also working with additional national partners to add more strength to our response. Media reports have said this latest Executive Order may be illegal and the National Council has also noted that litigation is an option.
What can you do? We will continue to work closely with the National Council of Nonprofits to bring you information you need to know and actions you can take to help. If you are receiving this email you are also signed up to receive our Nonprofit Champion e-newsletter, which is in partnership with the National Council of Nonprofits and will continue to have the latest information. We will also keep you updated in our NYCON member e-newsletter.
In the meantime:
• Bookmark the National Council of Nonprofits’ running list of federal Executive Orders, which will be updated frequently by the Council: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/files/media/documents/2025/chart-executive-orders.pdf
• Read: This article from the National Council, “Head on a Swivel Advocacy” helps to give some context for the flurry of Executive Orders and includes a link to share the impact on your nonprofit: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/articles/head-swivel-advocacy
• Share Your Story: The National Council of Nonprofits has created a form to share how this impacts your mission and the nonprofit sector.
Our collective strength is our most powerful asset to leverage for continuing the great work that nonprofits do every day across New York State, and we will keep in touch as we have updates.
Regards,
Megan
Megan Allen | she/her/hers
Chief Executive Officer
New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. (NYCON)