In July, Charitable Trust Staff attended a webinar from Maryland Nonprofits designed to assist nonprofits in navigating the existing and upcoming changes from the Trump Administration and what they may mean for federal nonprofit funding. The webinar was hosted by subject expert, Rachel Werner, of MyFed Trainer and CEO of her consulting firm, RBW Strategy, LLC. Werner has a Master of Public Administration and is a certified grant professional. Below are some helpful takeaways from this informational webinar for nonprofits in the current political climate.
Regarding Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”:
▪️The bill aims to eliminate nonprofit status for hospitals, which will be devasting especially for small/rural hospitals who rely on nonprofit funding and exempt status.
▪️The bill is also expected to decrease or entirely cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits for hundreds of thousands of Maryland citizens.
▪️ The above changes will mean a significant increase in demand on food and healthcare related nonprofits.
▪️The bill that was signed into law July 4th will take effect on October 1st. Now is the time to research the areas within the bill that may impact your operations and target populations.
Werner also points out that state governments are going to really feel the impacts of this bill and will likely respond in different ways to try to counterbalance the sweeping changes. It will be important for nonprofit leaders to stay informed on state level changes that occur as a result of the unprecedented federal changes coming up.
Regarding Federal Grants:
▪️ DOGE is no longer overseeing Grants.gov (the federal government’s grant listing site), which is a win for nonprofits.
▪️ It is possible that blue states will have a harder time securing federal grants if democratic governors have openly opposed Trump’s Executive Orders, such as eliminating DEI initiatives.
▪️ Carefully review/risk assess any partnerships listed in your federal grant applications for conflicts of interest with the administration that may hinder your success in getting awarded.
▪️ It is not absolutely necessary (and often not possible) to avoid all the “trigger” words the administration has deemed red flags in federal funding applications/reports, however, rephrasing where possible can go a long way. (Consider requesting the Grant Writing Guide from this webinar- details below.)
▪️ The current Federal Priorities are deregulation, economic growth, and reduction of the federal deficit. Aligning your outcomes in your applications with these topics may be more useful now than, for example, highlighting your target population.
Sadly, a main take away from the expert conducting this webinar is that nonprofits must shift from a “culture of philanthropy” to a “culture of compliance” to be successful in obtaining federal funding from this Administration. This does not mean we must change what we do and who we serve, but we certainly must make some changes to how we talk about these things when attempting to work with a leadership who prioritizes economic outcomes and compliance over humanity. Werner reminds us that the good news is we serve Maryland! Our state leadership (and Charles County Board of Commissioners) remains supportive of the vital work nonprofits do for all Marylanders.