Page 6 - BusinessWest May 26, 2025

“Private funding is
not going to have
the impact of some
of these larger
grants, and the
state can’t make
up for all of it.”
COLLEEN SHANLEY-LOVELESS
Common denominators, aside from language from the Trump
administration stating that the programs in question fall outside the
administration’s priorities, are actions to appeal the cuts while also
looking for other ways to fund them — when possible.
That’s not possible with a $20 million grant or even a $1 mil-
lion grant, but it is with the NEA’s grant to the Amherst Cinema, for
example, and also with the cut to the Food Bank’s budget, and both
agencies are appealing to the public.
Meanwhile, at least one nonprofit, the YWCA of Western Massa-
chusetts, is considering the launch of a capital campaign to sustain
programs that are funded by federal grants that are mostly no lon-
ger available (more on this later). And many nonprofits are reaching
out to area foundations, not only with appeals for funding, but for
support with efforts to find ways to collaborate with other agencies
to meet needs within the community and keep their agencies active
and financially stable.
“People are reaching out, and not just with appeals for direct
funding; we’ve been in conversations with our current grantees and
others in the nonprofit ecosystem, and we’ve been having conver-
sations about how else we can be of service in these challenging
times,” said Denise Hurst, vice president of Community Impact and
Partnerships with the Community Foundation of Western Massa-
chusetts. “They’re asking about opportunities to partner with one
another, share ideas, and collaborate in real time to navigate these
difficult times.
“We’re just four months into this new administration, and we’re
really thinking about stabilization and sustainability of the non-
profit ecosystem,” she went on, adding that the region’s nonprofits
not only meet critical needs, but they are an important pillar in the
Western Mass. economy, providing not only jobs but critical servic-
es that benefit employers and their workforces.
For this issue, BusinessWest examines this time of challenge
and high anxiety for nonprofits, what’s at stake, and how these
agencies are responding.
Waiting to Exhale
As she talked about the plight of her agency, Liz Dineen, CEO of
the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, shared information concern-
ing grants from the Department of Justice for programs to assist
those the agency serves.
They fall into various categories, such as transitional housing
assistance grants for victims of domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, and stalking; grants to improve the criminal justice
response program; the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam hiring and
training program; and others, she said, adding that she and her staff
continuously peruse the DOJ website, and, specifically, the Office of
Violence Against Women, for notices of funding opportunities and
apply to whatever is available.
But starting in January and the start of the Trump administra-
tion, there has been very little available. Indeed, the DOJ recently
terminated more than 360 victims’ services grants, which stripped
hundreds of millions of dollars away from programs that promote
public safety and provide victims and survivors with access to safe-
ty, security, and justice.
“Traditionally, at the beginning of February, there’s a bunch of
new grants that are posted; they posted several new grants at the
beginning of February, and then they pulled every one of them,” she
explained. “There were no federal grants at all available for us to
pursue.”
Recently, there were a few grants posted, one for Indian tribes
and the other for rural areas, which meant this particular YWCA
is ineligible for both, she went on, adding that the one program the
agency could apply for had just 19 grants for the entire country.
“In the past, we might have had an opportunity to look at 30 to
35 grants; now we’re looking at one,” she said, adding that she’s
found it difficult to even talk with anyone at the DOJ to get some
direction on what’s happening — or not happening. “There’s a real
dearth of opportunities out there right now.”
This reality prompted Dineen to consider a capital campaign
so that the agency may continue to provide its services. A feasibil-
ity study is now underway, she noted, adding that the question isn’t
whether there will be a campaign, but what the monetary goal
should be.
“We’re trying to gauge what funders and foundations will be able
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