Sheila Bravo is the president and CEO of the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement.
Delaware nonprofits play a vital role in filling the gaps in services that the government does not provide, often to our state’s most in-need citizens. Nonprofits are on the front lines daily, providing services such as food assistance, housing, mental health counseling, health care, addiction treatment, education, the arts and support for young children, older adults and those who live in poverty.
When the federal government recently informed the Food Bank of Delaware that it was halting shipments of vital sustenance aid — canceling nearly 1 million meals to food-insecure residents with no advanced warning — it was a clear example of how government actions and the uncertainty they create can have a damaging effect at the local level in the First State.
Unfortunately, this is not a unique situation. At the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement, we have heard from several other nonprofit members that have experienced similar abrupt and devastating cancellations of their federal contracts or grants. These cuts directly affect our neighbors, people who rely on nonprofits’ services for food, care and other support.
Nationally, millions of federal contracts that directly fund critical services were designated for cancellation but were stopped through court injunctions. Currently, Congress is debating how it will significantly cut services in its latest budget deliberations. These federal actions create great uncertainty for Delaware nonprofits: Will they be able to continue their missions to serve?
Our state’s nonprofits are facing an inflection point in history, and more than ever, we need our partners in government to protect essential services and ensure that no Delawarean is left without the support he or she needs to live safely and with dignity.
Rising costs, stagnant funding and growing community needs — combined with federal funding threats — have created a precarious moment for Delaware’s nonprofit sector. This is a very real concern for organizations with deep roots throughout the state.
Should these agencies close their doors or be forced to shutter certain programs, older adults would go hungry, people facing mental health crises would not have critical assistance, at-risk children would be more vulnerable to abuse, and sexual assault survivors would be forced to deal with their trauma alone.
As it enters these final weeks of the legislative session, the Delaware General Assembly will be drafting and voting on its grant-in-aid bill. Historically, grant-in-aid funding has been a vital source of revenue to support critical programs, especially for smaller, community-based groups that may not receive any other state funding. Given the concern at the national level and the difficulty in replacing lost federal funds, this investment is more important than ever.
The nonprofit sector has long enjoyed a strong relationship with our friends in the General Assembly, with such organizations providing residents direct services that the state cannot replicate. We are calling on lawmakers to continue that partnership by meeting this moment in history and increasing critical grant-in-aid funding, which would align with Gov. Matt Meyer’s call earlier this year to increase it by 3%.
It’s essential that the General Assembly keep nonprofits whole and address the growing fiscal challenges they face. Further cuts on top of the existing challenges these groups face will only lead to hardships for the countless residents we all serve. They will feel the brunt of the loss of services.
DANA, plus our partners — the United Way of Delaware, Philanthropy Delaware and the Delaware Community Foundation — and nonprofits across the state stand ready to work collaboratively with legislators and local governments to weather these uncertain times and continue serving our citizens.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
