Local nonprofit leaders warn federal funding cuts could shrink Columbus safety net

Leaders of Columbus-area nonprofits and City Council President Shannon Hardin warned at a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum that proposed federal executive actions and budget cuts could significantly reduce funding for local safety-net services, posing immediate operational and human impacts for refugee and immigrant resettlement, shelter programs and other human services.

The forum on looming federal funding cuts brought together Michael Kory, executive director of the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County; Dr. Celestia Asfau of Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS); Elizabeth (Liz) Brown, CEO of the YWCA of Columbus; Chad Jester of Nationwide; and Dr. Lisa Cortes, CEO of the United Way of Central Ohio, with Council President Shannon Hardin participating on the panel.

Kory said the White House has used executive orders, executive actions, agency actions and proposed legislation to target nonprofit-related funding and programs. He described an Office of Management and Budget memo that paused grant funding and said a subsequent narrowing of cuts left roughly $150,000,000 in potentially affected federal grant dollars for the Chamber's membership. "That's services to 2,400,000 people in the Central Ohio area," Kory said, citing member estimates. He added that membership organizations reported receiving "$230,000,000 in federal dollars overall." He also noted a federal court in Washington, D.C., had temporarily put a pause on…