Common Good Vermont asks legislature for technical assistance funding to stabilize nonprofits facing federal funding shifts
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Common Good Vermont requested $295,665 one-time and $267,777 ongoing to provide triage, legal and shared-services support to nonprofits statewide. United Way and other partners backed the proposal; legislators asked about selection criteria and vetting of politically active organizations.
Emma Paradise, incoming co-director of Common Good Vermont, told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee on Jan. 7 that the organization seeks one-time funding of $295,665 and base funding of $267,777 to support nonprofit preparedness amid federal policy changes. Paradise said the funding would deliver technical assistance to about 100 of the nonprofits most exposed to federal funding cuts and would support longer-term capacity-building to improve grant management across the sector.
"This proposal requests 295,665 in one-time funding, and that's going to help nonprofits navigate federal funding cuts, executive orders, policy shifts that are affecting their service delivery," Paradise said. She told members the proposal aligns with recommendations from the treasurer's task force on the federal transition and emphasized the goal of preventing service disruptions, layoffs and higher emergency costs later.
Jesse Bridges, CEO of the United Way of Northwest Vermont, and leaders from partner organizations described examples of how technical assistance and shared services can preserve programs and reduce administrative burden. Bridges said the effort aims to improve efficiency and help the state and nonprofits get more value from existing dollars.
Committee members asked how the 100 organizations for immediate assistance would be selected; Paradise said the plan envisions an application-based triage focused on severity of impact, mission mix and geographic balance. Legislators also raised questions about eligibility and political activity by member organizations. Common Good and United Way representatives said the funded program would target 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and that IRS reporting and other oversight mechanisms address partisan activity.
Speakers from Lund and other nonprofits described how technical assistance on grant readiness, data collection and board development had helped their organizations and said modest one-time support for legal or strategic services can prevent costly failures later. Presenters offered to provide committee members with slide materials and a one-page summary of the proposal for the budget process. No formal appropriation was decided at the hearing.