Council hears grants outlook as federal changes pose risks to nonprofits

Rafael Murphy, director of Montgomery County’s Office of Grants Management, told the County Council that changes at the federal level are producing daily uncertainty for grantees and local governments. “We are seeing new challenges and new disruptions on literally a daily basis,” Murphy said, urging departments and nonprofit partners to follow legal requirements closely and to treat early press statements as noise until formal grant language is published.

Murphy said the county’s existing grants are largely holding, in part because the county has a substantial reserve and dedicated grant-management staff. “We have a healthy reserve of something like $895,000,000,” he said, and noted that the county, unlike many nonprofits, has the administrative capacity to absorb some delays. But he warned smaller organizations face more serious cash-flow and compliance risks and asked council members to consider support for nonprofit partners. Council members pressed for specifics on the roughly “473” frozen or terminated grants Murphy referenced; Murphy said that figure came from a congressional office and that the county was following up to build an organized list.

Council members asked whether new certification language blocking DEI-related activities or imposing immigration-document requirements is showing up in notices of funding opportunities. Murphy said such language has appeared in some federal notices but has often been modified by legal challenges and that the county is working with the Office of the County Attorney and the state to interpret the binding terms. He urged departments to plan for additional staff and training, and described recent county training for 43 department staff from 18 offices as part of that effort.