Newest Developments January 29, 2025
As of 12:58 PM White House says Trump funding freeze remains in effect despite rescinding OMB memo.
As of 11:16 AMThe White House Federal Office of Management and Budget office has officially rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal grants.
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the Board and Team of the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, we share the following updates regarding the latest executive orders and federal freeze. Our board and team are engaged in real-time conversations with peers, funders and partners at local, regional, state and national levels. We will do our best to bring you resources, updates and developments as the situation unfold.
If you know people who need to KNOW THEIR RIGHTS, please share the following link: www.acluaz.org. The ACLU of Arizona is a trusted source of information.
In Community,
Adriana Gallego, CEO Arts Foundation on behalf of the Arts Foundation Board of Directors and Teammates
Mission, Vision and Work of the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern ArizonaThe mission, vision and work of the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona remains intact.
We remain committed to advance the artistic expression, civic participation, and equitable economic growth of our diverse communities. Through forward-thinking, accountable leadership, the Arts Foundation works to affect systemic change that fosters an accessible, diverse, inclusive and equitable local arts community.
The primary beneficiaries of our services are the thousands of cultural workers and their families in Southern Arizona who collectively produce events, experiences, and artwork that translate our regional stories into extraordinary moments. Our audiences, participants and beneficiaries represent 20% of the State of Arizona, spanning across 29 rural towns, the City of Tucson, 7 tribal nations and 8 counties that meet up along the edges of natural and political ecosystems. Our communities are uniquely diverse, are twice more bilingual and younger than the national average. The land we live and work in is traditional and unceded territory of seven tribal nations, including Quechan Tribe, Cocopah Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Ak-Chin Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, and San Carlos Apache Tribe.
Updates on the status of Arts Foundation Regranting ProgramArts Foundation Grantees who received a letter of agreement for the 2025 ARPA Grants for Organizations and 2025 ARPA Grants for Artists will NOT be affected by the Federal Freeze. Please continue to follow the guidance and instructions from the Director of Grants and Programs in a timely manner. I thank you in advance for your grace and patience, as our small grants team processes requests from hundreds of concurrent grant program recipients. Rest assured, that all inquiries will be processed in the order in which they are received, although it may take a bit longer.The stART Grants Program featured in the January 2025 newsletter will still proceed as planned.
Ongoing Resources, Webinars and Viable Actions You Can Take
- Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 1:30 PM AZ Time Webinar: Meeting the Moment: Nonprofit Security and Infrastructure https://buildingmovement.org/event/meeting-the-moment-webinar/
- Friday, January 31, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET Webinar: United Philanthropy Forum is partnering with the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, and National Council of Nonprofits to co-host “Executive Order of DEI: What Nonprofits and Philanthropies Need to Know”. The webinar will take place this Friday, January 31, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET and will focus on the effect of the EO titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” on nonprofits and philanthropy and will feature information about the memo halting federal grants.
Guidance reposted from newsletter issued by Alexander|Carrillo Consulting on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.
If you’re a part of a nonprofit executive team, here are some things that you can do today to best prepare yourself, your nonprofit, and the community that you serve:
- Do not panic. I know this is difficult, but cooler heads will prevail and making sure that you’re setting a cool and calm example for the rest of your team is critical at this moment.
- Contact government partners at the federal, state, and local levels to see if funding you receive for your organization is impacted by this memorandum. Please remember that public servants are not the administration, and though you may be frustrated, they are just doing their jobs in the same way you are doing yours.
- Use the information from your government funders to make decisions regarding how to manage funding at your organization. I recommend that you work with your finance staff to forecast worse case scenarios to better help you proactively make decisions about cash flow and client services.
- Because of the news that this has made, some community members may call in to discuss the implications of the memorandum on your services. Please do not alarm community members, clients, or service recipients until you have solidified what you are able to provide at an agency level, while working with your funders.
- Contact your Members of Congress to discuss the impact that this Memorandum will have on your agency and the people/community that you serve. Nonprofits are allowed to both lobby (limited) and advocate, on behalf of themselves and the communities they serve. Please use your voice.
