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The Trump administration's freeze on funds that support infrastructure, food, supplies, renewable energy and other needed services across the state has created instability and confusion for community, nonprofits and local governments.

There's a lot of uncertainty with what's happening at the federal level right now, and I think that affects both internally and externally.

Nonprofits support a lot of the day to day services that keep communities running.

Will most funds be released or will programs be cut entirely?

We'll discuss it right now on Alaska Insight.

All across Alaska, in large and small communities, nonprofits perform services ranging from running local utilities to food delivery, medical, transport, child care, housing services, violence intervention, and so much more.

Local governments work closely with these service providers to support community health and well-being.

The freezes on federal funds and at times, conflicting guidance on when or if funds will be available for city leaders, tribes and nonprofits has created confusion and anxiety for organizations that, by design, don't have deep reserves to keep them solvent when funds don't arrive.

Tonight, we'll hear about how that is affecting services and construction plans across the state.

But before we get to that discussion, here are some of the top stories of the week from Alaska Public Media's collaborative statewide news network.

Three heli skiers died in a massive avalanche Tuesday near Girdwood, Alaska State Troopers said in an online dispatch that the avalanche caught the skiers at about 3:30 p.m. near the West Fork of the 20 Mile River.

Guides from the heli skiing company were able to locate the skiers with avalanche beacons, but they couldn't be rescued as troopers say.

They were buried under snow ranging from 40 to 100ft deep.

The skiers all had ties to Minnesota.

They were 39 year old David Linder of Florida, 39 year old Charles Shepherd of Montana and 38 year old Jeremy Leif of Minnesota.

State House leaders released a new version of a high priority education bill on Wednesday.

The latest version of the bill includes a $1,000 increase to basic per student funding for public schools, but it leaves out further increases and inflation proving included in earlier drafts.

The new version includes policy provisions favored by governor Mike Dunleavy.

Those provisions include a trial of a statewide open enrollment policy, a requirement that schools regulate but not necessarily ban cell phone use on campus, and changes to renewal and appeals for charter schools.

The bill's the charter school applications.

Excuse me.

The bill does not include two priorities for the governor a policy change to allow the state Board of Education to directly approve charter schools, and a teacher retention bonus program.

Dunleavy vetoed an education funding bill last year that did not include those provisions.

In a social media post on Friday, Dunleavy called the changes to the bill positive movement, adding there were further opportunities to improve the bill when it moves to the Senate.

Resignations and firings have resulted in the loss of at least 23 Weather Service employees across Alaska, according to a source affiliated with the Union for National Weather Service employees.

Based on figures from an Office of Personnel Management database, the cuts amount to more than 10% of the national Weather Service Alaska region's workforce.

Rick Tollman, a climatologist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy who spent more than 30 years with the National Weather Service, said job cuts are already affecting forecasts.

Weather balloon launches from Kotzebue have been indefinitely suspended since February, while stations in Nome and Bethel also saw simultaneous outages in recent days.

Those outages affect all weather models, which depend on observation from groups around the globe.

You can find the full version of these and many more stories on our website.

Alaska public.org or download the Alaska Public Media app on your phone.

Now onto our discussion for this evening.

The nonprofit organizations that help support Alaskans with needed services and provide employment.

Alaska nonprofit employ more than 50,000 people in the state across a variety of fields.

In 2023, $1 billion in federal grants and contracts were awarded to nonprofits in the state, largely due to legislation like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Now, much of that funding is uncertain.

Amid freezes, cancellations and unclear direction from the Trump administration.

As Alaska Public Media's Madeline Rose reports, nonprofits say that makes it nearly impossible to plan for the future.

When the Federal Office of Management and Budget issued a memo in January ordering a temporary halt to federal financial assistance.

Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness Executive Director Meg Xylitol had serious concerns about her organization and many of their partners.

The coalition is unique in that we both receive some federal funding and we help administer federal funding.

Xylitol encouraged partner groups to immediately apply for reimbursements on expenses that had already been federally approved.

But the funding portal was inacc And so it was, you know, 24 hours of wondering, are the systems coming back up?

Are we going to get money that's already owed?

And then everything kind of went on pause.

By the next day, a judge had blocked the administration's pause.

Now, xylitol says they can access reimbursements, but other funding is still up in the air.

And they're not the only nonprofit dealing with unanswered questions.

There is a lot of uncertainty with what's happening at the federal level right now, and I think that affects both internally and externally.

Character is the CEO of the food Bank of Alaska.

She says she's less concerned about federal funding.

They do receive some for nutrition programs, but is more worried about cascading economic effects that could lead to more people needing food assistance at a time when that need is already high.

We had Covid, we had inflation impacts hit after that, and it really hasn't gone down since.

So we're continuing to see high demand for our services at our partners across the state.

Dir says the food bank has a diverse system of funding and can afford to lose some streams, but for others, the situation is more dire.

The four year group, which supports nonprofits statewide, found in a survey of nearly 300 nonprofits that over half could shut down if their funds are frozen.

Xylitol says the coalition itself could absorb cuts to their direct funding, but she's less sure about their partners.

It wouldn't be without hurt, but we would.

We would figure it out.

But for those that have actual expenses to keep a roof over people's heads, to keep people supported in their journey to stable housing, I don't know what they'll do.

For now, all nonprofits that receive federal funds are waiting to hear more and doing their best to weather a new era of uncertainty in Anchorage.

I'm Madeleine Rouse.

Joining me tonight to help us better understand what the current landscape is for Alaska.

Nonprofits and municipal governments across the state is Laurie Wolf.

Laurie is the president and CEO of the four acre group based in Anchorage for Acres supports nonprofits and tribal organizations across the state.

And joining us from Juneau is Nils Andresen.

Nils is the executive director of the Alaska municipal League.

AML, an organization of 165 cities, boroughs and municipalities across the state.

Welcome, both of you.

Thanks for being with us.

Thank you so much for having us.

So, Lori, two things really stood out to me from the story we just heard.

That's the employment numbers for nonprofits 50,000 Alaskans, and that possibly half of those organizations could cease to operate if funds remain frozen.

Give us some perspective here.

What kind of services might be lost?

What are you hearing from nonprofits?

Well, I think you're talking about the whole safety net for Alaska, right?

And and this is a this is a what if scenario that we hope never happens.

Right.

And so I think the report was clear that the more rural or remote Alaska, the more we lose the safety net.

And I think you heard that in the stories as well.

Right.

So, some organizations have a diversity of resources and some do not.

But we are talking about services like all the safety net services, food, shelter, you know, basic, basic needs.

And but we're also talking about other services, quality of life services, language and cultural programs, arts and experience, things, talking about trails and recreation.

We're talking about, you know, and the trickle down effect that we have as well.

So there's the direct organizations that receive direct federal funding.

But then the the trickle effect of what happens in our communities when, for example, our, our neighbors, our, our federal employees are laid off.

And so what happens there?

The multiplier effect that happens.

So you're talking about people accessing more services with less funding coming in.

And as I noted at the beginning of the program, nonprofits are skiddy by design.

Talk about why that is, why they don't have deep pockets.

Deep reserves.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, I think that the way, you know, since statehood, we have designed a system that is interplay against, you know, with each other.

So the state, the federal government, the tribal system, the nonprofits, we all local government, we all work together.

And it's it's by design.

Right.

So and we also know that the government doesn't allow you to save its money.

You can't make money on the government's money.

And so the money that we're talking about here, right.

This is all been approved money by Congress, passed through the state or passed directly to our nonprofits, our local governments, our tribes.

And so in most cases, we're talking about reimbursement dollars and we're talking about so this is money that they've already put out, that they're not getting paid back for.

Right.

And that is really where the rub is, right.

And there isn't extra cushion in those in many of those places.

Now, some organizations do have diversified sources from private philanthropy, individual donors, corporate donors, private foundation donors, but not a lot.

And and sure, if Alaskans would like to help, help out, that would be great.

But again, the system was designed where government has a role to play, and that means the organization is structured around that resource.

Thank you for getting us started here.

Nils, I want to turn to, you know, those employment numbers, the 50,000, folks that work for nonprofits, cities and municipalities, municipalities across the state rely on so many of those nonprofit services.

How might employment within the Alaska municipal League be affected by sort of this ripple effect of federal funding freezes and cuts?

Thanks, Laura.

And I think, you know, for local governments, the numbers are, you know, roughly 20,000, employees across Alaska between cities for a school districts, enterprises, thereof.

So we're talking about a lot of people overall.

I think when it comes to local governments, a lot, I mean, we're talking about bricks and mortar type activities.

So water and sewer projects, energy projects, road ports and harbors, a lot of that is carried out by a contractor, corps and consultants.

So the risk is to some extent, you know, your, your staffing, if these federal funds, you know, don't come, come through.

But really, it's all the rest of, you know, really a private sector, that could be impacted by a decrease in funding available to local governments.

And I think, you know, Laura hit on the fact that these are these are all subject to reimbursement.

So there has to be capital available for local governments, nonprofits and others to put out there for contractors or staff or and, and believe that that will be reimbursed on the other side.

And if there's not trust that it will be reimbursed, then it slows things down.

Pretty, significantly.

And, everybody is risk averse, I think, in, in taking next steps, we heard in the story that reimbursements for homeless services are again available.

Both of you joined us on Talk of Alaska in February.

And Nils, after that program, you noted another executive order came out directing government review of grants and contracts from a cost cutting perspective.

What does this mean, and how is a cut in federal staff affecting Cedar City leaders across the state that need answers from federal government agencies and offices that may now have a reduction in staffing?

It's all connected.

So, you know, an early executive order that, tries to reduce funding available based on principle, is followed by an executive order that reduces, federal workforce.

You know, I'm looking at 2023 numbers 15,000 federal workers in Alaska, total wages of 1.4 billion.

And as that shrinks the ability then to review, grants and contracts for cost cutting measures or, for them to be consistent with federal new federal priorities is limited.

So you really get kind of a bottleneck of being able to move forward.

And you know, what was earlier described as a temporary pause gets stretched out for a much longer period, which, you know, further, you know, exacerbates the challenges that local governments and nonprofits are going to feel, when they're looking at limited cash, available, Lori, and then I'll turn back to you now, a New York Times story today analyzed the so-called DoD's contract reductions and found the cuts were mostly hitting small companies and nonprofits.

A quote from the director of the Project on Government Oversight said it's the equivalent of hitting mom and pop shops with few or no cuts to the largest federal contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, UnitedHealth.

What does this say to you about how what the thinking is behind how spending is or is not being targeted?

Well, that's a fascinating article.

I'd love to read that I, I do, I can't comment directly on about that, but I could say that Alaska's nonprofits, for the most part, are those very small grassroots organizations.

Right?

We are on the ground in community dispersed across Alaska and the vast majority of us are would be described as grassroots and in a business context.

We would be described as small businesses, right?

Anything with 50 employees or less, that's the vast majority of our nonprofits and our local governments, and our tribal organizations.

Right.

So I think we are talking about that we will absorb while we we are the safety net, we are the structures that bring all the other people together.

We're also going to be the hardest hit.

And we're already seeing that.

Although I will say that our large nonprofits here in Alaska, which are primarily health care organizations, are bracing for impact with the impact of of whatever Medicaid, is going to look like in the next budget.

And so with our our larger organizations are not immune, from, from this as well.

So we are I will just say, we are feeling this across Alaska, regardless of our size.

But in context to that article, you're talking about all of us.

Now, turning to you, since February, you've stated that frozen funds have been released.

What funds are you referencing and how are city leaders feeling about future projects and the reliability of funding going forward?

Now?

Yeah, I think what we've heard from most of our members from cities and boroughs, and, and other partners, is that to a large degree, they have access to being reimbursed, for currently awarded projects.

That's different than getting a formal approvals from an agency saying you're approved to move forward with this work.

And keep in mind that a part of those executive order is directed agency staff to review every program and every project to make sure that it aligned with the new administration's principles.

And that takes a ton of, effort in a short amount of time for, grants and contracts that were awarded over a three year period.

So, it's really a compressed timetable.

I think many, I think, are waiting for that formal approval.

You want a green light to be able to, to be able to feel confident that you can move forward, that you can, tell your contractors, yes, this $36 million project, we, we want we want you to order things for it.

And and if you don't have that level of confidence, then, you know, you're going to delay those decisions.

And and that's when you're going to start running into, you know, challenges when it comes to supply chain and barge deliveries and a summer construction season in Alaska that's really limited.

Lori, pick it up.

Yeah.

I was just going to say that there's a, yesterday, there's there's about 70 lawsuits, kind of all dealing with all of the ways that this, this funding have been put on hold or under review or frozen or deleted.

And we're tracking the ones, obviously, that, relate to, the nonprofit sector yesterday.

There's, there's the potential for, that we'll see, an understand a better understanding of unfreezing those funds that Nels is talking about, that have been not yet, obligated, but, have been, congressionally approved.

So we'll see.

And we'll be able to answer that question more, I think, next week with a judge's opinion.

And you had noted previously that, the executive orders targeted nonprofits more than other organizations.

What do you know about why nonprofits are the particular focus?

We don't really know why.

The administration has chosen to focus on nonprofits, but they are calling us out by name as a sector.

I, I've spent a little I've spent some time, in the last six weeks, talking about how nonprofits are a fundamental component of our democracy.

Every healthy democracy in this, in this world has a thriving nonprofit sector.

So there's certainly a conversation about what happens when you undermine and, you know, the third sector of of our government, and really thinking about what that what that opportunity is for, where nonprofits are bringing the health and well-being of our a, a, our ability to assemble, our ability to have free speech, our ability to meet the needs that government either can't or won't provide and that are not viable in the marketplace.

Star nonprofits are often thought of as the third sector.

We we do that work.

So why target us?

I don't know, I can't begin to imagine.

But it has been with us since the formation of this country and, that's, you know, it serves a vital role in our in our democracy, especially in a state like Alaska.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

In Alaska, we don't have a county system of government.

And so our nonprofits are doing the work that county governments would do in other states.

We have a very unique systems.

Alaskans love to be unique.

And this is one of the ways I was just working with our staff today, talking about, like, all the different iterations of nonprofits here in Alaska and how they're different than in the lower 48 and, and our close relationship with local governments, tribes, the state of Alaska, the federal government.

We have such a unique relationship.

We built it that way.

We've been proud of that structure.

And suddenly we are it's making us extra worried, because, we we we thought it was we thought it was a good way to work.

Nelson, you talked a little bit about the uncertainty and the hesitation within city leaders for future planning.

Are you hearing about some of the necessary projects, such as, harbor upgrades, erosion mitigation, roads that need to be repaired?

Have any projects just been decided that they're just not going to move forward this summer?

Have you are you hearing about that, or is it still early enough that if they get some certainty, they could still do things in this short construction season this summer?

We don't have any clear sense of, you know, things that are really going to be, impacted.

We, I think we're actually going to spend this next week calling every one of our cities and boroughs and checking in what, what have been the impacts of these, this freeze.

But what do firings look like in your community?

What other needs or challenges are you experiencing?

So I hope to have more, to that effect and appreciate all the work that, for our group has already put into assessing, the state of the sector.

I would say that, you know, this is a, a really good time for us to be telling our story.

I think it's I mean, you mentioned, cuts to, especially smaller, groups.

I think it's easy maybe to cut what you don't know.

So we have to do our kind of put our best foot forward, talk to federal agencies, staff, either career professionals or new project managers, and really explain, like, here's how Alaska is unique, here's how we're different.

Here's where there will be real consequences from some of the decisions that you might make when it's just, dollars and cents on a spreadsheet.

So we, we can talk about those things.

And I think from a local government perspective, you know, we have elected officials, who need to be leaders right now in their communities to, you know, make sure that, that there is confidence and trust, and, and to allay concerns of uncertainty, but put our best foot forward and, and make that case and in the same way that, you know, Alaska's LNG project has gotten a lot of attention, there's so many other things in Alaska that we want to draw attention to and, and make sure that, that together we can, be successful for both of you.

How does working to eliminate equity and diversity Dei has been targeted diversity, equity and inclusion.

How does that square in a state like Alaska that has some of the highest diversity percentages in the country, reflected in the 2010 census?

How can organizations, community policy programs not consider ensuring equal respect and fair treatment of all Alaskans when we are such a diverse mix, who would get to decide the protocols?

If it is a majority rule, then in many communities, Alaska Native people are that majority.

How can programs function within these confusing mandates?

I think they're confused.

I think they're confused.

I think the language is very unclear.

And again, I mentioned the lawsuits.

There are a good handful of lawsuits questioning those executive orders, in particular around the vagueness of that language.

The weaponizing of that language.

The way that we would use it or not use it, I think, I think there's tons of confusion about what that means and as a result, a lot of self-censoring, a lot of, fear, by our organizations or should I or shouldn't I?

Can I say that?

Can I not say that kind of talking?

You know, really, really quite a lot of worry.

And, you know, and then many other organizations are saying what you're saying, which is like, this is the work, right?

We're here to serve Alaskans, and this is the work.

And you could use a word or not use a word.

And this is the work.

And certainly that, that is, that is our philosophy is that you keep doing the work because that's that's what's in front of us.

And that's what it means to be Alaskan.

What?

Nils, what do you want in?

We've only got a bit of time left here.

What do you want Alaskans to do?

Yeah, I think, you know, work with your local officials to identify where you're experiencing a challenge.

So I think right now, we're a ton of information or noise and, information out there to, to sort through.

And I think that's hard and confusing.

So local officials need to understand where where their pain points and local officials need to be able to communicate that to the state, state officials and, and the congressional delegation.

We need to know where there is a challenge that, if we work together, we could solve, and then, you know, work together to again, tell our story, make sure that the rest of the nation, understands.

Here's what Alaska looks like, and whether that's rural or tribal or challenges here.

Yes.

Thank you so much.

Thanks, both of you, for being with us and for the work that you're doing on behalf of all Alaskans.

As we heard this evening, financial certainty is important for project planning, retaining employees and ordering supplies and building materials in advance of Alaska's short construction season, food security, health care and child care support our year round funding needs the uncertainty about which programs will be fully funded and which ones may be cut is making it difficult for nonprofits to do their work.

We'll continue to report on federal funding plans and reductions for Alaska projects and communities as new information becomes available.

That's it for this edition of Alaska Insight.

Visit our website for breaking news and reports from our partner stations across the state.

While you're there, sign up for our free daily digest so you won't miss any of Alaska's top stories of the day.

Thanks for joining us this evening.

I'm Lori Townsend.

Good night.