‘Panic Mode’: Trump’s federal aid freeze caused confusion among Columbia nonprofits

President Trump’s order last week to pause federal aid left the mayor of Columbia and local nonprofits asking, “What’s next?”

The Office of Management and Budget, an executive office that oversees federal agencies’ spending, called for a pause of federal aid to “nongovernmental organizations” until Feb. 10.

But there was no guidance about when South Carolina nonprofits might continue receiving federal aid, according to a blog post by Together SC, an advocacy group for the state’s nonprofits. 

There are more than 33,000 nonprofits in South Carolina, according to a report by Cause IQ, a data website focused on nonprofits. Many of these organizations rely on federal funding. 

“It’s unsettling to see so much change,” said Nancy Lee, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity South Carolina. “Existing contracts, agreements and authorized funds … nonprofits rely on those, and we would like more clarity.” 

The National Council of Nonprofits, the largest organization of nonprofits in North America, has filed a lawsuit to stop the order.

A federal judge blocked the pause before it was activated last Wednesday.

“‘From pausing research on cures for childhood cancer to halting food assistance, safety from domestic violence, and closing suicide hotlines, the impact of even a short pause in funding could be devastating and cost lives,” National Council of Nonprofits said in a statement.

The White House rescinded the order Jan. 29. 

“I think the immediacy, and the communication and the manner in which it occurred was very jarring,” Lee said. “I feel like there was so much information overload, it caused uneasiness.”

Habitat for Humanity South Carolina provides training, assistance, grants and other support to its local affiliates. These affiliates build and repair homes for households with incomes below the minimum needed to live comfortably, Lee said. 

Habitat is assessing the amount of federal funding it receives, Lee said. The national organization receives money through 25 federal programs. 

Receiving grants can be time-consuming, and a sudden pause by a single order threatens to upend all that hard work, she said. 

“It has a significant impact to harm communities, households and regular folks,” Lee said.

Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann said confusion ensued because the order wasn’t clear. Did the order apply to cities, too? 

“People were jumping to conclusions about it,” Rickenmann said. “In hindsight, if you’re going to put something out like that, it would be really nice to make it a lot more detailed so people understood what it meant, instead of putting it in panic mode.” 

The White House sent another memo the same day to clarify the executive order. 

Rickenmann said the city doesn’t use federal aid wastefully. He said he and his staff talked about it but weren’t as worried as others about the pause.

“We said, ‘Let’s wait and see what happens and then we’ll push through from there,’” Rickenmann said. “But at this point, we’re just kind of letting the dust settle.”

Rickenmann said he initially was concerned about a $204 million federal grant the city is being awarded for realigning the railroad tracks in the Assembly Street corridor. 

“We look forward to receiving the federal grant,” he said. “Hopefully, there’s no issue. But if there is, then we’ll go to Washington and have that conversation.” 

Rickenmann said he hadn’t heard from Columbia nonprofits or businesses but could understand their uncertainty. 

“The real question is, ‘What is the effect going to be of that (pause)? And what are they really looking for? What’s going to be deemed (wasteful)?’” Rickenmann said. “And that I don’t know yet.”