Emergency Funding Takes On New Urgency Amid Government Shutdown

The funding environment for nonprofits continues to be unstable as many groups face far less financial stability than at the beginning of the year and now grapple with the impact of an ongoing government shutdown.

Foundations and other philanthropy organizations continue to offer short-term emergency grants to help stabilize nonprofits and allow them time to consider next steps, including mergers and collaborations. The Skoll Foundation launched a $25 million emergency fund for grantees impacted by the near total elimination of U.S. international aid earlier this year. Last week, CEO Marla Blow provided an update.

So far, Skoll has awarded grants to 55 organizations, she said. Of that group, 16 received support for “strategic pivots” to address funding environment changes. Skoll is considering additional organizations for the remaining funds. The foundation also is helping groups explore mergers and acquisitions and alternative revenue models, Blow said in a statement Thursday, which outlined the foundation’s restructuring process and adjustment to the “many global challenges” affecting its work.

Additionally, applications to the Public Media Bridge Fund — established by the nonprofit Public Media Company and backed by the Ford, Knight, MacArthur, Robert Wood Johnson, and Schmidt Family foundations as well as Pivotal Ventures — opened on October 15. (The Ford Foundation is a financial supporter of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.)

Along with grants, the fund will provide advisory services to grantees and nongrantees to better understand how they might share resources, collaborate, and possibly merge with other organizations, said Erik Langner, executive director of the Public Media Bridge Fund. The group is also developing a low-interest loan fund that has $10 million in commitments, he said.

“Our initial phase is around stabilization,” Langner said earlier this month during an online event about the application process.

“The second phase of sustainability is already starting,” he said. “How can the fund be as helpful as possible, as catalytic as possible, to the system as we start to explore and execute on new operating models … without the federal support that we have enjoyed over the last several decades?”

Shutdown Adds Challenges

Meanwhile, the government shutdown, now entering its third week, has compounded financial strains on nonprofits across the country.

In states like Colorado, Montana, and Utah, some nonprofits may fail to make payroll and are scaling back projects as they are “stretched to the breaking point,” according to the National Council of Nonprofits.

The shutdown is happening as nonprofits deal with loss of government funding and increased demand for their services, researchers at the Urban Institute said. The economic and social policy research organization recently released a report documenting that 27 percent of 2,737 nonprofits surveyed nationwide reported a delay, pause, or freeze to their government funding in the first four to six months of the year. The instability is impacting groups not reliant on government money because competition for philanthropic giving has increased, said Laura Tomasko, an author of the report and a senior policy program manager at the Urban Institute.

“Nonprofits that were relying on government funding and have experienced disruptions to that funding are now trying to fill the gap” with philanthropic funds, she said.

Smaller nonprofits told the Urban Institute that funders are gravitating toward larger organizations, which they perceive as better positioned to meet growing demands, effectively shutting smaller groups out of consideration, Tomasko said.

In Washington, D.C., where the nonprofit sector has been deeply affected by federal funding and job cuts, two small nonprofits have turned to local and existing donors to secure emergency funding.

DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice — with a budget just under $1 million and a focus on civic participation, economic mobility, and racial equity for D.C. residents — has been reaching out to past funders, according to executive director Vanessa Batters-Thompson. It also has had funders referred to it by partner nonprofits, she added. As a result, the center has received about $120,000 in emergency funding, mostly for its work to advocate for D.C.’s autonomy as the Trump administration seeks to exert more control over the district, Batters-Thompson said. Funders have included the England Family Foundation and the Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation, both of which are based in Bethesda, Md.

Council for Court Excellence, another nonprofit focused on civic engagement in D.C., with an annual budget of around $1.4 million, has been reaching out to community, family, and corporate foundations, said executive director Misty C. Thomas Zaleski. Those efforts have yielded about $120,000 in emergency funding to boost communications and public relations staff as the council seeks to reach a national audience, said Zaleski, who did not disclose the names of the funders. Some of that money has also been used to help ensure staff and contractors are paid and to support their mental health and well-being, she said, which is critical to dealing with current challenges.

Below is a list of rapid response funds compiled by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. To let us know about more funds, email editormail@philanthropy.com.

National Funds

Defending Our Neighbors Fund
This month, the American Civil Liberties Union, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Abundant Futures Fund, and United We Dream announced this $10 million fund, to support nonprofits providing legal assistance to immigrant families affected by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The goal is to raise $30 million for the fund, the group said.

Emergent Fund grants
The Emergent Fund provides rolling, no-strings-attached rapid response grants to organizations for urgent and unanticipated crises, particularly for grassroots groups led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Late last year, the group joined with the Transgender Law Center to launch a separate Action for Transformation Fund with the goal of providing $1 million in rapid response grants to trans-led organizations amid a growing backlash against efforts to advance transgender rights. The Action for Transformation Fund is a pilot that is providing one-time grants of $5,000 to $20,000.

Four Freedoms Fund’s Immigration Frontlines Fund
Four Freedoms is a funder collaborative launched more than 20 years ago by NEO Philanthropy, which aims to raise $10 million this year to advocate for and protect immigrant communities.

Impact Fund rapid response grants
These grants of up to $10,000 are for “sudden out-of-pocket” litigation expenses related to lawsuits in the areas of economic, environmental, racial, and social justice.

Public Media Bridge Fund grants
With nearly $27 million in pooled funding, this initiative provides grants, “low-interest loans,” and advisory services to local public media organizations affected by federal funding cuts and the closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Funding has been provided by the Ford, Knight, MacArthur, Robert Wood Johnson, and Schmidt Family foundations and Pivotal Ventures. The deadline to apply is November 3.

Regional Funds

Cambridge Community Foundation’s Urgent Needs Fund
The foundation is providing emergency grants in response to federal budget cuts, which it said are “dismantling our social safety net and threatening to push many Cambridge families, elders, and children into crisis.”

Colorado Health Foundation advocacy grants
Colorado-based nonprofits seeking funds for short-term health-care advocacy initiatives can apply for these grants, which range from $15,000 to $75,000. Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis.

The Denver Foundation’s Critical Needs Fund
The foundation is soliciting donations for its ongoing rapid response fund to help provide legal aid, educational resources, nonprofit operational support, and other assistance to immigrant and refugee communities. This will continue to be activated throughout the year. https://denverfoundation.org/2025/07/meeting-the-moment-supporting-our-nonprofit-partners-and-fundholders/

Elevar Fund’s Regenerate Ohio Farms grants
Founded this year, the Elevar Fund is a philanthropic initiative of the Ohio-based Rubiera Family Foundation. The fund has partnered with the Healing Soils Foundation to offer grants in response to the cancellation and ongoing uncertainty of federal funding to Ohio farmers. November 15 is the deadline to apply for funding this year.

Foundations Community Partnership Target Funding — Rapid Response grants
This fund offers grants of up to $15,000 to the foundation’s existing grantees in Bucks County, Pa., to help them deal with the impact of federal funding losses. The grants will be available until June 30, 2026. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Greater Rochester Health Foundation grants
This rapid response fund aims to help existing grantees continue their work by providing bridge funding and money for costs related to ending services or layoffs, strategic litigation, transitioning clients to new providers, and services and costs associated with nonprofit mergers and collaborations.

Greater Worcester Community Foundation grants
The foundations had made changes to its longstanding nonprofit effectiveness grants program for nonprofits serving central Massachusetts, including amending the eligibility requirements to include needs associated with unforeseen federal funding losses and legals costs associated with changes in federal law, legislation, or compliance requirements. The program also has shifted from a twice-a-year funding cadence to a rolling deadline with grant decisions made twice a month.

HealthSpark Foundation grants
Based in Colmar, Pa., this foundation provides one-time, flexible funding ranging from $500 to $5,000 to nonprofits based in or that serve residents of Montgomery County and are responding to unexpected and urgent challenges. The money can be used to support community organizing, leadership training, and legal defense needs, among other things. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The Meyer Foundation’s rapid response grants
The Washington, D.C.-based foundation provides funding to nonprofits in the surrounding area, including cities and counties in Maryland and Virginia. It is offering one-time, rapid response grants of $10,000 to $20,000 to current grantees focused on racial justice and systems change.

North Star Fund grants
This fund is offering grants of $2,500 or $5,000 to help grassroots groups in New York City and Hudson Valley that focus on community organizing and social-justice issues. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

San Francisco Foundation’s rapid response grants
The Rapid Response Fund for Movement Building provides one-time grants of $3,000 to $20,000 for small nonprofits focused on racial and economic equity. The nonprofits must serve residents in one or more of the following Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo.

United for San Diego fund grants
The Prebys Foundation, Price Philanthropies, and San Diego Foundation have joined together to pledge $70 million to support San Diegans at risk of losing access to food, housing, and health care in the wake of federal funding cuts. The organizations also launched the San Diego Unity Fund to encourage other San Diegans to contribute to the emergency response effort.

Yellow Springs Community Foundation awards
These rapid response grants of up to $3,000 will be provided to nonprofits in Ohio’s Yellow Springs and Miami Township areas.

International Funds

The Catalyst Fund from Population Services International
PSI has revived this fund, which was initially created during the pandemic, to deploy small grants to global health care organizations whose U.S. funding has been terminated.

Skoll Foundation emergency fund
The $25 million fund is supporting current Skoll Foundation grantees affected by U.S. international aid cuts.