Marin organizations gird for federal funding freeze amid Trump upheaval

By Adrian Rodriguez | arodriguez@marinij.com | Marin Independent Journal

UPDATED: January 29, 2025 at 6:26 PM PST

As the Trump administration tries to choke federal funding, agencies and nonprofits in Marin County are trying to find clarity in the chaos.

“Nonprofits are trying to jump through hoops and figure out what’s happening, and it’s so hard to follow where the bouncing ball is going to land,” said Linda Jacobs, chief executive officer of the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership, an organization covering Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties. “We have to do our work to figure out how to be prepared for what’s coming down in the days, weeks and months — and maybe even years ahead.”

An order from the White House Office of Management and Budget on Monday cast widespread confusion across government departments, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington. The pause on loans and grants was necessary to review whether spending complies with Trump’s blitz of executive orders, the administration said.

On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze minutes before it was set to take effect. On Wednesday, Trump’s budget office rescinded the order in the face of legal challenges.

But Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson, said Wednesday that the move only rescinded the memo, not its effort to review federal spending.

“The executive orders issued by the president on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments,” Leavitt said, blaming the confusion on the courts and news outlets, not the administration. “This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the president’s orders on controlling federal spending.”

Many Marin nonprofit leaders who run social service programs for low-income and vulnerable groups say this just created more confusion. They are particularly worried about what a federal financing freeze could mean for their operations and the communities they serve.

Canal Alliance, a San Rafael nonprofit serving the immigrant community, receives federal funds that support its contracts for climate and community engagement work, said Omar Carrera, the chief executive officer.

“While the ongoing back and forth from the White House creates confusion and concern, we remain committed to our mission and are working with philanthropic partners to ensure this critical work continues,” Carrera said.

Cheryl Paddack, chief executive officer of North Marin Community Services, said her staff was still evaluating the impact, but the nonprofit’s child care and food programs, as well as case management and housing services, would likely be affected if a freeze were to happen.

“The human services field will be deeply impacted by the federal funding freeze, and we recognize that the full extent of these changes locally remains uncertain,” Paddack said.

Chandra Alexandre, chief executive officer of Community Action Marin, a social services nonprofit, said its federal funding totals about $6.9 million to support early education, energy assistance and other service programs.

“Despite the turbulence of the last day, our commitment is to focus on our staff and community, remaining a trusted resource,” Alexandre said Wednesday.

Other sectors are on edge, too.

“I do have concerns, as we have been very successful in grant funding for wildland fire fuel reduction projects,” said Marin County Fire Department Chief Jason Weber.

Weber said the department has relied on Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to improve staffing and purchase critical equipment. Its last grant was for $4.5 million, and the county fire agencies are applying for another large grant to replace some of that gear.

Ken Lippi, senior deputy superintendent at the Marin County Office of Education, said it receives more than $1 million annually in federal funds for special education and health and safety services.

In October, the office was awarded federal multi-year grants awards totaling more than $15 million to sustain and expand mental health services in schools “at a time when we know there is a great need for mental health supports,” Lippi said.

Those grants were expected to begin this month. Other school districts in Marin also directly receive additional federal funding, he said.

“It is clear that with this new administration there will be several starts and stops that will continue to cause concern and uncertainty,” Lippi said. “It will be important for us to keep our focus on providing the best possible education and services to our students and their families and not be diverted by every statement, rumor or order that may or not be implemented.”

The Marin Municipal Water District has been awarded more than $3 million federal grants that could be in limbo, including $1.4 million for the next phase of the Lagunitas Creek restoration project set to begin this summer, said Adriane Mertens, spokesperson for the district.

The district also has pending grant applications that could be affected.

“The district pursues grant opportunities as often as possible to help offset costs to ratepayers,” Mertens said. “It’s hard to know just yet if and how these items would be impacted, and we will continue to closely monitor updates on the current situation.”

Tony Williams, general manager of the North Marin Water District, said his staff submitted reimbursement request for a $375,000 federal grant administered through the state. The funding supported a $1.5 million repair job at the Oceana Marin wastewater treatment and storage pond in western Marin.

“Hopefully that gets paid,” Williams said.

The California State Coastal Conservancy has more than $23 million active federal grants, and several applications pending, for projects in the Bay Area that could be at stake, said Taylor Samuelson, spokesperson for the agency. That includes a $575,000 grant for work in Corte Madera Creek and more than $800,000 for restoration efforts in the Bolinas Lagoon.

“While this is a fluid situation, we remain confident in our ability to continue serving Californians,” Samuelson said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a planning and funding agency for the nine-county Bay Area, distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in federal formula transportation funds across the Bay Area each year, said John Goodwin, spokesperson for the agency.

“Should these funds be paused, this could halt the reimbursement of federally funded transit, highway and bicycle/pedestrian improvement projects that are underway across the region,” Goodwin said.

Anne Richman, executive director of Transportation Authority of Marin, said her staff is assessing which projects, programs and contracts could be impacted by a pause. The agency, which relies heavily on Measure AA sales tax dollars and state funding, is working with its partners “to be prepared for potential implications,” Richman said.

“Federal funds are an important piece of the funding portfolio used to deliver important transportation projects and programs in our community,” Richman said.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit has an estimated $55.4 million in federal funding at stake, said Julia Gonzalez, spokesperson for the rail service.

“The pause in federal grant programs appears to apply to all grants SMART has been awarded, whether executed or not,” Gonzalez said. “While the full impact remains uncertain at this time, federal funding supports each of SMART’s key initiatives, including pathway construction in San Rafael, Novato and Santa Rosa, northern rail extension to Windsor and Healdsburg, passenger rail operations and acquisition of freight locomotives to provide services.”

Officials at the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which operates the ferries and buses in Marin, said they won’t know the impact until the situation plays out over the next few weeks. The district relies on federal funding for capital projects on the bridge and bus and ferry transit systems, but not for transit operations.

Nancy Whelan, general manager of Marin Transit, said she’s scheduled a meeting with the regional Federal Transportation Authority office to learn more.

“We are watching it very closely,” Whelan said.

Marin environmental groups said they are concerned about the administration’s attack on California’s climate adaptation and resiliency efforts.

“Many local and state funding sources are partially federally funded, so this will have ripple effects,” said Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Action Committee of West Marin.

While the group doesn’t receive direct federal funding, “Trump’s assaults on the environment and climate threaten all that we have worked for, and they take us backward,” she said.

“We oppose actions like this as well as conditioned disaster relief and plan to work with legislators to find creative solutions to these big challenges, rather than becoming complacent,” she said.

Wendi Kallins, president of Sustainable Marin, said the funding freeze is illegal and that “Congress holds the pursestrings.”

“Our elected officials should not sit silent about this,” Kallins said. “Any efforts to stop any incentive programs or infrastructure pending should be met with legal challenges.”

“Specifically, impounding the electric vehicle rebate puts a big damper on our ability to influence the public to embrace electric vehicles, but it doesn’t stop us,” Kallins said.

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman decried Trump’s order as illegal. He said the president is explicitly forbidden from stopping spending for programs that Congress has approved.

“Trump is wasting no time testing the sideboards of democracy, betting that his feckless Republican Congress and his MAGA Supreme Court will stand back and stand by as he claims virtually unlimited power,” said Huffman, a Democrat from San Rafael.

Assemblymember Damon Connolly, a Democrat from San Rafael, said Trump’s move was a “blatantly unconstitutional overreach that has real and immediate consequences.”

“Congress approved each of these investments, and this freeze is an outrageous disruption to vital federally funded programs that are relied upon by millions of Americans, including here in the 12th Assembly District,” Connolly said in an email. “Healthcare, food assistance and other vital programs are at stake.”

Mary Sackett, president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, said county officials are concerned, too.

“We are actively monitoring developments and assessing their potential impacts to our communities,” Sackett said. “The county will maintain a proactive and deliberate approach amid rapidly changing federal directives.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.