The SAFE Alliance is best known as Austin’s largest domestic violence service provider, but Lesley Varghese, the nonprofit’s president, stresses that they perform other vital services, too.
“Our work touches on child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking,” Varghese told the Chronicle. “All of that work was under threat last week.”
Varghese is referring to the memo issued on Jan. 27 by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget that announced an abrupt freeze on all federal grants issued to nonprofit organizations across the country. OMB said the freeze was to audit all grant activity to ferret out any activity “inconsistent with [President Donald Trump’s] Executive Orders” targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in place at federal agencies.
U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan quickly blocked the order from going into effect and, Monday, she issued a more robust restraining order against the executive action. In her order, AliKhan wrote that the order ran “roughshod” over the Constitution because it “attempted to wrest the power of the purse away from” Congress.
The Trump administration order “attempted to wrest the power of the purse away from” Congress. – U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan
Still, the memo set off alarm bells among SAFE leadership, as it did for the thousands of nonprofit organizations that depend on federal funding. Varghese said that her best estimate is that about 30% of SAFE’s operating budget is tied to funding issued from a federal agency. But, she added, the exact figure is difficult to determine because some programs offered by SAFE are funded through a mix of federal, state, local, and philanthropic dollars and some programs are funded by state or local agencies – but with money passed down by the federal government.
Those programs include the domestic violence shelter SAFE operates, which provides women trapped in violent relationships a secure place to flee, and Varghese said is the No. 1 requested service from SAFE. Other services include foster programs that can remove children from abusive homes. And it includes the multitude of services SAFE offers around sexual assault – from preventive classes on dating violence taught in high schools, to the administration of rape kits to sexual assault survivors, and the counseling offered to those survivors.
“It’s hard to imagine how we could sustain these programs with the loss of federal funding,” Varghese said. “It would require a huge replacement from philanthropy.”
But philanthropic giving is down across the country, Varghese said. Which highlights one of the more important factors of federal funding for nonprofits – it’s stable (historically, at least). That allows organizations to forecast more accurate budgets and plan for what services they’ll be able to offer, which can better attract private fundraising (donors like to think their donations are going to an effective and financially stable organization, Varghese said).
The funding stability offered by federal grants is especially critical to the work SAFE does, Varghese said. People in violent relationships are often reluctant to flee those relationships, especially when children are involved. Leaving a violent partner, even temporarily, can be fraught with risk, Varghese said. But the promise of a safe place to shelter can be the difference maker – and for an organization like SAFE, the loss of dependable federal funding weakens that promise.
Varghese said she is glad that the courts have moved to block what she characterized as an “arbitrary and capricious order that clearly violated the law” (Varghese is also SAFE’s chief legal officer), but she worries about the chilling effect the order may have. Trump officials have said they intend to pursue the spirit of the OMB memo through different means, so Varghese said SAFE – and other local nonprofits – will have to plan their budgets more conservatively.
“Nonprofits thinking they are OK because most of their funding is local should be really careful and look where their money is originating from,” Varghese said. “For us, we’re going to have to project how long we can sustain our current program level and where replacement funds would come from if we need them.”
This article appears in February 7 • 2025.