As the Trump administration pushes for more and more spending cuts and more federal funding is frozen or eliminated entirely, cities and towns are feeling the brunt of the impact.

When all is said and done, Newton’s coffers may see millions of dollars in federal funding cuts, and that’s in addition to state funding cuts triggered by those federal cuts.

And nonprofit organizations are feeling the pressure, too, as the new presidential administration reprioritizes causes it will support and punishes causes it won’t, and as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency takes a chainsaw to the federal funding apparatus.

Historic Newton, for example, recently had to lay off an employee hired to catalogue thousands of textile artifacts because the federal grant issued by the Biden administration last year was canceled by the Trump administration two months ago. Other organizations are left waiting for news of whether or not they will be hit next.

Some organizations, like the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club, don’t get federal funding but could see some impact with the state budget.

“We have some state funding that will likely be at risk because the state will need to adjust,” David Sellers said.

But if community block development grants—which come from the federal government to the state and then to the city—are cut, that will affect the Boys & Girls Club scholarships, Sellers noted.

And since the Boys & Girls Club provides daycare, it receives Commonwealth Cares for Children grants, which could see interruption if the federal spigot shuts off.

And Boys & Girls Club locations across Massachusetts receive a grant called ASOFT—which stands for After-School and Out of School Time—which helps strengthen programs for kids.

“And that one has been naturally winding down, but obviously its demise would be swift if there was an interruption to the state’s funding sources,” Sellers said.

John M. Barry Boys % Girls Club. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Erin Keohane is chief advancement officer at Spoonfuls, a Newton-based organization that takes collects fresh healthy food that would otherwise be thrown away and distributes it to programs that help families facing food insecurity throughout Greater Boston, MetroWest, Worcester County and Hampden County. Keohane said that while her organization doesn’t get any state or federal money, many organizations that Spoonfuls works with that provide food and do get government funding are seeing that funding stop.

“What we’re anticipating happening, and what we’re already seeing happen even in advance of some cuts, is a competitive pool for private philanthropy,” Keohane said. “Where some of these agencies may have relied on federal funding in the past, with those resources now gone, we’re actually seeing more competition for corporate, family foundation and individual contributions, which makes our ability to continue to do this work a little bit more challenging.”

And cuts to SNAP and other programs that provide food for families in need has a ripple effect on organizations like hers.

“With the USDA canceling $3.3 million of food deliveries to food banks in Massachusetts, the ripple effect that causes to the partners that we serve is tremendous,” Keohane said.

“We’re always stressed out,” Emily O’Neil, director of the New Art Center, said, pointing out that the New Arts Center gets rejected from every NEA grant available because Newton is perceived as not being a community in need.

“Arts and culture is underfunded anyway. Annually, arts and culture get 5 percent of philanthropic giving, on a national level,” O’Neil said. “Arts and culture, they’re not elevated as a valuable necessity in the community, so we get overlooked for most funding.”

And the Massachusetts Cultural Council grants have taken a hit, O’Neil said, so “there’s less money to go around everywhere, and arts and culture is already at the bottom of the list of giving.”

For organizations that run on mostly donations, widespread nonprofit funding cuts, combined with inflation and fear about tariffs, can lead to less giving for everyone.

“We’ve seen a reduction in donations from corporate supporters, from private foundation grants and from donors,” O’Neil said.

Susan Paley speaks to a room of nonprofit leaders in Newton on May 8, 2025. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Mayoral candidate Marc Laredo met Thursday night with leaders of Newton nonprofits to discuss how the city can make things easier for them.

“I want you to believe and understand that you have a partner and a proponent in City Hall,” Laredo said to the room. “In many ways, these organizations are the lifeblood of our city,” Laredo said.

And when things get tough, nonprofits often step in to help—nonprofits like Newton Neighbors Helping Neighbors, which started as a Facebook group during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now a 501(c)(3).

Susan Paley, retired VP of Village Bank, board member of Newton Cultural Alliance and board chair of Newton Neighbors Helping Neighbors, echoed a concern of many in the room about the mountain of local regulations for fundraising activities.

“There are so many hoops—monetary hoops and permitting hoops—that a nonprofit has to go through to hold an event,” Paley said.

While city leaders figure out how to help local charities navigate these unstable times, nonprofit organizations are in a waiting phase to see if they’ll be affected by the chaos in the federal government and on Beacon Hill.

State Rep. Amy Sangiolo, D-Newton, was also at Laredo’s event and said there are definitely nonprofit programs that won’t get funding next year that they’ve gotten in years past.

“It’s very sad, and it hurts us, because these are organizations that we care about,” Sangiolo said.