Making Order From Chaos
Did you make your plan last week?
Did you start making one on Monday?
Any organization that receives non-appropriated federal dollars through grant, reimbursement, or other executive branch agency funding should be worried - and should be planning. While the OMB memo suspending disbursements was rescinded on Wednesday following multiple legal challenges and a judicial stay until at least Monday, the administration made clear that they still expect to engage in this level of extensive review at some point in the near future.
Whether this particular plan will be feasible is still an open question - there are good legal arguments for why already appropriated and granted funds should not be rescinded. However, one way or another, it seems clear that the federal arts and cultural funding landscape is going to fundamentally change and probably sooner than anyone thought.
The plain text of the memo gave some clues as to what funding may be the biggest targets of any proposed funding cuts - many of the same initiatives that have been targeted repeatedly since January 20 - to whit “ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest.”
This language is broad enough to implicate just about anything that a political appointee believes “undermine[s] the national interest”, so it is hard to know what won’t be targeted, but it is clear enough what absolutely will be - diversity initiatives, alternative energy programs, anything related to the transgender experience.
I realize that for many arts and cultural organizations, this may not be comforting, but forewarned is forearmed. Make your plan. Have funding contingency plans for how you continue to operate if certain grants are rescinded. Consider your messaging for potentially controversial programs. Think about what operational changes might be necessary if you have to cancel shows or lay off departments. Bring in your crisis team of internal and external experts who can help you navigate these challenges.
That expertise should include a lawyer or firm who understands your business and how to manage an emerging critical situation. Email me today to discuss how Sexton Law PLLC can help.
Attorney advertising; not intended as legal advice.