‘Nobody’s having an easy time’: Iowa nonprofit, social services leaders discuss challenges amid funding cuts, partisan politics

DES MOINES — Amid government funding cuts and hyper partisan politics, Iowa leaders in nonprofit and social service organizations say they must remain true to their missions.

Iowa nonprofit and social services leaders discussed the challenges their organizations face during The Gazette’s annual Iowa Ideas virtual conference this week.

The Catherine McAuley Center, a Cedar Rapids-based nonprofit that provides myriad services — including education for English language learners, food assistance, and supports for women — earlier this year lost half its budget when the federal government cut $2.5 million in funding, reimbursements and contracts.

The center was forced to cut its staff in half — from 50 employees to 25 — and end its refugee resettlement program.

“We had to let go of that many people in a very short period of time,” Anne Dugger, the center’s executive director, said during an Iowa Ideas session on Thursday. “We knew that there would be a stop of refugee resettlement, but we did not realize that the government would shut down the funding so fast. … We were told Friday and on Monday was gone.

“So we’ve had a humongous change in how our organization is — it sort of felt for a little while like we were just missing a full limb, and we just didn’t know how to walk on one leg. So that was really difficult.”

Renee Hardman, CEO and president of Lutheran Services in Iowa, said her organization was forced to lay off 25 employees because of federal funding cuts. LSI employs roughly 340 people, she said.

Many of the leaders said nonprofits must find a way to diversify their revenue so they are not overly reliant on government funding. That can present its own challenges, they also noted, in private fundraising.

“Nobody’s having an easy time getting the resources to do their work right now, that’s for sure,” said Emily Shields, a board member at the Iowa Nonprofit Alliance, which represents and provides resources for dozens of Iowa nonprofit organizations. “I think there is so much uncertainty that it makes it really difficult for nonprofits to know how long they’re going to be able to keep payroll going and programs going, and they need all the resources they can get their hands on to be able to meet the needs.

“Most of the nonprofits we talk to don’t have the resources to meet the needs in whatever area they’re serving, no matter what it may be. It’s just not there.”

The nonprofit and social services leaders also discussed working with policymakers in a time of heightened partisan politics. Many of the organization leaders said it is crucial to share stories of their work and develop long-term relationships with policymakers.

And in doing so, Hardman said, organizations must “stay true to who you are.”

“You have to really focus on what the impact of your services are. Tell those stories about impact. How are you helping the economy with the state of Iowa? How are you protecting lives? And how are you impacting the workforce,” Hardman said. “I say here at LSI, we are who we are. We are unapologetically who we are.”

Dugger said when you dig past people’s political leanings, you find that most everyone wants to help others.

“I’ve known people on both sides of this polarization, and when it came down to it, would they help their neighbor in a time of crisis? Absolutely they would,” Dugger said. “We have donors and volunteers who do not align politically with me (and) they certainly let me know that. But we do align on, ‘I care about my community. I care about people who are in my community and making sure my community is thriving.’

“So there’s a lot of common ground that we’re told we don’t have, and we absolutely do.”

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

Get the latest Iowa politics and government coverage each morning in the On Iowa Politics newsletter.