Green Bay nonprofits face challenges with federal funding |Feat. UW-Green Bay Nonprofit Conference | WFRV

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) — Nonprofit leaders from across northeast Wisconsin gathered at Lambeau Field on Tuesday for the third annual UW-Green Bay Nonprofit Conference, an event focused on collaboration, networking and tackling challenges facing the sector.

While the conference covered a wide range of topics, concerns over federal funding uncertainties were a key point of discussion.

Matt Hohner, director of the Volunteer Center of Brown County, emphasized the importance of the conference as a space for nonprofit leaders to connect and share resources.

“This conference has been great. This is the third year they’re doing this conference, and it’s a great way for local nonprofit leaders to get together, collaborate, network with each other and learn a lot,” Hohner said.

For some organizations, federal funding plays a critical role in their operations. Hohner pointed to his group’s RSVP program, which relies on an $84,000 federal grant.

“One of our programs receives federal funding, our RSVP program, which is a retired senior volunteer program. We receive federal funding for that, about $84,000 from them. It’s threatened to be taken away,” Hohner said.

With some nonprofits relying almost entirely on government grants, losing that support could have serious consequences.

“It could affect a lot within the community, and that’s just us. It’s about 45% of our budget annually with that grant, and there are organizations here in Brown County that rely 100% on government funding,” he added.

Eliz Greene, a stress researcher and speaker at the event, addressed the toll that financial uncertainty takes on nonprofit professionals.

“Some of my favorite people to work with are people who work in a job where stress is kinda baked in, and nonprofit is definitely part of that. If you’re not getting your funding, you don’t have donors or mentors, you can’t do the important work your mission is to do,” Greene said.

“It is an unprecedented time across the whole world of uncertainty, which hits nonprofits harder than other people because, by definition of nonprofit, it is an uncertain business. You’re relying on people giving you money in order for it to work,” she said.

For now, some organizations have assurances that funding will continue, at least in the short term.

“As of right now, our portfolio manager, our grant portfolio manager with the federal government, has told us that we are on schedule to keep receiving those funds. For the foreseeable future, at least until April of ‘26, we should still be receiving those funds,” Hohner said.

GRB: Green Bay nonprofits face challenges with federal funding