Please share widely, especially with organizations who have federal funding! And please sign up to receive these updates in your inbox every 2 weeks or so.
In case you missed it, on Wednesday, April 15, Democracy Forward helped to win a powerful preliminary injunction to stop all freezes, halts, or pauses carried out by EPA, DOE, DOI, HUD, and USDA for grants funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This injunction applies to all such grants that are currently frozen. It does not apply to grants that have been selected but were never awarded.
If your grant has been suspended, use this template to demand that it be reinstated and let us know at FPC@L4GG.org if it is still suspended.
If your grant has been unfrozen —NOW is the time to properly draw down because we do not know when it will close again. See below for details.
You may have seen reports that the Trump administration is considering an Executive Order (EO) with a set of potential actions against climate and environmental groups. Please note that this is rumor only and has not happened yet. Also note that EOs are not law and that any attempt to remove an org’s status would take time and multiple steps that can be challenged. To help you stay armed and not alarmed, L4GG has prepared a 501(c)(3) Guidance Brief to help organizations stay informed of the legal process associated with reviewing 501(c)(3) tax exempt status—spoiler alert—the President does NOT have the authority to revoke your 501(c)(3) status.
If you do four things TODAY to protect your funding, please consider the following:
- Use this template to unfreeze your funding and implement your project.
- Fill out Lawyers for Good Government’s Intake Form.
- Register NOW and join us TODAY at 12:30pm eastern for our bimonthly webinars and office hours (make sure to check off the “office hours” box).
- Protect your Terms and Conditions: Read L4GG’s Guidance Brief on Terms and Conditions.
Details below:
1. Unfreeze your funding and implement your project
a. If you haven’t already, use this revised email template on the current nationwide preliminary injunction to send an email to your Project Officer, their supervisor, your Award Official, and applicable agency higher-ups.
- Tailor the highlighted sections to your individual circumstances.
- Use these resources on creating your administrative record to include the harms that these freezes have caused to the beneficiaries of your work and your organization.
- Reach out to fpc@l4gg.org if you don’t know your Award Official.
b. Draw Down Funds Legally – If you have access to your funds, draw down all funds you are legally entitled to draw down.
- Contact epa-support@trccompanies.com if you need assistance determining allowable drawdowns.
- Often, you only have 5 days to spend drawn down funds.
- Take care to abide by the guardrails set forth in your terms and conditions to remain in compliance.
2. Fill out Lawyers for Good Government’s Intake Form
a. If you have not filled it out yet, please do! This is the best way to get 1:1 pro bono legal assistance, litigation information and connections, and connect with technical and communications support.
b. If you have filled it out, please update us!
3. Register NOW and join us TODAY at 12:30pm eastern for our bimonthly webinars and office hours (make sure to check off the “office hours” box)
a. Join us TODAY, Wednesday, April 23, 12:30-2pm eastern for legal updates and training to protect your funding.
b. Twice a month we host Zoom calls packed with the latest updates, information, and opportunities. The first 45 minutes are info and trainings for all grantees. The second 45 minutes are office hours in grant specific breakout rooms.