Local nonprofit loses out on $400K grant amid federal cuts

INDIANAPOLIS – Our FOX59/CBS4 team is learning how local nonprofits may be being impacted by decisions made at the federal level, specifically within the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

A lot of this has to do with the way organizations are applying for federal grants. This includes local nonprofit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful which is going on 50 years of making an impact across the city.

“We were planning to do a significant investment to create a new impactful greenspace in Indianapolis,” said Jeremy Kranowitz, the president and CEO of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. “We are still hoping to do that but it was going to cost about $400,000 and now we are at $0.” 

The nonprofit just discovered they lost out on nearly half a million dollars in federal grant money. This was first announced on Kranowitz’s LinkedIn page. He said the most frustrating part is the reason why they believe they lost out on it.

“Even though the grant that we were talking about was related to urban forestry, we are fairly certain why it was canceled was because it used the word ‘biodiversity’ and used the word ‘tree equity,’” Kranowitz said.

This stems from decisions within the federal government looking at ways to cut spending through the DOGE including some projects related to DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“Our goal is to bring all residents of Indianapolis together regardless of faith, background, or politics and just work together to make the city a better place, so it’s incredibly frustrating that funding that is incredibly hard to come by is removed for arbitrary or capricious reasons,” Kranowitz said.

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is not the only nonprofit recently impacted, they said other nonprofits across the country are dealing with similar losses.

“I think what is going to be really interesting and I think a lesson learned here for any nonprofit or civil service organization that is trying to do right by the community is the important thing is being very careful on what language we use,” Kranowitz said. “If a term like ‘biodiversity’ is the reason why you lose a grant, we are going to have to think about talking about these things in a different way.”

Going forward, organizations like this one are looking at new ways to write and apply for grants so a situation like this doesn’t happen again.

“We are going to have to talk about things through a lens of economic efficiency and using different types of language to be able to pursue the same goals at the end of the day of making the city a cleaner and greener place,” Kranowitz said.

To learn more about this nonprofit and ways you can donate and volunteer, click here.