'Bad' words, the 'other shoe' and a 'silver lining'?

Last Friday's post, I suggested that the challenge facing CDFIs is less about words than crafting the ‘next narrative.’ However, that doesn’t address the major concern of our clients whom we are collaborating with on their narratives for their Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance applications, especially those that serve Black Hispanic and API small businesses. How do we interpret the Administration’s anti- DEI Executive Orders?

We are witnessing how this is playing out at the federal level, as agencies scramble to comb through their websites and documents to identify and purge forbidden words. Over the weekend, Kathryn Harper, a Senior Associate on our team, sent me link to an article about the list of words from research papers and grant proposals identified by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will initiate a review to see if they are allowed. You can access a copy of the list here. https://tinyurl.com/forbidden-words Enter the Twighlight Zone.

Then, on Thursday, the White House issued a memorandum ordering a sweeping review of federal funding for all nongovernmental organizations in order to “stop funding to NGOs that undermine the national interest.’ Cue up Martha and the Vandellas with: “Nowhere to run to, baby (nowhere to run, nowhere to hide), nowhere to hide.”

And while we were distracted by playing with Chat GPT, the ‘other shoe’ dropped this morning when the DOGE recommended to The Treasury that contracts for external evaluators (independent reviewers) for the CDFI Fund FA-TA and NACA be terminated. Let’s be clear, the directive said nothing about the status of the NOFA, at least for now.

And about that ‘silver lining’ - you will we recall after freeze was announced, the Administration came back with a clarification: no disruption in farm loans, SBA loans (including the SBA Microloan which are made to low-income individuals and persons of color), etc. Despite this, SBA Microloan Intermediary lenders report the SBA is not current on grant payments.

Keep your heads up and your hearts open. But now is the time to organize like have never done before. I’ll have some choice words about that in a forthcoming post.