When the Federal Office of Management and Budget issued a memo in January ordering a temporary halt to federal financial assistance.

Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness Executive Director Meg Zaletel had serious concerns about her organization, and many of their partners.

So the coalition is unique in that we both receive some federal funding and we help administer federal funding.

Zaletel encouraged partner groups to immediately apply for reimbursements on expenses that had already been federally approved, but the funding portal was inaccessible.

And so it was, you know, 24 hours of wondering, are these systems coming back up?

Are we going to get money that's already owed?

And then everything kind of went on pause.

By the next day, a judge had blocked the administration's pause.

Now, Zaletel says they can access reimbursements, but other funding is still up in the air.

And they're not the only nonprofit dealing with unanswered questions.

There's a lot of uncertainty with what's happening at the federal level right now.

And I think that affects us both internally and externally.

Cara Durr is the CEO of the Food Bank of Alaska.

She says she's less concerned about federal funding.

They do receive some for nutrition programs, but is more worried about cascading economic effects that could lead to more people needing food assistance at a time when that need is already high.

We had Covid, we had inflation impacts hit after that, and it really hasn't gone down since.

So we're continuing to see high demand for our services at our partners across the state.

Durr says the food bank has a diverse system of funding and can afford to lose some streams, but for others, the situation is more dire.

The Foraker Group, which supports nonprofits statewide, found in a survey of nearly 300 nonprofits that over half could shut down if their funds are frozen.

Zaletel says the coalition itself could absorb cuts to their direct funding, but she's less sure about their partners.

It wouldn't be without hurt.

But we would we would figure it out.

But for those that have actual expenses to keep roofs over people's heads, to keep people supported in their journey, you know, to stable housing, I don't know what they'll do.

And For now, all nonprofits that receive federal funds are waiting to hear more and doing their best to weather a new era of uncertainty.

In Anchorage, I'm Madliyn Rose.