Everything from disaster relief to domestic violence would be impacted.
COUPEVILLE, Wash. — As President Donald Trump’s campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion expands nationwide, nonprofits across western Washington say they are being forced into a stark choice: comply with new rules or risk shutting down.
Counselors at the Citizens Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse on Whidbey Island say the stakes are especially high for the people they serve. The organization, known as CADA, has supported domestic violence and sexual assault survivors for 45 years and is now seeing cases climb sharply.
“Our cases just keep going up,” said CADA Executive Director Andrea Downs.
Under the proposed federal changes, nonprofits that receive government grants or loans could be required to limit services tied to DEI-related categories. For CADA, leaders say that could mean excluding immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities — or losing the vast majority of their funding.
“We’re not going to serve our immigrant communities, we’re not going to serve our LGBTQ communities, and we’re going to play by these rules, or we’re going to lose 86% of our funding,” Downs said. “That’s the choice.”
CADA leaders say those communities are often disproportionately impacted by domestic and sexual violence. Losing access to services, they warn, could have deadly consequences.
“They’re going to stay in unsafe situations for longer, which is going to lead to higher lethality risks, more people being killed by their abusive partners,” said CADA Director of Public Policy Roshelle Cleland.
The potential impact stretches far beyond domestic violence programs. Advocates say the policy could affect any nonprofit relying on federal support, including organizations focused on housing, health care, education, food assistance, shelter and disaster recovery.
At CADA, staff say they are on pace to serve nearly double the number of victims compared with last year, making the funding uncertainty even more urgent.
For now, leaders say they are not ready to choose between compliance and closure. Instead, they are preparing to fight.
“When we rise up and we push back, we can change things,” Downs said.
Advocates are urging concerned community members to contact their members of Congress as the policy debate continues.
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