Federal Grant Funding Freeze and the Future of CT NOFA

Executive Branch Actions Threaten Future of CT NOFA, Leaving Our Organization with Less Than Two Months of Funding Resources

 

Roughly two-thirds of CT NOFA’s budget for 2025 is tied to federal grant funding, primarily through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As is the case with many businesses and organizations, our 2025 budget was outlined and approved last year based on contractual agreements with the USDA to implement programs, such as the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), which helps conventional farms make the switch to certified organic growing. However, since January, all of those previously agreed to and contracted funds have been withheld by the executive branch of the federal government. To date, and despite repeated inquiries, CT NOFA has been given no notice of when – or if – those contracts will be upheld by the federal government.

This leaves CT NOFA in a difficult position. We have already fulfilled some of the agreed upon work that these grants fund, but it is unknown if our expenditures in doing so will be reimbursed. Additionally, the federal government has provided no indication of whether the contracted work that was planned for the remainder of this year will be continued.

As such, and because of the pivotal role of these grant funds in our 2025 budget, CT NOFA has begun partial furloughs for all staff and terminated all third-party contractor work. Although this means that many of our programs will be limited in scope, it will allow us, for the time being, to continue some portion of our work.

The blunt truth, however, is that without restoration of these previously pledged grant funds by the federal government or significant growth in grassroots donations and support, CT NOFA will be forced to cease operations and lay off all staff, beginning May 1.

 

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CT NOFA’s Immediate Future

Despite this, CT NOFA is resolved to do what it can with what it has. The potential elimination of two-thirds of our budget forces us to choose which aspects of our work to pause and which to pursue. For the short-term future, CT NOFA hopes to continue the following:

 

Transition to Organic programming

Over the past two years, through the USDA-funded Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), CT NOFA has provided local farms with mentorship and technical assistance to help them achieve organic certification. This has resulted in 2 farms successfully attaining certification in 2024; 7 more farms are slated for certification this year, which will result in a greater than 20% increase in the number of organic farms in our state. Learn more about the TOPP program here.

Expanding the number of organic farms in Connecticut and increasing the resources available to them has been CT NOFA’s central mission since our founding. Although we may not be able to continue this work in partnership with the USDA, we hope to be able to sustain it with community support. Transition to Organic programming, including finalizing the organic certification of the 7 farms slated for 2025, will be a primary focus of any funds that are raised in support of our work.

 

Advocacy

Since 1982, CT NOFA has provided a voice in the political sphere to advocate for policy actions that support the viability of small-scale and organic farms throughout the state, enable future farmers to acquire land on which to practice their trade, provide food-access resources for those without them, and protect and preserve the health and well-being of both our public and private landscapes. Learn more about our advocacy work here.

Advocating on behalf of our farms, farmers, organic consumers, and all who benefit from a healthy environment is core to CT NOFA’s mission and will be an additional focus of any funds that are raised in support of our work.

 

Fee for Service Programs

Although some CT NOFA programs are funded through service fees (such as our soil health and microscopy trainings and our Organic Land Care program), these programs are still reliant on CT NOFA staff for office support, marketing, communications, and more. For the short term future they will continue as they have – in the case of Organic Land Care, for the past 25 years – but their ultimate fate is tied to that of CT NOFA’s. Without our organization to support them, their operations will also be forced to cease. Part of any funds raised in support of CT NOFA will be allocated towards staff hours to help keep these programs functioning.

 

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What You Can Do

 

Donate to CT NOFA

If you’ve ever considered pledging your financial support for CT NOFA’s work, we need your help now, more than ever. If you are a financial supporter who often donates to our cause later in the year, we are deeply in need of your support today. In lieu of government funding, we must rely on those who believe in our mission if we are to continue working in support of it.

If you’d like to donate directly to support CT NOFA, you may do so here.

If you’d like to support us by beginning or renewing a membership with CT NOFA, you may do so here.

 

Share Our Story

One way you can help is by getting the word out. CT NOFA, as well as many organizations like ours, are under extreme financial duress in the wake of government actions that have frozen funding that we rely on.

Yet, public advocacy and vocal disapproval of government action has, historically, caused decision makers to rethink their actions. The more people who talk about this, the more likely we are to be noticed by those decision makers. You can share this article with your friends via email and let them know you’d like them to spread the word. Additionally, you can share our social media posts on any of the following platforms that you may use.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Bluesky
• Twitter

 

Contact Your Representatives

Get involved in politics. Reach out to your state and federal representatives to let them know that you value what organizations like CT NOFA do. If you can, share a personal story about how our work has impacted you. Most importantly, demand that your representative take action on behalf of their constituents.

Find your Connecticut state representatives, congressperson, and senators here.

 

Contact USDA Secretary, Brooke Rollins

Reach out to the USDA at (202) 720-7100 or AgSec@usda.gov and ask Secretary Rollins to honor the USDA’s commitment to the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) and release the pledged funds to organizations, such as CT NOFA, that have done and will continue to do the work they have promised.

 

Volunteer with CT NOFA

If you’re unable to support us financially but you do have free time and enthusiasm for our mission to share, consider volunteering with us. As we continue to modify our programs and goals to accommodate shifting funding, we anticipate having many opportunities for volunteers to join us in the work of creating a more organic Connecticut. If you’d like to be a part of that, you can sign up to volunteer with us, here.

 

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Thank You

We began as a grassroots, community-driven organization, and though we’ve grown in size, scope, and impact since 1982, we’ve always relied, first and foremost, on the support of the community we serve: the people of Connecticut who care about and are invested in the future of organic agriculture and organic land care in our state. However you’re able to help us, thank you.