Non-Profit Task Force Meeting - June 10, 2026: Federal Impact Discussion
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Non-Profit Task Force Meeting - June 10, 2026
Chair Judah Holstein called the Non-Profit Task Force meeting to order at 10:04 AM on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in the County Board Committee Room. The meeting focused on the agenda item "Federal Impact: Challenges, Coordination, and Shared Strategies," gathering nonprofit professionals and county officials to identify immediate impacts from federal funding cuts and policy changes, understand risks to organizations and communities, and explore coordination and advocacy opportunities with county government.
Discussion Items
-
Reimbursement and Contract Payment Delays – Navy Djonovic (representing Citrus Cooperman and numerous nonprofit clients) highlighted that nonprofits are acting as financial institutions because government reimbursements are severely delayed, with some organizations waiting since June 2025 for payment. This forces nonprofits to draw down reserves or use lines of credit, incurring interest expenses. Jan Fisher (Nonprofit Westchester – NPW) noted that the state legislature passed a bill (S. A. something) addressing payment timelines, but it has been vetoed by the governor for three consecutive years, and urged the sector to advocate strongly. As of June 2026, the bill remains pending at the governor's desk. Manny Rawlings (Chief of Staff, Community Resource Center) raised the issue of capital grants (e.g., NY Forward) that require reimbursement after spending, which forces nonprofits to front large sums, and asked if the county could serve as a bridge funder for state-guaranteed grants.
-
Tax Abatements and Economic Development Incentives for Nonprofits – Morgan McEwen (Director, Mordance) proposed that Westchester County explore policies to incentivize landlords who lease affordable spaces to nonprofits, similar to tax abatements given to for-profit developers. She noted that nonprofits often pay property taxes indirectly through rent, while nonprofits that own property receive exemptions. Chair Holstein called the idea "out-of-the-box" and said he and colleagues would explore it. David Buchwald (Civic Helpers) pointed out via WebEx that most real property tax exemptions are governed by state law, so the first question is whether state law allows such incentives. Manny Rawlings added that his village (Mount Vernon) has a developer fee fund used for community improvements, suggesting a similar county-level fund could support nonprofits.
-
Immigration Policy and ICE Enforcement Impacts – Jeanette Gisbert (Deputy Director, Neighbors Link) reported that in the past year there were over 600 changes to immigration policy. She noted a 25% reduction in immigration judges nationally, and in New York, 77 new judges were recently appointed, some without immigration law experience, causing delays and cancellations of hearings. She also described "mega master hearings" with long lines (up to three hours). Denise Durham Williams (CEO, My Sister's Place) observed a drop-off in services among undocumented survivors of domestic violence and raised concerns about a national statement that ICE would target New York. She called for a collective information system (like a hotline) and proactive preparation. Neighbors Link already provides community education and resource pages. Several speakers (including Jan Fisher and Tiffany Hamilton) urged coordination with local police and school districts, and noted the New York State Attorney General's office has a website to track ICE activity.
-
Mission Dilution and Funding Shifts – Tiffany Hamilton (YWCA White Plains) described indirect impacts: corporate and foundation funders are shifting away from equity-focused missions, causing increased competition and mission dilution. She suggested convening corporations and foundations to establish impact grants that could be channeled through the county to affected nonprofits.
-
Fair Housing and Contract Scope Reduction – Kacy Brady (Executive Director, Westchester Residential Opportunities) reported that federal contracts are being delayed and scope of work narrowed (e.g., emotional support animals, source of income discrimination cases). She thanked the county for maintaining additional protected classes under local law and emphasized the need to educate residents that state and county protections remain in effect despite federal rollbacks.
-
Capital Grant Payment Challenges – Jennifer Ryan Safsel (New Michelle YMCA) described capital grants (e.g., CREST, SAM) that only reimburse after expenses, requiring nonprofits to front large sums. She proposed a model where grantees receive 50% upfront, as done at the federal level. She noted she will meet with governor's staff to advocate for this change.
-
Legislative Advocacy – Jan Fisher highlighted that NPW is championing legislation (passed by Senate and Assembly) to require timely state payments and address contract issues. The governor previously vetoed similar bills, but this year's version addresses her stated concerns point-by-point. NPW is building an "army of advocates" for the upcoming session.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken. The meeting served as a listening session and brainstorming forum.
- Chair Holstein expressed gratitude and commitment to explore several ideas, including tax abatements for nonprofit landlords, developer fee funds, and streamlined reimbursement processes.
- Participants agreed to continue collaboration, with NPW and the County Board of Legislators facilitating follow-up. Neighbors Link offered to help other organizations with ICE response resources and tabletop exercises with local municipalities.
- The meeting adjourned at approximately 11:00 AM (as Chair Holstein noted a 11:00 AM meeting commitment).
Meeting Transcript
This meeting is being recorded and summarized. So we can see good morning. Great. Hey. Good morning, good morning. You want to switch these are your good morning, everyone. Together with Jan Fisher, who I'm sure everybody knows. You are also joined. Thank you for joining us, Leclerc William Jimson, the uh chair America, co-chair emeritus, uh, who I am honored to take the uh baton from and uh uh uh grateful for setting this in into play. So thank you for being here. Thank you all for being here. Um so this is uh our first meeting of this session and uh I'm glad to have everyone have a room here. Um be in the nonprofit sector, you guys are our field agents, if you will. Um such an important role you guys play with the county. So we're grateful to have everyone here. Um and so I think we take them uh this opportunity we heard last year from the things that were coming, and now they're sort of here, and so we want to hear a little bit more and have a conversation about how we can move forward together. We're also being joined by uh legislator Nancy Politics today. Um I am gonna do one thing a little differently because we do have another meeting at 11 o'clock. In the past, we would go around the room and the uh WebEx and have everybody introduce themselves. And that usually takes 15 minutes in the interest of ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to speak. I'm going to request that we hold off on introductions and instead if it's the first time you're speaking at that moment you can say who you want to be represent so that we can jump right into that. But with that, I will hand it over to Jan to also share some open lines. Good morning, everyone, and I will be as quick as I can. Um, I want to thank the Board of Legislators for this opportunity. Chairman Gashi, I wanna give for partnering with legislator Holstein as well. I I do want to give a special shout out to my colleague Jewel Williams Johnson, um, legislator Johnson Williams Johnson for making this happen over a multi-year period. We tried so hard to get this task force going, and along with um Chairman Gashi, that was able to happen with your for fortitude and tenacity. So thank you for that. And we really appreciate our partnership with county government. We know that these times are so difficult for our sector, and I do make an analogy to COVID, except now we seem to be in it a little bit more on our own. Stock market's good, things are okay, and the people and populations we serve and our own nonprofit infrastructures are at risk now more than ever. Um, and and we don't have an entire community um with us the way we do the way we did um during the horrifying times of COVID. So these opportunities to work with the sector and to have our ambassadors to to other sectors is really important. Um we know that HR1, um, which some of you know as the one tape beautiful bill, which I will not be referring to that as had really dire impact for our sector and the people we serve, and um not to be a total downer today, but the worst is yet to come in many ways. So we're seeking your input. So the purpose today is to gather nonprofit professionals and county officials to identify immediate impacts from federative funding funding and policy changes, um, understand risks to our organizations and the communities we serve, and to turn to determine opportunities to coordinate and advocate with county government who have been so supportive of us, both in the executive branch and the legislative branch. So we really want to again uh talk about what is happening and what we can do. We have two key questions that we're asking, and we want everybody to be respectful of each other's time if there's a need for another meeting. We will make that happen because there's a lot going on. The key questions here are what are the immediate impacts your organizations are experiencing from recent federal cuts or executive action at the federal level, and which services and populations are most at risk. We've had these conversations before, we need to keep helping them. What types of support, coordination, or advocacy from county government and fellow nonprofits would be most helpful during this period of time. I did receive an email late last night from Ellen Morehouse at Student Assistant Services. She apologizes that she could not be here. But I'm going to read, I'm gonna start this off with what just happened to them. They received significant cuts to their work. Student advocacy advocates on behalf of students in in Westchester County. They received significant cuts on a federal level from DOJ because their grants project activities do not align sufficiently with the program's purposes nor the priorities of the administration and department of justice. They were given 30 days to revise their activities, or they will lose I think approximately 375,000 for services that they are providing. So I have more detail on that, but that to lead off the cuts and the demands for us to revamp our services in alignment with the more sort of what does that mean in align with the current administration is is problematic.
openpublica.com