By January 2026, the Department of Government Efficiency had driven the termination of 15,887 federal grants totaling approximately $49 billion nationally. The Urban Institute found that one in three nonprofit service providers experienced a government funding disruption in the first six months of 2025, 21% losing a grant outright, 27% facing delays or freezes, 6% receiving stop-work orders. The Partnership for the Public Good, Buffalo’s community policy organization, surveyed WNY member organizations and documented $35.6 million in federal funding cuts and program eliminations across the region. The organizations affected span housing, education, healthcare, refugee support, and community development, the connective tissue of WNY’s civic infrastructure.
Experts warn the deepest impact is still arriving: many affected grants are multi-year awards whose non-renewal effects will hit organizations in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 rather than 2025. Mayor Ryan issued Executive Order #2026-001 prohibiting city cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, representing the most direct municipal response to federal pressure on local institutions. AmeriCorps grant terminations are specifically affecting youth development, literacy, and community service programs across Buffalo that relied on low-cost volunteer labor to maintain viability.
Details
Last Updated:
3/2026
Main Drivers:
- DOGE’s systematic termination of federal grants across health, housing, education, and community development sectors
- Multi-year grant structures creating delayed recognition of total funding losses as awards expire without renewal
- AmeriCorps loss of $400 million nationally eliminating a core infrastructure for community service programs in WNY
- TRIO educational opportunity program cuts reducing college access support for first-generation Buffalo students
- WNY’s unusually dense and mission-critical nonprofit sector creating disproportionate regional exposure to federal grant disruption
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