The YWCA of McLean County is ending a nearly 40-year-old program that coordinates volunteers for nonprofit organizations in the community. This comes in the face of changing federal priorities and the administration campaign against diversity equity and inclusion [DEI] and its ‘War on Woke.’
The Retired Senior Volunteer Program [RSVP] serves 60-80 nonprofits in any given year. It now has about 350 volunteers. Alicia Whitworth, vice president of development and public relations, said the program has saved McLean County nonprofits more than $1 million per year over the last few years.
It was the YWCA’s second oldest program, behind childcare.
“It's things like a front desk person, it's someone who assists with mail, it's someone who assists with special projects, with events. A lot of the time these nonprofits originally were helped where funding could not provide a staff member. With shifts, that's now not everything that RSVP has been doing,” said Whitworth.
Volunteers do things like make sure school kids have snacks to get through the days. The program works with individuals through Faith in Action and Project Oz.
“Honestly, I am not sure that there are many nonprofits in McLean County who we are not working with in some capacity or another,” said Whitworth.
The grant amount was $65,000, which came with a $35,000 state match. That paid for three part-time people. One of those will retire and two others will be redirected within YWCA operations, said CEO and President Liz German.
The $55 million federal program serves 40-45 RSVP efforts in Illinois and about 650 nationwide. It’s under AmeriCorps, which has been a particular target of the administration, according to German. She noted the Trump administration cut administrative support at the federal level, from having state by state individual oversight to having a single federal worker manage programs in 20 states.
New rules
German said early last year the administration had threatened to freeze funding for RSVP unless the YWCA changed language on its website to conform to anti-DEI sensibilities. There are rolling application periods nationwide, so the YWCA knew a change in emphasis would also be coming this year.
The new grant priorities are different from what the YWCA has done. Previously qualifying elements involved access to care, working with veterans and their families, healthy futures and things like food insecurity. New priorities involve things like direct work with the unhoused population to find permanent housing, behavioral health services, training on NARCAN, teaching people in the community about NARCAN test strips and direct respite care with seniors.
“For RSVP volunteers, our average is 78-79 years old. It's an older demographic…Those volunteers we currently have are not really a good fit for these types of activities,” said Whitworth.
Nonprofits may not even want volunteers taking on those direct tasks, she said, particularly in working with people who might have mental health challenges, because they require specialty training and certification. There are confidentiality, safety and insurance issues in play.
“It is much more intense, much more hands on, almost direct service, clinical. The majority of what our volunteers currently do is more assisting that, aiding those little pieces that help keep the ship going, instead of that direct care,” said German.
New rules also tighten which kinds of volunteers qualify for funding support. No more than 20% of volunteers can serve in roles unrelated to the grant's priorities.
“Something as significant as like the food insecurity work we've done, having volunteers not only work at food banks, but deliver food to schools, that's no longer seen as an outcome for this grant, which is just such a shame when you think about the big picture,” said Whitworth.
She said people don't like the idea of tax dollars going to something they don't need, so having flexibility at the local level was important.
Tighter federal timelines have also made it more difficult for nonprofits to qualify.
Typically, the grant would have been released in September. The feds released the application at the end of February and it was due about three weeks later. German said the application takes more than three weeks to put together. Taken together, the barriers look like an attempt to kill the program.
“There is an element of these changes and the timing and the lateness of it coming out. This is not a program that is super supported by this administration,” said German.
RSVP in the future
The YWCA will officially end the program in June. Efforts to keep some form of service will be less robust. The YWCA plans to keep signups available on its website. There will be less coordination and active effort to fill specific needs of nonprofits. German said technology changes from the pre-internet origin of the program can help.
“Social media makes it really easy for somebody to say, ‘Hey, this is going on over at the [Activity and Recreation Center] ARC and they could use some help.’ The piece that won't be still in existence is if you're just a volunteer who doesn't have a specific interest in a specific agency…you're just not sure what you want to do, those people could have come to RSVP at the YWCA and said, 'Okay, what should I do? Do you have suggestions?'” said German.
She said they will try to refer the volunteers who are not a fit for the YWCA to fellow nonprofits.
“We will still have a way to connect the people that we currently have on our volunteer list with volunteer opportunities that we know are happening,” said German.
Living with uncertainty
The RSVP program may have been the first program the administration told the YWCA of McLean County it needed to change. Other grants are also under attack including three that support Stepping Stones Sexual Violence Crisis Center and its 24/7 support of those who have gone through sexual assault. Those total more than $500,000 and support 20 workers, German said.
“There are so many pieces in this community folks don't really process, because they don't do it day in and day out… That’s going to hospital calls when survivors report, that's going through the judicial system with survivors as they prosecute, that is going into our K-12 schools to teach Erin's Law and prevention education, as we've seen the necessity for recently,” said Whitworth.
Keeping those pieces in place affects the health and safety of the community, she said. Stepping Stones gets funding through VOCA, the Victims of Crime Act, and VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act.
“Our programs serve everybody. It's entirely semantics. And I can tell you that reviewing our website for mentions of women and girls was not on my bingo card,” said Whitworth. “VOCA and VAWA serve specific populations, and so having to kind of wind and weave around the intricacies of grant funding and current requirements of the administration has been kind of a game.”
German said the YWCA has some shelter because the money comes through the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, [ICASA]. State level legal support helps too with advocacy and push back.
“A lot of these lawsuits that are going on around the language and DEI are at their third or fourth appeal. I think it's going to be a waiting game,” said German.
She noted the administration is also looking at ending IRS tax exemptions for nonprofits based on DEI. And there’s an effort to pass new legislation on that.
“When I'm looking at next year's budget, there's only two things out of 12 that I know are going to happen for sure, that I can really plan. The rest is going to be down to July 1, sometimes even August 1,” said German.
She said having to pivot on short notice creates another level of uncertainty. And it prevents planning, which reduces efficiency.
Whitworth quoted the children’s movie The Emperor’s New Groove in affirming the need to stay resilient in a reactive environment for nonprofits.
“Don’t tell me. We’re about to go over a huge waterfall? Yep. Sharp rocks at the bottom? Most likely. Bring it on. Booyah!”
