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NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� On a sweltering summer day, children leap between rocks along the Bronx River while cyclists pedal on newly paved paths. Kayaks rest on what was once an industrial dumping ground, now transformed into a bustling promenade along the city鈥檚 only freshwater river.

The Bronx River Greenway, a series of stitched-together waterfront parks built atop once largely abandoned and polluted wasteland, is a hard-fought victory for the country鈥檚 poorest congressional district 鈥� one that locals call a 鈥渂eacon of environmental justice鈥� built by federal dollars and water-pollution settlements from the borough鈥檚 wealthier neighbors.

Now, like thousands of nonprofits around the country, this organization鈥檚 future is in jeopardy. The Trump administration鈥檚 sweeping federal grant cuts have left nonprofits nationwide and the communities they serve in precarious straits. But few places face as stark a reckoning as the Bronx, where federal funding has proved indispensable for revitalizing green spaces, protecting survivors of domestic violence, and preventing youth violence.

Over 84% of the 342 nonprofits based in the Bronx rely on federal grants now at risk, by the Urban Institute. It鈥檚 a significant increase from the 70% of groups vulnerable to government defunding statewide.

In all but two of the country鈥檚 437 congressional districts, the typical nonprofit could not cover its expenses without government grants. for government services 鈥� like operating homeless shelters 鈥� since the 1960s.

In the Bronx, if such grants were to disappear entirely, the borough鈥檚 nonprofits could face a collective deficit of nearly 30% 鈥� cuts that have begun to force layoffs and austerity on dozens of groups connecting Bronxites to low-cost health care, food assistance, and preschool slots.

鈥淲hen America sneezes, the Bronx gets the flu,鈥� said U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, the Democrat who represents the district. 鈥淚 think we in the Bronx feel we have been and will continue to be the hardest hit by the impact of a Trump presidency.鈥�

From revival to reversal

Nestled in a corner of parkland atop the site of an abandoned amusement park, the headquarters of the Bronx River Alliance is among the borough鈥檚 greenest buildings, boasting nature classrooms, samples of the river鈥檚 flora and fauna, and a storage space teeming with kayaks and canoes.

In March, the group received formal notice that it would lose $1.5 million in federal grants promised under the Inflation Reduction Act last year for improving water quality and climate-resilience projects. After years of rising momentum, cubicles now sit empty. Leaders held off on hiring in anticipation of cuts, and now they don鈥檛 know if they鈥檒l be able to fill those roles.

鈥淚鈥檝e met some of the folks who were pulling cars out of the river in the 鈥�70s and 鈥�80s,鈥� said Daniel Ranells, the group鈥檚 deputy director of programs. Back then, the area was a 鈥渄umping ground鈥� so inundated with industrial waste, tires, abandoned cars, ovens, and microwaves that 鈥渇olks didn鈥檛 really understand there was a river there.鈥�

That has shifted dramatically in recent years thanks in part to decades of federal investment. Just south of its headquarters, the organization restored salt marshes along the riverbanks of a shuttered concrete plant.

In 2007, the first beaver appeared on the Bronx River in over 200 years 鈥� named 鈥淛os茅 the Beaver鈥� in honor of former Congressman Jos茅 E. Serrano, who helped direct millions in federal funds to groups dedicated to the river鈥檚 restoration.

鈥淭he Bronx River is a shining light of environmental justice,鈥� Ranells said, and millions in federal funding over the years has helped 鈥渕ake it a destination鈥� after years of neglect.

Progress frozen

Now staffers at the Bronx River Alliance describe a sense of 鈥渨hiplash鈥� in seeing hard-fought funds dry up and grant language scrubbed of any allusions to racial or environmental justice.

The Bronx River Alliance has the Trump administration to unfreeze funds, but the uncertainty has already disrupted years of planning, a reality that has rippled across the neighborhood, leaving few organizations untouched.

Up the street from the Alliance, the office of the Osborne Association, a group that has worked to prevent youth violence for nearly a century, has grown quieter. In April, an email from the Bureau of Justice Assistance stated the remaining $666,000 of a $2 million grant 鈥渘o longer effectuates department priorities.鈥�

The cut thrust the nonprofit into 鈥渢riage mode,鈥� said Osborne president Jonathan Monsalve, who was forced to lay off three staffers and reduce the number of participants in a diversion program offering young adults facing gun charges an alternative to jail time.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lifeline for young people, and it鈥檚 no longer there for 25 more of them,鈥� Monsalve said. 鈥淲ithout another alternative, it鈥檚 25 young people that will see prison or jail time, and that鈥檚 incredibly frustrating.鈥�

Why the Bronx bears the brunt

The Department of Justice has canceled in similar grants to nonprofits working in violence prevention. The Environmental Protection Agency attempted to cancel for environmental justice work.

Nonprofit leaders say the cuts hit hardest in the places that can afford them the least. In the Bronx, of residents live in poverty, the vast majority of whom are Black or Latino, and nearly experience homelessness every year.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had decades of disinvestment in these communities, and we had been starting to see some meaningful investment and community-based solutions that were actually working,鈥� said Monsalve. 鈥淎nd then all of a sudden that support just gets yanked away.鈥�

The federal government, he said, is essentially telling these communities: 鈥淵ou aren鈥檛 a priority anymore. You don鈥檛 fit the plan.鈥�

For decades, a million-dollar federal grant allowed the victim-service organization Safe Horizon to operate a program that stationed domestic violence advocates in the borough鈥檚 criminal court.

When the grant came up for renewal this year, it came with new restrictions that CEO Liz Roberts described as 鈥渟o extreme, so broad, so radical鈥� that the organization chose to walk away rather than accept conditions which would have prohibited supporting transgender survivors or treating domestic violence as a systemic issue.

It was an agonizing decision given the volume of domestic violence in the Bronx, Roberts said.

It means that hundreds of survivors 鈥渕ay not have the opportunity to talk to an advocate about their options, about their rights, or about their safety,鈥� she said.

Filling the void

Roberts said she鈥檚 bracing for more cuts 鈥� federal funds make up about 24% of the group鈥檚 budget 鈥� that could force the closure of shelters or reductions to a citywide hotline.

As nonprofits nationwide grapple with similar losses, Roberts said private philanthropy and local governments will need to 鈥渕ake some smart and thoughtful and principled decisions about where they can help to fill those gaps.鈥�

In places like the Bronx, finding alternative funding is especially challenging. 鈥淭he not-for-profit sector is often fragile, and nowhere more so than the Bronx,鈥� Torres said of the district he represents, where organizations tend to be more dependent on government funding than wealthier enclaves.

鈥淥rganizations spent hundreds of thousands of dollars simply to apply for a contract and hired staff and made all these plans only to see the written contract disappear,鈥� Torres said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 deeply destabilizing.鈥�

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https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.