Quick Take
Senderos, a Santa Cruz-based nonprofit, faces funding cuts from the National Endowment for the Arts. The nonprofit received an email Friday night from the federal agency that it will no longer receive a $10,000 grant.
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Nearly a week after its celebration of Oaxacan culture, Santa Cruz nonprofit Senderos said it has seen a federal grant canceled as part of the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts.
The organization, which teaches Latino culture and history through dance and music, received an email Friday night from the federal arts agency notifying the nonprofit that it will no longer receive its $10,000 grant, said executive director Isai Pazos. The NEA announced Senderos as a recipient of its Challenge America grant program on Jan. 14, days before President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
In the email, shared by Senderos with Lookout, the NEA said it’s “updating its grantmaking policies to focus on funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.”
The NEA is prioritizing funding projects that support historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and celebrations of the 250th anniversary of American independence, according to the email. It also listed projects that “foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities.”
The grant terminations are effective on May 31. Grantees affected by the cuts have until June 30 to make a final request for any funding, if projects are completed by the end of May. Organizations have seven days to appeal the cuts, if they believe their projects align with the agency’s new priorities listed in the letter, according to the email. Senderos hasn’t really thought about filing an appeal, said Pazos.
The Challenge America grant had been scrapped in early February amid Trump’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Challenge America offered individual grants to small organizations, like Senderos, that extend outreach to underserved communities.
Despite knowing the program was being cut, Senderos was hoping the NEA would still honor the grants it had previously committed to and approved for 2025, said board advisor Carolyn Coleman via email.
The funding cuts follow the release of the Trump administration’s budget proposal, which called for the elimination of the NEA, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.
“It wasn’t a surprise, it was just disappointment,” said Pazos. With all of the policy and budget changes happening at the federal level, the organization was mentally preparing itself for a scenario like this, he said. This would have been the third year that Senderos would have received the grant.
Senderos used money from the grant to fund programming like music and dance classes, including stipends for teachers, instruments and any supplies needed for classes, said Pazos. The organization provides all of its classes for free.
The nonprofit was planning to use this year’s funding to offer stipends to performers.
Senderos is now left with trying to find other ways to fill the funding gap, like fundraising, which is how the organization raised money in its early years, he said. “It’s not only us facing this challenge; other nonprofit organizations are in the same boat,” Pazos said.
While the timing of the news from NEA isn’t ideal — nearly a week after its 20th guelaguetza that almost didn’t happen amid immigration fears — Pazos said he’s trying to look at the situation with a positive attitude.
“I think maybe not having the event and getting this news would have impacted us a little more,” he said. “I think having the event, continuing with the event, having the community show up in support, I think that was a success.”
The important aspect to look at, said Pazos, is that the community had the chance to celebrate a Oaxacan tradition that has been going on for 20 years. “Income comes and goes, and I think it’s a good thing that we continue to celebrate. We want to leave it on a positive note,” he said.
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