The Trump administration’s flurry of initial actions has had a devastating effect on climate, environmental, justice, agricultural, and health work vital to communities across the country. As federal employees and funding recipients face these ongoing cuts and uncertainties, we want to help tell the story — your story — of what is being lost.
Tell us: Why is your work important, and how can its legacy be preserved?
Are you a scientist or researcher whose work has stalled? A farmer whose funding has been cut right before the growing season? Were you working on an infrastructure project in your town that now you may not be able to complete? Are you an organizer who relied on federal funding to support a community effort?
If your job or program is being canceled, paused, or weakened by federal workforce or funding cuts, we want to hear from you.
Your stories and insights will help us tell the complete story of how climate, environment, and other related work is being hindered, and help Americans understand just how deep these cuts go into work and programs they rely on every day.
How to reach out to us
Message us on Signal: 206-876-3147
Use the Signal app to send a secure message to Grist at 206-876-3147. Please share a little about the job or project you are or were working on, and what’s happening now.
A Grist reporter may follow up with you to hear more. Grist will not publish any information you share without talking with you and receiving your consent.
Signal is a messaging platform that uses end-to-end encryption. Learn more about Signal and how to install it here.
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Responses will be viewed only by Grist reporters, but if you have security concerns please use the Signal messaging option above. Learn more about Typeform’s security features here.
Need to contact Grist about something else? Additional contact options can be found here.
FAQ
I’m nervous about having my name out there. Can we still talk?
Of course! Please still reach out to us. While we always prefer to have someone speak on the record (that is, something said publicly) with your full name attached, we are open to using your first name only, your general location (instead of exact), or other measures to remove identifying information.
If you’d like to talk off the record first (which is in confidence and cannot be published), then decide what you’re comfortable with, we will do that. Or if you’d like to offer information to Grist on background (information we may use but won’t attribute to you), we can do that too.
How will you keep my information safe?
Keeping our sources safe is a priority. Signal is an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform designed to keep personal information secure (you can find more info here on Signal’s security measures). Most importantly, your information or identity will never be published without your consent, and you can always withdraw consent before publication. We’ll communicate with you throughout the process to ensure you feel comfortable with being part of this project.
What happens after I message you?
You may hear from a Grist editor or reporter to follow up on your message. In many cases, they will set up a time to talk with you further via phone or Zoom.
What do you plan to do with the information?
This is an ongoing project, which may shift as responses come in. We may want to feature some people’s full stories, or create a database tracking the projects that are being impacted by the administration’s decisions. You’ll be informed how your information is being used before it is published.
What stories have you done on this issue?
Here are some examples of Grist stories about federal funding cuts that impact organizations, residents, and workers all over the country.
- In Madison, Wisconsin, a nonprofit that oversees a garden at an elementary school is just one of many organizations that has lost funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Patrick Leahy Farm to School program, intended to provide public schools with locally produced fresh vegetables as well as nutrition and agricultural education.
- In Duffield, Virginia, a program providing free food boxes to those facing food insecurity shuttered in the face of the USDA’s funding freeze.
- In Chicago, a nonprofit that awarded grants for tree-planting in low-income communities had to tell the recipients to stop their work in response to the executive order freezing funding obligated by the Inflation Reduction Act.
- In an internal FEMA memo obtained by Grist, the Trump administration announced its plans to dismantle the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.
- Our reporters in Michigan, North Carolina, and Illinois spoke to Forest Service employees who were fired as a result of major budget cuts about their careers and what the loss could mean for public lands.
If you’d like more details about Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law grants that may be in jeopardy, put in your ZIP code here to search our map.
I need more information about support for my project. Where can I look?
If you’re a fired federal worker and need legal resources, the Federal Workers Legal Defense Network can help connect you with lawyers working pro bono. If you have questions about healthcare benefits, applying to new jobs, or unemployment benefits, check out Civil Service Strong and the Partnership for Public Service’s Fed Support resource library.
If you work at a nonprofit that was impacted by a funding freeze, or may be in the coming months, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence has a list of tips to stay prepared and informed.
If you’re looking to stay up to date on the administration’s actions related to climate and environment, and their outcomes, get Grist’s coverage by subscribing to our newsletters. We will be reporting more on how the firings and funding freezes affect communities and climate progress.
Grist staff
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