Literacy Council in ‘dire financial straits’ due to pause in federal grant funding

Council now faces a financial crisis amid an inability to pay expenses due to the pausing of their grant reimbursement portal. The pause, originally brought on by the Trump Administration’s now rescinded January executive order temporarily pausing agency grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs, has remained inaccessible to the Council despite the order’s removal. “We’re getting to be in pretty dire shape here,” said Director Carol Barsby. The Literacy Council is a nonprofit organization that promote literacy and other educational achievements through assisting youth and adults for 33 years, according to their website, also offering free tutoring on basic education, general test preparation, and high school equivalency testing. According to Barsby, the organization is primarily funded through Americorps, a federal service and volunteer agency and its grants, which operate on a reimbursement model, and the Department of Justice. Earlier in the year, when the now rescinded executive order paused federal grants, the Record spoke with Barsby on the potential negative impact the order would have on the program. Since then, although the order has been rescinded and some portals are now open, the Council’s reimbursement portal has remained closed. The group’s Americorps funding comes through the Department of Economic Development, she said, and is distributed through the Office of Management Budget’s portals to various agencies, some of which have started to be able to access their portals. This portal is the one outlet for the organization to receive Americorps reimbursement. For more on this story, read Wednesday's LCR.