A project working to reduce energy costs for people living in low-income housing is on hold after the federal government cancelled the grant funding it.
In 2023, Green Umbrella received a $1.1 million award from the Environmental Protection Agency to study energy efficiency and air quality in affordable housing units through a partnership with Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and the city of Cincinnati.
Executive Director Ryan Mooney-Bullock says the initiative also included installing energy-saving technology, like insulation, electric stoves and heat pumps, in about 35 homes.
Now, that work is on pause. Green Umbrella learned last week its grant had been terminated because it is “no longer in alignment with the EPA’s priorities.”
“The loss of these funds means that we have to stop work on projects that were really designed to benefit community members that have been historically underserved, and it's also preventing us from completing a research study that could then be used to inform how this type of energy efficiency work is rolled out in communities across the country,” Mooney-Bullock said.
She says Green Umbrella was about to make a major purchase of heat pumps when they learned about the grant termination.
“It came at a really bad time in the sense that we were about to do a ton of implementation that is really going to benefit the residents living in these buildings and their nonprofit landlord Over-the-Rhine Community Housing that is managing these buildings,” Mooney-Bullock said.
The Cincinnati-based nonprofit is not the only organization seeing its funding cancelled. The Trump administration is clawing back tens of millions of dollars for environmental research across the country, according to The New York Times.
Green Umbrella is looking for ways to continue the data collection that is already underway. It’s working on the study with three research partners: Indiana University, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania.
“We have a group of residents who are participating in this and are helping us collect data, and we don't want to just drop the ball on them,” Mooney-Bullock said.
The nonprofit also is disputing the grant termination with the EPA and seeking final reimbursements. Mooney-Bullock says she doesn’t know how long it will take to get that money back since the payment system no longer shows the grant.
To keep the project moving forward, Green Umbrella is looking to community members and businesses for support.
Loss of two grants is ‘very destabilizing’
This is the second grant Green Umbrella has lost since Trump took office.
The first was a $500,000 EPA grant helping Greater Cincinnati community members address environmental risks in their neighborhoods.
“It is very destabilizing for a nonprofit to have significant funding pulled out at the last minute or while projects are underway,” Mooney-Bullock said.
She says the organization is not currently in a financial position where it needs to lay people off or make staffing changes.
“That is certainly something that is a concern if grants continue to get frozen and we're not able to raise the support we need from our local partners,” Mooney-Bullock said.
She says Green Umbrella has started to see an increase in community support.
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