By Gabriela Aoun Angueira
Associated Press
WASHINGTON 鈥� Volunteers with the humanitarian nonprofit Team Rubicon are accustomed to filling in the gaps of disaster recovery 鈥� they chainsaw downed trees after wildfires, muck out flooded homes and rebuild roofs blown off by hurricanes.
But with over , the group is readying to possibly help in ways it hasn鈥檛 before.
鈥淭he one thing certain this hurricane season is the uncertainty of what鈥檚 going to happen at the federal level,鈥� said Jeff Byard, Team Rubicon senior vice president of operations.
Byard and his team are evaluating how else they can help communities if the , which oversees federal response to disasters, reduces its capacity or is deployed less often. President Donald Trump has repeatedly , if not totally dismantle it.
鈥淲e want to wean off of FEMA and we want to bring it back to the state level,鈥� Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office, adding he intended to 鈥済ive out less money鈥� and that 鈥済overnors should be able to handle it.鈥�
Team Rubicon is good at being agile, Byard said, but nonprofits and funders are already under pressure from . 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be harder in a really hard situation already,鈥� he said.
Experts worry Trump might approve fewer , which unlock federal funding and resources, and that FEMA鈥檚 response could be slowed or diminished. Trainings have been reduced, and around 2,000 employees have left or been fired since January, including high-level staff.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 a hurricane or earthquake, the federal government is not prepared the way it has been in the past,鈥� said Michael Coen, who held posts at FEMA under three presidential administrations.
Nonprofits and funders across the United States say there is too much at stake for communities to just wait and see what happens. 鈥淔rom the nonprofit perspective, we have to really lean in,鈥� said Marcus Coleman, vice president of community resilience strategy for United Way Worldwide.
FEMA is 鈥渇ully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season,鈥� and is 鈥渟hifting from bloated DC-centric deadweight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,鈥� according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency.
How FEMA cutbacks could be felt
Leaders in disaster relief say FEMA鈥檚 absence would make it harder to coordinate resources across federal government, set up effective communications, and deploy emergency supplies. 鈥淔EMA is a key partner, we need them,鈥� said David Guadalupe, chair of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
They worry the sudden policy changes could leave many states unprepared and under-resourced, intensifying the need for donations and volunteers.
鈥淭he worst case scenario is that that money gets pulled back and we have to fill in those gaps,鈥� said Ann Lee, CEO and co-founder of the relief organization Community Organized Relief Effort, known as CORE.
It would be especially difficult, they say, to replace the services under FEMA鈥檚 , like temporary housing and grants to repair or replace damaged homes and vehicles.
For direct assistance alone, FEMA has for in North Carolina since Hurricane Helene, and more than for 34,500 households after the Los Angeles fires.
鈥淚f the funding to the people gets eliminated, that鈥檚 all they have,鈥� said Michael Capponi, president of Global Empowerment Mission, adding that while nonprofits are often faster and more efficient at getting people help, they still need the money to make it happen. 鈥淭he private sector can never take that on,鈥� he said.
FEMA also funds , who help survivors navigate paperwork, and legal and mental health support. Providing those services 鈥渨ill require even more robust volunteer organization,鈥� said Byard.
Other needs could include supporting smaller, less experienced emergency management departments, collecting data about survivor needs, or hauling away debris if federal dollars don鈥檛 pay for the pickup.
Even when FEMA help is available, it could look different than recent years, said Coleman. He points out that the agency already canceled its door-to-door canvassing program that helped survivors enroll with FEMA, and worries the feds could give survivors less time to apply. 鈥淭he effort to get the word out about FEMA assistance is critically important,鈥� he said. 鈥淣onprofits will have to move quickly.鈥�
Relief organizations like CORE and Good360 are also pre-positioning more supplies in storm-vulnerable areas, in part in case FEMA supplies arrive more slowly. Trump took this spring, making aid groups even more important as survivors waited for help. 鈥淭hat preparation is the biggest thing to focus on,鈥� said Lee.
Under strain from cuts, and more disasters
The new responsibilities could come at a time when states, nonprofits and funders are already under strain from worsening disasters and federal funding cuts across government.
A United Way Worldwide of the 211 network found that referrals for disaster-related assistance rose over 50% in 2024. Nonprofits have also been weakened by losing federal grants as well as staff from .
鈥淭he groups in the community 365 days a year are getting beat up significantly,鈥� said Noah Patton, director of disaster recovery at the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, adding community-based organizations are already under pressure from housing shortages and .
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e working at a homeless shelter that is 100% utilized and then you drop a disaster on it, it鈥檚 鈥楬ow will I continue to do my job,鈥� not 鈥楬ow can I expand my mission.鈥欌��
Funders that fuel recovery work say they can鈥檛 replace federal money. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just unrealistic, it鈥檚 a dangerous abdication of public responsibility,鈥� said Ryan Eller, executive director of the Appalachia Funders Network. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason these agencies were brought about in the first place when local resources just can鈥檛 meet the need.鈥�
Philanthropy committed over $300 million to recovery to Hurricane Helene alone, and hundreds of millions more each for the fires in LA and on Maui. Eller said it鈥檚 getting harder to fundraise for recovery. 鈥淭here is a general fatigue around disaster philanthropy because of the volume and frequency of storms,鈥� he said.
Even if a nonprofit can鈥檛 take on more, simply building relationships with state and local government, residents, and fellow relief groups ahead of an emergency will make everyone more prepared, said Byard. 鈥淭ake FEMA out of it, now we鈥檙e really looking at communities supporting communities,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat can build some really really strong resilience.鈥�
