Impacts of Trump Administration funding cuts hit the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana

The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana will lose nearly $50,000 in government funding after the Trump Administration decided to abruptly end one of their grants. It’s part of the administration’s spree of funding terminations. Now staff are worried about their ability to protect housing discrimination victims in the future.

FHCCI is a nonprofit that educates tenants about their rights, helps people find housing and promotes laws that address housing barriers.

FHCCI’s $138,889 grant was provided through the Fair Housing Organizations Initiative-Continuing Development Component grant, which began under fiscal year 2023 funding. It started July 1, 2024 and it was supposed to end on June 30, 2025. But Amy Nelson, executive director of FHCCI, received an email from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday that said the award would end four months early.

As a condition of the reimbursement grant, the organization is unable to receive the money unless the work is satisfactory. Nelson said all of their quarterly grant reports were positively reviewed and they didn’t receive warnings before the termination letter was sent last week.

Now they’re trying to figure out what to do next.

“This is where the bulk of our systemic work was being funded,” Nelson said. “We’re challenging disparities or inequities in mortgage lending, or raising awareness about homeowners insurance barriers or tenant screening type issues that are impacting people and being able to find safe and affordable housing.”

The Federal Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 to prevent discrimination when renting or buying a home. It has often led to HUD partnering with nonprofits like FHCCI to support efforts.

Nelson has worked in fair housing for nearly 30 years, and she’s never experienced anything like this from any other administration.

“What tends to happen is [the new administration will] reach out to you and say, ‘We're not going to fund this activity anymore, change it to something else,’” Nelson said. “And that's how we've accommodated the priorities of different administrations. It hasn't been that the grant just gets terminated.”

After speaking to fair housing employees across the country, Nelson has learned that some programs lost multiple grants, while others didn’t receive any funding cuts. She said everyone she’s spoken to has received the same letter, making it difficult to determine why some programs were cut and not others.

Nelson said they’ll have to shift some things around in order to continue housing activities.

About 85% of FHCCI funding comes through HUD. But the Trump Administration hasn’t announced grant funding yet for this year. Nelson fears that will either prevent the organization from receiving constant funding, or funding at all.

“We have tried to find private foundation support,” Nelson said. “City budgets are also being cut, so they haven't been able to have contracts and grants either. It would just be an absolute devastating loss to us. I don't know how we could continue to stay open.”

If the Trump Administration doesn’t award more grants this year, Nelson says they could lose over $800,000 dollars in planned funding.

Contact WFYI’s health reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org