Axios Live: "There's not a space" unaffected by funding cuts, philanthropy leader says
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Sarah Haacke Byrd on stage in conversation with Emily Peck. Photo: Sam Popp on behalf of Axios
NEW YORK — Tightening government budgets have posed "extraordinary" difficulties in charity efforts in 2025, speakers said at Axios Live's annual Giving Tuesday event last week.
Why it matters: Reduced funding for many social programs has created ripple effects across global aid organizations that rely on government support.
- Axios' Emily Peck spoke with Women Moving Millions CEO Sarah Haacke Byrd and GiveDirectly president and CEO Nick Allardice at the event, which was sponsored by Bank of America.
The big picture: This has been "a year of extraordinary challenge" for philanthropy as Trump administration policies and global changes spurred pullbacks in funding, Byrd said.
- "We're not the only country that has pulled back from funding, and there's not a space that hasn't been impacted," she said. "[M]any organizations globally are trying to figure out how they're going to survive the year or the next six months."
- Aid organizations endured "the great pause" as they waited to see what the new Trump administration might do and how it might affect their strategies, Byrd said.
Context: Byrd's Women Moving Millions focuses specifically on causes that advance gender equality.
- Less than 2% of charitable giving in the U.S. goes to organizations working specifically for women and girls, Byrd said. She is working to increase that number.
- GiveDirectly operates under the premise that the most effective form of philanthropy is giving cash directly to people in poverty and crisis.
- "[I]t is this radical act of centering power in the people who know what they need most," Allardice said.
What they're saying: Federal government funding cuts this year affected many programs that provide critical support to women, families and global aid organizations.
- Groups combating violence against women have been deeply affected by canceled grants and Trump administration anti-DEI efforts, Byrd said.
- When the government shutdown cut SNAP benefits for many Americans, GiveDirectly launched an emergency appeal.
- "What we were able to do is we ended up raising about $14 million, and were able to distribute tens of thousands of payments a day to reach people as their benefits weren't paid," Allardice said.
What's next: The ability to send digital cash through mobile phones has led to a vast increase in cash transfers for giving, Allardice said. "[W]e are about to have our largest year ever."
