Federal officials are releasing $1.8 million in previously allocated funds intended to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio. The decision comes days after a potential funding freeze put at least 11 Clubs throughout the region at risk of shuttering.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration considered freezing more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and other initiatives. The money was initially expected to be released July 1, but federal officials wanted to review the funds to ensure they “aligned with White House priorities,” according to the Associated Press. The freeze would have impacted every state, including Ohio and the $1.8 million intended for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio.
The targeted funds were to be allocated through the 21st Century Community Learning Center program. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) adminsters the program. Earlier this week, DEW informed afterschool providers that the U.S. Department of Education was putting an indefinite hold on the 21st Century Community Learning Center funds as a comprehensive review was conducted.
A coalition of 10 Republican senators then urged President Donald Trump to release the funds. “We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs,” the senators wrote to the Office of Management and Budget. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”
On Friday, the feds reversed course and disbursed the money.
Despite the reprieve, BGCNEO leaders are worried about the long-term future of their federal funding.
“We are relieved this funding was released and will be available to operate these highly effective 21st Century Community Learning Centers in the coming school year,” BGCNEO CEO Allen Smith said in a statement. “At the same time, we remain concerned about the future of this federal program and the remaining funds committed to our 21st Century sites in the coming years.”
The released funds will support BGCNEO during the 2025-2026 school year. However, Clubs are funded on 5-year cycles. The 11 Clubs supported by 21st Century are at various stages of that cycle, according to Smith. According to a BGCNEO spokesperson, two of the Clubs supported by the funds are in Cleveland: Franklin D. Roosevelt Club in Glenville and Joseph Gallagher on the near West Side. The rest are Lorain County (six) and one each in Summit, Erie and Huron counties.
BGCNEO’s total operating budget for 2025 is $13.4 million, an organization spokesperson told The Land. The organization operates 34 Clubs throughout six Northeast Ohio counties. They offer out-of-school programming, learning activities, and meals for students between the ages of 6 and 18. If the federal funds disappeared, it could impact services for approximately 1,500 children, BGCNEO said.
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