Friends of the Rouge holding fundraising drive as federal funding cuts hit nonprofit

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(FOX 2) - The Friends of the Rouge nonprofit is preparing for a significant loss in funding following cuts from the federal government, impacting services the group provides the region.

The executive director is hoping to get the word out about a fundraising drive to provide some short-term relief as it adjusts to more uncertainty around available money.

Big picture view:

The Friends of the Rouge nonprofit group says it's at risk of losing more than a million dollars in funding amid uncertainty from the federal government over cuts spurred by the Trump administration.

The executive director said a good chunk of the approximately $1.5 million in potentially lost funding goes toward restoration work like identifying solutions to flooding in Southeast Michigan.

The money also goes to habitat restoration, as well as community engagement with the 48 different municipalities that fall within the Rouge River Watershed.

The funding cuts are likely to cause ripple effects because the Friends of the Rouge are not the only group that does restoration work - nonprofit or government - that will have fewer dollars to work with.

Dig deeper:

The nonprofit receives 22% of its annual budget from the federal government, mostly in the form of grants from agencies like the EPA and NOAA. While some of the money is still available, other sources have been frozen.

Amid uncertainty about federal funding around Michigan and the country, Friends of the Rouge are preparing to lose nearly a quarter of its annual funding. 

Much of its work uses green infrastructure like rain gardens and habitat restoration to reduce the worst of flooding as weather becomes more extreme. Southeast Michigan's gray infrastructure is aging and impermeable, making it susceptible to damaging storm systems.

While Friends of the Rouge doesn't replace sewer systems to prevent backups, they do take advantage of "nature-based solutions" to mitigate the worst of climate change and take the pressure off of cities as they handle overhauling century-year-old sewer systems.

What they're saying:

Ashley Flintoff has been the executive director of the Friends of the Rouge for about 10 months. She says the nonprofit is in the middle of reorganizing the group's operations and strategy - which is timely due to the need to accommodate a loss in funding.

"Everyone agrees, regardless of their affiliation, there's an issue with Southeast Michigan," she said of the region's flooding problems. "Water doesn't know boundaries."

She warned the pot of money that everyone draws funding from will shrink, meaning Friends of the Rouge won't be the only place that's impacted.

"The 22% is just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

What you can do:

Friends of the Rouge's fundraising drive goes through until the weekend.

They say ITC Holdings Corp is tripling any donations that come through during the time period. 

To learn more how to donate, check out the nonprofit's website here.