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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Trump administration’s overhaul of federal spending has put at least one local green program on the chopping block, while several others remain in limbo.
Beginning with a sweeping federal funding freeze instituted in late January, President Donald Trump and his administration have been reevaluating federal grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars.
One of Trump’s executive orders stalled the disbursement of federal funds appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 for energy, environmental and infrastructure funds. Environmental efforts in Indianapolis are starting to see an impact.
Jeremy Kranowitz, CEO of nonprofit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, or KIB, said this week that it will not receive an expected $400,000 grant it was awarded in a grantmaking process under the Biden-Harris Administration.
The funding, awarded to the local organization by the global nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation, was supposed to come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
The Arbor Day Foundation told IBJ in a written statement that the forest service notified it Feb. 14 that it’s national pass-through partnership award “no longer aligns with agency priorities.”
Kranowitz said the Arbor Day Foundation notified Keep Indianapolis Beautiful in an email Monday that the grant would not go through to his organization.
“Right now, we’re focused on helping our sub-awardees find other opportunities to fund their impactful work expected to be supported by the federal grant,” the statment said. “We are already in dialogue with our network of supporters, both individuals and corporate partners, to hopefully help some of these projects still come to fruition.”
Kranowitz said the funds were slated to help KIB fulfill its mission of creating vibrant public greenspaces.
Kranowitz speculated that terms such as “biodiversity” and “tree equity” used on the grant application caused the termination of funds, given Trump’s executive order removing DEI initiatives from the federal government. These terms refer to the importance of having a mix of plant species and tree canopy coverage in areas of cities, respectively, rather than traditional diversity, equity and inclusion ideas.
“I wish this was a joke, but it’s not. This one really stings,” Kranowitz wrote in a LinkedIn post. “The lesson for those writing grants these days is to choose language very carefully.”
However, Trump has also signed an executive order targeting certain environmental efforts, like those promoting electric vehicles. That, coupled with the federal funding freeze, has left environmental funding in flux despite some of those the administration’s efforts being blocked by the courts.
“We’re not a political organization. It doesn’t matter your background, or your faith, or your politics,” Kranowitz said. “We just want folks to come out and work together to make the city a cleaner and greener place.”
Meanwhile, the city of Indianapolis is awaiting news on $30.8 million in grants awarded to or affiliated with the Office of Sustainability. The grants are from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, two programs paused by Trump.
Mo McReynolds presented the status of five federal grants the Office of Sustainability is leading or involved in to the City-County Council Environmental Sustainability Committee on Monday evening.
McReynolds said the slew of January actions from the Trump administration put these funds “potentially in jeopardy.”
The most valuable is a $15 million grant in partnership with the NAACP of Indianapolis that would fund the installation of electric vehicle chargers on public property. The grants are reimbursements. McReynolds, interim director of the Office of Sustainability, said the city has not yet spent money on the program.
McReynolds said the Office of Sustainability was working through grant agreement processes on all five she presented to a council committee on Monday. She said none of them had reached a finalized grant agreement.
That funding also included nearly $14 million toward solar projects from the Solar for All grant program. Indianapolis partnered with the Indiana Community Action Association to conduct a feasibility study on turning a former landfill on the city’s east side into a solar farm. That allotment was $2.8 million.
Another $11.1 million grant went to the Industrial Heartland Coalition, a group of seven states and 16 cities, including Indianapolis. That funding would expand solar access to about 1,000 Indianapolis households.
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madness
Frankly, it is time more of these organizations start suing the Trump administration.
Once a grant is made with lawfully appropriated funds it either becomes a binding contract or a legal obligation under promissory estoppel. These organizations relied on these funds and made plans or even expenditure to their detriment, and the Trump administration cannot just change the rules after the funds were allocated.
I hope this administration gets tied up in endless litigation from now until it is termed out.
So, the liberal mayor allows radical left to burn the city down. It has never fully recovered. But it’s Trumps fault the city is still reeling. Libs have learned nothing.
Donald, Clearly you don’t know what Keep Indianapolis Beautiful does. Which is sad. And to be clear, it IS Trump’s fault that the legal obligation made to KIB, is not being honored. But then, for those of us who know Trump….he isn’t too keen on legal anything.
The city does not “own” KIB. They are a charitable organization separate from the Indianapolis government. These funds were already approved and appropriated for KIB but the conservatives in charge have decided that rules and laws do not apply to them. Remember this when the pendulum inevitably swings in the other direction in a few years. Also, it’s a big tell that you have not been in the city in years – billions in redevelopment currently and in the pipeline – it was never burned down. Touch some grass and go outside of your echo chambers for news.
Shane; perhaps you weren’t here when the businesses downtown were looted and an IU star player was shot and killed? Or maybe it’s you that lives in an echo chamber. We can send you some video.
When?
What in the world are you even talking about? You sound like a parody account on “X.”
There is nothing “liberal” or “conservative” about planting trees in parts of the city lacking tree coverage to provide shade, cleaner air, soil protection, etc. My parents and grandparents who were all quite conservative would find the notion of labeling basic civic improvements as “liberal” or “conservative” to be a foreign concept. It is just something that cities do to provide a better community for all residents.
30.8 million for office of sustainability. someone please tell me what they do? anyone. i will wait.
potholes? because i noticed they aren’t getting filled…
You could just go to their website and/or look at their publicly-published budget. It’s incredibly easy to do.
How many Hoosier jobs will be lost as a result of these cuts? Kokomo is benefiting from billion-dollar investments in battery manufacturing for EV’s and Jeffersonville is receiving an $800 million dollar investment for solar manufacturing. Do we really want to pull the rug out from under those job creators by undermining EV’s and solar? It seems that is the path the Trump administration is on.
Wrong question: How many billions, even trillions, will taxpayers save? Sure, some cuts will personally affect some people but the alternative is to continue hurdling toward national bankruptcy which will be far more painful to everyone.
The answer is none, David. We won’t “save” anything for the American taxpayer. Economic output will decline, we’ll lose global market share for American-made products, unemployment will increase, and inflation will increase. The idea that these will “save money” is downright laughable and is honestly only believed by people who don’t know how the economy works.
A.R. +1
David C, From what I can all of the “savings’” seemed primarily geared to perpetuating or even expanding tax cuts for the rich and large corporations. The little guy is just going to get the “trickle down”. Ask any plumber what really trickles down.
Sorry Mr. Kranowitz but “Tree Equity” does not refer to a nice mixture of trees within a given area. It is just another made-up term in the growing pile of word salads that libs use to sound like they are making important contributions to society. In this case, I doubt the grant writer even knows what they intended to convey by using this vacuous term. I don’t have a Black Walnut in my yard, am I now an oppressed person and where do I go to demand my fair share of tree equity?
I love that making the city nicer and repairing ecological damage is a liberal ploy.
Comments like this prove we need to better fund public schools
Drive trough a low income neighborhood and then a high income neighborhood. The first most notable difference is usually street trees. If you want some place to look “ghetto”, then cut down all of the trees, or let them die because nobody could afford to replace them.
In places like Carmel or Fishers the developer planted the trees or I suspect the city even has a budget to plant street trees. Those costs are reflected in home prices and property taxes. In Indy, the organization that has been planting street trees is KIB.
“Tree equity” is making sure poor neighborhoods get street trees just like the rich neighborhoods. Tree equity has real meaning and makes a real difference in peoples lives and home values.
Again, why are you being intentionally obtuse and celebrating ignorance? There are various parts of the city, usually working-class and poorer parts that have very little tree coverage. The grant is to fund planting trees in the city where they are needed. This would not have been controversial in either the time of my parents, grand-parents, or great-grandparents. Hoosiers have always had strong civic values, including a commitment to building up communities.
This isn’t “X,” and acting bombastic and ludicrous does not fly with everyday Hoosiers. There is nothing controversial about planting trees in the city where they are needed. And, hopefully, the grant will be restored, either through litigation, or even better, common sense.
I’d be for that grant if picked up the trash in those neighborhoods. The low income areas seem to be loaded with litter. I suppose the neighbors just don’t care.
Let’s not forget the $6.35 million dollars the city blew on a parking garage in Broad ripple that is never used. Shouldn’t we the city be fiscally smart before pointing fingers?
What does a parking garage built partially with city funding 20 years ago by a *private* developer (aren’t we always told the private market knows best?) have to do with a federal grant to a nonprofit organization to plant trees?
Answer: Nothing.
I love that you all speak with such confidence yet are so consistently wrong. Like, every time. It’s absolutely amazing. You’ll never learn.
This is the first slow whistle of a sucking noice as the economy starts to shrink. This is ignoring the fact of climate change as the planet gets increasingly warmer. This is the slap in the face of low income neighborhoods as a dedicated non-governmental agency found a creative way to make peoples lives better in small meaningful ways.