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Members, representatives and supporters from more than 50 San Antonio nonprofit organizations pushed back at City Hall Wednesday to oppose a proposed $5.1 million reduction in city funding that advocates say could affect thousands of residents who rely on their services.
The proposed cut to the city's Consolidated Funding Pool for fiscal year 2028 would affect 48 programs serving more than 9,300 residents across all 10 City Council districts.
The organizations provide services, including housing and food assistance, mental health care, youth and family programs, senior services, education, workforce development and economic assistance.
Supporters at the rally chanted, “Nonprofits get it done! Nonprofits get it done!” between remarks from nonprofit leaders and elected officials.
Cory McRae, advocacy chair of The Nonprofit Council, said nonprofits are sometimes characterized as organizations simply asking the city for money.
“We have some great advocates on the city council that help the nonprofits, and there's others that think we're just standing there with our hands out. We're not standing with our hands out,” McRae said.
The Nonprofit Council is asking Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and City Council members to reject the proposed reduction and include nonprofit leaders in discussions about how to address the city's financial challenges before cuts take effect.
“Cutting nonprofit funding does not eliminate the need,” McRae said in a statement ahead of the rally. “The residents being served today will still need housing assistance, food, mental health services, youth programs and other support tomorrow. If nonprofits have fewer resources to respond, those needs will increasingly fall on city systems.”
McRae said nonprofits are willing to help find alternatives.
“We recognize the difficult financial decisions facing the city, and nonprofits are prepared to be part of finding solutions,” McRae said. “However, nonprofits should be at the table when decisions are being made about the very services our organizations are expected to deliver.”
Denise Barkhurst, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, spoke at the rally on behalf of San Antonio's nonprofit delegate agencies — outside organizations that provide human services with city funding.
Barkhurst pointed to last week's storm as an example of the role nonprofits play when residents need immediate help.
“Y'all, we saw just last week what nonprofits mean to the community when Friday night’s storm left people without power and facing the loss of food and other necessities. The nonprofit community stepped in,” Barkhurst said.
“Cutting funding to delegate agencies, organizations that are literally lifelines for some of our city's most vulnerable residents, is simply the wrong choice,” she said.
The nonprofit sector's role was also highlighted by Ivory Anguiano, a 17-year-old senior at the Young Women's Leadership Academy. Anguiano spoke about her experience with Good Samaritan Community Services and the importance of programs that provide young people with support and mentorship.
“When funding is reduced, young people are able to lose a lot more than you expect. We lose programs and people that choose to help us grow, rather than being stuck by ourselves, not knowing where to go next. They help us reach our goals. Personally, some of my very close friends I have made this year have pushed me harder than anyone else has in my life,” Anguiano said.
District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia said the proposed reduction could disproportionately affect residents in San Antonio's lower-income communities.
“70% of the people who would be dropped from these programs as a result of these cuts are in districts one through five. That's unacceptable,” Mungia said.
He said the city needs to preserve services for residents who are most vulnerable.
“Our most vulnerable folks, right? Our children. We need services to children, services to seniors, and then to family strengthening, which is really, in my mind, helping out women that are going through crises in their family situation,” Mungia said.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said she has been encouraging council members to consider other sources of funding and ways to support nonprofits.
“Let's use some of that ready-to-work money. Let's plus up the workforce training for our opportunity youth, right? Let's plus it up so they know what they're dealing with in ‘27 and in ‘28. Let's also use some of that hotel occupancy tax. Some of these folks that are working in the art space, which is so critical for our opportunity youth and for our after-school programs, let's also use that,” Jones said.
The proposed FY 2028 reduction comes as the city considers its broader financial outlook. The city's proposed FY 2027 budget maintains significant Department of Human Services funding for nonprofit delegate agencies, according to The Nonprofit Council.
Nonprofit leaders say the proposed rollback the following year could undermine that stability.
Organizations represented at Wednesday's rally included Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, Clarity Child Guidance Center, the San Antonio Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, Thrive Youth Center, AVANCE, Girls Inc., Good Samaritan Community Services, Child Safe, SAMMinistries, Artpace and the San Antonio Education Partnership.
Other participating organizations included Chrysalis Ministries, SA Youth, Family Service Financial Empowerment Center, Reaching Maximum Independence, Respite Care, Rape Crisis, Vibrant Works, Agarita, Lifetime Recovery, For Her, the Children's Association for Maximum Potential, My Faith Kitchen, Blessed Sacrament Academy, Health Collaborative, Crosspoint Inc., Hope at Heart, Project MEND and the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology.
Jones said the city must balance requests from nonprofit groups with its responsibility to manage public money.
“We have to be fiscally disciplined. We have to be financially responsible, and we have to shore up our most vulnerable," she said. We can do that, but it does require we challenge some assumptions about how much some have gotten previously, and how we need to distribute that a little bit more equitably in light of the great challenge that our community faces.”
