MONROE, N.C. — Nonprofits in Monroe are running short on funds needed to serve the community after the city told them last month that they wouldn’t be distributing the money that’s typically set aside to help; at least, not now.
On Tuesday, leaders with nonprofit organizations in Monroe told Channel 9’s Gina Esposito that without the money, they can’t help as many people. They plan to address the council Tuesday night to advocate for the funding.
One leader says the $30,000 deficit will impact the working families they serve.
“They really stepped in and gave me peace,” said Ebony Hansen, a working mother living in Monroe.
Hansen sought help from Crisis Assistance Ministry in Union County last year to evade an eviction. Now, that nonprofit is at risk of losing city funding for its housing program, which helps people like Hansen get emergency rental assistance.
“To find out the funding was cut, that literally scared me because I’m not saying I’ll be in the situation again but someone else will … and if they don’t have the help, what’s going to happen?" Hansen said.
Heather Gardner, the executive director with Crisis Assistance Ministry in Union and Anson counties, said it’s going to make a huge impact.
“Close to 80 families are going to be displaced and face eviction of their homes between now and December,” Gardner said.
Last month, the city of Monroe notified nonprofits that applied for funding that they wouldn’t be getting it. In a statement, the city said “funding for the 2027 Outside Agency Program exceeded a council policy which caps the program at 2% of the general fund. Because of the discrepancy ... the funding was set aside in a holding account.”
Two weeks ago, council voted to raise the cap, but Monroe Mayor Robert Burns says the funding for nonprofits is still in limbo. He says the issue is with Mayor pro tem Surluta Anthony, who sits on a nonprofit board and voted on nonprofit funding before it went to council.
“Now we have to come back and relook at the entire process as a city,” Burns said.
Anthony told Esposito she was unaware of the conflict, and she says she is willing to step down from the committee that votes on nonprofit funding.
“Breaks my heart, because I support these organizations that are on this list,” Burns said.
The city isn’t sure when council will discuss the outside funding next, but Burns says
Nonprofits impacted by funding issue
Esposito reached out to nine nonprofits being impacted. Four of them got back to us and said the funding deficits will impact programs, critical investments, and how many residents they can serve.
Turning Point: Set to receive $25,000
“This leaves us with a $25,000 deficit right on the heels of our new fiscal year. I think it’s really important for the city council to remember that agencies like Turning Point are providing vital services AT NO COST to the citizens of our community, and when we lose funding like this, it makes it even harder for us to budget and ensure that our programs remain the same. We function solely because of grants and donations, so when we lose a big grant like this, we have to find those funds elsewhere and that is difficult to do.
Statement provided by Jessie Lindberg, Executive Director/Turning Point, Inc.
Community Shelter of Union County: Set to receive $55,000
“Yes, Community Shelter was identified in the proposed budget to receive $55,000 in utility assistance funding through the City’s Outside Agency program. We were not contacted individually regarding the decision before the budget was adopted. Like the other affected agencies, we received a generic email indicating that Outside Agency Funding was not included in the approved FY27 budget. I’ve attached a copy of that communication.
After receiving the email, I reached out to the Mayor, City Manager, and members of City Council via email and made phone calls to several council members. I received responses from three individuals, all of whom indicated they were seeking clarification regarding the situation. I also asked our Board of Directors to make contact, and one board member was told that Council may revisit the issue at a future meeting, possibly in September. However, we have not received any formal timeline or additional guidance.
I later became aware that Councilman Franco McGee placed Outside Agency Funding on the June 9 Monroe City Council Strategic Planning agenda and intended to discuss an amendment to the policy that would allow funding for the recommended agencies to move forward. At this time, we have not received any official communication regarding the outcome of that discussion or any additional information about the status of FY27 funding.
For Community Shelter, $55,000 is a significant investment. These funds help offset utility expenses associated with operating a 24/7 emergency shelter, dining hall, warming and cooling stations, and campus that serves thousands of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and food insecurity each year.
While we will continue providing services regardless of the funding outcome, the loss of these funds would create additional financial pressure at a time when community need continues to increase and nonprofit funding sources are becoming increasingly uncertain. It would require us to absorb those utility costs through other revenue sources, reducing funds available for staffing, programming, and other mission-critical investments. While it is too early to determine the full impact, a loss of this magnitude would require difficult decisions and would limit our flexibility to respond to emerging needs and future growth opportunities.
Our hope is that there will be an opportunity for further discussion and clarity regarding the City’s plans for outside agency funding. Community Shelter values its longstanding partnership with the City of Monroe, and we appreciate the support the City has provided over the years.”
Statement provided by Melissa McKeown, Chief Executive Officer/Community Shelter of Union County
Common Heart: Set to Receive $15,000
“Thank you for letting us know about the City’s decision regarding outside agency funding for FY 2026–27.
This is difficult news for us to receive, especially as we are also seeing reductions from other government funding sources. I understand from your email that no outside agencies were included in the approved budget.
I was wondering if you or Mark might be able to provide any additional insight into the decision or the process moving forward.
Monroe’s support has been especially important to our economic empowerment programs. Because Monroe has opted out of being an entitlement municipality, we are unable to use Union County CDBG funding to support Monroe residents. That has created a difficult gap for us, both because Monroe residents cannot be served through that funding source and because the overall funding available through the County process has been reduced.
We have deeply appreciated the City of Monroe’s support and partnership over the years. I know the broader nonprofit community — and many Monroe residents who receive help through these programs — have benefited from that investment.
If there may be other opportunities for Common Heart to receive municipal support, or if there is someone else you would recommend I speak with about future funding possibilities, I would be grateful for that guidance.
Thank you for your service to the Monroe community.”
Statement provided by Keith Adams, Executive Director/Common Heart to the city’s Grant Administrator
Union County Crisis Assistance Ministry, Set to Receive $30,000
“The shock of seeing the news was devastating. A non-profit’s leader or Board cannot make up for that amount of funding we lost at $30,000 in under a month.
The impact will be hard on serving more families with less funding from City of Monroe and helping to prevent Evictions. Hard working families primarily black female household leaders and their children, working individuals and seniors will have escalated crisis when faced with reduction of income. This increases chances of evictions and families being displaced from their homes. As our staff and Board of Directors are working hard to meet every need to make up for this, we need City of Monroe to reconsider and give back to it’s people. We are working with our current funds to try our best and asking for the community and corporate support to help step up and help us during this time.
The biggest challenge will be navigating the crisis load with loss of this housing funding. It is going to take a toll on our small staff with making sure we can provide compassionate case management with hope and additional resources as we work through this restricted funding loss for housing and utilities. The need is rising, and our children and their parent, working individuals and senior of the City of Monroe deserve their home. The health of our working families is at risk mentally, emotionally, in the lives of children and adults. We will push through and serve out our mission well and will be doing all we can to continue to keep families housed. We do need our communities help and quite frankly our children in this city need their homes and the stability of housing and normalcy. We are the only non profit in Monroe as a resource to help others in a time of crisis and to help prevent evictions and keep working families in their homes.
To be very clear we will not turn our clients away that reside in Monroe due to lack of their funding, it will narrow the funding to all who we help in the County. We need time to overcome a huge loss of restricted funding in housing. At Crisis Assistance Ministry we put our people first of this city and county and will continue make sure we can keep working families housed. It is just unfortunate overall to have this loss with last years loss of housing from a Federal level and I never expected at the local level. I hope they will reconsider and take care of their people in their city.
We will walk by Faith and not by sight and move our mission forward and love others in a time of crisis the best we can.”
Statement provided by Heather Gardner, Executive Director with Crisis Assistance Ministry of Union & Anson counties
Statement from the City of Monroe:
“The City of Monroe values all the non-profits and the much-needed services they provide to the residents of Monroe and will assist Council in resolving the matter as soon as possible.
The total recommended funding for the FY 2027 Outside Agency program, which includes direct, indirect, and in-kind support for non-profits, exceeded City Council Policy GA-16, which caps the program at $1.3 million or 2% of the general fund. Of that total, the recommended direct cash funding for non-profits was $308,900.
Because this discrepancy was not able to be resolved before the adoption of the budget, the funding was set aside in a holding account until Council can determine their next steps and resolve the discrepancy.
Council may take this up at another meeting in the near future.
The City will publicly announce any future updates to the outside agency funding program.”
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