The United Way of Greater Charlotte announced a new CEO on Thursday: Kathryn Firmin-Sellers takes the top job after leading the nonprofit in an interim role since July.
She takes over at the umbrella charitable group during an uneasy time for many nonprofits as fears of a recession are starting to grow, and House Republicans consider a massive reduction in spending that could cut into Medicaid.
She spoke with WFAE's Nick de la Canal this week and said all this was cause for concern.
Kathryn Firmin-Sellers: I think any nonprofit, us included, is looking at the economy right now and understanding that it does present a challenging fundraising environment, but I have full faith in my team to help us — I hope — finish our fundraising year strong.
Nick de la Canal: I want to ask you about the Trump administration’s order in January that ordered a freeze on all federal grants and loans. That order was rescinded and put on hold by the courts. The United Way receives some government grants — I don’t know if they’re federal or not, and many of your partner organizations definitely receive federal funding, for example Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Refugee Support Services. How has that order shifted your thinking on the future, or what did you take away from that?
Firmin-Sellers: So, I really appreciate the question, because what I really hope listeners will understand is that the threat to federal funding to nonprofits will have significant impact across all sectors. It will affect access to child care, access to health care, access to substance use treatment and mental health care. It will affect access to workforce development, homeless services, housing.
And then on top of that, if there are cuts to Medicaid, then North Carolina will pull back on Medicaid expansion, and so those who are providing access to healthcare services are going to face an increased demand for their services at a time when they have less capacity to meet that demand.
De la Canal: Yeah, I wanted to ask about that. Republicans say that they don’t want to see any money cut from Medicaid, but economists say it would be impossible not to cut from Medicaid with $880 billion in spending cuts unless you cut from Medicare. So how do you think the United Way of Greater Charlotte should respond to this?
Firmin-Sellers: What I would hope that listeners would understand is that there is no way that private philanthropy or the United Way can fill the gap that’s going to be created. It’s simply too big. So, I think our role is to launch a survey on the health of the nonprofit sector to understand the impact of any cuts, so that those of us who choose to do so can advocate for reform or restored funding.
De la Canal: Targeting racial inequity has been a big focus of your group in recent years. With the language around and focus on eliminating DEI and not considering race in any way that we’re seeing come out of the Trump administration, are you anticipating any changes in your mission and focus?
Firmin-Sellers: So, United Way is a data-driven organization. And when we look at who has access to opportunity, the data will tell you that there are significant disparities by race in terms of access to housing, homeownership and access to employment. So, we will use the data to tell us where to invest, and we will also invest where there is the greatest need.
De la Canal: What do you think the United Way of Greater Charlotte will need to prioritize above all else, just in this coming year?
Firmin-Sellers: You know, I think United Way has been really hard at work bringing fresh, innovative solutions to how we invest in the community, so I think what we need to do now is take that same sense of innovation to our fundraising strategy. My interest is in really behaving like a gritty startup as we rethink what a new revenue model could lead us and give us the resources that we need to move into the future.
