Last week Kennedy canceled numerous federal grants previously awarded to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The decision came right after the Academy publicly criticized a new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation to delay the Hepatitis B vaccine for some newborns.
Kennedy’s message: Criticize my agency policies and you’ll lose your funding.
The grants that were cut supported work the AAP has done for years like educating pediatricians & parents about vaccines, improving maternal & child health care, preventing injuries, strengthening clinical guidance, and helping doctors reach families with evidence-based health information.
Kennedy’s action highlights a fact that many nonprofits face (including AZPHA): Advocacy that stays true to your mission caries a financial risk.
It happens at the state and local level too. AzPHA learned this years ago, when we lost our largest organizational member and sponsor over our support for evidence-based firearm safety legislation. A couple of years ago we lost a county health department organizational membership for the same reason.
Every nonprofit receiving government funding faces this same calculation. Do we speak authentically and vocally when policies supported (or opposed) by an organizational member or sponsor threaten public health, or do we stay quiet to protect revenue?
That’s why diversified funding matters so much. Nonprofits that rely too heavily on a single government agency whether federal, state, or local are more exposed when their priorities differ from those of their funder.
A broad mix of funding sources provides a buffer. It allows organizations (like us) to tell the truth, even when it makes politicians and appointees mad.
That’s what we’ve been striving for at AZPHA over the last few years… a broader base of member organizations to diversify our funding and provide a financial buffer so we’re able to do evidence-based advocacy and buffering revenue risk.
Advocacy grounded in evidence and mission will sometimes upset funders. But if nonprofits stop advocating for what they believe in they’ll stop being who they are.
Public health depends on organizations willing to speak up like the American Academy of Pediatrics and AZPHA even when it costs them.
