THOM FOUNDATION STATEMENT
It’s May. We’re only about halfway through the year, but for some, it feels like much longer. For some nonprofit organizations, it feels like years. Most people don’t follow nonprofit news — why would you? Services don’t seem relevant unless you need them, and most of the time, you don’t.
What you might not know though, is that nonprofits — from the smallest local groups to international organizations — provide 80% of social services. That’s 80% of the services you, your friends, your neighbors, or your family may already rely on or might need one day.
Some nonprofits offer medical aid or financial support. Others send ships and planes across the globe during crises. Some run networks of trucks, fighting food insecurity and housing shortages. And many work quietly from the ground up, growing their communities from the inside out — making them places of kindness, growth, and culture.
But right now, nonprofits are being hit hard. The current administration is cutting, freezing, or rescinding grants that many organizations depend on.
As of May 2025:
The National Endowment for the Arts has had to rescind or cancel 152 grants, totaling about $4.5 million.
FEMA has needed to pull $11.63 billion in disaster-related funding, affecting countless communities.
Federal community development programs are facing cuts of roughly $33.6 billion.
Scholarship-centered programs have lost around $1.1 billion in funding.
Billions of dollars meant for education, culture, community, and disaster relief have disappeared. It might feel like there’s nothing anyone can do. For some, it feels like the end of these services as we know them.
But it’s not.
Nonprofits aren’t giving up. We’re still here — working every day to build a better tomorrow for all of us, our children, our grandchildren, and generations to come. But now, more than ever, we need your help.
Grants are government funds raised from taxes and given to projects seen as good for society. This administration has cut funding to these organizations because it believes the programs they provide aren't necessary. We don't blame them. They don't need these programs, so why would they think someone else does? It’s like throwing out an old pair of jeans you no longer wear; you don't need them, so you throw them out.
But what if, instead of tossing those jeans, you made sure someone who really needed them got them? What if you gave to a group that knows exactly who needs those jeans the most, and makes sure they get there?
That’s what nonprofits do. We connect the dots between needs and services. We help people or projects that are often overlooked or unacknowledged.
In the past, nonprofits have worked mostly in the background, using government grants to accomplish their missions with a few bursts of outreach here and there to secure a few extra donations. But now we are forced to reconsider how we can continue our missions. We can no longer rely on grants. Many have been taken away, and we now know that even when they are promised, they can be rescinded in a matter of hours.
At the THOM Foundation, we ask you to consider the roles your local nonprofit organizations play in your communities. Consider donating to local nonprofits providing the services you care about. Every gift helps — whether it’s one dollar, ten thousand, or anything in between. Your contribution matters.
Since our start in 2021 — and even after officially becoming a nonprofit last November — The THOM Foundation has never relied on government grants. Instead, we’ve been powered by private donations from people like you, who trust our small-town nonprofit to make the world better, one small act at a time.
With your support, we’ve sent doctors to those impacted by the war in Ukraine, helped send service workers to provide aid durring the Maui wildfires, offered crisis counseling to countless survivors at the 2025 Wildfire Resource Hub in Pasadena, awarded annual educational scholarships, distributed books to families in need, funded local art shows, supported senior projects, fostered partnerships with international NGOs, hosted forums, bringing together the brightest minds in our communities and we’ve brought the most pressing needs of our community to the attention of elected officials. We have walked with our community members and we've listened as they've shared their ideas for a better tomorrow.
We are here for you. We always will be. But we need your help.
We ask that you consider making a donation to The THOM Foundation. From front yards to world stages, help us make the world better one small act at a time.
To learn more about the THOM Foundation or make a tax-deductible donation, please visit www.thehouseofmunch.org.