Annie Comes Home: DOGE's next target is nonprofits, and Vera is one of the first

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

DOGE's next target is nonprofits, and Vera is one of the first

The Washington Post reports: DOGE sought to assign a team to an independent nonprofit group

Pamela,

On April 11, Vera President Nick Turner received an email from a DOGE staffer requesting a meeting to discuss "having a DOGE team assigned to the organization."

DOGE threatened that failure to respond would be considered an admission that Vera is not in compliance with an executive order.

This intimidating outreach comes just one week after the Department of Justice (DOJ) notified Vera that it was terminating $5 million in federal funding for the organization's public safety programs.

Vera's lawyers met with the DOGE team and learned that DOGE plans to assign teams to "any institute or agency" that receives federal funds.

Here's the catch: no law or executive order gives DOGE authority over an independent nonprofit like Vera.

The Trump administration has systematically attacked every aspect of civil society, from academia to law firms and the media, and now it is coming after the nonprofit sector.

When the DOGE staffers learned during the meeting that Vera's DOJ grants had been terminated, they withdrew their request.

Established in 1961, Vera is among the oldest, largest, and most prominent criminal justice nonprofit organizations in the country. While we are the first to be targeted in this way, we know that we will not be the last.

Vera remains committed, as it always has been, to ending the criminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants, and people experiencing poverty.

We will not be deterred from our mission, but we need your support. Are you with us? Help Vera continue our work with a donation today.

Onwards,

Vera Institute of Justice