Shanique Rodriguez, MVTs Executive Director, spoke on The Boston Foundation’s May 5, 2025 panel “The Shifting Federal Landscape: Massachusetts Nonprofits Raise the Alarm” alongside Mary Skelton Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Philanthropy Massachusetts and Diane Yentel, President & Chief Executive Officer, National Council of Nonprofits. The panel was moderated by Jim Klocke, Chief Executive Officer, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network.
During the panel, they discussed a shifting, uncertain, and often hostile landscape of Executive Orders, funding cuts, cancelled grants, and policy U-turns from the federal administration, and how they may impact Massachusetts nonprofits.
Following the panel discussion, Shanique was quoted in the following articles:
Boston Groups Come Together to Face the “Existential Threat” to Nonprofits
Journalist: Rebekah Barber
Source: Nonprofit Quarterly, May 22, 2025
Through her work with the Massachusetts Voter Table, Rodriguez has seen this firsthand. The nonprofit is a coalition of over 40 organizations that “fight for resources, representation, and power for communities of color, working-class people, new citizens, and youth.”
Many of the coalition’s members are service providers who work directly with those who have been most impacted by issues like immigration and are fearful of the rising detentions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without due process. For Rodriguez, putting together a safety plan and rapid response resources is critical for her work.
She noted that one of her partners that works with immigrant workers said that people are not coming to meetings anymore because they are afraid.
“Many of our 501c3 movement partners at the organization are BIPOC-led, BIPOC-serving,” Rodriguez said. “We are talking about individuals who are doing work in a time that is also impacting themselves. These are not people that are far removed from communities. These are folks who live in community who are doing the work.”
For Rodriguez, it is critical for funders to be investing in groups that are most directly impacted. She notes that too often resources are invested in political parties instead of people and organizations who are “doing boots-on-the-ground work.” Read the full article here.
Nonprofits agree they are worse off under Trump
Journalist: Chris Lisinski
Source: 22 News WWLP.com, May 5, 2025
BOSTON (SHNS) – Hundreds of workers and leaders at nonprofits across Massachusetts overwhelmingly agreed that the Bay State will fare worse under the Trump administration, voicing concerns about funding cuts and heightened stress on vulnerable populations. […] Shanique Rodriguez, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table, said her group is “looking at pulling together rapid response funding” alongside partner groups like Lawyers for Civil Right. Read the full article here.
To schedule an interview with Shanique Rodriguez, please email info@mavotertable.org.