Oklahoma nonprofits serving the state’s most vulnerable residents were among the first to feel the freeze as the Trump administration announced a sweeping, abrupt pause on funding for federal grants, loans and other financial assistance.

Several Oklahoma nonprofits became concerned Tuesday morning when they attempted to access their federal payment management services only to find they were locked out, receiving flags that the system was down or experiencing difficulties.

This lockout happened nationwide and caused mass anxiety as service providers braced for the White House’s threatened funding freezes.

White House officials blamed an outage for the disruption of Medicaid, Head Start and other government web portals. By the end of the day Tuesday, most of these government sites were back online, but the White House’s siege on health and human services, the scope of which is unprecedented, could have devastating consequences on the welfare of millions.

Service providers may have flooded the online payment systems early Tuesday, reacting to news of the funding freezes, said Mark Smith, executive director of Housing Solutions, the lead agency of the Tulsa Continuum of Care.

“Organizations that were hoping to make draws from their federal grants before the official freeze was going to start weren’t able to do so today, so that only adds to some of the confusion and anxiety about what this (freeze in funding) looks like and what comes next,” Smith said.

Pivot Oklahoma, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and Food and Shelter of Norman reported being locked out of Payment Management Services web portal they accessed monthly.

The Trump administration on Tuesday announced via a budget office memo a massive freeze on funding for federal programs, taking aim at a swath of health and human services, including Medicaid, SNAP and WIC, as well as housing stability programs through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

According to the memo, the temporary pause will provide the administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the president’s priorities.

The memo set forth a directive that federal agencies identify and review all federal financial assistance programs to ensure they align with the executive orders President Trump issued during his first week in office.

A federal judge temporarily blocked the funding freeze before it took full effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday, but not before the payment portal lockouts stirred a panic among grantees.

The funding freeze, if eventually enacted, could paralyze Oklahoma’s vast network of social service providers, who in 2024 received about $14.27 billion in federal grants that supported programs and services, including childcare, transportation, law enforcement, housing, food security, health care, and more.

Oklahoma receives far more federal money than what Oklahoma taxpayers pay the federal government.

On Tuesday morning, Pivot Oklahoma found themselves locked out of the payment portal they use to access federal grant money. The Oklahoma City-based nonprofit serves teens and young adults, providing a community of tiny homes for their clients who are at risk for homelessness and incarceration.

Pivot receives funding from a variety of federal grants and contracts. The tiny home campus includes a counseling center, a drop-in shelter for youth ages 18 to 24 and a licensed shelter for youth ages 12 to 17.

“We also have a partnership with the Regional Food Bank to continue to keep our pantries stocked with food for young people who might need those basic needs met,” said Elizabeth McLeckie, manager of marketing and communications at Pivot. “So the freeze touches lots of areas on our campus.”

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma City was also apparently locked out of the federal payment portal it uses, issuing a statement that despite funding freezes, they would continue providing food for partners like Pivot.

Also locked out of its payment portal, Food and Shelter of Norman receives funding grants that pay for its rehousing initiative.

The grant dollars pay rent for 10 households in Norman that were formerly homeless.

“It’s money that, if it doesn’t come back to us, would eventually mean those folks go back to homelessness,” Food and Shelter Director April Doshier said.

She said if Food and Shelter doesn’t have access to its funding soon, the nonprofit’s clients could face eviction.

“I can’t pretend to understand the motivation why our federal government would intentionally wage war against people who are poor, but that certainly feels like what has happened,” Doshier said.

Vague language used in the White House budget office memo put Oklahoma’s entire nonprofit community on edge Tuesday, Smith said.

While Smith said Section 8 Housing Choice programs likely won’t be frozen, since the White House specified payments made to individuals won’t be affected, some other rental assistance programs may face freezes.

“Nonprofits operate on very tight budgets and cash flow is very important,” Smith said. “So, uncertainty on when they’re going to be reimbursed for expenses, or what changes may come with some of these federal programs, creates a lot of anxiety.”

Heather Warlick is a reporter covering evictions, housing and homelessness. Contact her at (405) 226-1915 or hwarlick@oklahomawatch. org.