Catholic Relief Services Grapples with Losing Half Its Funding

Madeline Rowe and Anna Thibodeau

Campus News Editor and Editor-in-Chief

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a non-profit organization that was founded over 80 years ago in the aftermath of World War II to help starving and suffering survivors, is among the many organizations to take a major hit from USAID cuts. CRS is USAID’s largest faith-based international partner and their top NGO recipient, receiving $4.6 billion dollars in funding between 2012 and 2022, reports Forbes.

As one of his first acts in office, Trump placed stop work orders on thousands of United States funded grants and agreements, placing those grants under review. Around 30 days later, many of those organizations, including CRS, received termination letters for multiple grants, says The Observer. According to America: The Jesuit Review, CRS has already lost half of its funding because of the termination of USAID contracts, which will lead to permanently cutting off aid to 20 million people worldwide. On March 17, CRS released a statement announcing the halt of “much of our U.S. government supported work due to the lack of payments: food in warehouses could not be distributed to the hungry and women and children could not get vital health and nutrition services,” reports America: The Jesuit Review. CRS does a tremendous amount of work around the world in emergency response and addressing food security.

The funding cuts come from the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) move in late January to gut USAID programs and funding says America: The Jesuit Review. In response to one of the biggest blows CRS has ever faced, it anticipates having to cut its budget by half this year, says the National Catholic Reporter. In fact, layoffs have already begun since CRS is being forced to shut down programs. Layoffs and cost-cuts will affect all divisions and departments the National Catholic Reporter states in another article. CRS had 7,000 employees worldwide as of 2018.

Today, CRS reaches over 200 million people in 121 countries, reports the National Catholic Reporter. Cutting these programs cuts those people’s access to crucial assistance and access to clinics, vaccines, food services, and emergency services throughout the world, reports America: The Jesuit Review. These cuts risk destroying decades of investment aimed at addressing global poverty and building up local economies in the global south; it threatens programs that allow people like subsistence farmers to remain in their communities and nations of birth. According to America: The Jesuit Review, that is one reason critics say these cuts will prove counterproductive to the White House’s goals to reduce immigration.

There have been numerous calls for the Trump administration to reverse the erasure of USAID, including calls by the CRS, explains the Catholic News Agency. Many point out that the true percentage of the U.S. budget for USAID is much smaller than the Trump administration has made it seem; less than one percent of the federal budget had been allocated to USAID, The Observer writes. The impact of the cuts will be severe, and the money saved by the U.S. government is almost negligible. The National Catholic Reporter shares the words of Stephen Colecchi, director of the Office of International Justice and Peace for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2004 to 2018: “To target this tiny portion of the federal budget in such a haphazard and irresponsible way is going to cost people’s lives and livelihoods.” The National Catholic Reporter reports that CRS and the bishops’ conference has shared an email action alert, urging fellow Catholics to call on Congress to lift the freeze on foreign aid.

Although many share of the importance of USAID and CRS, CRS has not been without controversy. America: The Jesuit Review explains that CRS has faced public scrutiny and attacks for its role in assisting legal immigrants like refugees and asylum seekers. The article also shares that the ethics of CRS accepting government money at all have been called into question. However, America: The Jesuit Review reminds Catholics of their obligation in stewardship of national wealth, including overseeing its use towards helping others. “It shouldn’t be political to help the poor around the world,” it reminds readers. 

Those left in the wake of the budget cuts, whether due to unemployment or loss of aid are left with some words of encouragement by America: The Jesuit Review, which shares that “There is no organization or group of people that can mobilize the kinds of resources our government can, but absolutely people can help and support the incredible needs out there.”

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