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New Mexico-based WESST to close offices, cut staff amid federal funding uncertainty
WESST in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 on Tuesday. The nonprofit is closing offices and cutting staff due to federal funding cuts.
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The New Mexico-based Women鈥檚 Economic Self-Sufficiency Team, or WESST, announced Tuesday it will close two of its offices, relocate one and cut a quarter of its staff amid federal funding uncertainty.
WESST President Lindsey Kay said the organization may lose up to $2 million in funding from various federal agencies, including the Minority Business Development Agency 鈥� which the Trump administration in April 鈥� and the Small Business Administration, which is 43% of its workforce after federal cuts.
WESST offers training, microlending and consulting services to small businesses statewide. At the beginning of October, the organization will close its offices in Rio Rancho and Santa Fe and relocate its Roswell office to Hobbs. The closures will eliminate around eight staff positions, Kay said.
The nonprofit will continue to serve its clients across the state by switching to a 鈥渕ore mobile鈥� service model, she said. The Farmington, sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Las Cruces and Hobbs offices will remain open.
The status of federal funding 鈥� which makes up over half of WESST鈥檚 budget 鈥� is constantly in flux, Kay said. Much of the money is frozen in grants that have not yet been disbursed, she said, so the organization doesn鈥檛 know exactly how much money it may lose 鈥� but is preparing for the worst.
鈥淭here鈥檚 limited information around how this is all going to play out,鈥� Kay said. 鈥淭he nonprofit sector as a whole is just really feeling the impact of these rapid, sweeping changes, and we鈥檙e doing the best that we can to remain agile.鈥�
The cuts at the SBA are part of a 鈥渟trategic reorganization鈥� by the Trump administration, the agency announced in a March news release. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a statement at the time that the agency had strayed from its original mission of supporting small businesses and turned into a 鈥渟prawling leviathan plagued by mission creep, financial mismanagement and waste.鈥�
Kay said the consolidation and reorganization of WESST is to make sure the nonprofit is 鈥渆nsuring that we鈥檙e protecting the integrity of the organization and being mindful of the precarity of our funding landscape.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e still here to serve the same people we always have, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e putting as our top priority,鈥� Kay said.
