Editor’s note: This article includes mention of sexual assault.
Following the passage of California’s 2024-25 budget in June, some California nonprofits are bracing for cuts to funding streams.
The cause? A reduction in revenue generated from fines and forfeitures related to white-collar crimes.
The federal government brings in money for the Victims of Crime Act fund exclusively through white-collar crime fines, and distributes that sum to states for further disbursements to providers such as Lumina Alliance , a San Luis Obispo County nonprofit that supports those impacted by sexual and intimate partner violence.
Lumina Alliance marketing director Clementine Ellis said the organization could face serious budget complications as soon as next fiscal year due to reductions in Victims of Crime Act funding.
Federal cuts to this funding have reduced California’s share by around 44.7% from $153.8 million last year to around $87 million in 2024’s budget, meaning the Legislature had to step up and budget a $103 million one-time funding allocation to keep programs running this year, Ellis said.
Though the 2024-25 budget kept many of California’s safety nets intact, reductions in some grants may cause long-term funding woes for many nonprofits that support victims of crime and their families, Ellis said.
“People ask, ‘How can we afford to support all these programs and pay this much money?’” Ellis said. “Really, that’s not the question — it’s ‘How can we afford to not pay for these programs?’”
Nonprofits work to keep staff, program funding in place
Ellis said Lumina has already been fortunate to avoid a potential budget shortfall of more than $800,000 included in earlier drafts of the state budget.
Had those cuts gone forward, the organization would have had to reduce the number of hours its 24-hour Crisis & Information Line could operate each week — the first time in the organization’s history that cuts have been considered, Ellis said.
Because the organization relies heavily on Victims of Crime Act and Violence Against Women Act grants — around 80% of the budget compared to 20% from donations — the organization is sensitive to federal grant changes.
In the years since the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofits have also seen donations slow down, leading Lumina to cut several positions in late 2023, Ellis said.
In March 2024, Congress finalized the 2023-24 funding bills and provided $1.35 billion in Victims of Crime Act funding — a roughly $630 million cut compared to the previous financial year, according to the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.
In practical terms, intimate partner violence costs the state of California $88,000 per victim per year due to costs from loss of income, healthcare, criminal justice and other response programs, according to a Tulane University study .
Statewide, intimate partner violence costs the state a total of $73.7 billion each year, or around 2% of the state’s gross domestic product, according to the study.
In a compromise this year, the state budget was able to fulfill around $103 million of the $200 million nonprofit providers have requested for crime victim services, Ellis said.
“Our main concern moving forward is that this was one-time funding, and initially that $200 million ask was for ongoing funding,” Ellis said.
The full extent of the grants won’t be made clear until September, when the California Office of Emergency Services — the agency responsible for dividing and disbursing crime victim funds — will make the grants available, she said, leaving many nonprofits uncertain for the future.
Ellis said that while pressure and advocacy for continued, consistent funding are what moved the needle to secure money for the current fiscal year, doing so every time the organization faces a shortfall is not a sustainable model, particularly in the area of crime victim advocacy.
“You can’t really do that every single year, especially when we have survivors coming out and telling their stories, talking about their trauma, their violence they’ve experienced, to advocate for this funding,” Ellis said. “What we don’t want to happen is for victims having to come forward every year and reopen those wounds just to get basic funding.”
How can nonprofits bridge the gap?
Ellis said Lumina and other nonprofits in the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence are doing their best to mitigate the effects of these coming budget shortfalls, and are pushing for several pieces of legislation that could stabilize future funding streams.
Assembly Bill 1956, the Crime Victim Services Stabilization Act, would require California to support funding for essential crime victim services when there are major reductions in funding, while Assembly Bill 2432 would establish a permanent funding source for crime victim services.
Though both of these bills would go a long way in securing consistent funding for crime victim services, even if they were signed into law it could take several years for providers to receive the benefits, Ellis said.
In the meantime, Lumina and other nonprofits will keep looking for ways to get funding into next year’s budget, including seeking donations through its website .
If you or someone you know are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673 . The hotline offers a range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member, help finding a local health facility, legal and medical advice and referrals for long-term support.
Survivor support and resources are also available through Lumina Alliance at luminaalliance.org or its Crisis and Information Line at 805-545-8888 .
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