Atlanta nonprofit Raksha, which offers culturally specific support to South Asian survivors of domestic and sexual violence, is in scramble mode after a major chunk of its federal funding vanished last year. Executive director Aparna Bhattacharyya and interim deputy director Manisha Lance say the cuts put emergency housing, transportation and outreach on the chopping block for clients who often have nowhere else to turn. The group has appealed the decision to Washington and is now relying heavily on community donors and local partners to plug the hole.
The bad news landed on April 22, 2025, when the U.S. Department of Justice notified grantees that it was shifting priorities and rescinding previously approved awards. A Council on Criminal Justice analysis estimates that 373 prime awards were terminated, wiping out roughly $500 million in remaining balances, according to the Council on Criminal Justice. Local reporting shows Raksha was one of the nonprofits caught in the crossfire.
Local Programs Take The Hit
Federal records of Office of Justice Programs terminations list two Office for Victims of Crime awards for Raksha: a $500,000 field-generated project and a $200,000 "meeting the basic needs" grant, both flagged for termination. The public termination list lays out the project descriptions and award amounts for each canceled grant. For Raksha, those two awards together were expected to cover hotel stays, rides, culturally specific groceries and outreach across metro Atlanta, according to local coverage.
National Fallout And Lawsuits
The cancellations rippled well beyond Atlanta as victims-service agencies, research centers and community programs suddenly found themselves staring at budget gaps and layoffs. The Associated Press reported that several organizations have taken the Justice Department to court, trying to undo the cancellations and arguing the agency overstepped by yanking awards mid-grant. National outlets have also noted that the terminated awards were worth hundreds of millions of dollars at the time they were issued, leaving a patchwork of estimates and analyses of the total damage.
Raksha’s Response And Community Scramble
Bhattacharyya says Raksha filed its appeal within a month but has yet to hear back. "We’re hustling and trying to find new ways to get money," she told WABE. Local reporting notes that the two canceled awards, totaling about $700,000, made up a sizable share of Raksha’s planned budget, forcing staff to triage services and lean hard on donors for emergency support. For now, the group has kept a helpline, pantry and limited client assistance running while it hunts for replacement funding.
What The Cuts Mean For Survivors
Project descriptions for the awards spell out the basic needs they were meant to cover: transportation, housing, food, childcare and language-specific advocacy. Service providers say those supports are especially tough to replace quickly. Advocates warn that when culturally tailored help disappears, survivors navigating language or immigration barriers are the ones most likely to slip through the cracks. National analysis has flagged victim services and community-based prevention work as among the program types hardest hit by the terminations.
What Comes Next
While court challenges and appeals grind on, federal priorities for grants appear to be shifting. Some news outlets report that the department is preparing large solicitations focused on law enforcement even as victims-service providers wait to see how appeals and lawsuits shake out. In that uncertain landscape, smaller outfits like Raksha are betting on emergency fundraising, alliances with other community groups, and pressure in the courts and on Capitol Hill to determine whether any of the lost money comes back. Until then, Raksha’s leaders say they will keep whatever services they can afloat while pushing for a longer-term fix.
