The longest U.S. government shutdown in history has the already overburdened nonprofit world on alert. The National Council of Nonprofits joined the National Governors Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in condemning politics as usual when it sent a letter to President Trump and members of Congress, calling the shutdown "a tragic failure of leadership" with "very real and lasting consequences."

Tim Delaney, president of the charity advocate, said in an interview that the shutdown is "an unnatural disaster."

But there isn’t time to dwell. People in need are looking to community-based organizations for assistance, ranging from basic nutrition to help with their taxes. And some of those funds are drying up as a result of the shutdown.

Sabeen Perwaiz Syed, executive director of the Florida Nonprofit Alliance, said a major source of funding for domestic-violence shelters are in jeopardy because they come from grants received through the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Crime Act, both administered by the Department of Justice. Syed said eight groups in the state are in talks to reduce staff within the next three weeks because of a funding lapse.

Jessica Castello, assistant director of the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County in South Bend, Ind., told the Chronicle that about 40 percent of its operating budget comes from the Department of Justice because the group is a grantee of the Office on Violence Against Women.

Similarly, Beth Goodrich, executive director of the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said 32 shelters serve the state’s 75 counties. All of them are still operating, but that might not be the case in a month.

"When no one is present at DOJ to process reimbursement requests, state administrators cannot draw down those funds and they cannot reimburse local programs," she said in an email. "For some programs, it simply eliminates a position or two in the agency, for others it makes up a majority of their total funding."

She added: "The longer the shutdown continues, the scarier this becomes not only for the agencies but for victims themselves. They begin to question, How long will I have a place to live? Some people who have left abusive partners may feel they have limited choices on where to turn if the program that is assisting them now has to close."

Steve Taylor, senior vice president for public policy at United Way Worldwide, said he expects increased pressures on local organizations, especially ones that are helping federal workers and contractors who may not have ever needed goods or services from a nonprofit previously.

The fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, may be among the top worries for many advocates of the poor. For now, the benefits continue to flow, but the shutdown could interrupt SNAP assistance if it drags on much longer.

"We regard the SNAP benefits as fundamental to do what we do, so much so that we think helping people get their SNAP benefits is almost as important to us as distributing food."

In fact, the first thing the staff asks people coming through the door is, "Are you eligible for SNAP benefits?"

Bogan said his organization is preparing for its 11th annual fundraising event, the "Fill the Bag Benefit" in March.

The shutdown has also created financial concerns for individuals getting ready to file taxes. While the Trump administration has promised that the Internal Revenue Service will do what is necessary to send refund checks, Taylor is skeptical, partly because there may be a learning curve with the new tax code.

By Julian Wyllie  Read more here.

Kanye West pledged $10 million to back the completion of artist James Turrell’s work-in-progress, the Roden Crater Project.

Turrell has been working on the project since the 1970s to convert a dormant volcanic crater in the Painted Desert near Flagstaff, Ariz., into a series of viewing spaces, tunnels, chambers, and pathways that will offer visitors a variety of visual and auditory experiences.

West is a musician and record producer. Along with a number of different business ventures, he founded the production company and record label Good Music in partnership with Sony BMG.