In a matter of just a few months, the US Department of Education has gutted nearly all staff responsible for special education oversight, leaving many disability-related programs across agencies to face growing uncertainty about the future of their funding and in urgent need of disability philanthropy.

These cuts will impact 7.5 million children with disabilities across the nation by yanking funding for—and oversight of—the disability services they need in order to learn, leaving families scrambling to find specialized care for their children. Divestments in social service provisions at the federal level are also an alarming bellwether for the direction our nation is headed as major corporations continue to roll back their DEI policies.

The enormous progress our country has made on disability inclusion risks being completely decimated, and philanthropy has a uniquely powerful role to play here: Quite simply, fund disability inclusion. Funders shape what is possible. They influence what gets measured, prioritized, and sustained. Funders, together with cross-sector and grassroots leaders, can create the conditions where every child, every adult, every family has access to the resources they need to thrive.

For too long, disability inclusion has been funded as a side project—a “special needs” program or a single accessibility grant. One in four adults lives with a disability, but only 2 percent of grant funding goes toward disability-related work. That approach is not only outdated; it’s strategically flawed.

Disability is not a side issue. It’s a systems issue—and systems are philanthropy’s domain. This work belongs at the core of every funding strategy. Education, mental health, leadership development, workforce equity, and community wellbeing all intersect with disability. If funders say, “That’s not our area,” they’re missing the point.

Disability Philanthropy: The Risks of Exclusion

When disability inclusion is siloed—and funded as such—the consequences are measurable, with marked inequities reflecting the fact that our systems are not designed to accommodate everyone. People with disabilities face higher risks of poor health outcomes and often experience stigma, discrimination, and barriers to accessing education and employment. The recent reductions and restructuring in federal funding for disability-related programs only compound existing inequities.

As a result, gaps emerge and existing disparities deepen, while critical needs go unmet. For example, proposals to restructure or reduce funding for programs such as Medicaid and SNAP would shift costs to states or further restrict eligibility, threatening health coverage and nutrition assistance that millions of people with disabilities rely on. And when supports shrink in an already fragmented system, services become harder to access. Fewer accommodations are available, and individuals face greater barriers to maintaining employment and financial stability. The burden shifts to families and loved ones—many of whom already reduce their own working hours to provide unpaid care—further decreasing household income and deepening economic instability.

Read the full article about disability philanthropy by Meredith Polsky at Nonprofit Quarterly.