KINGSVILLE, Mo. — A wave of federal funding cuts from the Trump administration is being felt across the Kansas City area. This time, cuts are affecting Powell Gardens.
The gardens were awarded a $217,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), expected to be disbursed over two years. After receiving just one year of funding, the grant was pulled.
The funding supported behind-the-scenes work: human resources, safety training, community outreach and more. While visitors may not directly see that work, Powell Gardens leaders said the public will feel the difference.
“A lot of the things that make a cultural organization great that people don't see, that has to happen every day,” said Cody Jolliff, CEO of Powell Gardens. “So it's not the paint, it's not the beautiful flowers; it's the things that are harder to get funded.”
Without the IMLS grant, Jolliff said visitors could see fewer staff, reduced programming and scaled-back events.
“We always want to offer the best visitor experience,” Jolliff said. “So every day we talk about being visitor-ready, and this grant was really kind of ... some of the underlying things that make us visitor-ready every day.”
The sudden loss is even more difficult because Powell Gardens, like many nonprofits, plans its budget years in advance. Plus, the gardens don’t receive public funding.
“A lot of people think that we receive public funding, but we do not receive any tax dollars, so we rely solely on dollars coming from admissions, membership and from donations from individuals and grants like the IMLS grant that we had applied for,” said Sharon Ramsey, director of development.
Ramsey emphasized the grant’s importance, not just to internal operations but to the garden’s ability to serve the broader community.
Powell Gardens is one of several cultural and educational institutions affected by the federal cuts. Earlier this month, leaders at the Kansas City Public Library voiced concerns about reduced funding from IMLS.
Abby Yellman, director and CEO of the Kansas City Public Library, noted that while larger libraries may absorb the cuts, smaller ones are at serious risk.
“It's not as impactful for large urban libraries,” Yellman said. “It is very impactful for the small and rural libraries that depend on those funds for internet connectivity, access to resources through couriers.”
For Powell Gardens, the loss of federal support means a deeper reliance on admissions, membership and local donors.
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KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas. Share your story idea with Olivia.
