The letter came without warning, like a slap in the face from an invisible hand.

Humanities Washington CEO and Executive Director Julie Ziegler had already been talking with peers in other states, and she readied herself for the blow. The National Endowment for the Humanities (think DOGE) had terminated her nonprofit’s previously awarded federal grant “to safeguard the interests of the federal government.”

Just like that, the nonprofit that offers educational programs and cultural enrichment opportunities across the state had lost about half of its $2.6 million budget.

The letter was dated April 2. Funding was cut off the same day. The organization wasted no time in launching a campaign urging supporters to save the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), noting that DOGE had also terminated more than 1,200 grants to organizations and individuals throughout the United States.

“We got a letter in the middle of the night,” says Ziegler, who has served as Humanities Washington CEO since 2009. “It wasn’t even a government email. It was from a Microsoft address, a non-governmental email address.”

Ziegler says between at least 30 and 40 organizations across the state — including researchers at the University of Washington and Washington State University — had grants canceled as well. All told, she says up to $10 million in NEH cultural funding across the state is in jeopardy.

Ziegler is in the midst of creating a short-term plan to “keep things moving,” but admits that she’s “very concerned” about the future of her organization. Humanities Washington employs 12 full-time workers but also has about 100 contractors — including scholars and reading specialists — that help deliver its programs across the state.

Humanities Washington will be able to honor its commitments for at least the next six months.

Ziegler calls the funding cut “bluntly illegal.” Contracts had already been signed, and grants work on a “reimbursement” basis, meaning organizations spend the money first.

“Congress has the power of the purse, and it’s just a blatantly illegal move,” she says. “What concerns me most is, as an American, our checks and balances don’t seem to be working. That’s the biggest surprise to me.”

Her staff, she adds, is determined and angry. The nonprofit will furlough some employees to get through at least the next six months.

“They’re focused and ready to fight,” she says. “So am I.”