Federal Funding Cuts Impact CCTV Programs Serving Vermont Communities

April 8, 2025 Update — CCTV received notice today that our grant award from the National Endowment for the Humanities has been terminated. These funds support the digitization and preservation of vital cultural and historical records. This sudden unexpected loss places our work at risk. Your donation of any size helps us fill this gap. We are deeply grateful for your support during this challenging and uncertain time. Thank you for standing with us.

 

CCTV Center for Media & Democracy is experiencing direct impacts from recent federal funding cuts, including reductions to programs that support the CCTV Archives and the Vermont Language Justice Project (VLJP). These cuts have a significant impact on CCTV’s ability to meet community needs.

 

The Vermont Language Justice Project (VLJP) built on and supported by a CDC Health Equity grant, allows people with language access needs the ability to make informed decisions about their physical and mental health, their safety, as well as navigating everyday life in the USA, by creating public service videos in 21 of the languages spoken in Vermont.  Federal actions and cuts that have targeted health care and health equity and in turn refugees im/migrants and asylees, is having a chilling effect on the people served by the project, potentially limiting the project’s capacity to serve these diverse language communities in Vermont.

 

Recent news of cuts targeting the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) further threaten CCTV’s capacity to safeguard historic media in its video archive. Proposed changes include the elimination of grant programs and the potential rescission of existing awards. The CCTV Archives is currently funded by an NEH Collections and Reference Resources grant, which enables the preservation and public access of over 42,000 video records documenting local government, community organizing, and social history dating back to the 1980s.

 

“Without the support of the federal government and federal funds, key programs that preserve the cultural record of Chittenden County and provide essential services to Vermonters with limited English proficiency are in jeopardy. These efforts are integral to a healthy and inclusive community and strong local democracy,” said Meghan O’Rourke, Co-Director of CCTV Center for Media & Democracy.

 

In response to these federal actions and others, CCTV has joined more than 100 Vermont-based organizations in signing an open letter coordinated by ACLU of Vermont, addressed to Governor Phil Scott and members of the Vermont Legislature. The letter calls for state leaders to defend democratic values, protect vulnerable communities, and uphold Vermont’s autonomy in the face of escalating federal overreach.

 

CCTV Center for Media & Democracy strongly opposes these funding cuts and urges our community members, supporters, partners, and the state’s legislative delegation to stand in solidarity with Vermont’s nonprofit institutions and public service organizations in opposing these actions.