Programs run by community development financial institutions and financial counseling nonprofits are being cut as the Trump administration refuses to release funds already appropriated by Congress.
4 high-cost options — earned wage access loans, auto title loans, check-cashing services and buy now/pay-later loans — are filling the gap for financially strained households shut out of mainstream credit.
Those nonprofits help borrowers build credit, buy homes and start small businesses, and supporters say private philanthropy cannot replace the scale of lost federal grants.
The broader risk is higher evictions, business failures and bankruptcies in underserved communities, along with lower tax receipts and greater demand for government social services.