Nonprofit organization handling scholarships announces furloughs amid federal funding freeze confusion

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Institute of International Education (IIE), a national nonprofit organization, has announced that employees working on scholarship programs will be furloughed.

"Effective March 14, some IIE team members who work on ECA-funded programs such as Fulbright, Humphrey, Gilman, and others will be furloughed," the organization announced in an update on Thursday, March 13.

Savannah Morris, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), was awarded a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship by IIE in December 2024.

In February, Morris received an email from the program saying that funding for the scholarship had been put on hold by the U.S. Department of State.

"Numerous factors have limited our ability to retain full staffing levels, including delays and consistency in agreement modifications and payment processing delays," the IIE update explained Thursday. "However, we remain hopeful that this is temporary and that we will be able to resume full staffing levels soon."

In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to freeze some federal funding. While the order was blocked by multiple federal judges, there is still a lot of confusion about what the future holds. A recent report from ProPublica indicates many agencies are continuing to suspend funding, despite the court orders.

With a major in political science and a concentration on international relations, Morris had planned to spend her fall semester in Korea, using the $6,500 scholarship that had been granted to her. Earlier this week, she told 8News that the uncertainty about her funding would require tough decisions to be made.

“College at VCU is something that I’ve been trying to do myself,” Morris said. “I don’t want to have that additional financial burden on my parents.”

Morris told 8News that she is applying for other scholarships as she waits for more definitive answers.