PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia theater companies and museums, orchestras, and neighborhood arts centers are girding for a potential financial hit after the Trump administration made clear its intention to apply an ideological test for receiving money from government-funded programs.

“Whiplash is the word we’ve been hearing across the cultural community over the past 48 hours,” wrote Patricia Wilson Aden, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and Gerald Veasley, the alliance’s board chair, in an email to members Thursday. “Make no mistake — organizations that provide diverse and inclusive programming and receive federal support should brace for imminent policy changes, including rescinded funding.”

The White House on Monday announced a freeze of trillions of dollars on all federal grants and loans — a decision it reversed Wednesday after a strong backlash from states and other groups. Later in the day, the administration reiterated its position that, despite the reversal, it would continue to push for an ideological test for government funding.

President Donald Trump’s executive orders directed government agencies to find and eliminate spending on what the White House has termed “woke” principles. In practice, however, it is unclear what specifically would be targeted and how decisions would be made — and what, in fact, counts as “woke.” A federal judge indicated Wednesday that he will issue a temporary restraining order on the executive orders.

The funding episode is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to eliminate civil rights protections to groups that experience discrimination, and to dismantle diversity programs in both the government and the private sector.

But as the matter plays out, area arts and culture leaders were unequivocal in their judgment that any stanching of funds in the Philadelphia region from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute for Museum and Library Services would be a blow.

Funds from the three agencies from 2020-24 totaled $111,251,968 through 967 grants flowing into Pennsylvania, according to GPCA data, with nearly $42.5 million of that money going to groups in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Most recently, the NEA announced grants to 64 Pennsylvania organizations totaling $1,463,000 for a diverse portfolio of projects, including $10,000 to the Honesdale Roots & Rhythm Music & Arts Festival in Honesdale, Pa.; $20,000 for the People’s Light theater company in Malvern to support a series of touring programs, including Illuminating Bayard Rustin by Steve H. Broadnax III; and $25,000 to Asian Americans United for this year’s annual Mid-Autumn Festival in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.

The fate of those grants now appears to be in limbo. A spokesperson for the NEA said the agency is “currently reviewing the recent executive orders, accompanying guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget, and related documents to ensure compliance and provide the required reporting.”

Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, said the advocacy group has been receiving NEA support for the Mid-Autumn Festival for several years. “The goal has been supporting diverse communities, and taking it away would be a direct attack on that.”

If this year’s grant didn’t end up coming through, it would “leave a giant hole in our budget,” she said. “We can survive. But the question is: What do we do next year?”

The area’s largest arts center, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, has been awarded $250,000, but the money has not yet been received: $25,000 to support its Jazz for Freedom program and $75,000 for the orchestra’s neighborhood concerts and community music-making programs, both from the NEA; and $150,000 from the U.S. State Department to support the Philadelphia Orchestra’s residency program in China this past November.

For Opera Philadelphia, $30,000 is immediately at stake. The NEA had announced the grant toward this weekend’s company premiere at the Academy of Music of The Anonymous Lover by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, but the money is not in hand. Grants are structured as a reimbursement, so funds do not come in until after costs are incurred.

Opera Philadelphia general director and president Anthony Roth Costanzo said it would not be “disastrous” if the $30,000 did not come through, “but it’s a significant amount of money and money we would not want to lose.”

And grants from the NEA, NEH, and IMLS are prized by arts groups not just for their dollar value, but also for the momentum and credibility they can bring to fundraising from other sources.

From that perspective, “having this money means a lot,” Costanzo said.

Yet if Opera Philadelphia needed to make a choice between abandoning its commitment to diversity and future funding from the federal government, it would present no dilemma at all, he said.

“We would never abandon the mission. We would abandon the government.”

A central tenet of the opera company is further developing the diversity of the audience as well as its roster of composers, singers, and other artists. Case in point is The Anonymous Lover by Bologne, born in 1745 the son of a Black enslaved woman and her French enslaver. His works have been revived in recent years, celebrated as an early example of a Black composer long overlooked.

The work’s two performances Friday and Sunday are nearly sold out, and Costanzo said he is looking forward to seeing the faces of audience members new and old drawn by the work.

“It’s going to be a safe space for them. We are committed to diversifying our audiences. We are on that train no matter what.”

©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.