OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — No More Empty Pots, a 16-year-old nonprofit based in North Omaha, laid off several members of its workforce this week.
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The organization — which focuses on food insecurity, local food businesses, and education — eliminated the positions amid complex financial struggles.
"Our programs are still running," said Talia McGill, the CEO of No More Empty Pots.
She met with me on Saturday at the organization's Micro Market at the Highlander on 30th Street.
"We’re just going to do things with a different type of energy that will hopefully allow us to continue to do more, in a more sustainable way in the future," she said.
The layoffs have been hard on the neighbors who lost their jobs. I received statements from several former employees who say they believe the organization needs more transparency in the way funds are managed and greater input from those they serve.
McGill said the struggles are complex. The increased costs of everything, along with cuts to grant money and changes to programs like SNAP, have weakened nonprofits.
"It is government funding, it is the philanthropic landscape, it is the cost of goods and repairs and upkeep, it’s the ability to pay people what they deserve. Like, it is so layered and it is so bigger than just one thing," McGill said.
Former employee Cid Kelley called No More Empty Pots a "fabulous organization" that "does great work," but told me over the phone she hopes "they can salvage this" because she worries for the high school students she was teaching who will suddenly have a new instructor.
"Everyone’s hurt right now. Everybody is hurt," McGill said.
Many nonprofits say they are struggling right now. In a nationwide survey by Independent Sector, a coalition of charitable groups, 81% of organizations reported struggling to meet expenses last year.
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