Federal Government Shutdown Guidance

Update: On Saturday, March 23, President Biden signed the Congress-approved $1.2 trillion package to avoid a lapse in funding for the remaining federal agencies. The U.S. federal government is fully funded through the remainder of fiscal year 2024.

RFCUNY is pleased to shelve its contingency plans through September 30.

The Research Foundation of CUNY (RFCUNY) has learned from its previous experience with the 2018 partial federal government shutdown and has developed guidelines and procedures to prepare for its eventuality. We will closely monitor changes specific to a potential federal government shutdown and will keep the RFCUNY and CUNY community informed of any new developments. The purpose of this page is to provide a dedicated space for updates and to provide guidance to help our community members navigate the next steps.

We are committed to doing our best to manage and allocate our resources to make sure that current salaries and other critical expenses are paid. Any emergency course of action will apply to funds from agencies affected by the federal government shutdown but may eventually affect any sponsored project involving federal funds.

For context, federally funded projects are not typically paid for in full, or in advance, at the time they are awarded to the University. Instead, RFCUNY is required to draw down the funds from the funding agencies’ payment systems periodically to be reimbursed for expenses. While we hope there will be minimal disruptions, if this should materialize, RFCUNY may not receive funds from federal government agencies affected by the shutdown.

The specific details of the implementation plan will be modified depending on the particular agencies and programs affected by the shutdown and may need to be changed and adjusted as circumstances evolve.

If you have any questions, please contact fedshutdown@rfcuny.org.

Current Alerts:

There are no current alerts.

Previous Alerts:

Alert #1: Memo to CUNY 
Alert #2: Memo to CUNY

Links for Additional Resources to Watch:

Agency Contingency Plans

NSF Plan for Operations During a Lapse in Appropriations

Agency Operations in the Absence of Appropriations

Government Shutdowns and Higher Education