Samaritan's Purse Turns Down $300 Million State Department Grant
Samaritan's Purse officially withdrew from a $300 million federal grant on August 28, 2026. CEO Franklin Graham said the ministry has always relied on God and private donors rather than government funding. The organization said it will continue working with the State Department on future emergency responses.
<p>Samaritan's Purse officially withdrew from a $300 million federal grant on August 28, 2026, turning down funds that were part of a larger $2 billion State Department initiative to replace foreign aid programs cut when the Trump administration shut down USAID.</p>
<p>CEO Franklin Graham announced the decision after prayer and internal discussion. "We have always relied on God, not government, for funding," Graham said in a statement. He thanked the organization's private donors and expressed gratitude to the State Department for its confidence in the ministry.</p>
<p>The $300 million was earmarked for disaster response and humanitarian relief over two years. It was part of a $538 million disaster-response allocation within the broader $2 billion package, which was designed to channel foreign aid through faith-based and community organizations after PEPFAR and other programs were frozen.</p>
<p>Graham clarified that declining this specific grant does not end the relationship with the State Department. Samaritan's Purse said it remains available to partner with the U.S. government on future emergency responses.</p>
<p>The organization has historically accepted smaller federal contracts, receiving roughly $220 million in government contracts since 2020, mostly through USAID. Those amounts represent a small share of its annual budget, which regularly exceeds $1 billion. Graham also expressed support for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's broader changes to the U.S. foreign aid program.</p>
