FSI co-founders Casey Lartigue, left, and Eunkoo Lee do paperwork at the FSI office. Courtesy of FSI

Elections have consequences. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is the latest U.S. government agency on the Trump-Musk chopping block. If it gets shut down or its operations get dismantled so that it exists in name only, then it will have an impact on many North Korean refugee and North Korea-focused organizations that currently receive support from NED and affiliated government entities.

Elon Musk has made it clear that he believes NED should be eliminated, calling it "rife with corruption" and labeling it an "evil organization" that "needs to be dissolved."

The Trump administration has already taken steps to halt funding for numerous U.S. government programs and agencies, most notably USAID. This funding freeze has sent shockwaves throughout nonprofits around the world.

Less notable than USAID, has been the shut down of NED which informed organizations that depend on its financial support that it will cease payments to them immediately because it can't access its congressional funding. "Once you run out of money, consider your agreement with our organization suspended," NED said in the statement. As NPR reported, NED could no longer access funds via the Treasury Department. It has furloughed staff and suspended grants to about 1,800 partners in more than 100 countries.

Another government agency on the chopping block is the International Republican Institute (IRI), which received funding from USAID and NED. According to various sources, IRI has furloughed two thirds of its workforce and closed more than 20 of its overseas offices, according to a person familiar with IRI operations granted anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss internal staffing issues.

According to the aforementioned Politico article, the "NED-funded National Democratic Institute — which does similar work to IRI and is loosely affiliated with the Democratic Party — said Wednesday that it's making similar cuts to its workforce and operations."

NED is the big daddy, however. It has long been both praised and criticized by both the left and right. Some view it as a tool of U.S. interventionism, while others see it as a vital defender of global democracy. But whether you agree with its mission or not, its collapse sent shockwaves through the nonprofit world.

As an aside, I have gotten pulled into criticism of NED. Although I have never been part of an organization that received NED funding, some nitwits on Twitter who make groundless accusations included me. In response, I compiled a document last year related to the funding of North Korean refugee/North Korea-focused organizations from 2016 to 2021. Neither Freedom Speakers International (FSI) nor Teach North Korean Refugees (TNKR) has ever received any support from NED.

That's why the funding freeze doesn't affect FSI, the Seoul-based non-profit I co-founded with South Korean researcher Eunkoo Lee. Some North Korea-focused organizations that rely on funding from NED, IRI, and NDI are panicking.

Outside of South Korea's Ministry of Unification, NED is probably the biggest annual funder of North Korea-related non-profits. It was so prevalent that we have even had North Korean refugees question why our non-profit hasn't received support from NED. One North Korean refugee even accused us of not being ambitious because we weren't seeking a large grant from NED.

It was just the reality that we were not a good fit for NED funding and I recognized it even as my colleagues repeatedly lobbied internally for us to apply for NED funding.

One reason we were not a good fit is that we never focused on democracy advocacy. When North Korean refugees receive support or receive benefits from organizations receiving NED funding then they will talk about democracy. But when North Korean refugees have the opportunity to talk about what they want, they rarely talk about democracy.

This Saturday FSI will hold its 21st English speech contest. None of the North Korean refugees have written speeches about democracy. Over the course of 20 English speech contests, with about 150 North Korean speakers, not one has chosen democracy as their topic.

Two, we never tried to force a specific mission onto North Korean refugees. NED funded projects and activities with clear outcomes related to advocating for democracy. Our approach was always different: provide a platform, give North Korean refugees the opportunity to build their English skills, and let them decide what to speak about.

Over the last few weeks I have seen statements by North Korean refugees, supporters of North Korea-related non-profits, and leaders of non-profits around the world expressing alarm and outrage at President Trump cutting their funding. One of the North Korean refugees, in a reference to President Trump, referred to the "dictator" who was causing her organization to lose funding and having to cut back on staff.

From the looks of things now, it won't be until 2028 at the earliest that most of those organizations can expect to receive funding from a NED-like organization. And by then, some of those organizations may no longer exist.

Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu) is the co-founder of Freedom Speakers International with Lee Eun-koo; and co-author with Han Song-mi of her memoir "Greenlight to Freedom: A North Korean Daughter's Search for Her Mother and Herself."