Experts from local nonprofits discussed the challenges they face amid federal funding cuts at a conference that was in held in White Plains on Thursday.

Ron Abad, CEO of Community Housing Innovations, says he believes in the power of nonprofit organizations.

"We're the ones that run hospitals, we're the ones that run schools, we provide housing, we're in every sector of society," Abad said.

Abad was one of over 200 people who registered to attend a data-driven conference that examined the role of nonprofits in Westchester on Thursday.

"It's a coalition of not-for-profit partners, corporations, banks coming together [who are] really strengthening our economy to strengthen our residents," Abad said.

The conference took place at the C.V. Rich Mansion in White Plains and was organized by a group called Nonprofit Westchester.

Some of the attendees, like Stephan Spilkowitz, from Westchester Jewish Community Services, said the conversation comes at a critical time in our country's history.

"The OMB pause on federal funding has a been of great concern to the nonprofit sector, and there are huge concerns around cuts to critical programs, such as Medicaid and SNAP," Spilkowitz said.

Spilkowitz added that the cuts could impact both the people who benefit from the programs and the organizations that provide them.

"So, there's a critical moment, I feel, for the nonprofit sector to ban together to advocate, to collaborate, and ensure that elected officials of all parties, of all levels of government, realize the implications of certain policies," Spilkowitz said.

Panelist Megan Allen, from the New York Council of Nonprofits, shared how community members can support nonprofits during this time.

"Make a donation, volunteer, join a board," Allen said. "Call their local congresspeople and let know how important nonprofits are in their community."

Organizers said the conference served as Nonprofit Westchester's first program in its Inside the Nonprofit Sector series.

The next event is scheduled for June.