The embattled National Endowment for the Arts’ approved $35,000 grant to the Portland choir Cappella Romana, which had been abruptly cut off by the Trump Administration’s freeze on federal grants to cultural, scientific, medical and other organizations across the nation, has found its way into the choir’s bank account after all.

The delivery of the grant money is an encouraging, if possibly isolated, event in the Administration’s war on the federal bureaucracy.

“The spigot had suddenly run dry — not just for arts and cultural grants, but for every kind: The federal government was leaving states and cities and nonprofit agencies that count on a flow of federal funding high and dry,” ArtsWatch reported on Feb. 1.

For Cappella Romana, at least, that has changed.

“UPDATE: The Show Will Go On!” an email from Executive Director Mark Powell to the choir’s followers said on Friday, Valentine’s Day afternoon. “We’ve had an intense two weeks at Cappella Romana, topped off with working from home during the snowstorm here in Portland. And I have some good news: This past Tuesday we received the grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for The Canon of Racial Reconciliation. The grant escaped the freezes, something just short of miraculous.”

The “miracle” had to dodge several obstacles, including the Administration’s ignoring of several court directives to stop the funding freeze and deliver the promised money to organizations whose grants had been approved.

The Canon of Racial Reconciliation program also seems to run in contradiction to the Administration’s campaign against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs: The Trump Administration has demanded that government agencies kill off such programs and cease funding organizations that include DEI efforts. Many nonprofits that receive federal money have eliminated their DEI programs in response.

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The Racial Reconciliation program, as ArtsWatch reported on Feb. 1, is “a world premiere bringing together, in the choir’s description, ‘a groundbreaking fusion of traditions … for choir and gospel instrument ensemble. Isaac Cates (Gospel music) and Nicholas Reeves (Orthodox music) co-composed an unforgettable score to African American Carla Thomas’s poem that takes the form of an ancient Byzantine canon. Their composition weaves a tapestry of healing and hope, taking you on a journey from brokenness to reconciiation, bridging two traditions of sacred song.’”

Cappella Romana already had decided to go ahead with the two performances — in Seattle on Feb. 28 and at First United Methodist Church in Portland on March 1 — after an emergency plea to choir followers brought in about $20,000 in 48 hours.

That individual support has grown since. “(W)hen there was a risk we might not receive the funds,” Powell wrote in his Friday afternoon email, “people like you all across the country contributed nearly $30,000 to ensure the program would continue, now setting up a solid foundation for future work. This incredible support humbles and encourages me deeply, especially as future such grant funding is uncertain.”

Cappella Romana, Powell added, is looking for ways to tour the Canon of Racial Reconciliation concert.