About ASCWho We AreAmerica's Service Commissions (ASC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership association representing and promoting the 52 governor-led state and territorial service commissions across the United States. We are a peer network of commissioners and service commission professional staff. In addition, we provide services and supports to local, state, and national AmeriCorps programs; advocate for state and federal policies that advance service and volunteerism; and secure philanthropic funds to expand service opportunities. Our HistoryFormally known as the Association of State Service Commissions, ASC was launched in 1997 by a group of service commission executive directors and commissioners. The motivation for establishing ASC was a belief that voluntary service, in all its forms, would be strengthened and enhanced by an organization that could mobilize the expertise of commissioners and staff to promote and represent all streams of national and community service. Our MissionWe lead and elevate the state service network, which includes service commissions in 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC; local AmeriCorps programs across the country; and friends and champions of service and volunteerism. Our VisionWe envision that all states and territories will embrace service as a strategy to build community in solving local challenges. Our ValuesAs the sole organization that brings together all 52 service commissions, we honor the distinct voice of each individual member commission while seeking to find common ground and shared goals to advance national service and volunteering nationwide. We believe in the power of our collective voice to get things done.
We strive to make national service and volunteering accessible to all who want to serve. We recognize that not all people currently have the opportunity to serve their community due to barriers. We advocate for removing barriers to national service and volunteering and take actions that make service accessible to all communities and individuals.
We work strategically to build relationships on both sides of the aisle in a two-party political system and to find partners and champions across the political spectrum. We believe that service is inherently nonpartisan and that leaders of diverse ideologies can appreciate and understand the benefits of national service and volunteering.
Service commissions are key statutory partners with the federal government in the service infrastructure and delivery system. As social challenges are experienced locally within communities, local needs and interests are more easily identified through state and territorial structures than by large federal bureaucracies. We believe that service commissions are uniquely positioned to strengthen communities by supporting sustained, well-managed volunteer and national service programming at the local level.
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