This sudden termination will shutter more than 1,000 programs and prematurely end the service of over 32,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers. It will also leave communities across the country without crucial services provided by the terminated programs. 

State service commission managed grant programs — including AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA, and the Volunteer Generation Fund — appear to be targeted in the grant terminations. All 50 states, DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands were notified of grant terminations, and approximately 80% of all AmeriCorps State and National (ASN) programs received notice of termination. Some states have had every AmeriCorps State program eliminated. 

Ninety-eight percent of all ASN grants that received termination notifications are AmeriCorps State grants administered by a state service commission. State service commissions are governed by a board of bipartisan and governor-appointed commissioners. By federal law, state service commissions set the priorities for their AmeriCorps State formula programs to address local community needs. 

ASC is troubled by what these grant terminations will mean for almost 30,000 AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps VISTA members that are being forced to exit their programs prematurely. These members will be left suddenly without a living stipend and other benefits, such as healthcare, due to the termination of their program. Many members will be facing housing, food, health, and other financial emergencies as a result of losing their living stipends, which are likely their only source of income. 

In addition, the hundreds of dedicated staff members who direct and manage these terminated AmeriCorps programs will likely lose their employment, as the nonprofits and other organizations who host AmeriCorps programs will not be able to pay these staff now that their grants have been terminated. 

We are also concerned about what this means for the programming the terminated members will leave behind with many serving in public and charter schools as tutors, providing a safe environment and quality activities in afterschool programs, coordinating food distribution at pantries, and responding to recent storms and other disasters.  

“Terminating nearly $400 million in AmeriCorps grants with no advanced notice is already having a detrimental impact on the vast network that makes up the national service field in the United States,” said ASC CEO Kaira Esgate. “Thousands of people who have steadfastly dedicated their lives to serving their country through AmeriCorps are finding their livelihoods suddenly thrown into jeopardy, and hundreds of communities are losing critical services they rely on.” 

These terminated grant programs have not been notified that they are out of compliance, and we disagree that the programs “no longer effectuate agency priorities” as stated in the notice. Per federal law, national AmeriCorps priorities are established in the Serve America Act. While the agency may decide which to prioritize in its grant competitions, the AmeriCorps agency does not have the authority to terminate grants that are serving the priorities set by Congress in statute and already awarded. 

AmeriCorps “brings out the best of America,” and provides Americans the opportunity to tackle pressing needs in local communities across the United States and territories. The grant funded activities primarily focus on critical community services such as mentoring, tutoring, food insecurity, homelessness, public safety, social isolation, mental health, and other issues that impact every state and community in the country. 

AmeriCorps programs respond to disasters, assist veterans, provide support to students, deliver meals to seniors, and more — all while giving AmeriCorps members the opportunity to serve their country and develop skills to help them succeed in the workforce. AmeriCorps programs are evidence-based and evaluated for effectiveness, and studies show as much as a $34 return on investment (ROI) for every federal dollar invested. 

As previously stated, ASC strongly supports efforts to improve the AmeriCorps agency’s statutory partnership with states, streamline rules and regulations, and modernize systems. However, this sudden termination of grant funding, coupled with the recently enacted drastic cuts to AmeriCorps agency staff and demobilization of AmeriCorps NCCC members, is creating unnecessary harm instead of the welcomed common-sense reforms. 

We are grateful to our bipartisan champions in the United States Senate and House of Representatives for their longstanding support of AmeriCorps funded programs and state service commissions and look forward to their continued support in upcoming appropriations and other related decisions. 

We urge the White House to reverse these harmful decisions and ensure continued funding and continuity of operations to avoid devastating impacts on individual AmeriCorps members, volunteers, and the states and communities they serve. 

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