Michael D. Smith reflects on his time as AmeriCorps CEO.
Dear Friends,
In 2006, I stood alongside AmeriCorps members in Louisiana and Mississippi for the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I knew of AmeriCorps, but it wasn’t until I walked into cafes, flooded homes, school auditoriums, and small businesses with AmeriCorps members who were greeted like heroes that I understood the power of national service. When people saw someone wearing an AmeriCorps “A,” they saw hope, healing, and love in action. The kind of action that was amongst the first to show up and the last to leave. The kind of action that doesn’t seek fame, fortune, or recognition. The kind of action that connects us as human beings when outside forces desperately try to pull us apart.
Almost 20 years later, it’s been my honor to lead this movement. As someone whose journey was shaped by the volunteers and staff at my Boys and Girls Club, I embraced this role with a sense of responsibility. And as my time as CEO comes to a close, I could not be prouder of how we came together — federal, state, and city government; foundations; businesses; nonprofit organizations; members; volunteers; and neighbors — to demonstrate that when the going gets tough, America and AmeriCorps get tougher.
Over the past four years, we’ve faced unprecedented challenges (from a global pandemic to devastating wildfires), forged partnerships, and created pathways from service to careers. We’ve invested more than $4 billion, igniting a national spirit of service and empowering AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers to effect change from the ground up across nearly 40,000 locations nationwide. We embraced service as a tool to advance racial equity, alleviate poverty, and unite Americans through service. Because in service, we don’t just see our humanity — we reclaim it.
Together, we launched bold public-private partnerships that addressed the biggest challenges of our time and sparked pathways from service to careers.
Our interagency and cross-sector partnerships total more than $400 million and will enable an additional 20,000 AmeriCorps members to serve beyond our annual budget. Today, more than 6,500 Public Health AmeriCorps members are supporting solutions to community health challenges while gaining access to public health careers; more than 20,000 American Climate Corps members are turning climate anxiety into action; and hundreds of Youth Mental Health Corps members in schools are turning darkness into light.
AmeriCorps joined forces with the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Communities Interagency Working Group, the U.S. Forest Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to launch or expand: Safer America Network, Public Health AmeriCorps, Environmental Justice Climate Corps, Energy Communities AmeriCorps, Forest Corps, Working Lands Climate Corps, and AmeriCorps Second Chance programs. New memoranda of understanding with the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Peace Corps, Selective Service, and Western Governors University will accelerate recruitment and continue expanding our reach.
Together, we celebrated milestones.
We celebrated the 30th anniversary of the creation of our agency and the first 20,000 AmeriCorps members spreading across the country to get things done. The AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent and RSVP programs celebrated 50 and 60 years of older Americans supporting children, families, and one another. AmeriCorps VISTA has been helping to build capacity in organizations that alleviate poverty for 60 years. In 2022, AmeriCorps and FEMA celebrated the 10th anniversary of FEMA Corps and a five-year renewal of the interagency agreement, which will bring more minds and muscle to disaster response today and for years to come, with FEMA having hired more than 25 percent of AmeriCorps alumni. Last fall, we gathered at the White House to celebrate surpassing the President’s call to engage an additional 250,000 adults in education settings through the National Partnership for Student Success. In advance of the deadline, the partnership had recruited a total of 323,000 new volunteers. In advance of the deadline, the partnership had recruited a total of 323,000 new volunteers.
Together, we prioritized equity and reducing barriers to service.
Equity and access have been at the forefront of our mission. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers reflect the diversity and lived experiences of the communities they serve, and the agency invested in programs that create pathways to opportunity for those who serve. AmeriCorps issued its first Equity Action Plan, supported a Committee on Native American Affairs, and hosted the first tribal nations convenings in recent history. We took action to strengthen diversity and reduce barriers to service by increasing the minimum living allowance to at least $12 per hour across AmeriCorps programs, and during this administration, stipends for AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion volunteers increased by 33 percent. And we prioritized grantees that provide additional wraparound supports for members such as higher living allowances, emergency funds, housing, transportation, and career guidance.
Together, we reformed outdated policies.
We launched the first comprehensive policy review in years, resulting in bold legislative proposals in our budget requests, including eliminating the tax on Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards, making it possible for DACA recipients to serve in all AmeriCorps programs, and expanding Non-Competitive Eligibility so that members who serve in all programs have a path to federal jobs—the latter of which was enacted via Executive Order by President Biden this week! From granting stipend continuations for AmeriCorps Seniors on leave and allowing more time for training for AmeriCorps State and National workforce readiness programs to waving match requirements for tribal grantees and easing match requirements for all AmeriCorps State and National grantees, we changed the rules to keep our decades-old agency ahead of the curve and make it easier for grantees and members to meet their goals.
Together, we rebuilt our financial and operational infrastructure.
At the beginning of the administration, the agency faced years of underinvestment in its people, processes, and systems. We created a multi-year plan and it’s working. We made financial and operational reform the agency’s top priority, developing a holistic plan to accelerate progress. Working with the Board, we enhanced governance, began to modernize systems, and restored strong communication with oversight leadership.
Together, we invested in uniting Americans through service in the face of polarization and division.
By bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to serve, AmeriCorps builds social cohesion and fosters unity. In response to the President’s call to service at the United We Stand Summit, AmeriCorps launched a multi-year project with Service Year Alliance to develop and share trainings, tools, and effective practices for AmeriCorps members to advance social cohesion and bridging during their terms of service and beyond.
In the pilot year with Service Year Alliance, the results show: 47 percent of participants expressed an increased willingness to reexamine firmly held beliefs and 66 percent of participants reduced the extent to which they dislike someone with different political views. Read more.
We’ve continued to prove that AmeriCorps creates leaders who can bridge divides and solve problems. Ninety-one percent of AmeriCorps alumni reported their experience improved their ability to solve problems, and 94 percent said national service broadened their understanding of society and different communities. Read more.
Looking Ahead
This is just a snapshot of how our small but mighty agency and powerful national service movement got big things done for America over these past few years. As we transition to a new administration, the Biden-Harris administration is working to ensure a smooth handover. Our transition team includes former program directors who believe in our mission. While it will take time to nominate and confirm a new CEO, an acting CEO will be named soon. Most importantly, our hard-working, purpose-driven, innovative AmeriCorps team will continue to drive the work forward — alongside the 1.3 million alumni, 52 state commissions, and 200,000 members and volunteers.
Today, January 17, I’m in Atlanta with Dr. Bernice King and the King Center to kick off our MLK Day of Service weekend. So, the words of Dr. King have been on my heart and mind during my final week. “Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
I’ll always remember the love and grace I saw in:
- Granny Fran, who refused to be separated from her “babies” during the pandemic, so taught herself and all the other Foster Grandparent volunteers how to use iPads.
- Domingo, who found his calling with Green City Force and then created Compost Power, hiring AmeriCorps members to protect our planet and create opportunity.
- Jasmine, a Virginia Recovery Corps member, who shared AmeriCorps was the only door that opened when all others closed.
- Jovan and Bobby from PowerCorpsPHL, who said AmeriCorps literally saved their lives.
- Countless AmeriCorps members helping their neighbors rebuild after disaster when their own homes or loved ones had been lost.
As we move forward, there will be more neighbors searching for normalcy after a natural disaster. There will be more members who need an open door when all others have closed. And when America calls — whether it be from our schools, food banks, shelters, churches, community centers, or any place where someone needs a helping hand — AmeriCorps will answer. We always have, and we always will.
I leave as I began. Still fired up and ready to serve! Thank you for the privilege. God bless you. God bless America. And God bless our beloved AmeriCorps.
In service,
Michael
