FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mar 12, 2021

New investment will support program expansions and increase in living allowance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – AmeriCorps today celebrated the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a landmark legislative package that will deliver immediate relief for the American people. The law also includes an additional $1 billion for AmeriCorps and its many programs, which will support the agency’s ongoing efforts to bolster community response efforts to the pandemic, while building a new path forward.

“The American people were promised that “help is on the way,” said Mal Coles, acting CEO of AmeriCorps. “And this transformational investment means that some of that help will be wearing an AmeriCorps “A.” The hundreds of thousands of AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors members who are helping today, will be ready to help tomorrow.”

“National service is being called upon to demonstrate what communities forged in compassion can bring to bear. This is a commitment we know well. For a quarter century, when communities in crisis have called, AmeriCorps has answered. At this time of unprecedented need, we have the responsibility to deliver for American families and communities, with the urgency and boldness that the moment requires. I am confident that, together, we can rise to this challenge,” continued Coles.

With programs, people and promise in more than 40,000 locations across the country, AmeriCorps is uniquely positioned to bolster community response efforts. For the past year, tens of thousands of AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors members have continued to serve–finding new ways to deliver the same services safely and quickly adapting to meet the changing needs caused by the pandemic. In urban and rural communities alike, AmeriCorps is supporting critical services like contact tracing, case investigation efforts, testing sites, community outreach, and vaccine distribution centers. They’ve also provided the extra manpower to overstretched food banks and are a crucial component of student success programs.

Building on these investments, the American Rescue Plan includes support for AmeriCorps to:  

  • Expand national service programming into new communities, and stabilize existing AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs
  • Increase the AmeriCorps living allowance, making national service more accessible and inclusive
  • Increase the diversity and cultural experience of those serving in communities across the country and grow the number of AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors positions

AmeriCorps is working expeditiously to develop guidance on how these historic increases will be implemented. The agency continues to work with state and local governments, nonprofits, faith-based institutions, as well as our federal partners, as part of a coordinated government response to the COVID-19 pandemic that protects the equitable health and safety of the American people.

AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges, through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov. The ARP press kit includes media resources, such as stock photos, fast facts, and b-roll.