AmeriCorps

Federal domestic service programs began with Volunteers in Service to America, created in 1965 as a domestic counterpart to the Peace Corps, and programs for older volunteers such as Foster Grandparents. The National and Community Service Trust Act, signed by President Clinton on September 21, 1993, created the Corporation for National and Community Service and the AmeriCorps program. The agency adopted AmeriCorps as its operating name in 2020. It is led by a Chief Executive Officer and a bipartisan board.

Most AmeriCorps funding flows through state service commissions and nonprofits that recruit members to tutor students, respond to disasters, run food banks, restore parks, and support veterans, often for a year of service. Members receive a modest living allowance and an education award they can use for college or student loans. Other programs include AmeriCorps VISTA, which builds capacity in low-income communities, the residential National Civilian Community Corps, and AmeriCorps Seniors, which engages older Americans as volunteers.

In April 2025 the administration placed most AmeriCorps staff on leave, terminated hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, and withdrew members from the National Civilian Community Corps, citing poor financial management, and its budget proposed eliminating the agency. Federal courts later ordered some grants restored in states that sued. Supporters of the cuts pointed to repeated failed financial audits, while governors, mayors, and nonprofits of both parties said the moves disrupted disaster relief, tutoring, and other community services.