AmeriCorps 
Overview of AmeriCorps:
In 1993, President Clinton signed into the law the National and Community Service Trust Act which established the Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) and brought all domestic community service programs under this agency’s purview. Since then, AmeriCorps has grown in size and scope and now 75,000 Americans serve as AmeriCorps members each year. AmeriCorps members serve through a network of partnerships with both local and national nonprofit and community-based organizations. AmeriCorps projects and programs focus on the five following areas: public safety, education, environment, disaster relief, and unmet human needs. The Corporation aims for its four AmeriCorps programs to achieve the following four goals:
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Getting Things Done: AmeriCorps members help address community issues in the areas of education, public safety, disaster relief, the environment, and other unmet human needs.
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Strengthening Communities: AmeriCorps Programs unite individuals from all backgrounds and organizations in the common effort to improve communities.
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Encouraging Responsibility: A term of service encourages the AmeriCorps members to explore their rights and responsibilities to their communities, family and themselves during service and throughout their lives.
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Expanding Opportunity: AmeriCorps members receive educational awards to further their education or pay back loans, while gaining job experience, trainings and other skills.
There are four types of AmeriCorps programs:
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AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Serve to America): Organizations apply directly to their Corporation State Office for AmeriCorps*VISTA members. Project sponsors are not required to provide a financial match but must be able to direct the project, supervise the members, and provide necessary administrative support to complete the goals and objectives of the project. VISTA members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, strengthen community groups, and much more. With passion, commitment, and hard work, VISTA members create or expand programs designed to bring individuals and communities out of poverty. Learn more about becoming a VISTA project sponsor. -
AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps): AmeriCorps*NCCC is a full-time team-based residential program for men and women age 18-24. Drawn from the successful models of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and the US military, NCCC is built on the belief that civic responsibility is an inherent duty of all citizens and that national service programs work effectively with local communities to address pressing needs. AmeriCorps*NCCC requires an intensive, 10-month commitment and members serve from four regional campuses: Denver, Colorado; Perry Point, Maryland; Sacramento, California; and Vinton, Iowa. Members serve in teams of ten to twelve and are assigned to projects throughout the region served by their campus. Sponsoring organizations request the assistance of AmeriCorps NCCC teams by submitting a project application to the regional campus that covers that organization’s state. They are trained in CPR, first aid, public safety, and other skills before beginning their first service project.
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AmeriCorps*State: AmeriCorps*State programs work with Governor-appointed State Service Commissions to acquire AmeriCorps funding for local public and nonprofit organizations. Grants assist these groups in recruiting, training and placing AmeriCorps members to meet critical community needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. The purpose of AmeriCorps*State is to engage AmeriCorps members in direct service and capacity-building to address unmet community needs. Local programs design service activities for a team of members serving full- or part-time for one year or during the summer. Sample activities include tutoring and mentoring youth, assisting crime victims, building homes, and restoring parks. AmeriCorps members also mobilize community volunteers and strengthen the capacity of the organizations where they serve. State Service Commissions directly manage these grants to local organizations.
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AmeriCorps*National: AmeriCorps*National provides grants directly to national public and nonprofit organizations that sponsor service programs, Indian tribes, and consortia formed across two or more states, including faith-based and community organizations, higher education institutions, and public agencies. State Service Commissions do not manage AmeriCorps*National grants; local organizations receive AmeriCorps funding directly from their National headquarters.
AmeriCorps National Direct Applicants are asked to complete and return this Initial Consultation form in response to the Corporation for National and Community Service AmeriCorps National Direct 2010 Notice of Funding Availability. Please contact Natalie Wasserman, AmeriCorps Program Officer at natalie.wasserman@dc.gov if you have any questions. Please visit americorps.gov for more information or view the AmeriCorps FAQs. Learn more about AmeriCorps programs in Washington, DC or view the National Service Directory*.
Do you know an individual or group who has shown exemplary service to the District? Submit your nomination now for the Mayor's Community Service Award!
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