Federal funding cuts to AmeriCorps leave Washington volunteers, nonprofits scrambling for answers

Cuts to the federal volunteer service program AmeriCorps are disrupting the work of non-profits across Washington as well as the lives of volunteers.

On April 25, the federal government ended AmeriCorps grant programs in Washington state. Those programs offer services in education, public safety, and hunger relief.

The end of those grants also left AmeriCorps members like Cherie Liberty with an uncertain future.

"I don't see how this, in any way, can be helping our society or government," Liberty told KUOW.

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Liberty started her contract with AmeriCorps in November 2024, and held a pantry support position at the University District Food Bank until late last month. Her position at the food bank represented a new chapter for Liberty. She started volunteering at the food bank in 2016, and it quickly became her "safe place" while recovering from a substance use disorder.

"I felt a sense of importance, a sense of community," Liberty said. "The more I volunteered, the better I was feeling about myself, staying positive, staying strong."

Each week, Liberty was delivering 500 bags of groceries to people who aren’t able to come to the food bank themselves. But late last month, Liberty was placed on an "administrative hold," meaning she can’t accrue any work hours or receive a stipend, even though her AmeriCorps contract is still active.

The administrative hold follows an executive order from the Trump administration directing federal agencies to reduce its workforce. Since that order, AmeriCorps has placed about 85% of its staff on leave.

According to the nonprofit America's Service Commissions, nearly $400 million dollars in grant funding was eliminated from AmeriCorps' budget on April 25. When that grant money was cut, state branches of AmeriCorps notified non-profit partners, like the University District Food Bank, that their programs had been put on immediate pause.

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Liberty said the hold has been "traumatizing."

"Without being able to even receive unemployment or any kind of wages, I wouldn't be able to make it," Liberty said. "I have rent to pay. I have a car payment. ... We're just left in such limbo."

Liberty was planning on using the educational award AmeriCorps members receive to go back to school. She recently became a certified peer support specialist through the Washington Healthcare Authority, and wants to take a Spanish language class to serve a wider scope of people. Those plans are now on hold.

Lifeblood gone dry

The AmeriCorps pause compounds an already dire situation for food banks.

Joe Gruber, the executive director of the University District Food Bank, said the administrative pause placed four AmeriCorps team members on unpaid leave.

Volunteers are the "lifeblood" of a food bank, Gruber said, and it can often be a challenge to stretch labor.

"On an average week, me might have somewhere between 300 and 350 different volunteers, and for most of those volunteers, they're going to be with us for a shift of maybe two to three hours once a week," Gruber explained.

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AmeriCorps members, like Cherie Liberty, work 40 hours a week during the duration of their contract. Gruber said that consistency supports the food bank's mission to help community members get access to the food they need quickly.

"Them being missing really makes it that much harder for folks to do their work," Gruber said. "There's not somebody there to oversee volunteers. There's not somebody there to help with the check-in process, to make sure that customers are being greeted and oriented correctly."

Gruber said he received a short email on Monday, April 28 informing him that all four of the AmeriCorps members with the food bacnk were put on an administrative pause. Details were "slim," Gruber said, but further guidance from the state branch of AmeriCorps made it clear the food bank cannot hire any members in the exact role they were serving in.

Gruber said the food bank is looking at ways to support the staffers through the remainder of their contracts, without putting them in any legal challenges

"We want to do right and make sure that we're able to support these folks through the end of their service terms," Gruber said.

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Despite the pause, Liberty still shows up to volunteer at the food bank.

During a busy Thursday afternoon at the food bank, Liberty directed customers through lines and kept an eye on what needed to be restocked. Volunteers rolled carts of vegetables and fruits through a back room that serves as a storage space. A printed sign hung on a whiteboard , urging readers to call members of Congress and ask them to protect AmeriCorps. A photo showed all four of the affected members.

Liberty isn't sure who put the sign up, but she knows her days of working at the food bank aren't over — with or without AmeriCorps.

"I'm willing to fulfill my contract, but they aren't willing to fulfill the contract from the other side," Liberty said. "That's not how things are supposed to work."