Volunteer Tennessee Receives $4.4 Million in AmeriCorps Funding

NASHVILLE, TN – Volunteer Tennessee, Tennessee’s governor-appointed commission on volunteerism and service, today announced that Tennessee has received over $4 million in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). 

These grants will support 948 AmeriCorps members across the state to serve with 18 organizations.  AmeriCorps members will tackle critical challenges in Tennessee, including tutoring and mentoring children, supporting veterans and military families, providing health services, restoring the environment, responding to disasters, increasing economic opportunities, and recruiting and managing volunteers.

“National service is an essential part of the solution to many of the toughest problems facing our state,” said Greg Lyles, Board Chair of Volunteer Tennessee.  “These AmeriCorps members will meet pressing local needs and strengthen communities as they develop civic and leadership skills to last a lifetime.  I congratulate these outstanding organizations and thank all those who serve their communities through AmeriCorps.”

Nearly $4.4 million will be granted to Volunteer Tennessee, which in turn will award grants to nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the state.  The law creating AmeriCorps gave a key role to states in determining how national service resources are used and promoting service and volunteering to meet community needs.

AmeriCorps’ unique model means that the grants announced today will leverage an additional $18.3 million from the private sector, foundations, and other sources – further increasing the return on the federal investment.

CNCS will make available nearly $5 million in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for the AmeriCorps members funded by these grants. After completing a full term of service, AmeriCorps members receive an award of approximately $6,000 that they can use to pay for college or to pay off student loans.

Every year, 75,000 AmeriCorps members serve through 21,000 schools, nonprofits, and community and faith-based organizations across the country. These citizens have played a critical role in the recovery of communities affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. They also tutor and mentor young people, connect veterans to jobs, care for seniors, reduce crime and revive cities, fight the opioid epidemic, and meet other critical needs.

Since 1994, AmeriCorps members have provided more than 1.4 billion hours of service and earned more than $3.6 billion in education scholarships, more than $1 billion of which has been used to pay back student debt. In Tennessee, more than 13,000 AmeriCorps members have served more than 26 million hours and earned more than $47.2 million in education scholarships. 

For the full press release with a list of programs, visit:  https://go.usa.gov/xUmVY .