WASHINGTON — The Trump administration notified some AmeriCorps programs this week it was reinstating funding that had been abruptly terminated in April, a sudden about-face that came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope.
At least one of the service-oriented leadership programs in West Virginia and in New Hampshire that had been cut in the middle of their terms received word they could get funds restored. A copy of one such notice was provided to the Globe.
“The Corporation for National and Community Service (“AmeriCorps”) hereby notifies you that all AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA and AmeriCorps Seniors grants terminated on April 25, 2025, are eligible to be reinstated if grantees/sponsors choose to do so," the notice sent from the Mid-Atlantic regional office stated. “Interested grantees/sponsors should immediately stop any closeout activities you may have initiated. You may resume incurring costs on applicable grants.”
A request for comment to the AmeriCorps press office was not returned. Much of the national program office staff was also put on indefinite leave in April. The Office of Management and Budget also did not respond to a request for comment on the reversal or future funding. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Though court orders previously had already mandated that some programs be restored, those rulings were limited to the group of Democratic-led states and coalition of third-party organizations, including the employee union, that sued.
The notifications that came this week extended the possibility of restored funding to programs in Republican-led states that had not joined the litigation.
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It is unclear how the reinstatement, which applies to programs already funded under the fiscal year 2024 federal budget, will proceed. Some programs were able to tap other funding to extend the service members and their projects until the end of their contracts. Others had to make layoffs and shutter activities that could be difficult to reverse. Not all terminated programs had received the reinstatement notice by Thursday. And AmeriCorps organizations and commissions had already been warning that the Trump administration was withholding approved funding for the next fiscal year, as well, imperiling their ability to continue projects into the next term.
But one program that did receive word they could reopen their funding was the Lakes Region Conservation Corps, operated by the Squam Lakes Association in Holderness, N.H., and other local conservation partners. The organization had 15 full-time and 12 part-time service members that have provided environmental education to 3,000 people, maintained over 100 acres of trails and has been heavily involved in removing invasive species like Milfoil from the lake to maintain it as an outdoor attraction. In April, they received their notice of termination and then watched as regional peers came back online without them in June after the court granted Democratic states’ request to have funding restored.
Until now, the Squam Lakes Association had been able to tap into its reserves to maintain its current corps, but the long-term stability of the program and its reach was in doubt, its executive director, EB James said in an interview earlier this month. He warned that cuts would affect not just the service members and his organization, but the health of the lake, regional ecosystem, and entire local economy built on tourism and desirable property. They had not yet received clarity on if they would get their funding under the fiscal year 2025 budget, which in normal years would be resolved by now.
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“Like everyone, it’s thrown us into disarray,” James said earlier this month. “This was a small program that had a really really large impact, but even though it was small, it meant a lot to us and it meant a lot to our constituents.”
The April cuts spurred by the then-Elon Musk led Department of Government Efficiency shut down numerous AmeriCorps programs, immediately ending the small stipends of service members who worked in classrooms, workforce development, and health resources. The terminations did not seem to follow any pattern, and some of the programs that had been cut were then awarded funding for next year.
Some Republican lawmakers spoke out against the cuts, saying they hoped the administration would reverse course. In limited instances, DOGE reductions have been reversed after public outcry.
The New Hampshire state AmeriCorps office, Volunteer NH, declined to comment about the possibility of restored funding. But executive director Gretchen Stallings said the situation for programs in the state was still tenuous, given the confusion about future funding.
“Right now, we’re still navigating a lot of uncertainty around FY25 and FY26 funding. While two NH programs were selected for competitive AmeriCorps grants, none of the funds have been released yet—not for those programs, and not for the operational support we rely on to run AmeriCorps effectively in the state," Stallings said in a statement. “That delay is having a real impact. Programs are having to make tough decisions—scaling back, pausing operations, or bracing for shutdowns—while we wait for clarity."
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Tal Kopan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @talkopan.