LANSING, Mich. — A significant reduction in AmeriCorps funding is causing ripple effects across Michigan’s nonprofit sector, with nearly $400 million in grants being slashed—more than 40% of the organization’s budget. AmeriCorps, a federal agency dedicated to improving the health and safety of communities through volunteerism, has long been a crucial partner to local nonprofits. But as funding cuts take effect, these organizations now face an uncertain future.
Rebecca Kasen, Executive Director of The Women’s Center of Greater Lansing, expressed shock and dismay after learning that her organization’s AmeriCorps volunteer, Hollie, was terminated last Friday. Kasen’s office, she said, was “in tears” upon hearing the news on Monday.
“Hollie was making it so that we could serve so many more people this year, and without her, I really wonder how many people will not get the services they need,” Kasen said.
The loss of Hollie is particularly devastating to the center, which has come to rely on AmeriCorps volunteers to provide skilled services like legal assistance, plumbing, and therapy. Rough estimates indicate that Hollie’s contributions alone were valued at roughly $250,000 in services—an amount greater than half of the center’s annual budget.
Without AmeriCorps support, Kasen fears a decline in the services her center can offer to underserved populations. One of the organization’s two counseling centers, which offers services to the uninsured, is staffed entirely by volunteers, making the loss of AmeriCorps volunteers even more impactful.
“We have two counseling centers here. One of them accepts insurance. One of them doesn’t. The one for the uninsured is entirely staffed by volunteers,” Kasen explained. “So, that was a major service that AmeriCorps was helping us continue to provide. Will we still have these services? Yes. Will they be as streamlined? No.”
At the Allen Neighborhood Center in Lansing, Executive Director Joe Enerson is facing a similar situation. Four AmeriCorps volunteers were also terminated last Monday, leaving the center’s vital programs, including its food pantry, gardening initiatives, and farmers market, without key support.
“These AmeriCorps members were integral to our gardening programming, our food pantry, and our veggie box program,” Enerson said. “One of our members helped every Monday at our food pantry, where we give away about 2,000 pounds of produce to our neighbors.”
While Enerson acknowledges that the center will still offer these programs, he is concerned about how they will be staffed moving forward. The loss of AmeriCorps volunteers means the center will need to recruit additional volunteers or adjust its staffing to fill the gap.
“We’ll need to find volunteers. We may have to adjust our staffing to make sure the programs continue,” Enerson said. “It’s really disappointing to see a program that has been so transformative go away.”
The reduction in AmeriCorps funding has left nonprofits across the state scrambling to find solutions. Many smaller organizations, particularly those that rely heavily on volunteer support, face the challenge of continuing their missions without the federal resources they had counted on.
As the cuts take hold, local communities are left to navigate how to fill the gaps. Some organizations, like The Women’s Center of Greater Lansing and the Allen Neighborhood Center, are exploring alternative ways to staff their programs, but for others, the path forward remains uncertain.
For now, the volunteers and services that AmeriCorps once provided to these communities are gone, leaving local nonprofits to pick up the pieces. How they will adapt in the wake of these funding cuts is a question that will be answered in the coming months, as Michigan’s nonprofit sector grapples with the challenges of an increasingly strained budget.
