🚨 Funding alert:
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps State and National Competitive Grants — AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps is offering competitive grants to eligible organizations that engage AmeriCorps Volunteers in evidence-based or evidence-informed service addressing significant community challenges. Awards are generally structured as three-year grants, with initial funding for year one and continuation funding dependent on appropriations and satisfactory performance.

The competition is open to eligible nonprofits, higher education institutions, local governments and school districts, Indian Tribes, states and U.S. territories, and State Service Commissions. Most FY27 competitive applicants must propose at least 20 AmeriCorps Volunteers, with specified exceptions.

🔧 What it supports:
Funding supports AmeriCorps service programs that deploy Volunteers to deliver community interventions. Grant options include cost reimbursement, Education Award Program, Professional Corps, and other fixed-amount structures, with competitive cost reimbursement and full-cost fixed awards capped at $26,800 per Member Service Year (MSY).

🎯 Key focus areas include:
Serving communities experiencing concentrated poverty, rural and Tribal communities; youth mental health and substance-use recovery; veterans and military families; public safety and crime prevention; outdoor recreation, public lands, wildfire mitigation, forestry and reforestation; strengthening families; opportunities for formerly incarcerated and at-risk youth; and workforce pathways that provide AmeriCorps Volunteers with training, pre-apprenticeships/apprenticeships, certifications, hiring preferences, and employment support.

💡 Why it matters:
This opportunity can help organizations pair community service with talent development and economic mobility. The explicit emphasis on workforce pathways creates a strong opening for programs that turn national service into career-connected experience, credentials, skills, and pathways to employment while addressing measurable community needs.

📌 How to apply:
Applications are due January 13, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Applicants submit through AmeriCorps’ web-based grant system and need an active SAM.gov registration and UEI. Applications include narratives, a logic model, performance measures, budget information as applicable, assurances/certifications, and required supporting documents. Single-state applicants must apply through their State Service Commission and should check state deadlines, which may be significantly earlier.

👥 Who should consider this:
Nonprofits, community-based and faith-based organizations, higher education institutions, school districts, local governments, Tribal entities, and eligible public-sector partners with the capacity to manage AmeriCorps Volunteers and demonstrate measurable community impact.

The New Growth Team can help organizations assess grant fit, develop a strong workforce strategy, and provide grant writing support to build a competitive AmeriCorps proposal. Click here to reach out for a quick conversation about positioning your program for FY27 funding.