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January 2, 2024 

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden 

President of the United States of America 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20500 

CC: The Honorable Jeff Zients, Chief of Staff 

The Honorable Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President and Domestic Policy Advisor 

Dear Mr. President: 

Pursuant to the National and Community Service Act of 1990 [42 U.S. Code § 12651b Section 

(g)(5)(C)], AmeriCorps’ Board of Directors is required annually to review the performance of 

the agency’s Chief Executive Officer and forward a report of that review to the President. As 

we celebrate the 30th anniversary of AmeriCorps, we are pleased to provide this review of 

CEO Michael Smith. AmeriCorps’ Board of Directors is delighted with Michael’s skillful 

leadership to advance your Administration’s most pressing priorities. Michael’s leadership 

helps ensure AmeriCorps plays a decisive role in embedding an ethos of national service and 

civic engagement across our country, while also providing critical human capital and career 

pathways for nonprofit organizations and municipal services that children and families 

depend on daily. 

Under Michael's leadership, AmeriCorps has risen to the unprecedented challenges 

presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the political, social, and economic crises of our 

time to usher in a new era of national service that favors equity, member experience, and 

community impact. He has made diversity, equity, and inclusion core AmeriCorps values; 

centered evidence-based strategies and investments; focused on systemic change and policy 

reform; cultivated relationships with peers at the highest levels of leadership inside and 

outside of government; doubled down on AmeriCorps’ role as a thought leader in 

conversations that influence civic engagement and philanthropy; boosted AmeriCorps’ 

reputation; and courageously led the Board and his senior team in remedying years of 

financial mismanagement and underinvestment. When America calls, AmeriCorps answers 

with smart, innovative, timely, and evidence-based interventions to address the most urgent 

challenges facing communities. 

• Public-Private Partnerships. Most recently, AmeriCorps was tapped to serve as the 

coordinating hub for your American Climate Corps, which will direct thousands of new 

individuals to meet urgent climate needs while preparing them for the clean energy 

jobs of the future. In 2022, FEMA and AmeriCorps celebrated the 10th anniversary of 

FEMA Corps and a five-year renewal of the interagency agreement. AmeriCorps 

continues to lead the United We Serve campaign and collaborate with other 

government agencies to bring more national service opportunities to underserved 

communities as follow up from the United We Stand Summit. Last year, AmeriCorps 

joined the White House, Department of Education, and other public and private 
 

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partners to launch the National Partnership for Student Success, which focuses on 

meeting your goal to engage 250,000 more adults in student-support roles by 2025.

Johns Hopkins University’s new findings from September 2023 estimate 187,000 

caring adults stepped forward in the last year to provide additional supports to 

students in schools—nearly 75 percent of your goal. And, AmeriCorps continues its 

work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lead Public Health 

AmeriCorps, an interagency partnership to increase capacity in local public health 

settings and build the next generation of public health leaders that was supported by 

an initial $400 million investment from the American Rescue Plan. Each of these 

initiatives demonstrates how AmeriCorps is not only meeting the urgent human 

capital needs of today, but also providing training, credentialing, and certifications to 

ensure a robust talent pipeline from service to employment. The appendix contains 

more information.

• Equity. AmeriCorps has centered advancing racial equity in all that we do. We are

focusing our efforts to reach communities with the deepest poverty, recruit 

AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers who reflect the diversity 

and lived experiences of the communities they serve, and invest in programs that 

create pathways of opportunity for those who serve. For our largest grant programs, in 

FY 2024 AmeriCorps prioritized funding for community-based programs that create 

workforce pathways for AmeriCorps members and expand service to second chance 

youth and/or engage those youth as AmeriCorps members. AmeriCorps is also 

working to reduce barriers to service to ensure service is not a luxury for the few. We 

increased the living allowance that AmeriCorps members receive from $8.46 to $11 

per hour in FY 2023 for AmeriCorps VISTA and from $10.35 to $11 per hour in FY 

2023 for AmeriCorps State and National. We also increased the hourly stipend 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers receive from $3 in FY 2021 to $4 in FY 2023. Lastly, we 

increased the AmeriCorps NCCC member compensation package to $12.60 per hour, 

a 10 percent increase over the past two years. This most recent living allowance 

increases were a significant step toward the Administration’s goal of $15 per hour with 

additional increases proposed as part of the President’s FY 2024 Budget request. The

agency also hired its first chief diversity and inclusion officer, continued advancing 

AmeriCorps’ Equity Action Plan, supported a Committee on Native American Affairs 

led by a senior advisor and special assistant, and hosted the first tribal nations 

convening in recent history.

• Evidence. Nearly 70 percent of AmeriCorps grantees have strong or moderate levels 

of impact verified by independent entities, ensuring that when our members and 

volunteers show up, impact is certain to follow. For two years in a row, Results for 

America recognized AmeriCorps in the “Invest in What Works Federal Standard of 

Excellence” for our commitment to using data and evidence to underpin the impact of 

AmeriCorps’ community grant investments. AmeriCorps recently released its 2023 

State of the Evidence Report, which reiterated serving with AmeriCorps can benefit 

volunteers' health, partnering with AmeriCorps helps grantees and sponsoring 

organizations meet their project goals, and investing in community-based solutions 

generates greater value in return.
 

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• Policy. Michael has worked diligently with our general counsel to embark on the first 

serious policy review process undertaken by the agency in many years. This resulted 

in bold legislative proposals in your FY 2024 budget, including eliminating the unfair 

tax on education awards, making it possible for DACA recipients to serve in all 

AmeriCorps programs, and expanding noncompetitive eligibility so that members 

who serve in all programs have a path to good federal jobs. A group of bipartisan 

Congressional leaders recently reintroduced the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award 

Tax Relief Act, which would provide tax relief for AmeriCorps members who earn 

Segal Education Awards.

• Financial and Operational Reform. At the beginning of your Administration, the 

agency was suffering from years of underinvestment in its people, processes, and

systems, which led to several years of disclaimed audit opinions. AmeriCorps has 

since made financial and operational reform the agency’s top priority and developed

a holistic plan to accelerate progress. AmeriCorps worked with the Board to relaunch 

the Oversight, Governance, and Audit Committee; enhanced governance and 

decision-making by engaging a financial and operational reform oversight team led 

by the Chief of Staff and consisting of agency senior executives; onboarded 

contractors with extensive experience in financial transformation; made significant 

progress toward modernizing our grant and member management systems; and 

restored strong and open communication with oversight leadership, including our 

Office of Inspector General. And, the agency’s global employee satisfaction score has 

increased by 7 percent since 2021.

Despite this tremendous progress, AmeriCorps is also facing historic challenges. Like the 

military, recruitment has not rebounded since the pandemic. AmeriCorps’ commitment to 

raising living allowances and investing in infrastructure will lead to a much smaller service 

footprint should Congress not provide additional resources. And, the new House majority’s

budget proposes devastating cuts to the agency. 

We are working in close partnership with Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President and 

Domestic Policy Advisor, and other senior White House leaders on strategies to combat these 

obstacles to help raise awareness about AmeriCorps, address recruitment challenges, and 

encourage engagement from leaders across sectors. These strategies include the following:

• Support budget and policy changes that increase living allowances, reduce barriers to 

service, and encourage collaborations between the military and national service. 

• Commemorate AmeriCorps’ 30th anniversary with a signature White House event and 

private sector call to action

• Present the President’s Volunteer Service Award on President Biden, First Lady Dr. 

Biden, Vice President Harris, or Second Gentleman Emhoff's planned domestic travel

• Record video messages or make calls from all four principals recognizing 

contributions of AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers and 

encouraging other Americans to serve 

• Reinforce AmeriCorps’ service challenge for elected officials: calling on governors, 

mayors, county leaders, and tribal leaders to take action to promote service, advance 

policy, and expand programming to strengthen national service in their jurisdictions 
 

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Thank you for the opportunity to share more about AmeriCorps’ accomplishments under the

leadership of our CEO Michael Smith. We are confident the agency is making the right 

investments to ensure success for the next thirty years and beyond. We look forward to 

working closely together to continue to leverage the power of service to strengthen 

communities and transform lives. Please see more information in the appendix below.

Sincerely,

Catherine McLaughlin, Chair

CC: AmeriCorps Board of Directors Members:

Leslie Bluhm

Fagan Harris

Lisette Nieves

Flor Romero

Shirley Sagawa

Alvin Warren
 

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Appendix: Advancing Biden-Harris Administration Priorities 

Strengthening Workforce Development: AmeriCorps is a proven pathway to employment 

that provides members workforce skills, training, and hands-on experience to jumpstart their 

careers. Many AmeriCorps programs provide opportunities to earn credentials or certificates, 

and some are pre-apprenticeships or Registered Apprenticeships. More than 700 companies 

and organizations with 2.3 million employees have become Employers of National Service, 

committing to recruit AmeriCorps and Peace Corps alumni. AmeriCorps has prioritized 

workforce development in its strategic plan and funding notices, is working with the 

Department of Labor and our grantee community to develop more pre-apprenticeships and 

Registered Apprenticeships, and is working with OPM to increase participation by 

AmeriCorps alumni in the federal Pathways Programs and make more use of NonCompetitive Eligibility hiring authorities for AmeriCorps VISTA alums. 

Addressing Climate Change: AmeriCorps expanded its focus on climate adaptation, 

mitigation, and resilience to support the Administration’s whole-of-government response to 

the climate crisis. Last year, AmeriCorps invested $117 million in climate and disaster service 

projects – a 20 percent increase over the previous year. In 2022, AmeriCorps members and 

volunteers improved more than 3 million acres of parks and public lands, treated 25,000 

miles of trails and rivers, weatherized or retrofitted more than 4,800 homes and public 

structures, and restored over 650 structures after natural disasters. 

Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: AmeriCorps leadership has taken concrete 

actions to strengthen diversity and remove barriers to service by increasing the AmeriCorps 

living allowance and AmeriCorps Seniors stipend. We have increased the minimum living 

allowances to at least $11 per hour across AmeriCorps programs and $4 per hour for 

AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion volunteers. The President’s 

FY 2024 budget would increase the minimum living allowance to the equivalent of $13 per 

hour and the stipend to $4.50 per hour. If enacted, this would be a more than 30 percent 

increase since the start of the Administration; putting AmeriCorps on a path to $15 an hour 

by 2025 as the President called for at the United We Stand Summit last fall. 

Building Bridges: By bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to serve, 

AmeriCorps builds social cohesion and fosters unity – directly advancing the President’s 

fundamental priority to “heal, unite, and rebuild this country we love.” In response to the 

President’s call to service at the United We Stand Summit, AmeriCorps launched a multi-year 

project with Service Year Alliance to develop and share trainings, tools, and effective 

practices for AmeriCorps members to advance social cohesion and bridging during their 

terms of service and throughout their lives. 

Public Health and Substance Abuse: AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors 

volunteers, including those in our Public Health AmeriCorps programs, help communities 

meet growing public health needs, address the opioid epidemic, improve access to healthy 

food, and more. Through their service, they also improve their own health and build 

pathways to good paying jobs in public health. This work advances the Biden 
 

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Administration’s priorities on mental health and substance abuse prevention, health care 

access, and addressing health disparities. 

Strengthening Education Success: In 2022, nearly 40,000 AmeriCorps members and 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers (mostly Foster Grandparents) served at nearly 10,000 K-12 

schools. AmeriCorps is co-leading the National Partnership for Student Success with the 

Department of Education to meet the President’s call for 250,000 more tutors and mentors to 

accelerate student recovery and success. 

Increasing College Access and Affordability: AmeriCorps members have earned more 

than $4.8 billion in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards to pay for postsecondary education 

or pay back student loans, advancing the Administration’s college access and affordability 

priority. More than 300 higher education institutions have become Schools of National 

Service, offering to match the AmeriCorps education award or provide other incentives to 

AmeriCorps alums. Last year, AmeriCorps awarded $2.2 million in grants and education 

award payments to Historically Black Colleges and Universities 

Serving and Engaging Veterans and Military Families: AmeriCorps members and 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers are advancing First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces 

initiative by providing employment services, benefits counseling, transportation, healthcare 

access, and other support to more than 245,000 veterans, military service members, and their 

families each year. Approximately 15,000 veterans serve in AmeriCorps programs, applying 

the skills they gained in the military to meet needs on the home front. 

Fighting Hunger and Homeless: AmeriCorps programs reduce disparities by expanding 

educational and economic opportunity in underserved communities. In 2021, more than 

35,000 AmeriCorps members and volunteers addressed hunger and food insecurity for 2.2 

million people. AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers provided mentoring and support to 860 

homeless children and AmeriCorps VISTA members served 188,000 youth and adults 

experiencing homelessness.