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Equity Action Plan 

AmeriCorps 

January 20, 2022
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AmeriCorps Equity Action Plan

(1) Executive summary

The Corporation for National and Community Service, operating as AmeriCorps, has a 

mission to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through 

service and volunteering. Following the murder of George Floyd and inspired by the 

growing national conversation on racial injustice and structural inequities during summer 

2020, AmeriCorps spearheaded a cross-agency initiative to evaluate and deepen our 

culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). The goal of the 2020 

DEIA Initiative was clear: “The elimination of racial inequity and promotion of equal 

treatment of all within the AmeriCorps Family.” 

Through this work, the agency was positioned to address the challenges posed by the 

Biden Administration directives and priorities articulated on Jan. 21, 2021, in Executive 

Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities. As 

expressed in our 200 Day Progress Report, building a robust culture of DEIA in national 

service is a top agency priority led by the Office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) 

and the senior leadership of the Agency Equity Team. Our Equity Action Plans outlined 

in this document represents only a fraction of our efforts and strategic initiatives to 

advance equity and support underserved communities. 

Currently, we have identified five top line actions that reflect our current and future 

investments and key priorities. They are listed in order of priority and are as follows:

 Advancing Civil Rights: At the core of equity are the laws, regulations, and policies

that serve as its foundation. We are committed to full compliance with these laws

and ensuring our grantees have the necessary training and tools.

 Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Corps: We must increase representation in

our national service corps from the communities we serve. We plan to do this by

providing greater access to national service opportunities and benefits for people

from underserved communities.

 Supporting Tribal Communities: Our responsibilities to American Indians and

Alaskan Natives and our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribal governments is

driven by our Committee on Native American Affairs, which has supported our

prioritized actions in this area to address longstanding barriers.

 Addressing Limited English Proficiency and Ensuring Language Access:

Advancing equity through our resources and opportunities is impossible if they are

not accessible. We must ensure that anyone, despite their level of English

proficiency, can access our resources and service opportunities.

 Increasing Equity in our Procurement Process: Much of how we accomplish our

mission has to do with the vendors and contractors we utilize. Their services,

experience, and diverse backgrounds are critical to advancing equity at AmeriCorps.

(2) Summary of early accomplishments

Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Corps
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 As a result of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding, the agency was able to 

modestly increase the living allowance in our largest term-based volunteer program, 

AmeriCorps State and National. While this is not enough to adequately address the

most referenced barrier to serving in our programs as reported in the Request for 

Information (see Action 2), it is a step in the right direction.

 AmeriCorps is piloting a Recruitment and Outreach Unit and hiring a Recruitment 

Manager, to be followed by other positions.

 The agency developed a dashboard to identify counties with high social vulnerability 

or high rates of deep poverty that are not served by AmeriCorps State and National 

and AmeriCorps Seniors respectively. We can now add a demographics overlay to 

better ascertain the populations impacted by federal investments. Another recently 

developed dashboard allows us to analyze the demographic makeup of our corps by 

county, state, and in some cases, the census tract. 

 AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps Seniors developed a Diversity 

Questionnaire that asks sponsors, project hosts, and grantees to provide 

demographic data for the people served by the organization or project, 

organizational staff, the organization’s senior leadership, and the organization’s 

board members. The Diversity Questionnaire will be incorporated into all notice of 

funding opportunities to allow AmeriCorps to report on the number of underserved 

individuals it anticipates impacting.

Supporting Tribal Communities

 In April 2021, the agency formed a Committee on Native American Affairs with a 

Senior Advisor and Special Assistant dedicated to these efforts. The committee 

developed an action plan and established working groups to expand outreach and 

achieve outcomes.

 The agency extended the open time for the Tribal notice of funding opportunity and 

conducted a census of programs to set a baseline for Native engagement.

 In 2021, the agency brought in a contractor to train 80 staff in tribal cultural 

competency and made it available to all staff.

Addressing Limited English Proficiency and Ensuring Language Access

 In Sept. 2021, we expanded language access by making English and Spanish live 

captions available on the platform we use to communicate with stakeholders.

Advancing Civil Rights

 ARP funds will allow the agency to hire additional Civil Rights Office staff to support 

the member complaint process and training for grantees.

Other

 The FY 2022 AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps Seniors notice of 

funding opportunities incorporated this funding priority: “Programs that actively 

engage in removing structural racial inequities, advancing racial equality, and 

increasing opportunity in order to achieve sustainable change in communities.” 

(3) Equity action plan

Action 1: Advancing Civil Rights

A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)
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Data from our discrimination complaint process suggests that grantees and sponsors 

need more extensive training on civil rights compliance. In a recent Request for

Information, respondents reported that AmeriCorps needs to provide more or better DEI 

and sexual harassment training for grantees, sponsors, and members. Some members 

mentioned they faced racial discrimination and sexual harassment in their service 

experience and felt the organization did not provide enough support for minority groups. 

This was substantiated by our own Civil Rights Office data showing LGBTQ+ members 

make up about half of our current civil rights complaints. Additionally, requests for 

assistance from grantees and sponsors indicate they are struggling to find solutions for 

the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Limited agency capacity has hindered the ability of program staff and the Civil Rights

Office to implement additional proactive measures to ensure grantees and sponsors are 

aware of civil rights laws beyond the standard agreements to terms and conditions and 

are properly equipped to apply them. By statute and regulation, our different national 

service programs have distinct protocols for handling and reporting civil rights violations 

and reasonable accommodation with regards to national service members and 

volunteers. We are unable to require grantees and sponsor organizations to report 

complaints and outcomes to the Civil Rights Office. This impacts the ability to monitor 

compliance and resolve complaints early. Unresolved discrimination complaints and 

limited capacity for persons with disabilities are a barrier to retention of members and 

volunteers from underserved communities. 

Grantees and sponsors are the first line of defense with regards to supporting members

and handling discrimination complaints by policy and are required to have a mechanism 

to address them. However, the agency currently lacks the ability to gather data on the 

effectiveness of grantee anti-discrimination policies and procedures. 

B. Action and Intended Impact on Barrier

Compliance is only the beginning. Proactive prevention of discrimination is key to 

retaining members and volunteers once they have been recruited and ensuring equity 

for all who engage with national service. Several actions have already taken place, and 

many are underway, including the following:

 Training for grantees and sponsors, especially those with limited resources, on how 

to create a more inclusive and accessible service environment, which will prevent 

complaints and ensure civil rights laws are being followed.

 Developing technical assistance resources for grantees and sponsors in the areas of 

proactive prevention of discrimination complaints and creating accessible service 

environments for persons of differing abilities.

 Adding staff to the Civil Rights Office to provide the training needed and to process 

complaints more quickly when they are not resolved at the grantee and sponsor 

level.

 Adding a Disability/Accessibility Program Manager to the Civil Rights Office to 

support programs, members, volunteers, and grantees.
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 Adding civil rights requirements to the monitoring guide and publishing agency 

regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which specify civil rights 

reporting requirements to the agency.

 Piloting additional ways to resolve service member complaints such as an ombuds 

program for alternative dispute resolution for members, in addition to the formal 

discrimination complaint process.

C. Tracking Progress

 Near to mid-term indicators (Output based within four years):

o Additional staff resources secured for the Civil Rights program.

o Increased training programs for grantees and sponsors are implemented and 

effectiveness of training is tracked through complaint activity and retention rates.

o A pilot ombuds program for service members that is a complement to the 

discrimination complaint process.

o The development of an accessibility pilot program.

 Long-term indicators (Outcome based within eight years): 

o Changes to relevant CFR provisions to improve the quality and timeliness of the 

processing of discrimination complaints from service members.

o Integration of the reporting of discrimination complaints filed and resolved at the 

grantee and sponsor level into monitoring requirements.

o Evaluation impact of accessibility pilot project and begin enterprise-wide, 

permanent implementation of practices that yielded results.

D. Accountability

AmeriCorps will hold regular feedback sessions with internal and external stakeholders 

to gauge success of measures taken. The Civil Rights Director will be accountable for 

implementation of the action items. Progress towards meeting this annual goal will be 

reported semi-annually to the Chief Executive Officer and the Agency Equity Team and 

annually in an equity report that will be made available to the public.
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Action 2: Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Corps 

A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)

In July 2021, in accordance with EO 13985, AmeriCorps published a Request for 

Information (RFI) in the Federal Register and invited public comment from any 

interested party, including current and former AmeriCorps program award recipients, 

regarding any barriers that they, or the communities they serve/served, face/faced in 

accessing benefits and services offered by AmeriCorps programs. We received an 

unprecedented 625 comments. Our analysis shows that the majority of respondents in a 

randomly selected sample of 200, mentioned the living allowance amount as a barrier. 

Respondents felt strongly that the compensation, namely the living allowance, was too 

low, that it had consequences for members’ national service experience and their ability 

to serve, produced barriers for enrollment, and perpetuated inequities. The lack of or 

difficulty to accessing benefits and the need to provide more accommodations for 

disabled members were other barriers raised by respondents. 

Finally, the RFI also revealed barriers related to the promotion of AmeriCorps programs 

with a focus on the lack of promotion for younger audiences. Our own analysis of 

recruitment shows a consistent decline in recruitment numbers since 2008 and variation 

of diversity across our programs. Underserved groups are impacted by these 

challenges as evidenced by the makeup of our volunteer corps.

The topline issues identified in the RFI were further brought to our attention by one of 

our largest grantee associations in a written response to our RFI and their overall equity 

recommendations to the agency. 

The recruitment and retention of a diverse pool of individuals and organizations who are 

inspired to serve their communities is essential to the mission of the agency. Overall, 

recruitment in general is hindered by challenges such as a strengthening economy, a 

competitive job market, outdated technology, and years of under-investment in 

recruitment infrastructure. Equity in our recruitment and retention faces additional 

challenges, including a living allowance that makes it difficult for low-income individuals 

to serve and a varying recruitment structure that creates imbalance in resources and 

support.

B. Action and Intended Impact on Barrier

The agency is heavily invested in recruiting and retaining a diverse corps of members 

and volunteers. It serves as one of the major pillars in our DEIA initiative and is built into 

our strategic planning efforts. Our efforts began last summer and included a 

comprehensive assessment and recommendation process. Several actions have 

already taken place, and many are underway, including the following:

Program Benefits

 Increasing program accessibility for members with disabilities by supporting 

grantees and ensuring benefits.
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 Improving benefit communication and identifying opportunities to support 

member professional development.

Recruitment Support

 Establishing an AmeriCorps recruitment team and developing intentional 

strategies to improve diversity through outreach and improved ease of access.

 Enhancing data collection efforts to better understand our corps and isolate 

challenges.

 Conducting outreach to build an even more diverse portfolio of grantees and 

sponsors that promote and support equity and inclusion.

C. Tracking Progress

Factors the agency will use to determine whether the agency action(s) has eliminated or 

substantially reduced the barrier to equitable access identified above include:

 Near to mid-term indicators (Output based within four years):

o Full staffing of the new Outreach and Recruitment Unit to centralize and 

strengthen marketing, outreach, and recruitment across programs.

o Increase in partnerships to help generate a diverse pool of candidates, 

grantees, and sponsors.

o Increase in member living allowance.

 Long-term indicators (Outcome based within eight years):

o Increase in diversity of members and volunteers.

o Increased retention rates of underserved members and volunteers.

D. Accountability 

These actions are encapsulated within the agency’s draft strategic goals:

 Goal #1: Partner with communities to advance racial equity and alleviate poverty

 Goal #2: Enhance the experience for AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors 

Volunteers

 Goal #3: Uniting Americans by bringing them together in service

The Recruitment Manager will work in conjunction with the Office of External Affairs, the 

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, and programs to develop strategies and construct 

intentional communication pipelines for both internal and external stakeholders. The 

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer will be accountable for implementation of the action 

items. Progress towards meeting this annual goal will be reported quarterly to the Chief 

Program Officer and the Agency Equity Team and annually in an equity report that will 

be made available to the public.

Action 3: Partnering with Native Communities

A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)

Indian Country has been historically disinvested in and under-resourced by the federal 

government. While AmeriCorps funds Tribes, Tribal entities, and Native-led nonprofits, 
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the agency’s Tribal portfolio has shrunk in recent years and our grantmaking has

historically underproduced against the one percent set aside allotted to federally 

recognized Tribes. Barriers that contribute to this equity issue include inadequate 

technical assistance, ineffective or low outreach to Tribes and Native communities, lack 

of staff resources devoted to developing partnerships in Indian Country, and a general 

lack of focus on partnering with and serving Indian Country.

B. Action and Intended Impact on Barrier

In April 2021, the agency formed the Committee for Native American Affairs (CNAA) 

which is comprised of staff from across the agency, including the portfolio managers 

who work directly with our Tribal grantees and AmeriCorps members and volunteers. 

The CNAA is the body responsible for driving the direction of Tribal engagement and 

Native American Affairs across the agency. The CNAA has established three primary 

goals and the activities the committee and the agency will undertake over the next three

years to achieve success. The agency intends to devote two full-time staff to this body 

of work. These goals serve as the actions that the agency will undertake and are as 

follows:

 Reduce barriers to service in Indian Country and among Tribes and Tribal entities 

o Conduct outreach to gain a better understanding of barriers to accessing and 

maintaining AmeriCorps resources from prospective, current, and former 

grantees and sponsors, and develop an ongoing feedback mechanism. 

o Review internal policies, documents, practices, and update them to better 

support tribal applicants and grantees. 

 Grow AmeriCorps’ investment in Indian Country 

o Increase funding for Indian Country across AmeriCorps.

o Provide robust support, tools, and trainings for potential grantees, partners, 

and sponsors in Indian Country.

o Engage in proactive outreach to Tribes/Tribal entities, including developing 

and maintaining updated multi-format outreach materials that celebrates 

successes in Indian Country.

 Increase staff collaboration, expertise, capacity, and interagency partnerships 

with regards to Native Americans/Alaskan Natives.

o Provide trainings and resources to staff to increase staff expertise and 

capacity.

o Build and maintain collaborative relationships across the government to 

support Tribal affairs; this includes coordination with the White House Native 

American Affairs Committee.

C. Tracking Progress

Factors the agency will use to determine whether the agency action(s) has eliminated or 

substantially reduced the barrier to equitable access identified above include:

 Near to mid-term indicators (Output and outcome based within four years):

o Agency has updated its policies, documents, and practices to minimize barriers

to applying and maintaining AmeriCorps resources.

o Increased access to training and resources specific to Tribes and grantees and 

sponsors supporting Indian Country.

o Increased access to Native Affairs-related trainings for staff.
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 Long-term indicators (Outcome based within eight years):

o Increased number of tribal/Native-supporting applicants.

o Increased numbers of tribes/Native-supporting entities engaged in 

administering AmeriCorps programs.

o Increased satisfaction reported from both AmeriCorps members and Tribal 

awardees.

D. Accountability 

A Special Assistant for Native American Affairs will work closely with agency’s acting 

Strategic Advisor for Native American Affairs and Committee on Native American Affairs

to carry out these actions as well as increase communication, consultation, and 

collaboration with Tribes and Tribal Agencies. The Special Assistant will work in concert 

with the Office of the CEO to support the partnerships and planning required to execute 

the action plan. We have aligned these actions with the goals and objectives of our 

upcoming strategic plan. Furthermore, it is our intention to share our progress with 

stakeholders via an annual report. The Acting Strategic Advisor for Native American 

Affairs will be accountable for implementation of the action items. Progress towards 

meeting this annual goal will be reported quarterly to the Chief of Staff and the Agency 

Equity Team and annually in an equity report that will be made available to the public.
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Action 4: Addressing Limited English Proficiency and Ensuring Language Access

A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)

Limited English proficiency and lack of language access are barriers affecting all people 

who speak English as a second language, which are mainly minority groups and

underserved populations. Lack of language access restricts the ability of the affected 

populations to apply for grants, membership, and benefits. The language barriers also

prohibit grantees from providing effective service. Our limited English proficiency (LEP) 

guidance is outdated and has not been updated since 2002. Current guidance does not 

account for recent technological advances. The public website and captioning of training 

sessions are two major technology areas needing improvement. Our largest English as 

a second language population speaks Spanish, and many of our documents are not 

translated. Grantees are responsible for making language access available to the LEP 

populations by first identifying the populations where language assistance is needed

and ensuring their program materials are available in the identified languages.

Underfunded grantees may not have the resources to provide large scale language 

access, which creates a barrier to full and equal participation for those with limited 

English proficiency. The agency’s failure to provide language access resources to 

smaller grantees with limited resources can limit the agency’s ability to increase access 

to underserved populations and communities.

B. Action and Intended Impact on Barrier

The agency is in the process of providing the resources for translation (printed 

documents) and interpretation (real-time language assistance). The agency is seeking 

ways to provide Spanish translation and interpretation for onboarding training. The 

agency is also seeking linguistically appropriate technical assistance for grantees who 

speak English as a second language during compliance reviews and other requests for 

information, such as clarifications during grant competitions. We will prioritize this effort 

as we look to expand diversity among our service members and grantees. The agency

has set aside program funds to hire a dedicated staff member focused on translation 

services housed in the Office of the Chief Program Officer and has prioritized supporting 

small scale and underfunded grantees as part of our FY 2023 DEIA budget. The agency

will notify grantees that such assistance is available and develop procedures for fulfilling 

requests for assistance.

This action is being prioritized because it is a way to quickly address an identified 

barrier to accessing programmatic benefits for underserved grantees and the 

populations to which they provide services.

The actions are expected to reduce the identified barrier by making it easier for LEP 

candidates to apply to participate in the agency’s programs by being able to complete 

applications in their primary language, as well as the training needed to serve. For

smaller and underfunded grantees providing service to underserved populations, 

reducing the financial burden associated with providing translation and interpretation 

services will allow them to expand their reach into those communities. It will also allow 

such grantees to engage more LEP service members in their constituent communities.
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C. Tracking Progress

Factors the agency will use to determine whether the agency action(s) has eliminated or 

substantially reduced the barrier to equitable access identified above include:

 Near to mid-term indicators (Output based within four years):

o Completing the engagement of translation and interpretation services by 

funding the Interagency Agreement.

o Keeping track of the readily available translated materials, providing them on 

demand, and adding more as needed, based on requests the agency receives

from the public and grantees.

o Monitoring frequency of use of translation and interpretation services, and the 

funds set aside to assist grantees with those services. 

o Hiring a Project Manager for Translation Services.

 Long-term indicators (Output and Outcome based within eight years):

o Increasing the number of grantees and sponsors with limited English 

proficiency that have access to our resources. 

o Increasing the number of members and volunteers with limited English

proficiency.

o A permanent library of translated materials accessible to our grantees for 

recruitment and retention purposes and streamlined processing to fill in 

identified gaps.

D. Accountability 

The agency is hiring a position to oversee translation and interpretation services for our 

Programs. This position will report to our Chief of Program Operations, supporting our 

internal and external stakeholders. Developing a budget request earmarked for LEP

services for the next fiscal year and updating the LEP policy guidance for grantees will 

hold us accountable to the above-mentioned practices. The Chief of Program 

Operations will be accountable for implementation of the action items. Progress towards 

meeting this annual goal will be reported quarterly to the Civil Rights Office Director and 

the Agency Equity Team and annually in an equity report made available to the public.

Action 5: Increasing Equity in our Procurement Process

A. Barrier to Equitable Outcome(s)

Historical data challenges have impacted the agency’s ability to accurately monitor and 

track procurement activities with businesses owned or operated by women, minorities, 

veterans, and socioeconomic programs pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

(FAR). Inadequate market research has led to stakeholder resistance to set aside 
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contracts to prioritize small businesses and businesses owned or operated by women, 

minorities, veterans, and other FAR socioeconomic programs. This is due to a common 

misconception that these businesses are incapable of performing in the same capacity 

as large businesses. Additionally, there is a lack of access to a centralized network of 

businesses to which to post opportunities. As a result, there is a low level of contracts 

awarded to diverse businesses owned or operated by women, minorities, veterans, and 

other FAR socioeconomic programs. 

This barrier meaningfully impacts full and equal participation given the bias that does 

not afford these businesses a fair opportunity to compete for contracting opportunities.

B. Action and Intended Impact on Barrier

The Office of Procurement Services will continue to engage in training sessions with 

Contracting Officer’s Representatives and agency leadership to reduce bias in the 

procurement process. This includes:

 Requesting the Small Business Administration (SBA) present training sessions on 

how businesses owned or operated by women, minorities, veterans, and 

socioeconomic programs pursuant to the FAR benefits the government in 

supporting the agency’s mission.

 Demystifying the SBA 8a business assistance program for small, disadvantaged 

businesses within the agency and inviting small businesses to present to agency

stakeholders.

 We are currently putting processes in place to utilize General Services 

Administration (GSA) schedules. In 2022, we have met with GSA about the 

possibility of using their schedules for three new actions. We have established 

regular meetings with our GSA point of contact to understand options and they are 

becoming a routine piece of our acquisition market research.

 The Chief Operating Officer, Director of Procurement, and Director of Government 

Relations attended the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Revised Acquisition 

Planning Process, which included acquisition leadership across the government 

with a focus on increasing contracting opportunities to diverse small businesses. 

 Along with additional agency leadership, the Director and Deputy Director of 

Procurement attended the agency’s Tribal Cultural Competency Training led by an

American Indian woman-owned SBA certified 8(m) small business. The objective of 

this training was for participants to gain a greater understanding of American Indian 

and Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes, communities, and cultural factors as they relate to 

managing grants, as well as tribal program design and implementation. The 

understanding gained will assist procurement in our outreach to AI/AN tribes.

 Actions to lesson bias are prioritized because there will potentially be a greater 

impact in the number of contracts awarded to businesses owned or operated by 

women, minorities, veterans, and socioeconomic programs pursuant to the FAR. 

Stakeholders’ lack of understanding that these businesses are also capable of 

providing goods and services causes a low level of confidence in the businesses’

performance. Consequently, procurement faces resistance in setting aside 

requirements. By addressing the root issue of barriers, fairness and equity in 

contracting will increase. 
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 Office of Procurement Services will also provide links and information related to the 

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers to assist new small business contractors 

with access and to increase the agency’s comfort in relying on small business 

contractors.

C. Tracking Progress

Factors the agency will use to determine whether the agency action(s) has eliminated or 

substantially reduced the barrier to equitable access identified above include:

 Near to mid-term indicators (Outcome based within four years):

o A minimum of 10% of total annual contract volume (benchmark against other 

federal agencies and above average based on analysis) is set-aside for:

 Small businesses and FAR socio-economic programs.

 Businesses’ self-identifying as a small or other underrepresented business.

 Large businesses subcontracting plans with small businesses preference 

language included in solicitations where feasible.

 Long-term indicators (Outcome based within eight years):

o A robust partnership with the Small Business Administration with the agency’s

active participation in 8a and joint venture programs.

o Diverse businesses are consistently receiving a minimum of 10% of the 

agency’ total annual contract volume.

D. Accountability 

In addition to continuing to increase awareness of and reenforcing FAR requirements 

and compliance, the agency will commit to incorporating increased equity in contracting 

by including a tactic as part of its Strategic Plan. The Director of the Office of 

Procurement Services will be accountable for implementation of the action items.

Progress towards meeting this annual goal will be reported Semi-annually to the Chief 

Operating Officer and the Agency Equity Team and annually in an equity report that will 

be made available to the public.