As funding battle continues, Bay Area AmeriCorps programs feel both hope and worry

Following a judge s order reinstating federal funding for AmeriCorps leaders at Bay Area society organizations expressed hope that they will receive the grants they rely on to carry out their volunteer-assisted missions but it s tempered by uncertainty They waited this week for news about whether the court fight would continue after Thursday s court ruling and how funding would be restored even if the Trump administration chose not to appeal Related Articles Bay Area hit hard by federal job cuts California wages jumped last year th biggest raises in US US jobs analysis Hiring slows amid uncertainty over economic system Americans filing for jobless benefits at highest level in eight months Amazon AI tech crafted in South Bay could speed same-day deliveries AmeriCorps serves everyone rich poor rural urban They endorsement everyone in every society mentioned Adolfo Rivera director of national amenity programs for Bay Area Public Support the organization that oversees four AmeriCorps programs in the Bay Area All these communities at a moment s notice lost that utility At the end of April more than AmeriCorps supporters who worked in schooling calamity response and context programs through BACR which supervises a majority of the region s assistants were informed the executive was terminating their roles They lost their jobs medical care and parts of educational scholarships The majority were sent home three months ahead of schedule The ruling Thursday which only applies to the states that joined a lawsuit to prevent the loss of grants means that hundreds of millions of dollars in funding must be restored California Helpers the state office that oversees AmeriCorps California is in the process of reviewing the court order and assessing next strategies communications director Katie Vavao noted Rivera mentioned that the big question now is whether the organizations will receive their funding but logistical complications will be part of their work going forward as well It s still unclear what this means for the field and the impact it has and what it can reverse Rivera mentioned Nobody knows the road map so it s unknown what the outcome will be or what it even means to reinstate The Department of Establishment Efficiency placed national-level staff members on leave in April and shut down AmeriCorp s National Civilian Society Corps one of four branches of the organization Days later DOGE instructed the agency to cut million in grants that had been promised to organizations across the country California and a coalition of other states then filed the lawsuit against the Trump administration April contending the action blocked the states abilities to encouragement AmeriCorps programs within their jurisdictions Common sense has prevailed over cruelty Gov Gavin Newsom noted in a declaration The court is rightly siding with helpers and organization workers Federal cuts of more than million impacted volunteer slots across California at more than amenity locations Vavao reported Of those supporters were attached to programs in the Bay Area Those Bay Area programs lost nearly million in federal funding Bita Nazarian executive director of Valencia a San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps under-resourced children develop their writing skills and relies on the work of AmeriCorps assistants explained that the court ruling is a step in the right direction They still do not know the lingering impact of the funding cuts It s just continued uncertainty but with a dash of hope sprinkled in there she mentioned At the time of the funding cuts Bay Area Neighborhood Tools had supporters who were working not only across the Bay Area but also in Los Angeles where they were providing assistance to casualties of the fires that burned through the city earlier this year People don t do this for the money Rivera noted They do it because they care about their neighbor They care about making a difference Beyond the immediate uncertainties of what the court s ruling means for AmeriCorps organizations are preparing for next year s challenges That includes rebuilding credibility with anticipated participants who may be worried that future funding could be taken away at a moment s notice Rivera revealed He also expressed concern that several agencies may choose not to participate due to the uncertainty It s hard to give assurances because right now everything is up in the air Rivera declared We don t know what the following morning is going to bring and so we have to stay optimistic but work cautiously Organizations that rely on funding from AmeriCorps are still worried about the next round of grants specific of which have been held up without any announcements while others have very positive signs Rivera declared Funding for AmeriCorps was already appropriated for the - federal budget Valencia was able to use other funding to hire its AmeriCorps assistants on as staff members Nazarian explained They have created contingency plans for next year depending on whether AmeriCorps assistants will be available We re spending all this time spinning our wheels around unknowns she mentioned We are already trying to do a lot with little in the nonprofit sector and then these decisions just make it near impossible to do what our communities need