Dive Brief:
- AmeriCorps, a national service advocacy organization which has built much of its profile with the participation of college students and graduates, faces elimination as one of growing list of potential cuts by the Trump Administration, The New York Times reported.
- Conservatives have identified AmeriCorps, the National Endowments Humanities and Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for $500 million in annual federal spending reductions, a relatively minute number in the estimated $4 trillion budget the White House is expected to advance.
- AmeriCorps has long served as a popular program for recent college graduates looking for employment, service opportunities and work experience in at-risk communities.
Dive Insight:
While cuts to federal service and arts programs are always at the prerogative of a president, college campuses should be concerned about the elimination of any resource which provides students with financial aid or postgraduate employment outcomes. These federal programs are frequently a positive asset for schools which support how many students and alumni commit to service-based work, signaling how college can inspire students to make communities stronger, and how this inspiration is deserving of funding.
Should the reductions take place, higher ed leaders can counter these federal decisions with outreach to philanthropists and corporate partners about replacing, in some measure, funds that could be lost with the federal cuts. While the funding cannot outright replace federal support, it can create opportunities for presidents to engage donor communities with new ideas.