Defending National Service: Catholic Volunteer Network Responds to AmeriCorps Funding Cuts

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On April 28, 2025, Catholic Volunteer Network (CVN) issued an urgent response to significant funding cuts announced by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), threatening the future of AmeriCorps programs and the communities they serve.

These cuts jeopardize critical national service opportunities for thousands across the country. For decades, AmeriCorps has been a vital partner to CVN member organizations, empowering young leaders, supporting marginalized communities, and building bridges of hope and justice.

As CVN’s Executive Director, Cecilia Flores, stated, “Service is where hope takes root. It is where strangers become neighbors, wounds begin to heal, and a vision for a more compassionate world is built. We cannot afford to lose the spaces and opportunities that invite people to encounter one another and be changed.”

In an increasingly divided and uncertain world, service programs like AmeriCorps are more important than ever. Service is not merely an act of charity — it is an act of hope. It represents the deep belief that transformation is possible when people come together across differences to respond to urgent needs and lift up communities.

As Pope Francis reminds us in Fratelli Tutti, service is “the concrete expression of solidarity,” a tangible way of recognizing, loving, and walking alongside others.

What This Means for Our Network

The work carried out by CVN member programs every day reflects the highest ideals of faith-inspired service: commitment to human dignity, accompaniment, solidarity, and transformative justice. The reduction of AmeriCorps funding threatens not just programs, but the very vision of a compassionate society rooted in mutual care.

Catholic Volunteer Network remains steadfast in its mission to foster faith-based service, strengthen our member organizations, and advocate for opportunities that allow volunteers to respond to the call of justice and love.

We call on policymakers to restore full funding for AmeriCorps programs and to protect the future of national service for generations to come.

How You Can Help

In this pivotal moment, we invite you — our community of service leaders, alumni, and friends — to take action:

• Contact your elected officials and urge them to restore AmeriCorps funding.

• Share your service story with your networks, on social media, or through Service Year Alliance, highlighting why service matters.

• Pray, reflect, and recommit to building a more just and compassionate world, starting right where you are.

Your voice, your story, and your commitment make a difference.

Members Join Us at the National Conference

We will discuss these developments further during the Member Meeting at the National Conference on Faith-Based Service on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Your participation is critical as we discern how to move forward together.

For those unable to attend the conference in person, a virtual information session will be offered following the event. Stay tuned for more details.

Together, rooted in hope, we will continue to defend national service and inspire the next generation of leaders, bridge-builders, and advocates.

Thank you for standing with us.