Hundreds of Washingtonians out of work and nonprofits left underserved with federal cuts to AmeriCorps

SPOKANE, Wash. — Local nonprofits are without vital workers and workers without jobs after the Trump Administration cut hundreds of millions of dollars in grants.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) recently ordered AmeriCorps, a federal program that helps people find work in communities in need across the country, to end roughly $400 million in grants.

The cuts have resulted in widespread layoffs, including over 1,500 Washingtonians, and the abrupt end of service projects across the U.S.

Abigail Brantman, an AmeriCorps VISTA member who moved from Dallas to Spokane in March, was among those let go with little warning.

“I didn’t even get a full two months of service in,” Brantman said. “I’ve always tried to be somebody who finds logic in any sort of situation, and I guess I really quickly realized that you really sometimes can’t make sense of a truly senseless situation.”

Organizations that relied on AmeriCorps members, such as the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, United Way of Spokane, and Gonzaga University were forced notify workers not to report to work.

“We had to contact all AmeriCorps members Sunday night to let them know, don’t go to work on Monday. That’s not okay,” said Tom Lamar, executive director of the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute.

Brantman worked with Transitions, which partnered with AmeriCorps to help women and children experiencing homelessness. It’s now struggling to fill the gaps left by the lack of service members.

“Sadness and frustration. You know, that’s a vital role to lose. And now, we’re just trying to figure out how we’re going to make that work,” said Jessica Burke, development director at Transitions.

Burke estimated it would cost tens of thousands of dollars annually to replace the lost AmeriCorps positions—money many nonprofits simply don’t have.

AmeriCorps members also played a key role in emergency response efforts.

“AmeriCorps members are oftentimes available to help communities do emergency response. So many of the members that were just discontinued were vital to that work,” Lamar said.

In response to the cuts, the state of Washington and more than a dozen other states have joined a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, challenging the executive order that gutted AmeriCorps.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Washington state, others suing Trump administration over order gutting AmeriCorps

Brantman said she is still coming to terms with her short-lived time in AmeriCorps.

“I guess I still, even now, haven’t fully comprehended the gravity of it, and it’s senselessness,” she said.

She said she is unsure what the future holds, as of now.

“I’m kind of where everyone else who is unemployed is right now, which is you throw resumes at the wall until one of them sticks,” Brantman said.