About $80,000 raised to support Maryland AmeriCorps programs gutted by Trump

Private donors have chipped in $80,000 to help AmeriCorps programs in Maryland that were slashed by the Trump administration, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said Thursday at a news conference in Baltimore.

That money is just a fraction of the millions in federal funds that Maryland lost when the cuts were announced last month, leading to the elimination of at least 550 positions at organizations around the state. But state officials are also issuing a broader “call to action,” urging the public to donate time and money to organizations rocked by the abrupt cancellation of AmeriCorps programs.

The initial donations, from organizations including Baltimore Gas & Electric and the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, will support two city organizations that had been getting AmeriCorps funding: the Digital Harbor Foundation and Elev8 Baltimore. Ferguson said the funding will let the organizations, one of which is in his district, “weather the storm” while litigation to restore the AmeriCorps funding proceeds.

“For them, services were interrupted immediately, and this funding will help them to restore some of those services immediately,” said Ferguson, an AmeriCorps alum himself. “The courts are the bulwark of our democracy. Unfortunately, the courts cannot keep pace with the actions that we know are coming from Washington, D.C.”

Officials said it’s hard to pinpoint an exact number of cuts and job losses, since AmeriCorps funnels some of its funding through states, while other funding is distributed in other ways. But they now say at least 550 jobs were lost in Maryland as a result of the cuts, more than twice the initial figure they shared.

As Trump slashes AmeriCorps, states lose a federal partner in community service

In addition to nonprofits, such as CASA and Habitat for Humanity, the list of agencies affected includes Frostburg and Salisbury universities and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, all of which hosted AmeriCorps members for programs such as food pantries and mentorship initiatives. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources was hosting 41 AmeriCorps workers in state parks, who were all dismissed while preparing for the peak summer season.

In defending the cuts, President Donald Trump’s (R) administration has cited consecutive financial audits “failed” by AmeriCorps. “President Trump is restoring accountability to the entire Executive Branch,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement earlier this week.

But Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, who is leading a court challenge to the cuts with 24 other states and the District of Columbia, said the president cannot make those cuts without congressional approval. When asked about the audits, Brown said his suit is not focused on the validity of Trump’s arguments for cutting AmeriCorps, but on the procedural violations.

“He’s exceeding his authority, and he’s violating the processes that he would need to undergo in order to roll back or curtail AmeriCorps,” Brown said.

The Justice Department agreed to an expedited timeline for the Maryland lawsuit, Brown said, with briefs filed by the end of next week, and hopes to receive a ruling on its preliminary injunction “shortly thereafter.”

If granted in full, the injunction would temporarily reverse the cancellation of more than 1,000 AmeriCorps programs nationwide, as well as the termination of about 85% of AmeriCorps staff and the cancellation of the National Civilian Community Corps.

Eight AmeriCorps workers had been serving at the Digital Harbor Foundation, said Jade Burnham, the foundation’s director of AmeriCorps services. She said all of them have since been dismissed, and that if the AmeriCorps program is not revived she is likely to lose her job at Digital Harbor as well.

After learning about the initial donation of funds, Burnham said she is hoping that she can bring back at least some of the workers.

The foundation provides digital education, and focuses on expanding technology and internet access, Burnham said. Thursday’s news conference was held at Digital Harbor’s tech lab on Federal Hill, in Ferguson’s district, which hosts 3D printers, computers and work spaces for students.

“These programs are not a waste of taxpayer dollars, but an investment in our communities,” Burnham said. “In the wake of its abrupt termination, we are hearing from those very communities. They are reaching out to us: ‘Where did the support go?'”

Marylanders can donate directly to impacted organizations, officials said, or use a fund established by America’s Service Commissions to provide emergency financial assistance to dismissed AmeriCorps workers, many of whom have lost access to stipends, housing, health insurance and other benefits. The fundraising campaign is national, but donors can funnel their donation to Maryland by selecting the state from a dropdown menu on the website.

At Elev8 Baltimore, the donations announced Thursday will allow the organization to go back to “business as usual,” said Executive Director Alexandria Warrick Adams. The nonprofit provides mentoring services to vulnerable middle- and high schoolers, she said.

“We’re talking about young people that have the most need to have trusted adults in their lives,” Warrick Adams said.

Warrick Adams said Thursday’s news should only be the beginning, for organizations struck by the loss of expected AmeriCorps funds.

“I cannot express our gratitude enough for this opportunity, but there is more. This is a call to action. This is not a one-and-done,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of years ahead of us to commit to young people, to commit to Baltimore, to commit to the community.”