Upstate AmeriCorp members impacted as DOGE terminates grants
SPARTANBURG, S.C (WSPA) – According to the United Way of the Piedmont, more than $400 million in grant funding to AmeriCorp's services across the nation was abruptly cut by DOGE, impacting over 1,000 nonprofit and community organizations.
AmeriCorps is a federal agency that works to provide disaster services, economic opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, and more.
'Without that, I mean, you're going to see a drastic reduction in the services that they're able to offer,' said Sarah Daniel, the Senior Director of Partnerships & Investments United Way.
Eighteen programs across South Carolina, including ones with United Way of Greenville County and United Way of the Piedmont, were terminated due to a shift in federal priorities, according to Daniel.
She explained, 'Regardless of whether the funding comes back, we're looking into ways that we can reverse that gap within our local community.'
Since the start of the VISTA program in 2008, it has had over a $26 million economic impact.
'It's a great return on investment, so it's really disheartening to see that it's not a priority,' said Daniel. 'You know we've lost funding and our individuals in our community have lost their year of service and things like that.'
7News reached out to representative William Timmons (R-SC District 4), who is a member of the DOGE subcommittee.
'We have a $36 trillion national debt and a $2 trillion annual deficit. We are diligently identifying waste, fraud, and abuse across government,' Timmons said.
United Way said they don't believe there was fraud or mismanagement, especially in their chapter.
'It's definitely frustrating and I understand the desire to make sure that we're using taxpayer dollars efficiently, but I just don't know that this is that this is the right way to do it,' Daniel said.
Two AmeriCorps NCCC teams, which focused on disaster recovery across Spartanburg County, were demobilized before the end of their service term.
The United Way of the Piedmont said the teams provided 1,152 total hours toward disaster relief and debris removal, served 735 hours at VITA free tax prep community clinic and prepared 389 tax returns, resulting in $268,756 in total refunds for local families.
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