06-05-2025
Maine organizations join coalition of nonprofits suing for AmeriCorps funding
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There are more than 200 AmeriCorps volunteers in Maine. (AmeriCorps photo)
Three Maine organizations joined a nationwide coalition of nonprofits that sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday after being stripped of grant funding.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Maryland, seeks to block the administration's attempt to dismantle the AmeriCorps program without congressional authorization.
In late April, the national service and volunteerism agency canceled nearly $400 million in grant program funding. The unexpected move is likely to shutter hundreds of programs across the country and end the work of more than 30,000 volunteers, according to America's Service Commissions.
Democracy Maine — which is a collaboration between the League of Women Voters of Maine Education Fund, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections and Maine Students Vote — was awarded a one-year AmeriCorps planning grant to develop civic education programs in rural counties that it will no longer receive under those cuts, according to a news release from the organization.
'The federal government flat-out cancelling grant money we were expecting to receive is not only illegal, but also directly hurts Mainers and our communities where we provide services,' said Anna Kellar, executive director of Democracy Maine.
Kellar said they are urging the court to 'reverse this policy and release the already-granted funding so we can continue to do the civic education work that is so central to our mission.'
The lawsuit was filed by community organizations from across the U.S. along with individual youth plaintiffs who participate in AmeriCorps and the AmeriCorps Employees Union, AFSCME Local 2027. It is brought against AmeriCorps and its interim agency head Jennifer Bastress Tahmesebi, as well as Nate Cavanaugh, the agency team lead for the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE.
A coalition of state attorneys general, including Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, last week also filed suit against the Trump administration in an effort to block its plan to shutter the domestic volunteer agency.
AmeriCorps distributes hundreds of millions of dollars so volunteers in all 50 states can run programs that increase education access, housing support, youth mentorship, elder care and more. According to the Portland Press Herald, there are more than 200 AmeriCorps volunteers in Maine.
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