{"id":22412,"date":"2025-05-04T01:52:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T07:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/nonprofits-in-southwest-colorado-sound-alarm-over-federal-cuts-to-americorps\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:13:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:13:52","slug":"nonprofits-in-southwest-colorado-sound-alarm-over-federal-cuts-to-americorps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/nonprofits-in-southwest-colorado-sound-alarm-over-federal-cuts-to-americorps\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofits in Southwest Colorado sound alarm over federal cuts to AmeriCorps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FILE
FILE \u2013 As President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton mark the 20th anniversary of the AmeriCorps national service program, hundreds of new volunteers are sworn in for duty at a ceremony, Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/span>(AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Colorado joined more than 20 states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration on April 29 after it made significant cuts to AmeriCorps. In rural areas like Southwest Colorado, the cuts threaten the future of many nonprofits.<\/p>\n

AmeriCorps<\/a> is \u201cthe federal agency for national service and volunteerism,\u201d and has been around for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n

It employs more than 500 federal workers full-time and sends another 200,000 members to different places across America as part of its service program.<\/p>\n

The southwest corner of Colorado is one.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit \u201calleges that President Donald Trump\u2019s cost-cutting efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency illegally gutted the agency created by Congress,\u201d according to an AP News<\/a> <\/em>article.<\/p>\n

Because when his administration suddenly cut $400 million in AmeriCorps grants \u2013 which accounts for 41% of its funding for 2025 \u2013 without Congressional approval, nearly 300 AmeriCorps members in Colorado at 200 sites across the state could impacted and cut early, a news release from the state<\/a> reads.<\/p>\n

In the 3rd Congressional District, 15 programs will be directly impacted if these federal cuts go through, according to Conservation Legacy, a Durango-based nonprofit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes beyond cutting AmeriCorps members, it\u2019s cutting at the heart of small towns and the services we provide,\u201d said T.J. Mendez, the long-term volunteers director at La Puente, a nonprofit in Alamosa.<\/p>\n

AmeriCorps \u201cmakes a huge difference in what local nonprofits and organizations can offer\u201d in rural communities like Montezuma County, said Lynn Urban, the CEO and president of United Way of Southwest Colorado, which places AmeriCorps members at host sites across five counties in our region.<\/p>\n

\"An
An AmeriCorps member clearing weeds around vegetables that will go to Manna Soup Kitchen. (Journal file photo)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

At present, there are AmeriCorps members in Montezuma County at:<\/p>\n

Southwest Open School.The Montezuma School to Farm Project.The Mancos Conservation District.The School Community Youth Collaborative.TeamUP.The Department of Social Services.<\/div>\n

Over in La Plata and Archuleta counties, members have been placed at:<\/p>\n

Community Connections Inc.Compa\u00f1eros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center.Fort Lewis College.In the Weeds.Manna Soup Kitchen.SOIL Lab.The Juniper School.Healthy Archuleta.<\/div>\n

For nonprofits that typically \u201coperate on a shoestring,\u201d having AmeriCorps members \u201cgreatly boosted their capacity\u201d\u2013 they\u2019re the \u201cpeople power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not looking good, but we\u2019re trying to be hopeful,\u201d Urban said of the cuts. \u201cHopefully a judge rules quickly (on the lawsuit because) Southwest Colorado will lose people supporting services.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople might not even realize that it\u2019s AmeriCorps supporting these things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

AmeriCorps in Colorado<\/div>\n

Last year, an estimated 1,400 AmeriCorps members served in Colorado and contributed over 1 million hours of service.<\/p>\n

The program also boasts graduating 100 fully trained wildland firefighters and 350 certified chain saw operators every year in the state, as well as \u201ctreating almost 1,000 miles of public trails\u201d and \u201cproviding human services to over 27,000 community members,\u201d a news release read<\/a>s.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor every $1 spent on AmeriCorps efforts, up to $34 is returned,\u201d the news release said.<\/p>\n

AmeriCorps has six focus areas in its work, according to its website<\/a>, though they\u2019re especially visible after disasters when they help communities rebuild.<\/p>\n

They also act as environmental stewards, teachers and a support for veterans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get no salary, just a humble living stipend and an education award at the end of their service,\u201d said Mendez.<\/p>\n

With those federal cuts, though, the promised education award \u2013 which is a scholarship of sorts that members use after their service to pursue higher education \u2013 is cut short too.<\/p>\n

\"An
An AmeriCorps crew from the Monetezuma School to Farm Project putting up a hoop house for the Cortez Middle School to grow greens for the salad bar at the school. (Journal file photo)<\/span>Sam Green\/Cortez Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps volunteers planting trees at the Southwest Colorado Research Center in Yellow Jacket. (Journal file photo)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI was extremely disappointed to hear our program was cut,\u201d said Gwenyth Houchens, an AmeriCorps member at the Montezuma School to Farm Project.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery AmeriCorps member I have met is \u2026 committed to their volunteer work, serving up to 40 hours a week for cents on the dollar. I think that\u2019s telling to how dedicated we are to serving the communities we\u2019ve become a part of,\u201d said Houchens.<\/p>\n

She said she plans to pursue a master\u2019s degree in teaching, and will use her education award \u2013 that\u2019s now more than $1,000 less than she anticipated \u2013 to help cover costs.<\/p>\n

Elijah Smith, another AmeriCorps member at the Montezuma School to Farm Project, called the situation they\u2019re in \u201cstressful\u201d and intends to put his education award toward student debt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lower amount would definitely bring extra stress when having to pay student loans,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

To curb this stress and uncertainty under the threat of cuts, the Montezuma School to Farm Project\u2019s board agreed to dip into its reserves and pay its four AmeriCorps members through July 31, the end of their service term.<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll also make up the difference lost in the education award, said the project\u2019s Executive Director Sorrell Redford.<\/p>\n

Redford said they\u2019ll run out of funding in the next two weeks if the cuts go through.<\/p>\n

She said that the program, which aims to connect students to the area\u2019s agricultural heritage, depends on AmeriCorps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s how we function,\u201d Redford said. \u201cWe have no money to hire full-time people, and if we hired full-time people, it\u2019d be one or two, and one or two people can\u2019t do the job of six.\u201d<\/p>\n

So in a future without AmeriCorps, the Montezuma School to Farm Project may no longer be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel devastated about it,\u201d Redford said. \u201cAnd there was no actual cause or notice- that\u2019s why a lot of states are suing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, \u201cthere\u2019s this ripple effect that we can\u2019t really measure right now,\u201d said Mendez.<\/p>\n

For the better part of a decade, AmeriCorps members have been in Montezuma County, supporting its nonprofits and organizations, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brings in people who wouldn\u2019t come here otherwise, and they\u2019re enthused and encouraged to change the world and give back,\u201d Mendez said. \u201cIt\u2019s a selfless act, to come out and volunteer for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, members take advantage of that education award and often return to the communities they served in, bringing that knowledge back with them, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did AmeriCorps with Southwest Conservation Corps about 20 years ago,\u201d said Danny Margoles, the executive director of the Mancos Conservation District.<\/p>\n

He spoke highly of his personal AmeriCorps experience, and said it opened the door for other job opportunities. Ultimately, his service in this region decades ago encouraged him to come back to this corner of the state.<\/p>\n

Typically, at the Mancos Conservation District, there are two AmeriCorps members who bolster its education outreach arm in both its forestry and watershed programs.<\/p>\n

But if AmeriCorps is cut and the district doesn\u2019t bring in two new members this August as planned, it\u2019ll be forced to cut back those educational programs, said Margoles.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir role would be sorely missed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re figuring out what in practice it\u2019ll mean for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so are people at La Puente<\/a>, an Alamosa-based nonprofit that\u2019s dipping into emergency reserves now to retain its 18 AmeriCorps members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re handicapped, lacking 18 people,\u201d said La Puente\u2019s Executive Director Lance Lance Cheslock.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a third of our workforce, but most of our services will be able to limp along,\u201d said Cheslock.<\/p>\n

On the bottom of its website<\/a>, in big bold letters, a message reads: \u201cLa Puente would not exist without the support and energy of our AmeriCorps members, who commit a year of service and are the core of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to offering shelter for the homeless, La Puente has a soup kitchen, 15 food pantries, a program for kids with trauma, a family resource center, clothing closet and street outreach program.<\/p>\n

Cheslock said \u201ca little over 12,000 individuals \u2013 that\u2019s an unduplicated number \u2013 take advantage of one of these services in the San Luis Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

As with all the nonprofits The Journal<\/em> spoke to, La Puente is \u201ctrying to come up with a plan for how to navigate the shrinking resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mendez added that \u201cwe\u2019re having to ask questions like, \u2018Should we keep the food bank open five days, or scale it back to three?\u2019 Or, \u2018Should we offer two meals a day, or just one?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe questions we\u2019re having to grapple with are not easy to answer because it means services are not being provided to the most vulnerable population,\u201d said Mendez.<\/p>\n

Urban, Mendez and Cheslock encouraged people to reach out to U.S. Congressman Jeff Hurd and Sens. Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper about the cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmeriCorps has always been bipartisan,\u201d Urban said. \u201cThe abruptness of these cuts doesn\u2019t take into account the human aspect of it all on either side- for the AmeriCorps member or the community they\u2019re serving.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018It\u2019s cutting at the heart of small towns and the services we provide,\u2019 director says<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[981,1137,28,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-3rd-congressional-district","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22412"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77702,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22412\/revisions\/77702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22412"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=22412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}