Benefits of AmeriCorps Service

As an AmeriCorps member, you will receive a wealth of benefits. Perhaps the biggest benefit you will experience when you join AmeriCorps is the satisfaction of incorporating service into your life and making a difference in your community and your country.

Whether you are tutoring kids, building homes, clearing trails or helping to start a local health clinic you will see the direct results of your work.

But there is more. As an AmeriCorps member, you'll be eligible for a variety of benefits that make the dedication of a year of your life worthwhile.

You Will Be Able to Pay Your Bills

Many AmeriCorps members receive a modest living allowance. You will not get rich from it, but most AmeriCorps members have found that it covers their basic expenses.

Help with College Costs and Student Loans

Each AmeriCorps member who successfully completes a term of AmeriCorps service will receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award*. You can use your Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay educational expenses at qualified institutions of higher education, for educational training, or to repay qualified student loans. You have up to seven years after your term of service has ended to claim the award.

* If you successfully complete a term of service in AmeriCorps VISTA, you are eligible to receive either a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award or an end-of-service stipend.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 created two new federal programs: a new Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and a new Income-Based Repayment plan (IBR) for the repayment of federal loans. The new Income-Based Repayment plan helps to make repaying education loans more affordable for low-income borrowers, such as an AmeriCorps member living on a stipend; AmeriCorps service is also recognized as equivalent to a public service job for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Professional Development