Americorps helps build nonprofit workforce

May 27, 2008

Americorps alumni, particularly minority and disadvantaged youth, are more likely to pursue nonprofit or public-service careers, a new study says.

Eight years after their year of service with the national service network, six in 10 AmeriCorps alumni are still working in nonprofit or government jobs, says a study released by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Minority and disadvantaged youth who had served were nearly twice as likely as other AmeriCorps members to choose a career in public service.

The eight-year study, conducted by independent research firm Abt Associates, says AmeriCorps graduates are more civically-engaged than their peers and more likely to report being happy with their lives.

"These findings offer public agencies and nonprofit organizations renewed hope as they work to address the coming workforce crisis," Paul Light, a New York University professor, says in a statement.

Experts say the nonprofit and government sectors both face considerable employee shortages in coming years.

The Office of Personnel Management projects that almost one-third of the federal workforce will leave their government jobs in the next five years.

Since formed in 1993, AmeriCorps has placed 540,000 women and men with 4,100 nonprofit and faith-based organizations.

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