Today’s guest post is written by Julie Murphy, the Senior Director of Government Affairs at Points of Light. For her holiday giving she participated in the Our Daily Bread Adopt a Family program.

After two intense budget battles, federal national and community service programs have emerged battered and bruised but still standing.  Both FY11 and FY12 brought cuts to the Corporation for National and Community Service but there were some partial “wins” in large part due to the hard work of so many in our sector to advocate for programs like AmeriCorps and the Volunteer Generation Fund.

Early in 2011, Points of Light, HandsOn Network and AmeriCorps Alums joined forces with the larger “Save Service” coalition to oppose the House of Representatives’ attempt to eliminate all federal domestic service programs.  We made call after call, sent emails, held in-person meetings in the district offices of Members of Congress and came to Washington to deliver one message:  the programs of the Corporation for National and Community Service – AmeriCorps, VISTA, NCCC, Senior Corps, Learn and Serve, the Volunteer Generation Fund, etc. – have proven to be effective and have a huge return on investment in communities across the nation. 

Bus tours and rallies, call campaigns and tweets, our campaign to preserve service programs continued through the summer and into the fall of this year.  HandsOn affiliates and AmeriCorps alumni keep the drumbeat going as we faced another round of potential budget cuts that would have decimated the national service infrastructure from which our nation has drawn incalculable benefits since 1964.

Just last week, the final FY12 budget agreement was reached by Congress.  The overall budget for the Corporation was reduced by $24 million:  VISTA was cut by $3.8 million, AmeriCorps State and National by $2.3 million, the Social Innovation Fund by $5 million, and disability placement funds by $4.9 million.  Other administrative, training and technical assistance accounts were also slashed.

The Volunteer Generation Fund ($3.99 million) and the Senior Corps programs such as RSVP and Foster Grandparents were held at FY11 levels.

As we lick our wounds, we can also see glimmers of strength, both in the integrity of these remarkable programs and their day in, day out impact in communities in need and in the power of our message.

Thank you to all of those of you who reached out to Congress and fought with us for the Save Service Campaign, taking time out from your busy days to make your voice heard on the value of national and community service! We look forward to partnering with you again in 2012, have a happy new year!