Are you passionate about community resilience issues? Do you want to go to work every day knowing you’re making a difference?
CivicSpark offers a unique opportunity to gain professional experience and leadership skills while creating a lasting impact in local communities. Whether you’re passionate about disaster resilience, affordable housing, sustainable transportation, economic development, water, energy or public health, you will gain direct technical experience and build a robust network in your field.
As AmeriCorps members, all CivicSpark Fellows focus on:
While all projects are unique, your service will include:
CivicSpark Fellows provide capacity-building support to public agencies in advancing their community resilience initiatives.
Example Projects:
- Educating community members about community resilience issues
- Conducting electric vehicle readiness planning
- Inventorying greenhouse gas emissions
- Researching general plan options to incorporate groundwater language
- Updating drought contingency plans
- Implementing water efficiency ordinances
- Implementing a water incentive program
- Developing a community broadband roadmap (speed and access)
- Developing pilot programs for EV readiness and charging infrastructure
- Increasing community awareness and utilization of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) options
Interested in a particular area? Here is more information about common project types:
Sustainability & Resilience
Projects focus on adaptation and mitigation priorities such as natural disaster preparedness, waste reduction, extreme heat planning, public health, energy efficiency, disaster risk assessment, and greenhouse gas reduction.
Housing
Projects focus on housing priorities such as analysis of housing capacity and inventory, planning for increased housing supply, housing equity programs, and disaster recovery and rebuilding development.
Water
Projects focus on water management priorities such as stormwater resource planning, sustainable groundwater management, integrated watershed management, and water-use efficiency.
Mobility
Projects focus on community mobility priorities such as bicycle/pedestrian access and planning, alternative vehicle deployment and infrastructure, vehicle electrification, and shared mobility.
Energy
Projects focus on energy efficiency, project identification, energy building identification and benchmarking, energy action planning, workforce outreach, community education, and other sustainability initiatives.
In addition to the valuable experience gained serving with regional leaders and community members, Fellows receive professional development support through:
- Project supervision and professionalism coaching
- Bi-weekly trainings on sector-specific tools, and techniques; career path mapping and job seeking skills; and interdisciplinary topics critical to the resilience field
- Networking with local, regional, state, and national leaders
- Opportunities to participate in or lead peer affinity groups or other activities
- An outcome-driven project management experience in critically important fields
Benefit (24-25 Service Year)
Three-Quarter Time Fellows (7.5 Months, January-September 2025, 1,200 service hours)
Half-Time Fellows (6 Months, March-September 2025, 900 service hours)
Living Allowance*
$24,675 in California
$23,970 in Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington
$18,550 in California
$18,020 in Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington
Segal Education Award
$5,176.50
$3,697.50
California For All Award**
N/A for less than 11-month full-time fellows
N/A for less than 11-month full-time fellows
SNAP (Food Stamps)***
✔︎
✔︎
Student Loan Forbearance****
✔︎
✔︎
Health Insurance
✔︎
✔︎
Child Care Assistance
✔︎
✔︎
Professional Development and Training
✔︎
✔︎
Network Development
✔︎
✔︎
CivicSpark and AmeriCorps Alumni Support
✔︎
✔︎
*Varies depending on the service state where you are placed. Please see FAQ for the breakdown by state.
** For Fellows serving as Full-Time Fellows (serving 1700 total hours) only. Pending State approval.
***For those who qualify. Qualification may vary based on personal situations.
****Only federal student loans qualify for forbearance. Approval of request is dependent on loan provider, not program or AmeriCorps.
AmeriCorps Requirements
- Be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident of the United States of America
- Ability to pass FBI, CA Department of Justice, out-of-state, and National
- Sex Offender Public Registry background checks prior to service
CivicSpark Requirements
- Minimum of a 2-year AA degree from an accredited college or university
- Commitment to the full term of service
- Ability to work in a professional office or virtual office setting
- Strong communication and teamwork skills
Strongly Preferred
- A degree in a related field
- One year of relevant experience
- Past service experience (e.g. volunteering, community service)
- Experience with—or training in—outreach, facilitation, and/or education
Desired
- Experience with local government operations and structures
- Comfort with quantitative work, including data collection and analysis
In compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations, CivicSpark is committed to a policy that provides equal opportunities to all applicants and providing access and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. Based on program needs and partner preferences, we often place candidates to serve in communities where they already live.
At this time, we are unfortunately unable to accept applicants with student visas (such as F1 or F2 student visas, J1 or J2 exchange visitor visas, G series visas, etc.), or those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.
October 18, 2024: Fellow Applications Open
January 31, 2024: Fellow Application Deadline for March start date
Looking ahead to my next chapter after CivicSpark, I feel prepared to enter any future professional space with more confidence and determination than ever before, along with some GIS and staff report writing skills!
The CivicSpark fellowship helped in launching my career in the environmental field. It was an invaluable experience and provided a vast network of connections and resources that I continue to use today.
It is difficult to put a dollar amount on a program that offers you a life-long professional and social network, access to subject matter experts in your field, and challenges you to think critically about issues you are passionate about. If you are not considering a postgraduate program, I would dare to say that you can get equal or greater value from participating in the CivicSpark program.