CivicSpark is an award-winning and evidence-based fellowship program that builds local workforce capacity to address community planning priorities and challenges such as public safety, disaster preparedness, water resource management, power and electricity, parks and outdoor recreation, transportation, affordable housing, and public health. During the service year, CivicSpark Fellows complete research, planning, or implementation projects that support local governments and community organizations in advancing their planning priorities. CivicSpark Fellows are AmeriCorps members, making them eligible to receive an education award upon successful completion of the fellowship, among other benefits.

Since 2014, over 1,000 CivicSpark Fellows have provided more than one million hours of service. Over 95% of completed projects have met or exceeded expectations. CivicSpark provides both a workforce pipeline and a professional launchpad for Fellows, 73% of whom continue to work in the public sector.

CivicSpark is fiscally sponsored by Public Health Institute (PHI), a 60-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening public health and community well-being through fiscal sponsorship, thought leadership, and partnership. As a fiscal sponsor, PHI provides operational support and infrastructure so that CivicSpark can focus on supporting our community partners and Fellows.

AmeriCorps is a network of local, state, and national service programs that are dedicated to improving communities through national service. Programs like CivicSpark recruit members (aka fellows) to support local communities advance their needs and build capacity.

In some ways, CivicSpark is comparable to an internship program; however, there are important differences. First, CivicSpark is a full-time commitment, with fellows serving ~40 hours per week. Second, CivicSpark fellows also have a dual commitment to both their project site work and to the program’s training and professional development activities. Third, fellows are AmeriCorps members and therefore are required to work on volunteer engagement and community service activities as part of the fellowship.

CivicSpark offers Fellowships primarily in California, Colorado and Washington state. If partners express interest in neighboring states, we may also have other opportunities available.

Some host sites are fully in-person while others allow for hybrid service, with some in-office days and some days serving from home. During their term of service, Fellows must reside within their state of service by the start of the service term, and live within 75 miles of their service site location.

CivicSpark anticipates hosting up to 150 Fellows for the 2026-27 service year.

CivicSpark is an AmeriCorps State and National program. To serve in AmeriCorps State and National, you must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or legal permanent resident of the United States. At this time, we are unfortunately unable to accept applicants with work or 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.

The 2026-27 11 month full service term starts on October 5, 2026 and ends September 3, 2027. Our 8 month three-quarter term starts on January 11, 2027 and ends on September 3, 2027. Fellows who accept an offer must commit to service the full term of service.

The service year will begin with a multi-day program Orientation. Orientation will be a hybrid schedule of CivicSpark programmatic orientation days and days at Fellow service sites.

Fellows will serve on individual projects supporting community planning priorities and be part of a larger CivicSpark cohort completing various training and professional development activities as part of their weekly schedules. The Fellowship provides an opportunity to serve communities while building connections and developing skills through a project-based experience. CivicSpark Fellows provide capacity building support to government agencies and nonprofit community organizations through research, planning, and implementation of project activities. CivicSpark Fellows can serve on a wide range of initiatives, as long as there is a defined connection to a specific agency’s unmet needs, and the service can be completed by a Fellow within the service year.

Example Projects:

• Community plans, general/comprehensive plans, plan elements, or action/implementation plans related to transportation, housing, or climate. 
• Inventories, existing conditions analysis, assessments, data analysis, and geographic information systems (GIS) work
• Developing pilot programs 
• Creating ordinances and policy solutions
• Increasing community awareness of local planning issues
• Gathering community feedback on local priorities
• Volunteer management

Project descriptions will be shared with applicants during the application process.

The application will be available on our homepage during the periods when we are accepting applications.

Anyone who is a U.S. citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident of the United States who has an Associate’s degree or higher can apply to the program.

At this time, we, unfortunately cannot accept folks who are unable to provide documentation proving their status as a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, or lawful permanent resident, including anyone with:

• An F1 or F2 student visa
• A J1 or J2 exchange visitor visa
• A G series visa (pertaining to international organizations)
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status
  • (As a State and National AmeriCorps program, CivicSpark is under different regulations than AmeriCorps VISTA programs. If you’re interested in serving with AmeriCorps and are a DACA recipient, you can apply to serve with an AmeriCorps VISTA program.)

For a full list of eligibility requirements, please see: https://civicsparkfellowship.org/fellow/.

Yes, CivicSpark accepts applicants from different locations; however, all Fellows must live in their state of service during the service term. Fellows will need to live within commuting distance (~75 miles) to their service site. At this time, CivicSpark does not provide formal assistance in relocating.

CivicSpark does NOT allow a Fellow to serve out of state. Accepted applicants MUST relocate to their service community by the start of the service term.

Our process is three-fold, with application review, program interviews, and partner interviews.

Intake & Program Interviews: Once your application is submitted through the CivicSpark website, it will be reviewed by program staff. If you fit our basic qualifications, you will be contacted via email for a 15 minute video interview with a member of our staff. 

Partner Interview: Candidates who are deemed strong fits for the program after the first round interview will be matched with project partners based on the candidate’s project interests, regional preferences, and relevant skills. All of these will be taken into account, so you may be matched with a partner who you did not mention in your project interests if we see a potential fit.

The project partners will then review the various candidates, select the candidates who meet their criteria, and schedule interviews with those candidates. Candidates may be invited to multiple interviews, but may only receive one offer at a time.

Offer to join Fellowship: After interviewing, offers for specific projects to join the Fellowship will come directly from CivicSpark program staff via email. As projects fill, we will continue to match applicants to projects to be considered for project interviews. 

Due to the highly competitive application process, we cannot guarantee all candidates will be offered a project partner interview or offer to join the program. Once all projects have been filled, we will notify candidates who were not selected.

Positions are filled on a rolling basis; therefore, some projects may no longer be interviewing for Fellows at the time of your application. We strongly encourage interested folks to apply as soon as possible in order to have more project options available.

Timelines are outlined on the Become a Fellow page

Candidates can indicate their state preferences and top 5 projects of interest in the Fellow application. During the program interview, candidates will have the opportunity to let CivicSpark staff know why they are a strong fit for these projects, and if there are additional projects they’d like to be considered for.

While you will have the opportunity to share your interests and the types of projects you are most excited to support, final selection decisions are made by the Project Partners. You may be matched for interviews with partners you did not initially indicate interest in if we believe there is potential for a strong fit. We encourage you to keep an open mindset through the selection process! Each project offers a unique opportunity to expand your skill set and make meaningful steps toward your future career.

If you are chosen to serve as a CivicSpark Fellow, there are a few critical onboarding steps to be completed over the summer before the Fellowship begins in the Fall. 

First, all selected candidates must complete a background check and receive passing results before formally joining the program and beginning service. Accepted candidates will receive an email from Truescreen, and fill out an online application allowing us to conduct a search of National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW). Through the online portal, you will also schedule an in-person, livescan fingerprint appointment that scans state and federal criminal history databases. Scheduling appointments is fairly simple for most fellows and results come back quickly. However, it can take several days for fellows in rural areas to schedule due to the lack of fingerprint locations. Candidates must also have their citizenship verified by AmeriCorps through an enrollment process that will be detailed in the welcome packet.

Next, candidates must complete onboarding requirements, including onboarding paperwork and completing a Skill Survey with positive reference results, with both CivicSpark and Public Health Institute staff. These items can be completed via email over the summer before beginning service.

The Fellow’s start date and ability to serve is dependent on their background check and onboarding paperwork being completed on time.

Fellows are typically placed within the partner’s office that they will be serving with, but they may also serve in a hybrid format. Fellows must be located within commuting distance (~75 miles) of their placement site.

You can review the on-site/hybrid preferences/plans of projects you’re interested in within the project description.

Fellows are expected to serve at full time capacity, on average of 40 hours per week. The 11 Month Fellowship term requires a minimum of 1,700 hours to be eligible for the Segal Education Award. The 8 Month Fellowship term requires 1,200 hours to be eligible for a Three-Quarter Term Segal Education Award. 

Most Fellows serve within an office during traditional work hours (typically 8 am – 5 pm on weekdays) as well as occasional after-hours and weekends when necessary; however, this will depend on your project partner. Some sites have 9/80 or 4/10 schedules. Most Fellows will serve  around 40 hours per week. Examples of when evening or weekend service may take place include attending city council meetings, conducting community outreach, or managing volunteer events.

No. CivicSpark does not offer part-time positions (less than 40 hours per week) Fellows have an allotted amount of personal time off they can take during the Fellowship, but should be able to commit to serving full-time during regular business hours and meeting the hours requirements before the end of the term.

Site Supervisors are staff members of the agency/organization that Fellows are placed with, and will directly oversee their day-to-day project work and assist with any project-specific questions Fellows may have. Site Supervisors will also provide mentorship and guidance in their sector of work, as well as support the Fellow’s professional development.

CivicSpark program staff support provide administrative, training and professional development support. Each fellow is assigned a Regional Point of Contact on the program staff to support in achieving broader professional development goals.

Given CivicSpark is a full-time, 40 hour per week commitment, additional jobs are discouraged unless necessary for financial reasons. 

Due to the size and spread of our cohorts across states, we connect in a hybrid capacity to offer both virtual and in-person connection for our Fellows. Virtual events occur at least monthly, while in-person events occur about four times throughout the year, typically in the form of community service days that happen seasonally (fall, winter, spring, summer). Some sites have more than one fellow or networks of fellows where greater collaboration and in-person opportunities are available.

The CivicSpark training and professional development curriculum consists of:

• 3-day orientation before beginning project service
• Monthly virtual trainings on general professional development topics
• Specific training tracks on in-depth topics (e.g. project management, data visualization & mapping, planning topics)
• Quarterly in-person community service days in each region
• A mid-year in-depth training series
• Alumni networking
• Career readiness training
• A year-end Capstone poster symposium
• Outside training opportunities specific to each fellow’s professional development

All Fellows should leave the service year with an understanding of work within their community and experience working on community centric projects. Fellows will develop and deepen professional skills needed to enter the community planning workforce.  

In exchange for their service, each Fellow receives the following benefits:

• Living Allowance before taxes spread evenly over term of service: see “Benefits” on Fellow home page: for exact amounts by state and term or service
• Segal Education Award (dependent on length of service)
• California For All Award*
• Forbearance on existing qualifying student loans and payment of interest accrued during service**
• Health Insurance
• Service term counts toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
• Child Care Assistance – (to qualifying Fellows), paid to an eligible provider of your choice**
• SNAP (Food Stamps) – for those eligible 
• Professional development training
• Network development with regional and statewide contacts in the community resilience industries
• Connection to the network of CivicSpark alum and AmeriCorps alums

*The California for All Award is contingent on future funding decisions and only available to Fellows serving in California for the 11 month term of service 

**eligibility and amounts may vary by individual

The Segal Education Award is given to Fellows upon the successful completion of their service year. The amount varies by term of service and current rates can be found on the Fellow Home Page under “Benefits.” It is meant to help the Fellow pay for educational expenses such as loans, grad school, certificate programs, or for school supplies post-AmeriCorps. The award is not given to the Fellow as cash or a check; the Fellow must request that AmeriCorps make a payment to an eligible loan provider or school, and AmeriCorps will make payments directly to them on your behalf. The Segal Education Award must be used within 7 years of completing the program.

Yes, time off and holidays are built into the fellowship.

Yes, Fellows will receive mentorship from project partners and CivicSpark staff at various levels. Site Supervisors will be the main mentor for the Fellow, assisting them with their project and any other project specific questions Fellows may have, as well as helping them grow professionally in the workspace. The CivicSpark program staff will assist in professional development through regular training sessions, and provide general support for the Fellows throughout the year. CivicSpark staff are also available to assist Fellows whenever they have questions.

Fellows can also be connected to CivicSpark alumni for formal mentorship during their service year through the Alumni Mentorship program.

CivicSpark is not able to provide housing or relocation assistance for Fellows at this time. However, we typically create a a housing board at the start of each service year to make it easier for incoming Fellows to connect with one another before the service year to find housing together or learn about housing opportunities within the region they’ll be placed in from alumni and/or current Fellows.

Yes! CivicSpark Fellows have a very high track record of receiving job offers after their term of service. To facilitate Fellow’s career development and post-service career search, CivicSpark provides assistance through our training curriculum. Fellows are engaged in training activities such as networking best practices, resume and cover letter development, and interview best practices. As part of a large cohort, Fellows are supported to actively pursue networking within and across the CivicSpark community and with professionals in the field. 

Upon graduating from the program, Fellows join the CivicSpark alumni network with 1000+ alumni across the country. Alumni continue to stay connected with each other and share job opportunities through an exclusive alumni list-serv and LinkedIn group.