Project Partner FAQs

AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Find out more about AmeriCorps.

CivicSpark Fellows can provide capacity building support on a variety of community planning goals, priorities and initiatives. Fellows primarily conduct research, planning and implementation project activities. 

For sample projects, please visit our impact page.

Starting in 2025, CivicSpark is able to place Fellows in any state (plus DC) in the United States. We anticipate a high number of returning partners from our existing three states of California, Colorado and Washington state but we encourage partners in other states to apply and help us expand our program nationally.

The application for the 2026-27 fellowship year will be posted on our homepage on the following dates:

Returning Partners: February 18, 2026 (priority deadline of March 11, 2026)

New Partners:  March 19, 2026

All applications will be due by May 14, 2026

Yes, CivicSpark Fellows can be placed with any non-for-profit entity. Most partners are public agencies (local, regional, state), non-profits, educational institutions, ports, military institutions or Tribal governments. The only restriction is that CivicSpark Fellows cannot serve directly with a for-profit organization. However, private companies can sponsor CivicSpark Fellows to deliver capacity building services to eligible public or not-for-profit agencies and pay the fiscal contribution on behalf of the partner.

Yes, CivicSpark is very interested in building relationships with Tribal partners and increasing the number of projects we support with Tribal governments. Interested Tribal governments are encouraged to get in touch to discuss their project ideas or to visit our partner page to learn more and apply.

Yes! We have several coalitions and networks that host fellows every year. We are happy to work on larger projects that will create lasting impacts for multiple local governments and communities.

Check out our partner responsibilities here.

2025-26 Fellowship Year:

Full Term, 11 months: October 6, 2025 to September 4, 2026

Three-Quarter Term, 8 months: January 12, 2026 to September 4, 2026

2026-27 Fellowship Year:

Full Term, 11 months: October 5, 2026 to September 3, 2027

Three-Quarter Term, 8 months: January 11, 2027 to September 3, 2027

For Fellows serving 11-month fellowships: 1,700 service hours. At least 1,300 of those hours will be dedicated to project service at the partner’s host site. Fellows’ additional time is dedicated to professional development activities with up to 100 hours for community volunteer engagement. Fellows also have time off and holidays built into the 11 months beyond the 1,700 service hours.

Fellows serving shorter terms will serve a pro-rated number of hours. For example, Fellows in 8-month fellowships will serve about 1,200 hours total.

All host agencies must provide a dedicated work space and office resources (phone, computer, etc.) for their Fellows. This does not need to be a full private office; it can be a cubicle, shared work space, or other arrangement, as long as the Fellow has a designated place to work on a daily basis. If the Fellow will be serving in a hybrid setting, partners will need to provide sufficient resources (computer, access to servers) to complete service remotely. 

CivicSpark has historically operated on a cost-share model, where AmeriCorps (a federal agency) provides funding for every fellow we place with a partner, and the partner pays a matching contribution. This local-federal partnership comprises the majority of our operating costs. We also rely on philanthropy and external sponsors to cover some of our program costs. 

The fiscal contribution is billed upfront as a lump sum unless your agency requires an installment payment plan. 

Mostly. As noted above, we operate on a cost-share model where the partner’s fiscal contribution is blended with our AmeriCorps funding to provide full funding for the program. Our advertised partner fee is all-inclusive and covers a portion of the Fellow’s compensation and benefits (which include health insurance), as well as programmatic operating costs including professional development and CivicSpark staff support for Fellows. The fiscal contribution only covers a portion of the total cost to run the program.

Participating organizations are required to identify the funds for the project, but projects can be funded by a third party who is supporting the service project. If your organization is being sponsored by a third-party, you will be responsible for securing the funds and working with CivicSpark staff and the sponsor in the contract process. CivicSpark staff are not able to support searching for or securing funds for organizations.

CivicSpark is a great resource to leverage for outside funding. Because of its flexible design, there is an opportunity to focus the service on a suite of projects that align with available resources. For example, a community foundation might support a community plan or assessment. Local utilities might support a public utility, electricity or power-focused project. If there is an open RFP for related work, CivicSpark could be built into responses as a supporting mechanism for completing the project.

It is OK if you do not have funding secured at the time of application, but our preference is that it is secured by the time of the service year. We still can accept your application and engage with you on a tentative basis, but we also have to fill our cohort and will prioritize those organizations that have funding secured by the time the service year starts. 

No. While CivicSpark Fellows are allowed a limited number of hours to support grant writing and fundraising for partners as part of their project work, AmeriCorps regulations prohibit direct fundraising for the program itself. CivicSpark Fellows are allowed to help local agencies identify possible future funding sources though (no more than ~120 hours, or 10% of their project time), and work completed by CivicSpark Fellows may be used to better prepare an agency to access existing funding sources.

It depends. AmeriCorps has a policy of deferring to other federal agencies with regard to commingling of federal funds. Please contact us if you have questions about the use of federal funds as match.

No. CivicSpark Fellows are covered by the CivicSpark insurance.

For the 2026-27 fellowship year, the partner fee will be $37,500 per fellow for 11-month fellows starting in October 2026.

If we have slots left for an 8-month fellowship in January 2027, the partner fee will be $28,500 for the shorter term. We encourage all partners to apply in the regular period, however, given we may not space available by January.