TerraCorps is an environmental nonprofit working at the intersection of land conservation, sustainable agriculture, and food justice to build local nonprofit capacity while growing the next generation of environmental leaders.
We believe in the power of local nonprofits to best understand and serve their communities, while knowing they are consistently under-resourced without sufficient staff or volunteer capacity to deliver their core interventions at necessary scale.
To respond to this community need, TerraCorps operates as an AmeriCorps program intermediary and administrator, facilitating access to federal resources that are often out of reach for community-based nonprofits. Each year, we work with our network of 40+ partner organizations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to recruit a new cohort of up to 60 AmeriCorps service members. Service members are paired with a site supervisor, an experienced professional, who provides them guidance and mentorship while they learn to manage community programs and projects over an 11-month service term.
Service members, partner organizations, and the communities they serve all benefit from the TerraCorps service model. Service members gain professional skillsets, real world experience, and networking opportunities that help them launch their careers. Partner organizations receive an immediate capacity boost that strengthens their ability to fulfill their missions and improves their sustainability. Communities are the beneficiaries of the improved and expanded services that our partner organizations are able to deliver through their partnership with TerraCorps.
One of the most valued aspects of the TerraCorps service model is that it allows our partners the flexibility to align service members’ activities with local needs and priorities while they serve in one of the five following available roles:
- Land Conservation Coordinator
- Land Stewardship Coordinator
- Community Engagement Coordinator
- Youth Education Coordinator
- Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator
Read more about the five coordinator roles.
Learn about service member benefits.
AmeriCorps service members may not engage in the below activities directly or indirectly by recruiting, training, or managing others for the primary purpose of engaging in one of the said activities. Individuals may exercise their rights as private citizens and may participate in the activities listed below on their initiative, on non-AmeriCorps time, and using non-AmeriCorps funds. Individuals should not wear the AmeriCorps logo while engaging in any of the below activities on their personal time:
- Attempting to influence legislation.
- Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.
- Assisting, promoting or deterring union organizing.
- Impairing existing service contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements.
- Engaging in partisan political activities or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office.
- Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials.
- Engaging in religious instruction; conducting worship services; providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship; constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship; maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship; or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.
- Providing a direct benefit to
- A business organized for profit;
- A labor union;
- A partisan political organization; or
- A nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 related to engaging in political activities or substantial amount of lobbying except that nothing in these provisions shall be construed to prevent participants from participating in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and
- An organization engaged in the religious activities described above in prohibited activity 7, unless AmeriCorps assistance is not used to support the religious activities.
- Conducting a voter registration drive or using AmeriCorps funds to conduct a voter registration drive.
- Providing abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services.
- Such other activities as AmeriCorps may prohibit.
In addition to the above activities, the below activities are also prohibited:
Census Activities
AmeriCorps service members and volunteers associated with AmeriCorps grants may not engage in census activities during service hours. Being a census taker during service hours is categorically prohibited. Census-related activities (e.g., promotion of the Census, education about the importance of the Census) do not align with AmeriCorps State and National objectives. What Members and volunteers do on their own time is up to them, consistent with program policies about outside employment and activities.
Election and Polling Activities
AmeriCorps service members may not provide services for election or polling locations or in support of such activities.
Illegal Activities
AmeriCorps service members may not engage in any activity that is illegal under local, state, or federal law.
Unsafe Activities
AmeriCorps service members may not engage in activities that pose a significant safety risk to others.
Fundraising Activities
AmeriCorps service members may not engage in fundraising or grant writing activities that do not comply with AmeriCorps policy. Note: AmeriCorps service members may fundraise for projects directly related to their service projects and in accordance with AmeriCorps regulations.
The designated Service Site Supervisor at your organization is responsible for:
- Completing mandatory trainings for AmeriCorps site supervisors.
- Enforcing all AmeriCorps policies and prohibited activities in cooperation with TerraCorps.
- Overseeing service plan development in collaboration with service member.
- Conducting weekly check-ins with service member.
- Overseeing service member’s AmeriCorps reporting requirements.
- Participating in bi-annual evaluations and program assessments.
- Reviewing and approving service member timesheets.
- Providing mentorship on service member projects.
- Offering ongoing support for service member professional development.
- Accommodating service member attendance at all mandatory TerraCorps and AmeriCorps trainings and events.