Volunteer Tennessee

Volunteer Tennessee, a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Nashville, acts as Tennessee's state service commission and prime recipient of federal AmeriCorps grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service, deploying AmeriCorps members and managing volunteer capacity-building programs across Tennessee.

Volunteer Tennessee operates exclusively as a prime recipient under federal grant programs — all 18 awards in the recent portfolio are prime grants with no subcontractor footprint. The agency serves a single funding customer, the Corporation for National and Community Service Office of Grants Management, which has awarded it $61.7 million in combined obligated dollars across AmeriCorps State and National (CFDA 94.006), AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund (CFDA 94.021), AmeriCorps Commission Investment Fund (CFDA 94.008), and AmeriCorps Commission Support Grant programs. Recent awards include a $7.17 million AmeriCorps State and National grant (August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2029) funding deployment of approximately 517 AmeriCorps members annually across education, economic opportunity, health, environmental stewardship, and emergency preparedness; a $637,610 AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund award (October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2029) supporting volunteer management capacity building and recruitment across over 500 volunteer connector organizations statewide; a $332,272 AmeriCorps Commission Investment Fund award (September 10, 2025, through June 30, 2028) for training, technical assistance, and state commission staffing; and a $1.84 million AmeriCorps State and National fixed-amount grant (August 4, 2025, through August 3, 2028) deploying approximately 289 AmeriCorps members through sub-awardees including City Year, Inc., Memphis Teacher Residency, Teach For America Nashville-Chattanooga, Teach For America Memphis, Public Education Foundation, Relay Graduate School of Education, and Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee.

Activity has fluctuated across the past five years — one award in 2021, four in 2022, three in 2023, four in 2025, and two in 2026 — with six awards (all AmeriCorps formula and competitive programs) reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and facing recompete. All awards require statutory match contributions ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent, with Volunteer Tennessee's budgeted match typically meeting or exceeding the requirement. Sub-awardees across the portfolio include regional and national service organizations such as Hands On Nashville, Volunteer Memphis, Emerald Youth Foundation, Martha O'Bryan Center, Literacy Mid-South, and education-focused entities including Memphis Teacher Residency, Teach For America regional chapters, and community action committees. Performance occurs statewide in Tennessee.