OKLAHOMA CITY – Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who later today will be elected chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), this morning launched his signature initiative, “Service United,” with $10 million in philanthropic support to kickstart its efforts. Under Gov. Moore as chair, the NGA also announced its Campaign for America, which will work across party lines to strengthen and restore civic bonds.
“At a time of deep division, I firmly believe that service will save us,” said NGA Chair Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. “Service United is a bipartisan call to action for our nation’s governors to create and expand paid service programs that meet our most urgent community needs while helping young Americans build critical skills. Its promise is simple: Service from All. Opportunity for All. This initiative reminds us that service can bring people together to solve problems, bridge divides, and build a stronger future.”
America faces converging crises. Of the approximately 30 million Americans between the ages 16 and 24, a majority are struggling to find good jobs, and roughly 5 million young Americans are neither in school nor employed. Structural workforce shortages persist in key sectors as the AI workforce transition complicates the landscape. To compound problems, deep civic divides have severely weakened our country’s social structures.
Well-designed state-based service programs create three mutually reinforcing outcomes: they deploy participants to meet real community needs; they build meaningful careers by connecting participants to skills, credentials, and employers; and they forge bonds across differences by bringing diverse groups of participants together.
Service United is a bipartisan call upon governors across the nation to promote paid workforce and community development through state-based service programs. Modeled upon Maryland’s first-in-the-nation public service year program, the initiative will evaluate, scale and help implement a diverse array of service programs in participating states over the next year.
“At a time when Americans are seeking sensible solutions to the biggest challenges facing our country, Service United will help get to the heart of what so many Americans are looking for,” said NGA Chief Executive Officer Brandon Tatum. “Opportunities to serve create pathways to stronger communities and brighter futures. Service United will help states develop robust service programs that will not only strengthen civic engagement but promote economic mobility.”
Realized through support from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and the Schultz Family Foundation, the launch of Service United marks historic philanthropic investment in NGA to support service, bolster workforce development and reduce polarization. Through the Service United Fund, governors will have access to resources to plan, build or advance service programs that improve outcomes for both young people and communities through grants of up to $1.5 million. The first round of grantmaking opportunities for states is now open.
“Over a hundred years ago, Andrew Carnegie sought to persuade young people to join what he called a League of Peace as an antidote to conflict,” said Andrew Carnegie Foundation President Dame Louise Richardson. “As stewards of his legacy, we are proud to support Service United and look forward to working with governors across the country as they engage young people in community service.”
“We have seen firsthand that when young people are given the opportunity to serve, they don’t just strengthen communities – they discover purpose, develop skills, and often find a calling. At a time when our nation faces both a youth mental health crisis and a critical shortage of behavioral health professionals, this initiative creates a powerful bridge between service and career,” said Schultz Family Foundation Co-founder Sheri Schultz. “As we have seen from the more than 1,000 members who have served in the Youth Mental Health Corps, by expanding access to mental health supports today while opening pathways into the behavioral health workforce of tomorrow, we have an opportunity to improve lives, strengthen communities, and build the capacity our country urgently needs.”
Across the country, national service programs act as laboratories for innovation in workforce development models and state-based strategies to improve outcomes for people in local communities. With support from Einhorn Collaborative, City Year and the Center for State Service Innovation, led by Service Year Alliance and America’s Service Commissions, have helped spread high-quality practices and strengthen service infrastructure nationwide, laying the groundwork for Service United to expand what’s possible for state-based service.
Through the leadership of bipartisan, governor-appointed state service commissions, many states are deepening the career development opportunities embedded in AmeriCorps programs. Other states leverage state and philanthropic dollars, alongside federally funded AmeriCorps investments, to develop homegrown service models that provide flexibility to engage more participants in meeting the unique community needs of their states.
Maryland’s Service Year Option places young adults who recently completed high school with a host site partner that is aligned with their area of interest. While in the program, participants earn a minimum of $15 dollars an hour, in addition to a completion award of $6,000. Participants may also earn credentials in skilled trades and apprenticeship programs to facilitate transition into continued education or the workforce, depending on their service path.
The Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation partners with non- and for-profit organizations, state and local governments, and higher education institutions across the state to host program participants. Host site partners also represent a diverse spectrum of focus areas from education to environment and conservation, to health, information technology, public safety and more.
Using Maryland’s Service Year Option as the model, the NGA will work with participating states to assess and scale service program implementation among participating states, documenting accounts of success, challenges, pivots and real costs, making every transferable lesson accessible to governors. The NGA will also provide technical support to select early adopter states, in addition to creating a resource center and convening a policy lab to consider how AI may be harnessed to promote workforce development.
“Addressing our nation’s workforce challenges requires innovative solutions – and that begins in the states,” said NGA Chief Policy Officer and Center for Best Practices President Timothy Blute. “Gov. Moore’s Service United campaign generates unprecedented momentum behind NGA’s work in the service space so more states can create meaningful service programs. We are looking forward to helping expand opportunities for young people that will simultaneously strengthen communities and the American workforce.”
“America cannot lead in AI if American workers are left behind,” said RAISE US Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Gina Raimondo. “Service United will give governors a new tool to connect workforce development and community service while preparing the next generation to navigate a changing economy. RAISE US is proud to work with Gov. Moore and the National Governors Association to test and scale models that meet real employer needs and help ensure the AI economy expands opportunity across the country.”
“Congratulations to Gov. Moore, the National Governors Association, the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, and the Schultz Family Foundation on the launch of Service United,” said Einhorn Collaborative Executive Director Jennifer Hoos Rothberg. “Einhorn Collaborative has spent more than a decade investing in high-quality national service programs, alongside bolstering the national service field and infrastructure, and it is gratifying to see that groundwork translate into a national movement of this scale. We are excited to continue working together, ensuring that more young people will have the opportunity to serve their communities, build relationships across lines of difference, and discover what we can accomplish as a country when we work side by side.”
The NGA will continue to build its Campaign for America, with additional pillars to be announced in the coming months.
Learn more about Service United at nga.org/service-united.
Learn more about the Maryland Service Year Option and other state-based service programs through the following resources:
- NGA: Service-to-Career Pathways Policy Academy
- NGA: Service to Career Pathways Advisory Board
- Service as a Pathway to Economic Opportunity: A Roadmap for Governors
- Maryland Corps and Service Year Option
- Governor Moore Announces $4 Million in Road to Careers Grants, Helping Train Hundreds for Transportation and Construction Careers
- Governor Moore Announces New Workforce Partnership with RAISE US
