Learn more about your biweekly stipend and the various benefits awarded to City Year Seattle AmeriCorps members – both during and after service.
Stipend
City Year provides a modest living stipend to all AmeriCorps members (ACMs) for their term of service. The stipend amounts vary and are driven by the cost of living in each location where our AmeriCorps members serve.
The City Year Seattle / King County (CYSKC) stipend for first-year AmeriCorps members is $1,122 biweekly before taxes.
City Year relocation benefits
Relocation benefit
If you are moving more than 50 miles to serve with City Year Seattle / King County, you will receive a one-time relocation benefit with your first or second paycheck. You will have the opportunity to elect / decline this benefit when completing your Workday hiring tasks.
Please note:
- The pre-tax relocation amount is $500. Depending on your tax elections, you will receive around $300 post-tax.
- The payment will be processed once you start service and will be received with your first or second paycheck—the relocation benefit cannot be distributed before you start service.
Temporary housing assistance
City Year will provide up to six nights in a local hotel if you need a place to stay before your new housing is secured / lease begins. Please connect with your Service Year Advisor if this is support you need.
City Year medical benefits
All City Year AmeriCorps members are eligible to enroll in City Year health insurance effective on their first day of active service. The City Year health insurance plan includes:
- medical insurance
- dental insurance
- vision insurance
City Year is proud to provide company-paid medical, dental and vision benefits to AmeriCorps members who enroll—meaning there are no out of pocket costs for enrolling in City Year insurance!
Look over the City Year Seattle / King County Benefits Guide to review all benefit details.
Time off
Every AmeriCorps member can request up to 12 days of pre-planned time off. These can be used as needed for personal reasons such as sick days, doctor’s appointments, religious observance, school / job interviews, etc. Use of these days must be approved by the AmeriCorps member’s direct manager ahead of time.
City Year also recognizes the following 11 holidays:
- Labor Day
- Veterans or Indigenous Peoples’ Day (to match Seattle Public School District, CYSKC usually takes Veterans Day off and works on Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
- Thanksgiving day and Friday after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Eve and Christmas day
- New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day
- Presidents’ Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
Additional time off varies by site and is driven by the school district’s annual schedules. AmeriCorps member time off does not always mirror school breaks (example, we conduct Mid-Year Summit during school mid-winter break and Spring Break Camps during school Spring Break, so those are still service days).
AmeriCorps member responsibilities and work environments will shift during periods of school closure such as spring break or teacher prep days. The most common scenario during these times is for AmeriCorps members to serve at the local City Year office, using these days as service preparation, training and professional development and team building days.
AmeriCorps members can anticipate having an additional break of approximately two weeks around late December to early January.
Segal Education Award
As a member of the federal AmeriCorps program, you are eligible to earn the Segal Education Award (valued at $7,395 in 2024) at the completion of your service year, which can go toward pursuing further education, paying off existing, qualified student loans or pursuing educational travel. Additionally, more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide augment the Segal Education Award in some way, including matching your award amount, waived registration fees, course credits or service scholarships. Explore Schools of National Service here.
During your service with City Year, you can request that qualified federal student loans be put into forbearance. Upon successful completion of your term, you may also request the accrued interest be paid by the National Service Trust, federal administrator for AmeriCorps’ education benefits.
Additional City Year benefits
In addition to health insurance, City Year provides a number of additional benefits for AmeriCorps members during their year of service:
- Emotional support: counseling, therapy and meditation
- Supportlinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Talkspace Therapy Program
- Ten Percent Happier
- Crisis Text Line
- Mental Health Hub (internal to City Year)
- Benefits during service
- AmeriCorps Childcare Benefit Program
- Worker’s compensation
- Education benefits: student loan relief (City Year AmeriCorps members are eligible for these benefits; they are not awarded by City Year)
- Loan forbearance and interest accrual payments
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Look over the City Year Seattle / King County Benefits Guide to review all benefit details.
