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Below is some helpful information which you may find useful during your term of service.

Pay Information

Stewards VISTA members receive a modest living allowance once service officially begins. This daily stipend varies from county to county in order to accurately reflect the economic level of the surrounding community and is reviewed yearly. This allowance covers the cost of housing, food, and other necessities during the term of service. Additionally, while federal taxes are removed, it is the member’s responsibility to pay state, county, and/or municipal deductions. Stewards VISTAs are paid via direct deposit.

Direct Deposit

The U.S. Treasury requires federal payments to be made by direct deposit, except when this form of payment would cause unusual hardship on the payee.

To set up direct deposit, members must complete the direct deposit form under ‘My Living Allowance’ in their AmeriCorps member portal at my.americorps.gov. Members need their bank account number and their bank’s routing number. Members should contact their banking institution with questions. Members must be certain to enter direct deposit information correctly before beginning service. Failure to do so will result in at least a two week delay in receiving the living allowance payment. Members are responsible for updating direct deposit information under ‘My Living Allowance’ in their member portal any time a bank or account number is changed or closed.

When will I get paid?

Depending on where your start date falls, you will receive your first living allowance payment 2 to 3 weeks after your first day of VISTA service. If you start in the middle of a pay period, you will receive your first living allowance payment in about 2 weeks. If you start at the beginning of a pay period, you will receive your first living allowance in about 3 weeks. You will never receive your first living allowance payment the week you start service. See the living allowance payment calendar to check the pay period end dates.

Members receive their living allowance disbursements on a bi-weekly schedule. This means that, if you are submitting your timesheet for your supervisor’s approval at the end of the two-week pay period (refer to the Pay Schedule), then you will receive your disbursement on the following Friday.

How do I access my timesheet?

During your first week of service, you will receive an email from our Community Portal (via Salesforce) to set up your profile. If you do not receive this email, please contact your Program Coordinator as soon as possible.

Where do I get my paystubs?

Go to my.americorps.gov and click on “My Living Allowance” from the member homepage. Living allowance earning statements are in the first box under your member information.

Why is my paycheck less than expected?

Taxes are deducted from each paycheck, based on the information provided in your Federal W-4 form. The first pay period is also always less than the full 14 days.

Workers Compensation

If you get injured, seek immediate medical attention (if necessary) and reach out to your Program Coordinator and site supervisor as soon as possible. AmeriCorps VISTA members are considered employees of the federal government for purposes of coverage under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), which is administered by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor's OWCP office is solely responsible for the adjudication of FECA claims. This means that members are eligible for certain benefits in certain situations, and eligibility is determined by OWCP, not CNCS.

The CA-1 form, Notice of Traumatic Injury, should be filed when an accident or physical injury occurs during performance of duties. The CA-1 form is available here: https://www.dol.gov/owcp/regs/compliance/ca-1.pdf.
The CA-2 form, Notice of Occupational Disease or Illness, should be filed when a disease or illness is suspected of being caused by job performance. The CA-2 form is available here: https://www.dol.gov/owcp/regs/compliance/ca-2.pdf

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Professional Development and Training

Stewards VISTA members may participate in ongoing professional development activities to enhance knowledge, skills, and abilities relevant to both the project and the member’s larger career goals. Stewards VISTA members have access to both VISTACampus, an online resource which has thousands of courses, webinars, tutorials, and forums, as well as Stewards-generated trainings, offered in Spring and Fall. The Stewards trainings are only offered to Stewards VISTAs and contain annual topics such as Community Asset Mapping, but also member-generated topics such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Employee Assistance Program

How it works

Conservation Legacy provides an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which entitles participants to three counseling sessions within a year (November-October) on any issue you want to discuss, at no cost to you. Please reach out to your Program Coordinator for access information to UNUM, the EAP program.

When you call in to request a referral, you can choose to schedule a face-to-face meeting in your area, or you may choose to connect by telephone with a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Use of this program is confidential and available 24/7. They are here to help with everyday issues, NOT emergencies. These may include, but are not limited to:

Stress, depression, anxiety
Relationship issues, divorce
Job stress, work conflicts
Family and parenting problems
Anger, grief, and loss
And more

You can also connect with a specialist for help with balancing work and life issues, such as:

Childcare
Elder care
Legal questions
Identity theft
Financial services, debt management, credit report issues
Even reducing your medical/dental bills!
And more

Billing will be made directly to Conservation Legacy. You will be notified if your request does not fall within the Conservation Legacy program by UNUM.

Use of the resource/program must be during your employment or service term. Extended support beyond your term can be set up with the individual resource/person provided to you by UNUM.

End of Service Benefit Selection

At any point before the tenth month of service, members may change their post-service benefit to the cash stipend instead of the Segal Education Award. If you initially chose the cash stipend, you cannot change it to the education award.

If I selected the end of service stipend, when will I get that?

The stipend is generally disbursed automatically with the last two living allowance payments, provided that service is completed as scheduled and end-of service documents are completed properly and submitted to the Corporation State Office. VISTAs who continue in AmeriCorps VISTA immediately after completing a year of service will receive their stipend for the first year in the final pay period for that term of service, provided all documentation has been completed and submitted on a timely basis.

For information regarding the Eli Segal Education Award and further discussion of the financial support VISTAs can receive, please refer to Chapter 5 and Chapter 14 of the VISTA Member Handbook. If you have additional questions, please contact the National Service Hotline at 800-942-2677 or submit a request online at questions.nationalservice.gov.

Future Plans Form

Stewards VISTAs must complete an AmeriCorps Future Plans Form in the tenth month of service. The form is accessible via the my.americorps portal via the “Close of Service” option. This form requires you to notify CNCS if you are ending your service as scheduled, or if you are requesting a second (or even third!) term. Your termination date is usually 365 days following the day you begin service.

Still have an unanswered question? Check out our full list of FAQs or reach out to your Program Coordinator.

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