A Vermont nonprofit that matched older adults with volunteer opportunities in their local communities had to close suddenly this summer after losing federal funding.

Green Mountain RSVP operated in Windsor, Windham and Bennington counties and was one of four programs in Vermont to manage the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. Erica Walch, Green Mountain RSVP’s former director, said they oversaw nearly 300 volunteers working in local schools and hospitals, delivering meals and teaching fitness and strength training classes.

One such class is known as Bone Builders, which Walch said served around 550 older adults across southern Vermont. Since the RSVP program shut down at the end of June, local area agencies on aging and other community groups have been scrambling to find ways to keep the free classes running.

So far, most of the courses, which help prevent the negative effects of osteoporosis, have been able to continue, said Walch. But she worries about the ability to recruit and train new volunteers to provide what she calls a vital service for older Vermonters.

“Because you know, exercise, strength training and balance improvement are obviously very, very important, but the sense of social connection and spending time developing friendships is extremely important also,” said Walch.

The Green Mountain RSVP program operated under the auspices of the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging. Rosemary Greene, who heads the agency, said their three-year grant request was for $180,000 per year. They learned it was denied in early June.

“It was a shock when we lost it,” said Greene of the federal funding, which was administered by AmeriCorps. “We had not sought an increase and I had never imagined that we would have lost the grant.”

Greene said they were required to match the annual grant with $153,000 of their own funding, which she said typically came from a variety of state and local sources, including donations.

Walch and Greene said it’s unclear why AmeriCorps turned them down this time. “They did provide feedback for the application, but it was very convoluted,” said Greene. “In one section they would say that we met the requirements and then in that same section they would say that we didn’t meet the requirements. So it was very confusing.”

Representatives with AmeriCorps have not yet responded to a request for comment.

According to the agency’s website, the 2026 RSVP grant program awarded more than $19.8 million dollars in funding to 130 programs nationwide. That’s significantly less than the $55 million budgeted for RSVP in 2024.

The Green Mountain RSVP program had planned to focus more volunteer resources this year on caregiver support and respite, said Greene.

“There’s just such a strong need and burnout is so prevalent,” she said. “These are just really trying times for nonprofits who are doing great work in communities.”

Caitlin Roseen, of the Central Vermont Council on Aging, said their RSVP program, which serves central Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom, actually got more funding this year. She said the remaining RSVP programs in Vermont will be meeting on Aug. 24 with the head of Vermont’s Service Commission to explore possible ways to fill gaps across the state.

“One of the things we’ll discuss is, is there any capacity for providing support to the parts of Vermont that did not receive their RSVP grant this year. Even if it’s minimal support, we hope to brainstorm and think outside the box to see what we can do,” she said.