OpportunityTitle: AmeriCorps State and National Recovery Act Assistance
CategoryExplanation: AmeriCorps grants are generally awarded to eligible organizations to recruit, train, and manage AmeriCorps members who address community needs. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who is enrolled in an approved national service position and engages in community service. Members may receive a living allowance while serving. Upon successful completion of their service members receive an education award from the National Service Trust.
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Only current grantees (grantees operating AmeriCorps programs on on February 17, 2009 are eligible to apply. Grantees with planning grants are not eligible to apply.
Description: What are AmeriCorps State and National Recovery Act grants? The purpose of this guidance is to assist current AmeriCorps State and National grantees in accessing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to engage AmeriCorps members and community volunteers in efforts to stimulate the economy through the expansion of current programming or the addition of a new program component. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, providing job counseling and skills training to the unemployed, constructing or rehabilitating housing, assisting nonprofits facing increased need and decreased resources, recruiting volunteers, making housing resource referrals for and providing legal services to those experiencing eviction or foreclosure, connecting children and families to health care, and allowing after-school centers that have lost funding to stay open. Additional information can be found in OMB&#146;s Initial Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 dated February 18, 2009, and on the CNCS Recovery webpage (www.nationalservice.gov/recovery). Is my organization eligible and to whom do we apply? Current grantees only are eligible to apply, Current grantees with planning grants are not eligible to apply. Current grantees are those who were operating AmeriCorps programs on February 17, 2009. Applicants must apply to the same entity to which they applied for their current AmeriCorps grant program (either to a state service commission or directly to the Corporation for National and Community Service). More Information on AmeriCorps State and National Recovery Grants These one-time AmeriCorps Recovery Act funds are being made available to current grantees to meet critical community needs resulting from, or exacerbated by, the current economic crisis. Programs addressing any of the AmeriCorps issue areas are welcome to apply but the selection process will give preference to the activities listed below. Additionally, AmeriCorps Recovery Act grantees addressing the following activities will be required to adopt and collect data on Corporation-determined performance measures. AmeriCorps Priority Recovery Act Activities &#61485; Employment and skills training &#61485; Tutoring and literacy &#61485; Financial literacy &#61485; Home foreclosures and housing assistance &#61485; Housing rehabilitation and access including weatherization and other energy-efficiency techniques &#61485; Healthcare access and delivery &#61485; Nonprofit capacity building and &#61485; Volunteer generation and management It is expected that grantees will seek Recovery Act funding for their current areas of programming. However a grantee may choose to apply for a new area of programming and make the case that it has the expertise and capacity to implement new programming quickly and effectively. The Corporation recognizes that many current grantees are eligible for Recovery Act funding from other federal agencies that would complement their proposed AmeriCorps Recovery Act program. As with any AmeriCorps grant competition, grantees may request AmeriCorps positions without grant funds (sometimes referred to as an Education Award Only grant). For more than a decade, the Corporation for National and Community Service&#151;through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve programs&#151;has mobilized a new generation of engaged citizens. This year, more than 1.8 million individuals of all ages and backgrounds will serve through these programs. They will help thousands of national and community nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies meet local needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other critical areas. Roughly three quarters of all AmeriCorps grant funding goes to Governor-appointed state service commissions, which award subgrants to nonprofit organizations in their states. These organizations recruit AmeriCorps members to respond to local needs. The Corporation distributes most of the remainder of the grant funding directly to organizations operating in more than one state.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Agency Contact for Recovery Act
GrantorContactText: Amy Borgstrom &lt;br/&gt;Associate Director for Policy
CloseDateExplanation: To submit your application, access eGrants (www.americorps.gov/egrants), the Corporation&#146;s integrated, secure, web-based system for applications. See the 2009 Guidance for Applying for AmeriCorps State and National Recovery Act Grants for more information, including application instructions, found here: http://www.nationalservice.gov/recovery. The deadline for eGrants submissions is April 3, 2009, 5:00 pm Eastern Time.