OpportunityTitle: Volunteer Management
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: The Corporation wants to ensure that all eligible organizations are able to compete on an equal basis for federal financial assistance.  Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to nonprofit organizations, including national intermediaries; state commissions on service; volunteer centers; institutions of higher education; national or regional education agencies; educational institutions; faith-based and other community organizations; and private foundations.  We encourage applications from organizations not currently receiving Corporation funding as well as from organizations that are now receiving funds under the programs of the Corporation, including AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and Senior Corps.     We expect the successful applicants will demonstrate how these grants and the proposed project will have a large-scale scope and leverage significant impact within their organization&#146;s network or amongst a group of collaborating organizations.  Organizations are encouraged to collaborate with existing volunteer connector organizations in planning and implementing their proposed activities.  Volunteer connectors are organizations that specialize in assisting individuals or groups with finding appropriate volunteer opportunities while also providing organizations that use volunteers with services such as recruitment support and training and technical assistance related to volunteer management.    We encourage submissions from organizations with little or no experience with federal grants, where our investment could dramatically improve volunteer management capacity and infrastructure.  We encourage applicants to apply that have not received Corporation funding in the past. Eligible faith-based and other community-based organizations are encouraged to apply.      Organizations that currently operate a Corporation-funded program or are applying for other Corporation funding are eligible applicants.  However, applicants must differentiate between this grant&#146;s proposed activities and those of the currently-funded program or pending application.
Description: The Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) announces the availability of up to $800,000 for grants to support the efforts of national and statewide nonprofit organizations to increase volunteer retention and expand the use volunteers to address societal challenges. Grants may range in size from approximately $50,000 to $200,000. The purpose of this grant competition is to assist national, regional, and statewide nonprofit organizations in planning for and implementing activities within their networks and communities to:&#149; increase volunteer retention;&#149; expand current use of volunteers by creating new volunteer roles and recruiting the appropriate volunteers to fill them; &#149; improve both the impact of volunteers&#146; activities and how that impact is measured; and&#149; develop strategies that sustain the impact and results associated with the project after the conclusion of Corporation funding.Examples of the types of activities this grant may support include:&#149; assessing current volunteer use and management practices; &#149; designing competency-based volunteer roles and descriptions;&#149; engaging stakeholders in collaborative planning and implementation processes; &#149; developing new or improved measurement systems to track the impact of volunteers; &#149; conducting recruitment activities or developing strategic partnerships to attract the appropriate volunteers to fill newly created volunteer roles; and&#149; implementing volunteer management practices -- such as screening, orientation, training, and recognition -- to increase retention. Applicants should demonstrate how their proposed project would, over a two-year period, significantly improve retention, expand their current use of volunteers, and help them improve and better measure the impact of their volunteers. Organizations are encouraged to collaborate with existing volunteer connector organizations in planning and implementing their proposed activities. Volunteer connectors are organizations that specialize in assisting individuals or groups with finding appropriate volunteer opportunities while also providing organizations that use volunteers with services such as recruitment support and training and technical assistance related to volunteer management.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Official email box for this competition and phone number for the Volunteer Management Competition.
GrantorContactText: Corporation for National &amp; Community Service &lt;br/&gt;Special Initiatives Hotline  &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-606-7507
CloseDateExplanation: Please submit an email stating your intent to apply to volunteermanagement@cns.gov by August 15 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  This is not required, but helps us plan the review of the applications. This Notice, with the complete application instructions and other relevant material, is available on the Corporation&#146;s website at http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa.asp or by e-mailing volunteermanagement@cns.gov.    The deadline for applications is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 6, 2007.  Applications submitted by e-mail or fax will not be accepted.      Applications are to be submitted electronically using eGrants, the Corporation&#146;s integrated, secure, web-based system for applications. You may access eGrants at  http://www.nationalservice.gov/egrants/index.html.     If you cannot submit an application electronically due to technical difficulties or limitations, submit a paper application, together with an electronic version of the application on a CD Rom postmarked by the September 6, 2007 to facilitate data entry into the eGrants system, to the following address: Corporation for National and Community Service, 1201 New York Avenue, N.W., Box Volunteer Management, Washington, D.C., 20525.