August 17, 2006
2006-2008 AmeriCorps Youth Service Corps
Notice of Funding Opportunity and Request for Proposals
The Rhode Island Service Alliance is accepting proposals to administer a statewide Youth Service AMERICORPS PROGRAM in the 2006-2008 two-year grant cycle. Each year, the program (code name Youth Serve RI!) will engage up to 200 AmeriCorps youth volunteers, ages 17-26, serving a minimum of 300 hours within a 12-month period. (Under special conditions, AmeriCorps members can be as young as 16 years old.)
The application deadline is 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, 2006. To facilitate a comprehensive review process, we request that all agencies planning to submit an application notify Rhode Island Service Alliance of their intent to apply for AmeriCorps funding by September 18, 2006.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
Local nonprofits, including labor, secular, and faith-based community organizations;
State and local units of government.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE GRANT?
AmeriCorps, the domestic version of Peace Corps, is the national service movement that seeks to engage Americans in sustained service in their communities. Through this grant, the Service Alliance seeks to accomplish the following:
broaden the network of national service programs and strategies in Rhode Island by creating a statewide Youth Service Corps;
increase the number of local organizations (both secular and faith-based) engaging young people in meeting the environmental, educational, public safety, homeland security, and other needs of their communities as part of the national service network;
encourage collaboration among youth-serving organizations.
Although a single agency would need to serve as a legal applicant, we expect that the initiative will be a collaborative effort among several organizations. (Because of the fairly large scale of the grant – up to 200 youth members serving at least 300 hours each within a 12-month period! – some form of inter-agency collaboration seems inevitable). Under the collaborative model, one legal applicant would be responsible for the overall administration of the grant, but AmeriCorps member slots would be divided among several partner organizations. Partner organizations (which can include high schools and/or individual classes within high schools) would provide youth corps members with structured service opportunities and supervision, facilitate securing member eligibility documentation, and provide other support in administering the program. This approach would allow small and medium-size youth-service agencies to request as few as seven to ten 300-hour AmeriCorps slots for their youth volunteers serving at least 300 hours within a 12-month period without having to apply for their own AmeriCorps grant, which would typically require a much larger service corps. (The actual minimum number of member slots would be determined by the legal applicant in consultation with partner organizations.)
WHAT DOES THE GRANT COVER?
The Service Alliance will provide up to $95,000 annually to administer a statewide AmeriCorps/Youth-Service Corps initiative. AmeriCorps funds require a 33% non-federal match and can be used to pay staff salaries and other expenses associated with the administration of the grant. This AmeriCorps grant does not provide funds for member stipends or health insurance. Rather, the grant provides education awards of $1000 to members who successfully complete the program by devoting at least 300 hours to meaningful community service in a year. (The education awards are in addition to the federal monies available for program administration.) Members who complete more than 300 hours of service may be eligible for higher education awards.) The education award can be used to cover education costs at qualified institutions of post-secondary education or training, or to repay qualified federal student loans. Members may also qualify for federal student loan forbearance during their term of service.
Grantees do not have to provide childcare, a living allowance, or healthcare to participants. Nor are grantees required to match the federal education award. If applicant organizations choose to provide such benefits, they must obtain funding to cover the costs from other sources. While not required, programs are encouraged to seek match funding for AmeriCorps education awards for the program participants.
STATE PRIORITIES, SELECTION CRITERIA, AND SELECTION PROCESS
One of the main purposes of the grant is to encourage and reward youth service and to deepen the commitment of youth to serving communities in need. Another purpose is to open the field of national service to new organizations, which, because of their small size, could not access national service funding in the past. Organizations addressing educational, environmental, public safety, health, and other human needs of Rhode Islanders through youth service are eligible to apply for funding under this grant.
To be selected to administer this grant, successful applicant(s) will have to demonstrate the following:
Organizational capacity to administer up to $95,000 in federal funds. RI Service Alliance performs a review of fiscal systems of all successful applicants before making final grant awards.
Ability to reach a wide variety of youth-serving agencies statewide, especially in underserved communities. Experience in creating/administering community service, service-learning, or youth volunteer programs is a plus, and so is knowledge of AmeriCorps.
Ability to raise non-federal match (33% of federal grant at a minimum).
Please note that administering the grant will require a considerable investment of staff time. Applicants must be prepared to hire new staff to administer the program or demonstrate how the grant can be successfully administered using the existing staff structure.
Applicants will need to download the following documents from our web site to complete an application:
The Facesheet, Budget Form, Budget Checklist (see application instructions), and signed Assurances and Certifications (see application instructions) will need to be submitted to the Service Alliance as part of the application.
Agencies interested in administering this grant need to submit an application (one original and five copies), prepared according to 2006 Rhode Island AmeriCorps Application Instructions for Education Award Programs by 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, 2006. Feel free to drop the packet off in person or have it delivered by a courier at our office on the South Side of Providence: 143 Prairie Ave., Providence RI 02905. If sending the application through US Postal Service, please send it to P.O. Box 72822, Providence, RI 02907.
All applications will go through peer review and staff review processes; applicants will be notified of funding decisions by October 13, 2006. Successful applicant(s) will be asked to make all changes recommended by the review panel and enter revised applications into an online grants management system. Program activities will commence as early as October 2006.
To facilitate a comprehensive review process, we request that all agencies planning to submit an application notify Rhode Island Service Alliance of their intent to apply for AmeriCorps funding by September 18, 2006.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY?
A public information session will be held August 29th at 1PM at the South Providence Branch of the Providence Public Library (441 Prairie Ave.). Service Alliance staff will also be available to provide technical assistance to all applicants. Please contact Maxim Fetissenko at max@riservicealliance.org or 401.331.2298 x11 if you have any questions about this grant.
If you experience difficulties downloading any of the files listed above, please send a message to info@riservicealliance.org and we will send them to you as attachments.
