June 9, 2008
2008-2009 RHODE ISLAND AMERICORPS PLANNING GRANT NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
The Rhode Island Service Alliance is seeking applications for AmeriCorps State funding through an AmeriCorps Planning Grant competition.
What is the purpose of this grant competition?
Grants will be funded to help organizations prepare implementation plans and a grant application for the January 2009 AmeriCorps competition.
Successful applications in the national competition will establish and administer AmeriCorps initiatives in Rhode Island that will address pressing environmental, public, human, safety or educational needs through direct service, and will provide AmeriCorps education awards to participants in such programs.
Who is eligible to Apply?
Non-profit and government agencies delivering services in Rhode Island. For profit organizations and non-profits designated by the IRS as 501(c)4 organizations are not eligible for AmeriCorps funding.
What is the due date?
Completed applications are due at the Rhode Island Service Alliance by 2 p.m. on July 9, 2008. We ask that all applicants indicate their intent to apply for planning grant funding no later than June 24, 2008 by sending an e-mail to info@riservicealliance.org with a brief (1-2 paragraphs) description of the program you intend to propose. This information will allow us to prepare to review your application.
What are the application requirements?
The main components of the application are:
Part I: SF-424/Application Facesheet
Part II: Budget Summary and Budget Narrative
Part III: Planning Grant Narrative
1. Executive Summary
2. Program Design
3. Organizational Capability
4. Cost Effectiveness and Budget 5. Adequacy
You will need to download the following documents from our web site (www.riservicealliance.org) to prepare your application:
You can also download AmeriCorps Application Instructions and Rhode Island Application Guidelines for the 2007-2008 grant year to learn more about the AmeriCorps. The deadline to apply for funding for a full-scale program for the 2007-2008 year has passed. Please note that instructions may change next year.
Please use the format outlined in the Rhode Island AmeriCorps Planning Grant Application Instructions to complete your application in paper form. Submit one executed unbound original and 7 copies of your full application by 2 p.m. on July 9, 2008 at the Service Alliance office, 143 Prairie Ave. on the South side of Providence. Feel free to drop the packet off in person. You can send your application to our street address by Fed/Ex, UPS or any other courier service. If sending the application through US Postal Service, please send it to P.O. Box 72822, Providence, RI 02907.
Is technical assistance available?
Please do attend one of the two information sessions hosted by the Service Alliance. The sessions will be held on:
These sessions are designed to help potential applicants develop a better understanding of AmeriCorps and the application process. You may also contact the Service Alliance staff at 401.331.2298 or by e-mail at info@riservicealliance.org.
How much funding is available?
We expect to issue up to $100,000 in grant awards with a strong preference for requests under $25,000. Planning grant proposals based on multi-agency partnerships or large-scale innovative programs may apply for up to $50,000 in funding.
What can federal funds be used for?
Planning grant funds can be used for:
• Assessment of needs and resources in the community;
• Attendance of periodic planning grant meetings at the Rhode Island Service Alliance;
• Reviewing/developing educational curricula;
• Forging collaborations and developing partnership agreements;
• Developing a program model that will best support AmeriCorps members, service recipients and host agencies while complying with federal requirements;
• Developing member recruitment, supervision and training plans for the 2009 competition;
• Developing operational plans for the AmeriCorps program;
• Traveling to appropriate conferences or to visit outstanding projects with like goals;
• Purchasing books/supplies to build a thoughtful program plan;
• Developing performance measures and evaluation plans and tools as appropriate;
• Piloting activities;
• Conducting focus groups;
• Other relevant activities.
Planning grant funds CANNOT be used for:
• Fundraising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions;
• Agency overhead/administration;
• Expenditures inconsistent with federal regulations for AmeriCorps funding.
You must follow all applicable OMB circulars on allowable costs (OMB Circular A-87 for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments, OMB Circular A-122 for Nonprofit Organizations, and OMB Circular A-21 for Educational Institutions).
Prohibited Activities
While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps program or the Corporation, staff and members may not engage in the following activities:
(1) Attempting to influence legislation;
(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes;
(3) Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing;
(4) Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements;
(5) Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office;
(6) Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials;
(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytizing;
(8) Providing a direct benefit to
(i) A business organized for profit;
(ii) A labor union;
(iii) A partisan political organization;
(iv) A nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 except that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and
(v) An organization engaged in the religious activities described in paragraph (g) of this section, unless Corporation assistance is not used to support those religious activities; and
(9) Such other activities as the Corporation may prohibit.
Individuals may exercise their rights as private citizens and may participate in the activities listed above on their initiative, on non-AmeriCorps time, and using non-Corporation funds. Individuals should not wear the AmeriCorps logo while doing so.
Is there a match requirement?
Applicants for planning grants must match at least 33% of operating expenses (budget Section I) with cash and/or in-kind resources (staff time counts as cash match). See additional details as well as guidance on match in AmeriCorps Application Instructions.
What is the timing of the review and grant award processes?
A peer review panel will be assembled to review applications soon after the July 9 application submission deadline. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of this review no later than July 21, 2008. The anticipated performance period for the planning grant is August 1, 2008 – December 2008.
What are the selection criteria?
Applications will be reviewed and selected for funding in accordance with the criteria used by the Corporation for National and Community Service to score applications in the national competition:
A. Program Design [50%]
• Rationale and Approach [10%]
• Member Outputs and Outcomes [20%]
• Community Outputs and Outcomes [20%]
B. Organizational Capability [25%]
C. Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy [25%]
• Cost Effectiveness [15%]
• Budget Adequacy [10%]
Detailed information about these criteria are outlined in 2008 AmeriCorps application instructions (page 6 – 13) which can be downloaded from out website, www.riservicealliance.org or the web site of the Corporation for National and Community Service, www.cns.gov.
What then?
The Rhode Island Service Alliance will meet individually with planning grantees to develop a specific scope of work, timeline, and deliverables for the grant. All prospective grantees will undergo a fiscal fitness screening before the grant award process. The grant award will be effective when both parties have executed the cooperative agreement. Grantees are expected to attend periodic meetings at the Rhode Island Service Alliance for technical assistance and to discuss progress to date.
