RHODE ISLAND AMERICORPS
STATE NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Serve Rhode Island [formerly known as Rhode Island Service Alliance] is inviting applications for AmeriCorps State funding through a national competition for the 2009-2012 grant cycle.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
What is the purpose of this grant competition?
To enable Rhode Island agencies to establish and administer AmeriCorps initiatives that will address the most pressing educational, public safety, human, or environmental needs through national and community service, and to 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 Serve Rhode Island office by 2 p.m. on November 19, 2008.
How can I learn more about this funding opportunity?
AmeriCorps Application Instructions and Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO) can be downloaded from this website or from the website of the Corporation for National and Community Service. To download this an other documents please utilze the links below.
2009-12 CNCS AmeriCorps NOFO
2009-12 Rhode Island AmeriCorps NOFO
2009-12 State Application Instructions
AmeriCorps Regulations, 45 CFR §§ 2520-2550, can be found at the following web site: www.gpoaccess.gov/ecfr. Serve Rhode Island staff will conduct two information sessions to answer any questions you may have about this application process:
Info Session I September 29, 2008, 2:00p.m. Southside Providence Public Library
Info Session II October 1, 2008, 9:00 a.m. Rhode Island Foundation
RHODE ISLAND AMERICORPS
STATE APPLICATION GUIDELINES
The following guidelines contain parts of AmeriCorps Regulations that are central to this competition and outline requirements that are specific to Rhode Island. The State guidelines are in addition to the AmeriCorps Application Instructions. In cases where a discrepancy exists between Federal and State guidelines and instructions, State guidelines and instructions take precedence.
SERVICE ACTIVITIES
Direct Service
AmeriCorps members should be focused on providing direct service in the community, and it cannot be underscored enough that these activities must be responding to our state community's most compelling needs.
CFR45 § 2520.25 What direct service activities may AmeriCorps members perform?
(a) The AmeriCorps members you support under your grant may perform direct service activities that will advance the goals of your program, that will result in a specific identifiable service or improvement that otherwise would not be provided, and that are included in, or consistent with, your Corporation-approved grant application.
(b) Your members' direct service activities must address local environmental, educational, public safety (including disaster preparedness and response), or other human needs.
(c) Direct service activities generally refer to activities that provide a direct, measurable benefit to an individual, a group, or a community.
(d) Examples of the types of direct service activities AmeriCorps members may perform include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Tutoring children in reading;
(2) Helping to run an after-school program;
(3) Engaging in community clean-up projects;
(4) Providing health information to a vulnerable population;
(5) Teaching as part of a professional corps;
(6) Providing relief services to a community affected by a disaster; and
(7) Conducting neighborhood watch program as a public safety effort.
Capacity Building Activities
In some instances it may be permissible for members to engage in certain capacity building activities. Programs with 15 full-time members may have up to two members dedicated to capacity building. For every ten members beyond the first 15 full-time members, your agency may engage one additional full-time member in capacity building. For example, a corps of AmeriCorps members with 50 full-time members may have five members dedicated to capacity building.
CFR45 § 2520.30 What capacity-building activities may AmeriCorps members perform?
Capacity building activities that AmeriCorps members perform should enhance the mission, strategy, skills, and culture, as well as systems, infrastructure, and human resources of an organization that is meeting unmet community needs. Capacity building activities help an organization gain greater independence and sustainability.
(a) The AmeriCorps members you support under your grant may perform capacity-building activities that advance your program's goals and that are included in, or consistent with, your Corporation-approved grant application.
(b) Examples of capacity building activities your members may perform include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Strengthening volunteer management and recruitment, including:
(i) Enlisting, training, or coordinating volunteers;
(ii) Helping an organization develop an effective volunteer management system;
(iii) Organizing service days and other events in the community to increase citizen engagement;
(iv) Promoting retention of volunteers by planning recognition events or providing ongoing support and follow-up to ensure that volunteers have a high-quality experience; and
(v) Assisting an organization in reaching out to individuals and communities of different backgrounds when encouraging volunteering to ensure that a breadth of experiences and expertise is represented in service activities.
(2) Conducting outreach and securing resources in support of service activities that meet specific needs in the community;
(3) Helping build the infrastructure of the sponsoring organization, including:
(i) Conducting research, mapping community assets, or gathering other information that will strengthen the sponsoring organization's ability to meet community needs;
(ii) Developing new programs or services in a sponsoring organization seeking to expand;
(iii) Developing organizational systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness;
(iv) Automating organizational operations to improve efficiency and effectiveness;
(v) Initiating or expanding revenue-generating operations directly in support of service activities; and
(vi) Supporting staff and board education.
(4) Developing collaborative relationships with other organizations working to achieve similar goals in the community, such as:
(i) Community organizations, including faith-based organizations;
(ii) Foundations;
(iii) Local government agencies;
(iv) Institutions of higher education; and
(v) Local education agencies or organizations.
Recruitment of community volunteers
The Corporation for National & Community Service has identified a principal focus on the recruitment of volunteers for all AmeriCorps grantees. All AmeriCorps initiatives are required to recruit or support volunteers.
§ 2520.35 Must my program recruit or support volunteers?
(a) Unless the Corporation or the State commission, as appropriate, approves otherwise, some component of your program that is supported through the grant awarded by the Corporation must involve recruiting or supporting volunteers.
(b) If you demonstrate that requiring your program to recruit or support volunteers would constitute a fundamental alteration to your program structure, the Corporation (or the State commission for formula programs) may waive the requirement in response to your written request for such a waiver in the grant application.
Fundraising by AmeriCorps members
§ 2520.40 Under what circumstances may AmeriCorps members in my program raise resources?
(a) AmeriCorps members may raise resources directly in support of your program's service activities.
(b) Examples of fundraising activities AmeriCorps members may perform include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Seeking donations of books from companies and individuals for a program in which volunteers teach children to read;
(2) Writing a grant proposal to a foundation to secure resources to support the training of volunteers;
(3) Securing supplies and equipment from the community to enable volunteers to help build houses for low-income individuals;
(4) Securing financial resources from the community to assist in launching or expanding a program that provides social services to the members of the community and is delivered, in whole or in part, through the members of a community-based organization;
(5) Seeking donations from alumni of the program for specific service projects being performed by current members.
(c) AmeriCorps members may not:
(1) Raise funds for living allowances or for an organization's general (as opposed to project) operating expenses or endowment;
(2) Write a grant application to the Corporation or to any other Federal agency.
§ 2520.45 How much time may an AmeriCorps member spend fundraising?
An AmeriCorps member may spend no more than ten percent of his or her originally agreed-upon term of service, as reflected in the member enrollment in the National Service Trust, performing fundraising activities, as described in §2520.40.
§ 2520.60 What government-wide requirements apply to staff fundraising under my AmeriCorps grant?
You must follow all applicable OMB circulars on allowable costs (OMB Circular A87 for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments, OMB Circular A122 for Nonprofit Organizations, and OMB Circular A21 for Educational Institutions). In general, the OMB circulars do not allow the following as direct costs under the grant: Costs of organized fundraising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions.
Prohibited Activities
§ 2520.65 What activities are prohibited in AmeriCorps subtitle C programs?
(a) 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 proselytization;
(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.
(b) 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.
Please note that all member service activities, including fundraising, must be approved by Serve Rhode Island as part of the application review process.
STAFFING
AmeriCorps is a complex grant, and success demands a dedicated, hard-working and talented staff. The number of staff must be commensurate with the number of AmeriCorps members in service. However, all successful models include at least one full-time staff member. Thus, every new AmeriCorps proposal submitted to Serve must dedicate at least one full-time AmeriCorps staff member to program management this is a grant requirement, and no exceptions will be made. In addition, the following support helps ensure program success:
* Part or full-time staff may need to be dedicated to supervising members in the field because well-supervised members are the most effective.
* AmeriCorps members must be trained in the proposed service area so staff must be prepared to develop an effective member training program.
* AmeriCorps requires the maintenance of extensive files; consequently, administrative tasks absorb many staff hours, particularly at the beginning of each program year.
GRANT SIZE & TERM
The size of an AmeriCorps grant is based on the number of AmeriCorps members serving in the program. The maximum amount of federal funding available to a program is calculated by multiplying the maximum cost per full-time member set for that year by the number of full-time member slots or their equivalents. For 2009-20012, the maximum cost per full-time member for programs funded through Serve Rhode Island is $13,724. Please note that this amount is larger than the amount listed in the Federal Guidance and Application Instructions. Therefore, if your agency applies for 15 full-time members and 10 half-time members, your budget will total up to $274,480 per year [15 x $13,724 + 10 x $6,862]. Please note that 1% of federal funding is reserved for Serve Rhode Island administration.
If a program is allowed by AmeriCorps regulations to pay its members less than a minimum stipend (for 2009-2012, the minimum stipend is $11,400), the maximum cost per full-time AmeriCorps member is calculated by adding $2,624 to the amount of the stipend actually paid to each full-time member.
The grant cycle is three years, but continued funding in years two and three of the grant is contingent on performance. Generally, grant awards remain the same for each of the three years. Grantees may apply for multiple grant cycles.
WHAT CAN FEDERAL FUNDS BE USED FOR?
The vast majority of the grant supports member stipends (see details, below) and FICA. Funds are also used to support member health insurance. Remaining funds are used to defray the costs of staffing, training activities and other member development, evaluation, and program supplies.
ABOUT MEMBER STIPENDS AND MATCH
As noted above, the minimum member stipend for a full-time member for 2009-2012 program year is $11,400. Grantees are required to match federal funds. Minimum match on the stipend is 15% of the $11,400 minimum full-time stipend + any additional stipend your agency cares to provide. In addition to match requirements on the member stipend, applicants must match at least 33% of other expenses 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. If you have previously received AmeriCorps funding, your match requirements may be higher. Please refer to CFR 2521.35 2521.90 and speak with our Grants Officer, Cap Frank.
ARE THERE ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS AVAILABLE?
Up to five per cent of total federal grant funding is available for administrative expenses: up to 4% of the total grant may be utilized by the grantee to defray administrative expenses, and 1% is retained by Serve Rhode Island to help support the costs of the state's meta-evaluation as well as program and fiscal monitoring.
AMERICORPS EDUCATION AWARD
Each member who successfully completes the required service hours receives an education award. Full-time graduates who complete at least 1700 hours earn a $4,725 ed award, and half-time graduates who complete at least 900 hours of service earn $2,362. Education awards can be applied to federal student loan debt (Stafford, Ford direct, GSL, Perkins, Nursing, and Health Professions loans) and/or towards tuition for post-secondary education at Title IV vocational schools, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, and graduate school. (Title IV designation means that a school is qualified to offer Federal financial aid to its students.) Note: the education award for AmeriCorps members and childcare benefits offered to AmeriCorps members directly by the Corporation for National and Community Service are not included in the budget that your agency submits as part of your application for funding.
DETAILS ABOUT AMERICORPS MEMBERS
Recruitment
Your agency is responsible for recruiting members for its AmeriCorps program. As an applicant agency, you develop the criteria for participation, which allows you to build a team that is right for meeting the needs in the community you serve. That said, Serve Rhode Island is deeply committed to inclusivity. To this end, we expect agencies to recruit a cadre of members that reflect the diversity of the community being served. AmeriCorps members currently serving in Rhode Island represent people of diverse age, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, and disability. Serve Rhode Island makes particular efforts to support the recruitment of people with disabilities and has some funds available to assist with reasonable accommodation. Agencies that discriminate in their hiring practices on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religious beliefs or affiliation or a lack thereof, gender, sex, or sexual orientation are not eligible to apply for funding.
Member eligibility
§ 2522.200 What are the eligibility requirements foe an AmeriCorps perticipant?
(1) (i) Be at least 17 years of age at the commencement of service; or
(ii) Be an out-of-school youth 16 years of age at the commencement of service participating in a program described in §2522.110(b)(3) or (g);
(2) (i) Have a high school diploma or its equivalent; or
(ii) Not have dropped out of elementary or secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and must agree to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award; or
(iii) Obtain a waiver from the Corporation of the requirements in paragraphs (a)(2)(i) and (a)(2)(ii) of this section based on an independent evaluation secured by the program demonstrating that the individual is not capable of obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent; or
(iv) Be enrolled in an institution of higher education on an ability to benefit basis and be considered eligible for funds under section 484 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091);
(3) Be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident alien of the United States.
Please note that asylees, refugees, and other immigrants who have not received a "green card" (permanent legal resident status) cannot serve as AmeriCorps members.
Because we must work proactively to ensure that we help protect children and other service recipients, Serve Rhode Island requires, in accordance with state law, that grantee agencies perform background checks on its AmeriCorps members.
Characteristics of members
You can choose members to meet the needs of your agency. Sometimes the service you design for members requires special skills, and you may decide to require that applicants have at least a bachelor's degree. Other agencies see AmeriCorps a stop on the road to economic independence. Such programs may, for example, recruit members to assist pre-school teachers in preparation to becoming pre-school teachers themselves. If you do recruit members without a high school diploma or equivalency, your agency must provide or arrange for GED instruction for that member. Members pursuing GED's do so during their training time. In order to support members learning English, ESL/ESOL instruction must be offered/arranged for all members who wish or who are required by your program to take it. Successful programs have found having non-native speakers of English in their programs instrumental to working in diverse communities such as Providence, Central Falls and Woonsocket; often, AmeriCorps members are the only multi-lingual people present in the public schools or other service sites where they serve.
Professional development training for AmeriCorps members
AmeriCorps members are expected to be well trained for the tasks to which you assign them a well-prepared member is an effective member! In general, the better prepared a member is, the better s/he will help meet your organization's mission. To this end, AmeriCorps members need to be comprehensively trained in the issue areas you intend for them to help address in the community. Successful programs most often begin the year of service with 2-3 weeks of intensive pre-service training occurring within the first 6 weeks of service. After that, members are generally brought together for a full day of training on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, depending on the degree of expertise they require for service. Trainings also provide AmeriCorps members with a platform to share best practices and strategize on problem reconciliation. Members should be trained in CPR and first aid. Overall, up to 20% of members' service time can be spent on training, with the remaining 80% dedicated to direct service.
In addition to service training, AmeriCorps members are generally provided with support related to life after AmeriCorps. Many programs acknowledge that AmeriCorps members have given a year of their lives in service to their agency, and repay that effort with preparation and support related to academic or career goals of members. This focus on career development for AmeriCorps members is underscored in the Federal guidance. Serve Rhode Island helps AmeriCorps staff identify and develop appropriate training for members. Serve Rhode Island convenes monthly meetings for staff charged with member professional development, and training plans for a successful corps can be made available at your request.
Civic Development
The Corporation for National & Community Service has developed new requirements regarding members' civic development. Serve Rhode Island assists AmeriCorps programs with the civic education of members by hosting annual cross-corps training and reflection sessions on civic engagement. The sessions bring members from programs across the state together to discuss these issues in the spirit of intellectual freedom that encourages uninhibited exchange of ideas.
Tutoring
Programs that utilize members as tutors (or homework assistants) need to utilize a research-based curriculum. What this means is that members must use a common set of tutoring strategies that have been proven by educators to be effective. Most school districts already utilize standard curricula, and it behooves programs to use the curriculum that is used by the district in which members serve or the curriculum outlined in the Leave No Child Behind Act. Please also review the state standards for educational achievement that can be found on the Rhode Island Department of Elementary & Secondary Education's website.
Training in Disaster Preparedness
We recommend that all AmeriCorps programs train some or all members in disaster preparedness. The Federal government has expressed interest in AmeriCorps members being able to engage in low-risk support roles to aid in disasters. The Corporation for National & Community Service may express a preference for programs that engage members in this type of certification because it supports Homeland Security efforts. Members trained in disasters are not automatically assigned to aide in disasters just because they are trained. The decision to train AmeriCorps members in disaster preparedness is left with the applicant agency, and Serve Rhode Island advises you to make the best decision for your agency with the resources that you have available.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND PROGRAM EVALUATION
The regulations for Performance Measures and Evaluation are found in CFR 2522.500 through CFR 2522.810. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) applies a logic model to be used in the submission of these performance measures. See AmeriCorps Program Applicant Performance Measurement Toolkit found on the CNCS Resouces page.
Performance Measures
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) regulations require that applications for funding include, at a minimum, one set of aligned performance measures (one output, one intermediate-outcome and one end-outcome) that capture the results of your program's primary activity. (See CFR 2522.580). Outputs are defined as the amount or units of service that members or volunteers have completed. Intermediate outcomes and End outcomes, are defined as changes that have occurred in communities or in the lives of community beneficiaries because of the service provided by AmeriCorps.
CNCS encourages applicants to exceed the minimum requirements and expects in second and subsequent grant cycles, that previously funded applicants will more fully develop performance measures, including establishing multiple performance indicators whether aligned or not (CFR 2522.580c).
AmeriCorps performance measures relate to three measure categories:
Needs and Service Activities: refer to the service activities your members engage in that have a direct impact on individuals or the community;
Participant/Member Development: reflects what program staff provide for AmeriCorps members that enhance their personal or professional development; and,
Strengthening Communities: category refers to resource-building efforts such as recruiting volunteers and building partnerships.
Incorporating the CNCS' regulations, Serve Rhode Island specifically requires that applicants submit a minimum of:
1) one set of aligned performance measures (one output, one intermediate-outcome, one end-outcome) for the Needs and Services Activities measure category;
2) one performance measure (output only) for Participant/Member Development;
3) one performance measure (output only) for Strengthening Communities.
Evaluation
All AmeriCorps funded programs will be required to carry out an evaluation of their program that is inclusive of the performance measures. Serve Rhode Island will provide guidelines for evaluation reports. Recipients of grants larger than $500,000 are required to conduct an independent (outside) evaluation. Recipients of smaller grants need to have an in-house evaluation program. Serve Rhode Island is interested in evaluation only as it relates to continuous program improvement.
Grant applicants are strongly encouraged to read CFR 2522.500 through CFR2522.810 and visit these websites for further explanation of performance measures and evaluations visit the CNCS Resource page.
REVIEW PROCESS AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Please use the format outlined in the AmeriCorps 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 November 9, 2008 at the Serve Rhode Island office, 143 Prairie Ave. on the south side of Providence. Feel free to drop the packet off in person. You can Fed/Ex or UPS an application to our street address. If sending the application through USPS, please send it to P.O. Box 72822, Providence, RI 02907. Rhode Island competition for funds will take place one week later. Applicants will be notified at that time if their application will be advanced to the national competition. At that time applicants will be instructed to set up an account in eGrants the federal grants management system used by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Revisions/modifications are often necessary before an application can be advanced to the national competition and will be negotiated during the subsequent two weeks. For applicants advancing to the National competition, applications will then be submitted electronically to the Federal government by January 7, 2009. States expect to be notified of the results of the national competition by the end of May 2009. We will notify applicants the minute we learn about funding decisions.
FURTHER QUESTIONS?
Please attend one of the two information sessions hosted by Serve Rhode Island. Sessions are designed to help you develop a better understanding of AmeriCorps and the application process. You may also contact Serve Rhode Island staff at 401.331.2298 or by e-mail.
