AmeriCorps State and National Recovery Act Funding Applications Instructions

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Corporation for National and Community Service

AmeriCorps State and National Recovery Act Grants Application Instructions

(Pending OMB Approval)

1. What is the purpose of this guidance?
   
   

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’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).

2. Who is eligible for this funding?

Only current AmeriCorps grantees are eligible for these funds. A current grantee is any of the following with an operational grant as of February 17, 2009: National Direct, National Professional Corps, Indian Tribes, and National EAP grantees; programs in states and territories without commissions; and State Commission sub-grantees. Planning grantees are not eligible.

3. How much funding is available?

Available Funding

State Commission Formula	$ 29,311,000
State Commission Competitive	39,263,340
Territories	879,330
National Direct (including Professional Corps)	17,600,000
Indian Tribes	879,330
State and National Education Award Program	67,000
Reserve for childcare	1,000,000
Total	$ 89,000,000

4. What are the priorities for funding?

Programs addressing any of the AmeriCorps issue areas are welcome to apply but the selection process will give preference to the priority activities listed below. Successful applicants addressing the following activities will be required to collect data on Corporation-determined standard performance measures.

1. Employment and skills training

2. Tutoring and literacy

3. Financial literacy

4. Home foreclosures and housing assistance

5. Housing rehabilitation and access including weatherization and other energy-efficiency techniques

6. Healthcare access and delivery

7. Nonprofit capacity building and

8. Volunteer generation and management

5. May a grantee apply to carry out new activities not currently part of its program model?

CNCS expects grantees to 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 capacity to implement new programming quickly and effectively.

6. May a grantee apply for AmeriCorps member positions that will be supported by Recovery Act funding from another federal agency?

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, a grantee may request AmeriCorps positions without grant funds (sometimes referred to as an Education Award Only grant) to support these types of activities.

7. When are the applications due?

Applications are due on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 5pm Eastern Time in eGrants.

8. What is the project period?

Successful applicants will receive a one-year operating grants and will be expected to implement Recovery activities as soon as possible.

9. What are the selection criteria?

In evaluating Program Design, the Corporation will consider the impact your program will have in addressing issues created by the current economic crisis within the project period.

In evaluating Organizational Capability, the Corporation will consider whether your organization has the capacity to manage a grant of the size and scope requested, and your plans to increase capacity, if necessary.

In evaluating Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy, the Corporation will consider Cost per MSY; any match waiver request; and whether your budget is adequate to support your proposed activities.

10. What are additional considerations for this competition?

The Corporation will also take the following into consideration when making funding decisions:

• Alignment with priority areas.

• Success at meeting member enrollment and retention levels, and performance measures in prior grant periods;

• Geographic distribution to include regions most negatively affected by the economic crisis;

• Member start dates to ensure that the maximum number of members begin service as soon as possible;

• State commission assessment of its sub-grantees’ ability to manage the requested funding; and

• Commission capacity to manage an expanded portfolio.

11. How will match be addressed in this competition?

The Corporation has authority under the Recovery Act to use some of the appropriated funds to cover the non-Corporation share of AmeriCorps State and National program expenses if grantees need a waiver of the matching requirements. Grantees and applicants must demonstrate that there is a lack of resources at the local level.

Use the instructions in Appendix I for the following scenarios:

1. If your current program can’t meet the minimum required Grantee Share and you need Recovery Act funds to make up the difference. Recovery Act funds are available to avoid your having to downsize your member cohort or change your program design significantly in order to continue to operate. If approved for a match waiver and the additional funds, the Corporation will award the funds under a separate grant. Waiver recipients must track these funds separately from your current AmeriCorps grant. These funds are available for only one year.

2. If you are applying for Recovery Act funds to add additional members and cannot meet the full required match for the Recovery Act program augmentation. For example, if your required Grantee Share is 38% and you can only secure 34% for the Recovery grant, you may apply for a waiver of 4%. You should include the waiver request as part of your Recovery Act application. If approved for the additional members and the match waiver, the Corporation will award these funds under one separate grant. You may also include a request for Recovery Act funds to cover a portion of the grantee share, if necessary.

Do not apply for a waiver through this NOFA for your current grant if you don’t need additional funds to continue operating. Contact your Program and Grants officers for instructions on how to apply for a match waiver for your current grant when additional funds are not needed.

12. When will grants be awarded?

The Corporation anticipates announcing funding decisions and awarding grants at the beginning of May, except for formula grants, which will be awarded by mid-April.

Applicants may be contacted by Corporation staff to clarify aspects of their submission before grants are awarded.

13. What are the reporting requirements for Recovery funds?

Grantees will submit quarterly progress and financial reports that will be due 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, with the first report due October 7, 2009.

While Recovery Act funds can be used in conjunction with other funding as necessary to maximize programming results, tracking and reporting of these one-year grants must be separate from other grant funding and activities

Additionally, all grantees will report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services according to standard operating procedures.

HOW TO APPLY

Current grantees 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).

Please note that these application instructions are different than those used for your 2009 submissions. Technical eGrants guidance is not repeated here -- for that, please refer to the 2009 Application Instructions, which are archived here: http://www.americorps.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa_archive.asp. These instructions are available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/recovery.

Applications must be submitted using eGrants, the Corporation’s integrated, secure, web-based system for grant application and management. To create and submit an application, access eGrants at http://www.nationalservice.gov/egrants. If you experience technical difficulties with eGrants, contact the eGrants Help Desk at 1-888-677-7849 or [email protected] immediately.

Grant types and the applicable eGrants NOFA are:

Grant Type	eGrants NOFA Name
State and Territory Competitive	Commission AmeriCorps State Recovery FY 2009
State Commission Formula	Commission AmeriCorps State Recovery FY 2009
State EAP	Commission AmeriCorps State Recovery FY 2009 or Commission Education Award Recovery Program FY 2009 Note: Commissions may choose to fund their EAP programs out of theirRecoery formula funds, or to submit EAPs for funding as part of their EAP or competitive Recovery package.
States without Commissions	AmeriCorps States without Commissions Recovery FY 2009 (PR & SD Only)
Territories without Commissions	AmeriCorps Territories Recovery FY 2009
National Direct	AmeriCorps National Direct Recovery FY 2009
National Professional Corps	AmeriCorps National Direct Recovery FY 2009
National EAP	AmeriCorps National Education Award Program Recovery FY 2009 or AmeriCorps National Direct Recovery FY 2009 Note: A National EAP grantee may choose to apply for a one-year stipended AmeriCorps Recovery grant.
Indian Tribes	AmeriCorps Indian Tribes Recovery FY 2009

1. Content and Form of Application

The narrative and budget must cover the one-year project period for which the applicant is requesting funding. The maximum length for the application is 12,500 characters, or approximately five pages. If you are not submitting a match waiver request, your application shouldn’t be more than three pages, or 7,500 characters.

Your eGrants application consists of the following components.

1. Applicant Info

2. Application Info

3. Narrative

4. Performance Measures

5. Detailed Budget

6. Authorization, Assurances and Certifications

In eGrants:

• Start a new Grant Application.

• Select a Program Area (AmeriCorps).

• Select a NOFA (see the chart above).

**State sub-applicants also do the following:

• Select your State

• Select your State Prime Application ID

1. Applicant Info

• Update your organization’s contact information as necessary.

• In the Program Info Section, select “New.”

• Add ‘Recovery’ to your Project Title so that you will easily be able to distinguish it.

2. Application Info

• Enter the counties and states that will be served by your program.

• Enter a one-year proposed project period. Please note that preference will be given to programs whose members would start service the earliest.

• Complete the other sections as you have in the past.

3. Narrative

Program Design

• Describe the amount of funding, and the number and type of AmeriCorps member positions requested.

• Provide a brief program implementation timeline that includes proposed member start and end dates.

• If proposing the same program design that is currently funded by the Corporation:

• State that you are planning to do so,

• Discuss the intended impact on problems created by the economic crisis, and

• Provide a brief description of how you will modify your ’09 member recruitment plan to meet the needs of an augmented program

• If proposing a different program design than is currently funded:

• Summarize the proposed program,

• Identify the target community counties to be served,

• Describe the intended impact on problems created by the economic crisis, and

• Describe your member recruitment plan.

**A current formula-funded state commission sub-grantee being forwarded to the Corporation as a competitive Recovery program should follow the instructions for grantees proposing a different program design.

Organizational Capability

• Describe your organization’s capacity to manage expanded programming in ’09, including:

• Ensuring adequate staffing for recruitment, program oversight and member supervision.

• Tracking Recovery Act funding and activities separately from other funding and activities, and

• Meeting the additional reporting requirements.

• If you are proposing a different program focus than that which is currently funded by the Corporation, describe your organization’s experience in the proposed areas of activity.

Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy

• Describe how you will leverage non-Corporation funds in support of the proposed program.

• For non-EAPs: If your budgeted Corporation cost per MSY is more than $500 above your current AmeriCorps program’s cost per MSY, provide a justification.

• For EAPs: If your budgeted Corporation cost per MSY is more than $250 above your current AmeriCorps program’s cost per MSY, provide a justification.

• If you are requesting a match waiver, please see section 11 above and Appendix I.

4. Performance Measures

You must propose at least one output or outcome that will be achieved by the end of the one-year project period. The Corporation has already specified those performance measures for programs within its Recovery Act priority areas. The Corporation-defined performance measures can be found in Appendix II.

5. Budget

Your proposed budget should be sufficient to allow you to perform the tasks described in your proposal narrative. The budget instructions are the same as those for FY 09 AmeriCorps grant applications.

6. Authorization, Assurances and Certifications

eGrants requires that you review and verify your entire application before submitting, by completing the following sections:

• Review

• Authorize

• Assurances

• Certifications

• Verify

• Submit

2. Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)

Update your Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) information at www.dnb.com as necessary.

2. Central Contractor Registration (CCR)

Central Contractor Registration (CCR) is the primary registrant database for the U.S. Federal Government. CCR collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of Federal agency contracts, grant awards, cooperative agreements, and other forms of federal assistance. All Recovery Act recipients and sub-recipients are required to register. Further details can be found in Appendix III.

We urge applicants that do not already have CCR registrations to begin that process immediately in order to avoid any delays in submitting your application.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STATE COMMISSIONS

In order to submit your application packages to the Corporation, you must set up a new Prime Application for your Competitive, State EAP and Formula Recovery applications.

Although Recovery funds will be awarded as separate grants, this is largely due to the need for separate reporting processes. It is not our expectation that state commissions would initiate a special grant competition to determine which programs would be augmented with Recovery funds.

When determining which competitive applications to forward to the Corporation, and which programs to fund with your formula allocation, please take into account the performance expectations and high degree of transparency and accountability for Recovery Act funds. The grantees you select should have a strong track record.

Recommendation Summaries

For each application that you are submitting to the Corporation, provide your assessment of that program’s ability to successfully manage a Recovery grant in addition to their regular ’09 AmeriCorps programming.

Match Waiver Requests

Please review any match waiver requests and only submit those with which you concur. If a funding adjustment is needed for any of your Recovery formula programs due to the Corporation’s approval of a match waiver request, the shortfall will be covered by your Recovery formula allocation.

Recovery Formula Submission

You will receive the Recovery formula allocation chart separately by e-mail. Your Recovery formula funds can be used for any of your current operational grantees (formula, EAP or competitive). You may request the total number of MSYs and slots you deem appropriate for your programs, given the funding available to you. We acknowledge that it will be challenging for you to make Recovery formula decisions without knowing the results of the Recovery competitive process.

Recovery formula programs will be subject to the requirements outlined elsewhere in these instructions including the submission of quarterly financial and progress reports, and adopting and collecting data on Corporation-determined performance measures.

Reallocation of Unrequested Recovery Formula Funds

Any unrequested Recovery formula funds will be reallocated to commissions who request and qualify for additional funds. To qualify for additional Recovery formula funding, a commission must:

• request its full base allocation of FY 2009 Recovery formula funding;

• demonstrate the capacity to utilize additional formula funds effectively through grants to local programs identified in the request; and

• be free of outstanding compliance or audit issues that would preclude an award of additional Recovery formula funds.

To expedite the reallocation process, if you would like to request additional Recovery formula funds your Recovery formula request in eGrants should reflect the total amount that you would utilize, if available (base allocation plus desired additional amount).

Once the Corporation has received all Recovery formula requests and knows the amount of unrequested funds, it will apply the population-based formula to determine the amount of additional funds available to commission requesting them. Each affected commission will then work with its program officer to adjust its eGrants application accordingly to equal the available funds.

Recovery formula submissions, including requests for supplemental funds, are due at the same time as your Recovery competitive prime application.

APPENDIX I - MATCH WAIVER INSTRUCTIONS

Follow these instructions to enter the required information in eGrants.

Scenario 1 Instructions: Use these instructions if your current program can’t meet the minimum required Grantee Share and you need Recovery Act funds to make up the difference.

1. Create a new application under the appropriate Recovery Act NOFA in eGrants.

2. In the dropdown menu for Program Initiatives on the Applicant screen select the following: Match Waiver Request

3. Use the Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy narrative field to provide the information listed below. Limit your narrative to no more than 2 pages or 5,000 characters.

• Identify the program for which you are requesting a waiver by program name and grant number.

• Compare current economic conditions to conditions last year or two years ago. Demonstrate that resources have decreased by including information such as unemployment, poverty, job loss or foreclosure rates, or decreased lending and grant-making in the area.

• Describe the steps you took to generate non-federal resources.

• List the original sources of matching support from your approved application and budget that are no longer available and describe the reasons why you no longer have those resources.

• Include the amount of match raised to date.

• Explain why the funds are needed, e.g. to avoid a reduction in the number of members in your program or a significant change in program design.

• Identify the specific amount of match to be waived and the amount of Corporation funds needed to make up the difference

• Note: You will need to type ‘NA’ into the narrative fields that you are not using, including in the Performance Measures section.

4. Budget Instructions: To complete the budget, you only need to enter the amount of Recovery Act Funds needed in the Corporation Share column in Section I, “Other Program Operating Costs” as a line item labeled “Waiver Amount Requested.”

Scenario 2 Instructions: Use these instructions if you are requesting a match waiver and/or federal funds for the grantee share for just a Recovery Act grant or for a Recovery Act grant and your current grant.

1. Create a new application under the appropriate Recovery Act NOFA in eGrants.

2. In the dropdown menu for Program Initiatives on the Applicant screen select the following: Recovery Grant and Match Waiver Request

3. Use the Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy narrative field to provide the information listed below.

• If you are requesting funds for your current grant, identify the program for which you are requesting the waiver. Include both the program name and current grant number.

• Compare current economic conditions to conditions last year or two years ago. Demonstrate that resources have decreased by including information such as unemployment, poverty, job loss or foreclosure rates, or decreased lending and grant-making in the area.

• For a waiver request for your Recovery grant, describe the sources of match you do have and why the resources you had for your current grant are not available.

• For the waiver request for your current grant, list the original sources of matching support from your approved application and budget that are no longer available and describe the reasons why you no longer have those resources.

• Describe the steps you will take to generate non-federal resources.

• Identify the specific amount of match to be waived and the amount of Corporation funds needed to make up the difference (if necessary)

4. Budget Instructions: Complete the budget as if your match waiver request was already approved. For example, if you need the Corporation to cover 95% of the living allowance, complete the Corporation Share for 95% of the total and the Grantee Share column for 5% of the living allowance. If you are also requesting a specific amount of waiver for your current grant, show that amount separately by entering it in the Corporation Share column in Section I, Other Program Operating Costs, in a line item labeled “Current Grant Waiver Request.”

APPENDIX II – REQUIRED PRIORITY AREA PERFORMANCE MEASURES

The attachment to this guidance identifies the information to be entered into eGrants for each of these performance measures.

Employment and Skills Training Programs

1. Outcome – number of clients receiving employment and skills training and counseling.

2. Outcome – number of clients placed in jobs.

Tutoring and Literacy

1. Outcome – number of hours of tutoring and literacy services provided to clients.

2. Outcome – number of clients receiving tutoring and literacy services.

3. Outcome – number of clients with improved academic success.

Financial Literacy

1. Outcome – number of clients receiving services related to financial literacy.

Home Foreclosures and Housing Assistance

1. Outcome – number of clients receiving services related to home foreclosures and housing assistance programs.

2. Outcome – number of clients who are able to remain in their housing.

Housing Rehabilitation and Access

1. Outcome – number of clients receiving housing rehabilitation, weatherization and efficient-energy services.

2. Outcome – number of existing homes and structures rehabilitated, weatherized or made more energy-efficient.

3. Outcome – number of homes and structures made accessible for disabled persons.

4. Outcome – number of homeless individuals transitioned into affordable housing.

Healthcare Access

1. Outcome – number of clients receiving information on health insurance, health care access and health benefits programs.

2. Outcome – number of clients enrolled in health insurance and health benefits programs.

Nonprofit Capacity Building

1. Outcome – Increase in the number of clients served from prior year.

2. Outcome – Increase in the number of services offered to clients from the prior year.

Volunteer Generation and Management

1. Outcome – number of community volunteers recruited to address needs in their communities.

2. Outcome – number of clients served by community volunteers.

APPENDIX III - CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION

Central Contractor Registration (CCR) is the primary registrant database for the U.S. Federal Government. CCR collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of Federal agency contracts, grant awards, cooperative agreements, and other forms of federal assistance. To complete the CCR, you and your sub-recipients will be required to submit detailed information on your organization in various categories which are relevant to federal procurement and financial transactions:

• General Information – Includes DUNS number, organization name, EIN, location, receipts, employee numbers, and web site address.

• Corporate Information – Includes organization type (i.e., state government, non-profit, etc) and socioeconomic characteristics.

• Goods and Services Information – Includes NAICS code, SIC code, Product Service (PSC) code, and Federal Supply Classification (FSC) code.

• Financial Information – Includes financial institution, American Banking Association (ABA) routing number, account number, remittance address, lock box number, automated clearing house (ACH) information, and credit card information.

• Point of Contact (POC) Information – Includes the primary and alternate points of contact and the electronic business, past performance, and government points of contact.

You can register online at http://www.ccr.gov. Registration takes approximately one hour to complete, depending on the size of your organization. You can find details on the specific requirements and instructions on how to register in the CCR Handbook which is available at http://www.ccr.gov/Handbook.aspx. You must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin the registration process. To obtain a DUNS number or update information on your existing DUNS number, go to http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.

CCR validates the registrant information and electronically shares the secure and encrypted data with the federal agencies’ finance offices to facilitate paperless payments through electronic funds transfer (EFT). Additionally, CCR shares the data with federal government procurement and electronic business systems. This is a one-time registration; however, you must update or renew your registration at least once per year to maintain an active status.

APPENDIX IV - OMB REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

(Excerpt from Sec. 2.9 of OMB’s Initial Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009)

What reporting will be collected from recipients of Federal funding for reporting on Recovery.gov?

The Recovery Act and this guidance require extensive reporting from recipients of Federal funding. The Recovery Act defines “recipient” as any entity that receives Recovery Act funds directly from the Federal Government (including Recovery Act funds received through grant, loan, or contract) other than an individual and includes a State that receives Recovery Act funds. See Section 1512 of the Recovery Act.

As required by Section 1512 of the Recovery Act and this guidance, each recipient, as described above, is required to report the following information to the Federal agency providing the award 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, with the first report due on July 10.

These reports will include the following data elements, as prescribed by the Recovery Act:

1. The total amount of recovery funds received from that agency;

2. The amount of recovery funds received that were obligated and expended to projects or activities. This reporting will also included unobligated Allotment balances to facilitate reconciliations.

3. A detailed list of all projects or activities for which recovery funds were obligated and expended, including--

1. The name of the project or activity;

2. A description of the project or activity;

3. An evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity;

4. An estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained by the project or activity; and

5. For infrastructure investments made by State and local governments, the purpose, total cost, and rationale of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment with funds made available under this Act, and name of the person to contact at the agency if there are concerns with the infrastructure investment.

(4) Detailed information on any subcontracts or subgrants awarded by the recipient to include the data elements required to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-282), allowing aggregate reporting on awards below $25,000 or to individuals, as prescribed by the Director of OMB.

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