Universal Application Revised for SAA 11.13.09

Application Instructions

The applicant must provide a well-designed plan with a clear and compelling justification for awarding the requested funds.  The narratives must cover the three year project period for which the applicant is requesting approval.

The completed application will consist of the following components, described in more detail below:

1. Standard Form 424 Facesheet

2. Executive Summary (maximum length – 2,000 characters)

3. Narratives:  (maximum length for combined narratives – 23,000 characters)

1. Program Design

2. Organizational Capacity

3. Budget/Cost Effectiveness

1. Standard Form 424A Budget

5. Authorization, Assurances, and Certifications

6. Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants (Optional)

1. Facesheet. You can find the Standard Form 424 and instructions here: http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa.asp.

Applications must include a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number on the Standard Form 424

2. Executive Summary. Summarize your proposed project in 2,000 characters or less.

3. Narratives. Please address the following elements in your narrative:

a. Program Design

Describe your approach to addressing the need or problem described in the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity. Your strategy should address the following:

Goals and Objectives. What are your proposed project’s proposed goals and objectives? What are the expected outcomes and how will you measure them? What is the connection between the community need(s) you describe and the approach you are proposing? In describing the strategy, address the following:

• Who is the target population or beneficiaries of this proposed project?

• Why will this approach be successful and why is it more promising than other alternative approaches?

Community Resources. Your strategy to secure matching funds should address the following:

• How will you use existing community resources, such as other service or community organizations, community volunteers, to implement your approach?

• How will the proposed program benefit the community?

• How will the program collaborate with organizations in your community and beyond?

Description of Activities. Please describe in detail the activities of the proposed program and provide a timeline for the activities.

b. Organizational Capacity

Describe your capacity to implement and manage the proposed program. Your description should address the following:

Ability to Provide Program Oversight. Describe the experience and infrastructure your organization has in managing similar programs.

Ability to Provide Fiscal Oversight. Describe the experience and infrastructure your organization has in managing grants. What is your current organizational budget? What percentage of the budget would this grant represent? How will you ensure compliance with Federal requirements?

c. Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy

Budget and Program Design. Explain how the proposed program budget reflects the program’s goals and design.

Match Sources. The Notice will include information about match. If match is required, list your planned sources of match.

4. Budget. You can find the Standard Form 424A and instructions here: http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa.asp

4. Authorization, Assurances, and Certifications. Authorize and certify your application in eGrants.

6. Equal Opportunity Survey: Applicants are asked to complete the Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants. You can find this Survey at http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa.asp.

Reporting Questions

On an annual basis you will be expected to respond to the following reporting questions.

Section I: Demographic Information

This section contains a list of demographic indicators of interest to the Corporation and our stakeholders. To complete this section, enter as accurate an estimate as possible for each indicator that is relevant to your program design. If you do not collect data on an indicator because it is not relevant to your program design, enter a zero (0) in that field.

All grantees are required to report the total number of leveraged volunteers and number of volunteer hours.

Please note that you are not required to report on every indicator other than the three required elements. However, if your program includes these types of leveraged volunteers or target groups, include an estimate of their totals.

Indicator	Definition	Number
REQUIRED Leveraged volunteers	Number of volunteers of all ages who were recruited, coordinated, or supported by your Corporation-funded programs.
REQUIRED Volunteer hours	Number of hours leveraged volunteers served during the reporting period.
Leveraged Volunteers
Disadvantaged children and youth	Number of disadvantaged children and youth who served as leveraged volunteers. Disadvantaged children and youth are those up to age 25 with exceptional or special needs (as defined in part 2552.12 (f) and (g) of the DVSA regulations1), or who are economically disadvantaged and for whom one or more of the following apply:  1) out-of-school, including out-of-school youth who are unemployed; 2) in or aging out of foster care; 3) limited English proficiency; 4) homeless or have run away from home; 5) at-risk to leave school without a diploma; and 6) former juvenile offenders or at risk of delinquency.
College students	Number of individuals who served as leveraged volunteers who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program at a community, professional, or technical college, or within an undergraduate or graduate program at a college or university.
Baby Boomers	Number of individuals born between 1946 and 1964 who served as leveraged volunteers.
Populations Served
Disadvantaged children and youth	Number of disadvantaged children and youth served (see definition above).
Children of incarcerated parents	Number of children and youth up to age 25, who had one or both parents or legal guardians serving or having served a period of time in jail and/or prison. You should only report the number of children of incarcerated parents served by programs designed to work with this population.
Individuals mentored	Number of formal, sustained relationships established between an older or more experienced person and a younger or less experienced person for the purpose of academic, social, or career support. This does not include the relationship between a teacher and his or her students in a classroom setting. If your program supports mentors who work with multiple mentees, please report total number of individuals mentored.
Independent living services	Number of clients who received independent living services, including respite care, to help them live independently in their homes in community-based settings.
Disaster preparedness and response	Number of community members who receive assistance from members responding to disasters and participating in recovery.

Section II: Performance Measures

If required, the performance measures from approved applications will automatically populate the Grantee Performance Report in eGrants, including the sections for Need, Activity, Activity Dates, Result, Result Statement, and Indicator. Grantees will report on each measure separately. To complete this section, enter the following information for each performance measure:

• Target Actual to Date: In this field, enter a numerical value documenting the actual progress towards the measure. For example, if the program anticipated tutoring 500 students in reading during the reporting period, specify the number of students that were actually tutored.

• Progress toward Measure: You may elaborate on the program’s progress toward a measure in this field, but should not use this field to explain unmet targets or describe correction actions. This field is not required.

• Challenges/Corrective Actions: For each target that a program did not reach, explain why it did not reach the target and the corrective actions that will be carried out to improve performance. This field is required if a program did not reach a target.

Section III: Narratives

In this section, describe activities from the reporting period in more detail. Focus your remarks as described below. Please limit each narrative to 10,000 characters or less, including punctuation and spaces or approximately 1-3 pages in length.

12. Successes and Challenges

Describe any factors that have positively or negatively influenced program performance. Please consider your entire portfolio, and include examples from particular sites, if applicable, to illustrate the trends that you see affecting your portfolio. The discussion may include but is not limited to enrollment, retention, recruitment, training, supervision, program and financial management, systems, data collection, evaluation, capacity building, and resource development, including raising match funds.

Please describe progress toward securing match. Describe efforts to ensure the sustainability of programming beyond the grant period. This may include a list of match sources, strategic partnerships, in-kind resources, or capacity building efforts. In particular, focus on successful strategies that may be useful to other grantees.

2. Great Stories

This section is optional. Share great stories. Highlight activities which are especially reflective of the impact the program has in the community or which illustrate an innovative or highly successful aspect of program operation.

3. Activities Related to Corporation Strategic Initiatives

If programs or sites have addressed any of the Corporation Strategic Initiatives particularly effectively, describe these activities here. The Corporation’s Strategic Initiatives are:

• Mobilizing more volunteers

• Ensuring a brighter future for all of America’s youth

• Engaging students in communities

• Harnessing Baby Boomers’ experience

• Disaster preparedness and response

Section IV: Review and Submit

Please review the report carefully before submitting. Your Program Officer will review and provide feedback, using eGrants, in a timely fashion.

5. Burden

Total Respondents: 2,000.

Frequency: Depending on the availability of appropriations.

Average Time Per Response: Application averages 8 hours. Reporting averages 8 hours.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 32,000 hours.

1 2552.12 (f) Children with exceptional needs. Children who are developmentally disabled, such as those who are autistic, have cerebral palsy or epilepsy, are visually impaired, speech impaired, hearing impaired, orthopedically impaired, are emotionally disturbed or have a language disorder, specific learning disability, have multiple disabilities, other significant health impairment or have literacy needs. Existence of a child’s exceptional need shall be verified by an appropriate professional.

2552.12 (g) Children with special needs. Children who are abused or neglected; in need of foster care; adjudicated youth; homeless youths; teen-age parents; and children in need of protective intervention in their homes. Existence of a child's special need shall be verified by an appropriate professional.

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