2011 Emergency Request Memo

August 12, 2011

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Sharon Mar, Policy Analyst

OMB Desk Officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service

725 17^th Street, N.W. Room 10102

Washington, D.C. 20503

RE: Request for OMB Approval for Emergency Processing

Dear Ms. Mar:

Thank you for taking the time to review our application and request on such short notice. We have been working closely with OMB through the past months to prepare for submitting these application instructions in a new format, which aligns with our 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. We appreciate your time and attention to expediting the clearance of this collection no later than COB August 15, 2011.

As you know, the Corporation for National and Community Service (the “Corporation”) has amended several provisions relating to the AmeriCorps national service program, and has added rules to clarify the Corporation’s requirements for national performance measures, fixed amount grants, and grantmaking criteria to align with the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. In addition, the Corporation’s Board of Directors approved the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan on February 8. Since then, we have been working to identify the specific grantee performance measures that will roll up into the agency-wide performance measures outlined in the strategic plan. A final draft of the grantee performance measures were submitted to OMB for approval on July 26. In addition, we have been working to align the Notice of Funding Opportunity with the strategic plan. A final draft of the Notice was submitted for OMB’s review and approval on July 28.

The implementation of these changes includes ensuring the Corporation’s information collection instruments accurately reflect these issues. In an effort to be compliant while maintaining functions essential to the operations of each state commission and AmeriCorps programs, we are therefore submitting the enclosed request under 5 CFR 1320.13 to OMB for emergency processing and approval of information collection activities.

Public harm is reasonably likely to occur if normal clearance procedures are followed. It is essential to the mission of the Corporation, AmeriCorps, and the state commission grantees that grant Application Instructions are in place to provide enough lead time for commission outreach, resulting in the generation and submission of applications for the agency’s annual grant application review process.

States generally conduct their individual application and review processes for their subgrantees in the fall. Adding an extra thirty days to go through the regular OMB approval process will cause undue hardship and public harm as these State commissions will not be able to conduct their state-level competitions and prepare their submissions to the Corporation in a timely manner. In sum, we are requesting emergency approval by August 15, 2011 because a longer review will not allow states to apply for and receive funding in time to successfully and comprehensively administer funding competitions and manage their AmeriCorps programs.

The Corporation has not learned of any objections to the content of this submission from its grantees in extensive previous communication about these collection activities, and a 60 day comment period that ended April 5, 2011 and a 30 day comment period that ended May 12.

This submission includes one set of Application Instructions which includes instructions for AmeriCorps State and National grants. It also includes this letter, Supporting Justification, a copy of the Federal Register notice, a copy of the relevant statute, and sample eGrants screens that applicants use to submit the information.

Since the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, many Americans have expressed a renewed desire to serve their country by volunteering in their community. Now, we have an obligation to ensure that Americans have quality opportunities to serve. Moreover, as the Corporation and OMB have previously communicated, the Corporation is working hard to ensure it is fully compliant with the Paperwork Reduction Act and with OMB’s information collection policies and procedures.

If you have any questions, Amy Borgstrom is the Corporation’s contact, and she is available to assist you in completing this expedited process. She can be reached at 202-606-6930 or [email protected]. We sincerely thank you for your consideration of this request and your willingness to work with to fully comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Respectfully Submitted,

John Gomperts, Director, AmeriCorps State and National

Corporation for National and Community Service

Enclosures