2011 Grantee Progress Report

AmeriCorps State and National

Grantee Progress Report Instructions

How will the Corporation use the information reported?

The AmeriCorps Grantee Progress Report provides information that Corporation staff use to monitor grantee performance. Additionally, data may be used to respond to requests from Congress and other stakeholders, and some information (particularly Great Stories and demographic information), may be used to promote service.

What information is required?

The AmeriCorps Grantee Progress Report consists of three sections: Demographic Information, Performance Measures, and Narratives. Please complete the report using eGrants http://www.nationalservice.gov/egrants/, the Corporation’s integrated, secure, web-based system for applications, and follow these instructions. Note that, in some cases, the instructions differ for AmeriCorps State Commission and AmeriCorps National grantees.

Step 1: Log into eGrants: http://www.nationalservice.gov/egrants/

After you log in, select the Progress Report link in the bottom right corner of your home page screen.

Step 2: Select the appropriate progress report.

Under the heading Progress Report for Existing Grants you will see a list of your grants. Find the appropriate grant number that includes the 2010 - 2011 program year, and click on the orange arrow key to right of the grant number.

Find the progress report with the correct due date, and click on the edit link. You will be taken to the main progress report screen.

If you don’t see a report listed with the correct due date, please let your program officer know.

Ignore the language on this screen regarding due dates.

Step 3: Enter 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, number of volunteer hours, and the total number of individuals that applied to be AmeriCorps members.

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.

For State Commissions Only: You may enter the demographic data for your formula and your competitive subgrantees in the formula GPR. Enter N/A in the Section I fields in your competitive GPR.

Indicator	Definition	Number
REQUIRED Applicants	Number of individuals who applied to be members.
REQUIRED Leveraged volunteers	Number of volunteers of all ages who were recruited, coordinated, or supported by your Corporation-funded programs. Leveraged volunteers do not include AmeriCorps members.
REQUIRED Volunteer hours	Number of hours leveraged volunteers served during the reporting period.
Populations Served
Children and youth	Number of children and youth served.
Veterans and military families	Number of veterans and military family members served
Disaster Services
Disaster preparedness and response	Number of community members who receive assistance from members responding to disasters and participating in recovery.
Disaster preparedness and response	Number of disasters to which members have reported.
Disaster preparedness and response	Number of AmeriCorps members who responded to disasters.
Populations Engaged in National Service
	Number of veterans enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of new Americans enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of low-income individuals enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of rural residents enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of older Americans enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of members of faith-based organizations enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of members of communities of color enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of Native Americans enrolled as national service participants.
	Number of persons with disabilities enrolled as national service participants.

Step 4. Enter National Performance Measures

Following is guidance for reporting on national performance measures if you or one or more of your sub-grantees is participating in the National Performance Measures Pilot. If this does not apply to you skip to Step 5.

National Programs (National Directs, EAP, Indian Tribe, States without Commissions, and Territory Grantees)

Each of your performance measures from your approved grant application will be listed on the screen.

For each Focus Area listed, fill in the Actual MSY enrolled so far for the performance period.

Next, complete the following steps for each performance measure:

1. Click on Enter/Edit Progress to Date next to the performance measure title

The details of the performance measure from your approved application will automatically populate this section, including the Strategy to Achieve Results, Result Statement, Indicator, and Target.

2. Enter the following information for each performance measure.

• Actual to Date: In this field, enter a numerical value documenting your actual progress towards the measure. Enter only numbers: Do not enter commas. For example, if you tutored 5,000 students, enter “5000.”

• Progress toward Measure: You may elaborate on your progress toward this measure in this field, but do not use this field to explain unmet targets or describe correction actions. This field is not required.

• Challenges/Corrective Actions: This field is required if you are not on track to reaching your target. For each target that is not on track, explain the challenge you are facing, and the corrective actions you have implemented.

Click Save & Close after entering information for the measure. You will be taken back to the list of all your measures. Select the next measure, and repeat the process.

State Commissions

State Commission sub-grantees’ national performance measures will populate the report.

For each sub-grantee participating in the Pilot:

1. Fill in the Actual MSY enrolled for the reporting period for each Focus Area listed.

2. Click on Enter/Edit Progress to Date next to the performance measure title

The details of the performance measure from your approved application will automatically populate this section, including the Strategy to Achieve Results, Result Statement, Indicator, and Target.

3. Enter the following information for each performance measure.

• Actual to Date: In this field, enter a numerical value documenting your actual progress towards the measure. Enter only numbers: Do not enter commas. For example, if you tutored 5,000 students, enter “5000.”

• Progress toward Measure: You may elaborate on your progress toward this measure in this field, but do not use this field to explain unmet targets or describe correction actions. This field is not required.

• Challenges/Corrective Actions: This field is required if you are not on track to reaching your target. For each target that is not on track, explain the challenge you are facing, and the corrective actions you have implemented.

Click Save & Close after entering information for the measure. You will be taken back to the list of all your measures. Select the next measure, and repeat the process.

Step 5: Enter Other Performance Measures

Following is guidance for reporting on performance measures if you or one or more of your sub-grantees is not participating in the National Performance Measures Pilot.

National Programs (National Directs, EAP, Indian Tribe, States without Commissions, and Territory Grantees)

Performance measures other than National Measures from your approved application will automatically populate the Grantee Performance Report in eGrants. The name of each performance measure and its Strategy to Achieve Results, Result Statement, Indicator, and Target will appear. Enter the following information for each performance measure.

• Actual to Date: In this field, enter a numerical value documenting your actual progress towards the measure. Enter only numbers, do not enter commas. For example, if you tutored 5,000 students, enter “5000.”

• Progress toward Measure: You may elaborate on your progress toward this measure in this field, but do not use this field to explain unmet targets or describe correction actions. This field is not required.

• Challenges/Corrective Actions: This field is required if you are not on track to reaching your target. For each target that is not on track, explain the challenge you are facing, and the corrective actions you have implemented.

Click Save & Close after entering information for the measure. You will be taken back to the list of all your measures. Select the next measure, and repeat the process.

State Commissions

Performance measures other than National Measures from each grantee application will automatically populate the Grantee Performance Report in eGrants. To complete this section, enter the following information for each grantee measure.

For each grantee, you will evaluate each performance measure against the following criteria and check the one box that corresponds to the current status of the measure:

• Met. Grantee has achieved or exceeded the performance measurement target proposed in the application.

• Unmet. Grantee has not achieved the performance measure target as proposed in the application.

• Ongoing. The performance measure activity outlined in the application is ongoing and to be completed in the future.

• Actual to Date: In this field, enter a numerical value documenting your actual progress towards the measure. Enter only numbers, do not enter commas. For example, if you tutored 5,000 students, enter “5000.”

For each state commission sub-grantee not participating in the Pilot, at mid-year:

You are not required to report mid-year progress for your sub-grantees that are not participating in the Pilot. However, you must do the following:

1. Fill in the Actual MSY enrolled for the reporting period for each Focus Area listed.

2. For each performance measure:

1. Mark the appropriate bubble to indicate the status of the sub-grantee’s progress toward meeting that performance measure.

2. Enter 0 in the Actual fields.

Click Save frequently.

When you have entered information for each performance measure for each sub-grantee, click Next.

Step 6: Narratives

Click on the Narratives link on the left hand side of the page.

Click on Add Narrative for each section to enter information.

As you enter narratives for each section, the orange arrow in front of each section title will change to a green checkmark. The green checkmark indicates that you have entered a narrative for that section.

In this section, describe activities from the reporting period in more detail. Focus your remarks as described below. Please limit each narrative to 1,500 words or less, approximately 1-3 pages in length.

1. Monitoring Activities (N/A for mid-year report)

Describe how you assessed programs’ needs, if applicable. Discuss how technical assistance and monitoring took place. Describe how corrective measures were imposed and how continuous improvement was encouraged.

2. 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.

If a program did not fill or retain all of its awarded slots, explain why and identify corrective actions that are being planned to improve recruitment and retention practices, or any planned reduction in slots requested.

If you are a participant in the national performance measure pilot, please comment on the successes and challenges that you, your sites and subgrantees are experiencing with the national performance measures. You may include information on data collection instruments, accessing data, aggregating and analyzing data, making adequate progress toward targets, and providing technical assistance to sites and sub-grantees.

Click on Save & Close after you finish entering your narrative.

3. Great Stories

This section is optional. Share great stories that particularly illustrate the impact AmeriCorps has in communities and on the lives of those who serve. Please provide the following information in this order:

• Grantee Name.

• Name of sub-grantee or operating site or member service site where the activity took place.

• City and State where the activity took place.

• When the activity took place.

• A brief narrative that illustrates the impact of AmeriCorps on the life of AmeriCorps members and/or clearly ties the activities of an AmeriCorps member(s) to a change in the life of a community member or a community.

4. Activities Related to 2006-2010 Strategic Initiatives

If your programs or sites have addressed any of the Strategic Initiatives particularly effectively, describe these activities here. The Strategic Initiatives were:

• 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

Step 7: Review and Submit

Please review your report carefully before submitting. Click on View/Print PR to review or print the progress report. If you see any errors, you may click on the Edit buttons, and edit the information.

If all information is correct and completed, click on Submit Progress Report. You will see that the Status of the report changes to Progress Report Submitted.

The GPR has not been submitted to CNCS until you click on Submit Progress Report. If you have left any required section blank, eGrants will not let you submit the report and will give you an Error Report which identifies each blank section. After you enter the missing information, you will be able to submit the report.

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 8 hours per submission, including reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing the form. Comments on the burden or content of this instrument may be sent to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Attn: Amy Borgstrom, 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20525. The Corporation informs people who may respond to this collection of information that they are not required to respond to the collection of information unless the OMB control number and expiration date displayed on page 1 are current and valid. (See 5 C.F.R. 1320.5(b)(2)(i).)

PRIVACY ACT NOTICE: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C § 552a) requires that the following notice be provided to you: The information requested on the Corporation for National and Community Service, Universal Application is collected pursuant to 42 U.S.C 12592 and 12615 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 as amended, and 42 U.S.C. 4953 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 as amended. Purposes and Uses - The information requested is collected for the purposes of reviewing grant applications and granting funding requests. Routine Uses - Routine uses may include disclosure of the information to federal, state, or local agencies pursuant to lawfully authorized requests. In some programs, the information may also be provided to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to determine the existence of any prior criminal convictions. The information may also be provided to appropriate federal agencies and Department contractors that have a need to know the information for the purpose of assisting the Department’s efforts to respond to a suspected or confirmed breach of the security or confidentiality or information maintained in this system of records, and the information disclosed is relevant and unnecessary for the assistance. The information will not otherwise be disclosed to entities outside of AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service without prior written permission. Effects of Nondisclosure - The information requested is mandatory in order to receive benefits.

OMB Control Number 3045-0129

Expiration Date 7/3012014

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