VISTA Concept Paper Application

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CONCEPT PAPER &
PROJECT APPLICATION
INSTRUCTIONS
For Use with eGrants
AmeriCorps VISTA
Published 2027

OMB Control #: 3045-0038
Expiration Date: xx/xx/2031

Produced and published at US taxpayer expense.

250 E Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20525
202-606-5000/ 800-942-2677

TABLE OF CONTENTS
How do you use this document? ........................................................................................................3
What is the purpose of this document? .........................................................................................3
How do you search this document? ...............................................................................................3
How do you keep track of the information required? ..................................................................4
General Information .............................................................................................................................4
What is AmeriCorps? .......................................................................................................................4
What is the AmeriCorps VISTA program? .....................................................................................4
What is a project? .............................................................................................................................5
What is a partner?.............................................................................................................................5
What resources can the VISTA program provide? ........................................................................6
Is there a required match or cost share? ........................................................................................8
What is required to receive resources? ..........................................................................................8
What is the framework for designing your project?......................................................................9
AmeriCorps VISTA Core Principles: ...........................................................................................9
AmeriCorps’ Focus Areas: ........................................................................................................ 11
What is the Annual Program Guidance? ..................................................................................... 12
Application process overview ...................................................................................................... 12
How will your application be assessed?...................................................................................... 13
Technical Assistance Resources ................................................................................................... 14
Who do you contact if you have questions? ............................................................................... 15
What are the deadlines? ............................................................................................................... 15
What if AmeriCorps VISTA is not an appropriate fit for your project design? ........................ 15
STEP 1: CONCEPT PAPER
How do you complete and submit a concept paper? ................................................................... 17
Submission checklist ..................................................................................................................... 17
Applicant Info

.............................................................................................................................. 18

Application Info .............................................................................................................................. 19
Narratives

.............................................................................................................................. 20

Need Narrative .............................................................................................................................. 20
Strengthening Communities Narrative ....................................................................................... 21
Organizational Capability Narrative ............................................................................................ 22

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Intermediary Justification Narrative ............................................................................................. 23
Review

.............................................................................................................................. 25

Authorize and Submit ....................................................................................................................... 25
STEP 2: PROJECT APPLICATION
If your concept paper is accepted, what are the next steps?........................................................ 27
Submission Checklist .................................................................................................................... 27
Applicant Info

.............................................................................................................................. 28

Application Info .............................................................................................................................. 29
Narratives

.............................................................................................................................. 29

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 31
Need Narrative .............................................................................................................................. 31
Strengthening Communities Narrative ....................................................................................... 31
Organizational Capability Narrative ............................................................................................ 31
Project Design Narrative ............................................................................................................... 32
Project Management Narrative .................................................................................................... 33
VISTA Assignment Narrative ........................................................................................................ 34
Volunteer Management Narrative ............................................................................................... 36
Intermediary Justification Narrative ............................................................................................. 38
Budget/Cost Effectiveness Narrative........................................................................................... 38
Other Narrative .............................................................................................................................. 39
Service Locations .............................................................................................................................. 39
Performance Measures ..................................................................................................................... 40
Performance Measures Module Home Page ............................................................................. 41
Performance Measures Screen .................................................................................................... 42
Anti-Poverty Screen ....................................................................................................................... 47
Summary Screen............................................................................................................................ 51
Budget

.............................................................................................................................. 51

Requested Number of Volunteer Slots ........................................................................................... 51
Supporting Documents .................................................................................................................... 52
Review

.............................................................................................................................. 53

Authorize and Submit ....................................................................................................................... 54
If your project is awarded, what are your ongoing responsibilities? ........................................... 55
Appendix

.............................................................................................................................. 56

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HOW DO YOU USE THIS DOCUMENT?
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT?
This document is designed to help you understand the AmeriCorps VISTA program and
provide instructions on how to apply for resources for an AmeriCorps VISTA project.
There are two steps in the application process:
Step 1: Concept Paper
Your organization will submit a concept paper that includes information about the
community and organizational needs and your capability to manage federal
resources. AmeriCorps staff will review your concept paper and determine if your
organization’s project fits AmeriCorps VISTA’s Core Principles and AmeriCorps Focus
Areas. AmeriCorps staff may request additional information or clarification during the
review process.
Step 2: Project Application
If your concept paper is accepted, you will be invited to submit a project application.
In the application, you will detail how your project will achieve its goals, build capacity
to alleviate poverty, and address the community needs presented in your concept
paper.
This document provides instructions for submitting both a concept paper and project
application in eGrants.
Note: Submission of a concept paper or project application does not guarantee
you will receive AmeriCorps VISTA resources.

HOW DO YOU SEARCH THIS DOCUMENT?
For best results, open this document in Adobe Acrobat Reader (a free software that supports
a Portable Document Format (PDF)). If this document opens in a web browser, download it,
and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF software. This will allow you to search within the
document.
Once you have opened this document in Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can search for text or a
term by selecting the ‘ctrl’ button and then the ‘F’ key. A ‘find text’ box should appear. Type in
the term you are looking for in the box and select the ‘enter’ button.

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Each section begins with a dark blue banner to help you navigate each step of the concept
paper and project application.

HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF THE INFORMATION REQUIRED?
Submission checklists are provided at the beginning of the instructions for the Concept Paper
and Project Application sections. These checklists will help you ensure that you have
gathered all the information to complete each portion of the required fields before
submitting your application.

GENERAL INFORMATION
WHAT IS AMERICORPS?
AmeriCorps (pronounced “uh-mEH-rih-CORE”) is the federal agency that improves lives,
strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering.
AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges through
national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps Volunteers and AmeriCorps Seniors
Volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities and those
serving. AmeriCorps helps make service a cornerstone of our national culture.

WHAT IS THE AMERICORPS VISTA PROGRAM?
Founded in 1965, VISTA (pronounced “vis-tuh”) is a federal anti-poverty national service
program designed to provide resources to nonprofit organizations and public agencies to
address poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States. In 1993, VISTA was
incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of national service programs, then known as the
Corporation for National and Community Service. AmeriCorps VISTA addresses poverty by
providing opportunities for Americans, 18 years of age and older, from a diverse range of
backgrounds, to dedicate a year of full-time service with an organization (“partner”) on a
project that creates, strengthens, or expands efforts to empower individuals and
communities in addressing poverty.
AmeriCorps VISTA program objectives:
1. Generate private sector resources;
2. Encourage volunteer service at the local level;
3. Support efforts by local agencies and community organizations to achieve longterm sustainability of projects; and
4. Strengthen local agencies and community organizations to carry out the objectives
of the project.

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VISTA Volunteers focus on capacity building activities, that create systems, leverage
resources, and develop processes, as opposed to providing service directly to individuals.
VISTA Volunteers are not staff members, employees, or interns of the partner or service
locations to which they are assigned. The program provides a modest living allowance and
certain benefits directly to its Volunteers. Your organization supports the project through
supervision and other logistical support. Investment by your organization and the community
is fundamental to the VISTA program.

WHAT IS A PROJECT?
An AmeriCorps VISTA project refers to the activities described in the project application.
AmeriCorps VISTA awards federal resources to selected projects. If your project application is
awarded, your organization operates and oversees the project. The duration of projects
varies but typically lasts for three to five years. AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteers carry out project
activities.
Projects have two main goals:
1. Help empower individuals and communities to alleviate poverty and address
poverty related problems.
2. Build the capacity of organizations and communities by creating or enhancing
specific anti-poverty programming.

WHAT IS A PARTNER?
An AmeriCorps VISTA partner is a nonprofit organization or public agency that applies for
and receives an AmeriCorps VISTA award. This award approves a certain number of
Volunteers, and in some cases, grant funds. Partners are responsible for operating and
overseeing the project.
As a partner, your organization will:
•

Design, operate, and direct the project with meaningful involvement of
project participants;

•

Recruit and supervise Volunteers; and

•

Provide the necessary administrative support to achieve the goals of the
project.

•

Develop and implement projects with meaningful involvement of project
participants.

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The following types of entities are eligible to apply to become an AmeriCorps VISTA partner
and thereby undertake projects in the U.S. and certain U.S. territories: (per 45 CFR §
2556.100):
•

Public or private nonprofit organizations

•

Tribal government or Tribal government agencies

•

State and local government or agencies

Eligible partners are not limited to nonprofit organizations designated by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) specifically as 501(c)(3). Nonprofits with other IRS-designated 501(c)
statuses that focus on anti-poverty outcomes are also eligible.
Partners may include public and/or nonprofit schools as well as Native-led organizations.
An entity is prohibited from being a partner or from otherwise receiving AmeriCorps VISTA
assistance if a principal purpose or activity of the entity includes lobbying, electoral activities,
voter registration, or transportation to polls.

WHAT RESOURCES CAN THE VISTA PROGRAM PROVIDE?
AmeriCorps VISTA provides partners with a certain number of Volunteers and, on a limited
basis, grant funds.
The following outlines the types of resources the program can provide:
•

AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteers
AmeriCorps Volunteers, in the VISTA program, support an organization to make
sustainable change in areas that affect poverty, including education, public health,
climate, access to benefits, and more. Through activities such as community asset
mapping, fundraising, grant writing, program development, and volunteer
recruitment, VISTA Volunteers gain professional experience and leadership skills.
Their role in alleviating poverty is to mobilize community resources, strengthen efforts
of local agencies and organizations to address poverty, and to support local agencies
and organizations in sustaining project activities. Please visit the AmeriCorps website
for more information about Volunteer benefits.
VISTA Volunteers are not staff members, employees, or interns of the partner or
service locations to which they are assigned. VISTA Volunteers may not engage in
activities at partnering organizations that would displace or replace paid staff,
contractors, or existing community volunteers. VISTA Volunteers are prohibited from
requesting and managing other AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors grants or
projects and directly supervising or managing other AmeriCorps Volunteers or
AmeriCorps Senior Volunteers. While VISTA Volunteers may not supervise community

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volunteers, they may manage community volunteers’ activities. For example, matching
community volunteers with youth participants in a mentoring program. Or training
community volunteers on a financial literacy curriculum that the VISTA Volunteer has
created.
There are three types of Volunteer positions:
o

Full Time Volunteer
VISTA Volunteers make a full-time, one-year commitment to alleviate poverty in
a particular community. They assist in building capacity in nonprofit
organizations and public agencies to generate financial and in-kind resources,
encourage volunteer service at the local level, and empower individuals and
communities.

o

Leaders
Leaders assist partners and Volunteers in achieving project objectives and
developing new project activities and sources of community support. Leaders
are sometimes assigned to larger projects or to specific regions. As such, not
all projects will have Leaders. Leaders are individuals who have successfully
completed a full term of AmeriCorps service (with the VISTA, State and
National, or NCCC program), or returned Peace Corps volunteers, who have
demonstrated exemplary skills and leadership in community service. Leaders
provide support and coordination for Volunteers to increase the project’s
impact. Due to the additional requirements of this position, Leaders receive a
small increase in their living allowance compared to full-time Volunteers.
Leaders are not permitted to perform administrative or supervisory functions
for their partner or for AmeriCorps regional offices. They do not supervise
other AmeriCorps Volunteers.

o

Summer Associates:
Summer Associates support the goals of an existing, approved project for a
short term during the months of May – August. Summer Associates can engage
in capacity building activities or in direct service activities. Only current
partners are eligible to participate in the Summer Associate program, and the
program is subject to resource availability. Once you are operating your VISTA
project, you can consult with AmeriCorps if your organization is interested in
developing a Summer Associate program.
•

Grant Funds

For most projects, AmeriCorps VISTA only awards a certain number of Volunteer
positions, and the partner is responsible for the local operating and logistics costs.
This is referred to as a standard project. However, in limited instances, a partner may
apply for a support grant. Support grants provide financial resources to help partners

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effectively manage their VISTA project. Support grants are primarily used to support
supervision, training, and on-site travel costs. Support grant funding is awarded on a
limited basis.

IS THERE A REQUIRED MATCH OR COST SHARE?
Is there a required match?
No, there is no required cash match for a partner to receive resources. AmeriCorps VISTA is
not a traditional grants program.
What is your organization’s contribution?
Partners have costs or financial obligations associated with hosting VISTA Volunteers. These
costs may include, but are not limited to, adequate supervision, workspace, IT Support /
computer / Internet, general office supplies and service-related travel, and any other
materials necessary to operate and complete the project and support Volunteers.
What is cost share?
The VISTA program uses cost sharing as a strategy to expand the number of Volunteers that
can be placed each year. Through cost sharing, a partner reimburses AmeriCorps for the
living allowance of one or more of its volunteers (including full time Volunteers, Leaders,
and/or Summer Associates). The VISTA program covers other costs associated with each
Volunteer, such as training, a health benefit, a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award/cash
stipend upon successful completion of service, and travel or relocation costs.

WHAT IS REQUIRED TO RECEIVE RESOURCES?
To receive resources your organization must demonstrate the following through the
application process:
•

Be an eligible entity (as defined above)

•

Have a valid SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

•

Understand the concept of and be committed to the anti-poverty mission
of the VISTA program and its core principles

•

Be able to demonstrate that your organization can operate a project that:

o

Reflects meaningful and impactful Volunteer activities;

o

Is responsive and relevant to the lives of people experiencing poverty, and
fosters community empowerment;

o

Engages intended beneficiaries in the design, implementation, and ongoing
support of the project.

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•

Have the capacity to recruit, orient, train, supervise, and otherwise support
Volunteers.

•

Ensure Volunteer service activities are allowable.

•

Have available resources for the Volunteers to perform their assigned
duties such as space, access to technology, supplies, service-related
transportation (as needed), etc.

•

Have an Authorized Representative with the legal authority to enter into an
agreement with the federal government by signing a Memorandum of
Agreement (MA) with the VISTA Program.

•

Comply with the provisions of the Memorandum of Agreement and
applicable term(s) or condition(s) of the Notice of Grant Award (if
applicable).

•

Ensure that the individual named as the project director/supervisor
participates in all required training and ensure that any site supervisors
have been adequately trained to manage volunteers.

•

Make every reasonable effort to ensure the health and safety of Volunteers
are protected during the performance of their assigned duties.

•

Create and maintain recording and reporting tools to capture reporting
requirements of the program.

•

Pass a pre-award risk assessment by reviewing applicants to identify
programmatic, financial, organizational, and fraud management risks.

Note: Applications that propose to engage in activities that are prohibited under
AmeriCorps’ statutes, regulations, or the terms and conditions of its awards are
not eligible to receive AmeriCorps funding.

WHAT IS THE FRAMEWORK FOR DESIGNING YOUR PROJECT?
Projects must be developed in accordance with (1) AmeriCorps VISTA’s Core Principles and
(2) AmeriCorps’ programming focus areas. This section reviews both.
AmeriCorps VISTA Core Principles:
• Anti-poverty focus
•

Community empowerment

•

Sustainable solutions

•

Capacity building

AmeriCorps VISTA’s Core Principles are defined below:

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•

Anti-Poverty Focus

The founding purpose of AmeriCorps VISTA is to strengthen and support efforts to
alleviate poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States. Volunteer
activities are shaped by multiple factors, including the actual conditions of poverty,
the expressed needs of the local community, and the partner and Volunteers’
perspective on what is necessary and feasible.
Partners supported with AmeriCorps VISTA resources may address poverty by:
o

Focusing on social determinants of health and well-being (e.g., improving
education, neighborhood resilience, access to health care, and healthy food).

o

Approaches that increase a household’s income and assets (housing,
connection to benefits like cash and in-kind transfers, financial savings, and
asset development).

o

Addressing larger regional systemic barriers to community development.

All VISTA Volunteer service activities must be designed to support one or more
specific anti-poverty projects at a service location. Applications must clearly define
the anti-poverty initiative being created or enhanced and not focus solely on capacity
building for the organization.
•

Community Empowerment

Community empowerment aims to increase the influence and control that
communities have over their own lives as well as programs and structures in
communities that impact their lives. Partners must engage people of the communities
they plan to support through the planning, development, implementation, and
evaluation of the project. The project design must be responsive and relevant to the
lives of community residents and must tap into inherent community assets, strengths,
and resources. To foster community empowerment, projects may choose to:
o

Form an advisory council that engages community members while
strengthening relationships;

o

Use systems to solicit regular feedback and conduct regular reviews to address
feedback;

o

Invite local leaders and community members to join in initial needs assessments

o

Involve leaders in decision-making;

o

Recognize community customs, norms, and values; involve community
members in identifying these contextual factors.
•

Sustainable Solutions

VISTA Volunteers serve as a short-term resource to help build the long-term
sustainability of antipoverty efforts. Partners must design their project with a plan to

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phase out the need for VISTA Volunteers as resources. The goal is for the work of the
project to continue without AmeriCorps VISTA resources.
Projects make a lasting difference through:
o

The commitment, energy, and initiative that Volunteers bring to the
community;

o

Involvement of the partner in supervising and supporting the Volunteers, and
assessing the progress of the project toward meeting its established goals;

o

Participation of the project beneficiaries in all phases of project development
and implementation; and

o

The continued involvement of community members by providing needed
resources such as community volunteers, material and financial resources, and
expertise.
•

Capacity Building

Projects expand the scale, impact, and resource-leveraging ability of specific antipoverty initiatives. VISTA Volunteers create systems that remain long after their term of
service ends. Volunteers strengthen partners’ efforts by expanding community
partnerships, securing cash and in-kind resources, recruiting and managing
community volunteers, and addressing specific local needs. All activities must focus
on creating pathways out of poverty for individuals and communities. The primary
pathways include:
o

Increased effectiveness: Partners have improved their abilities to achieve
better success rates or better quality of outcomes.

o

Increased efficiency: Partners have improved outcomes with the same level of
resources or with fewer resources.

o

Increased scale/reach: Partners have increased the scope of a program or
expanded services by serving new people, new populations.

o

Increased resources: Partners have leveraged resources such as funding,
community volunteers, in-kind support, and partnerships.

AmeriCorps’ Focus Areas:
AmeriCorps VISTA seeks project applications for programming in any of the following six
focus areas (identified in the Serve America Act):
•

Economic Opportunity projects create or strengthen pathways for lowincome individuals to develop vital work skills. These areas include, but are
not limited to housing, employment / workforce development, and federal
benefits access.

•

Healthy Futures projects that meet health needs for economically
disadvantaged individuals. These areas include, but are not limited to,
access to health care and food security.

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•

Education projects that enhance access to services and resources that
contribute to improved educational outcomes for economically
disadvantaged children. These areas include school readiness, K-12
success, increasing high-school graduation rates, as well as expansion of
college enrollment and post second support for careers.

•

Veterans and Military Families projects assist veterans and military
families experiencing poverty and connect them with education
opportunities, jobs, and benefits.

•

Environmental Stewardship projects support anti-poverty activities that
focus on environmental initiatives and climate change in low-income
communities.

•

Disaster Services projects help repair homes, assist survivors, and restore
communities when disasters strike.

These priority programming areas are outlined in greater detail in our Annual Program
Guidance. The Annual Program Guidance can be found on our website at under the
‘Guidance and Instructions’ section.

WHAT IS THE ANNUAL PROGRAM GUIDANCE?
The AmeriCorps VISTA Annual Program Guidance for current and potential partners directs
the development of new projects and outlines national programming priorities for each fiscal
year. The annual guidance should be reviewed in collaboration with these instructions.
The Annual Program Guidance can be found on our website under the ‘Guidance and
Instructions’ section.

APPLICATION PROCESS OVERVIEW
AmeriCorps accepts concept papers at select times during the fiscal year through the
Request for Concept Papers process. Your organization completes a two-step process to
apply for AmeriCorps VISTA resources:
Step 1

Step 2

Figure 1 Flow chart of AmeriCorps VISTA Application Process

Step 1: AmeriCorps VISTA Concept Paper

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You will create an account and submit a concept paper via eGrants. The concept paper is a
preliminary screening tool that AmeriCorps uses to evaluate whether your organization
would be an appropriate partner and if your proposed project meets VISTA’s core principles.
Step 2: AmeriCorps VISTA Project Application
If your concept paper is accepted, your organization is invited to submit a project application.
The full application includes additional narratives, performance measures, and certain
required documents.
Once your application is reviewed, AmeriCorps will contact you about next steps.
Additional technical assistance resources are provided below.

HOW WILL YOUR APPLICATION BE ASSESSED?
As a prospective partner, AmeriCorps assesses your organization on its ability to manage and
effectively use program resources. Your project application should:
What should your project application include?
Explain how your organization will involve community
members in project development and
implementation.
Address the relevant needs of economically
disadvantaged communities and otherwise comply
with the provisions of the Domestic Volunteer Service
Act of 1973, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4950et seq.), and
all applicable regulations, guidelines, and policies.
Clearly articulate how your project design fits into the
anti-poverty mission of the AmeriCorps VISTA
program and its four core principles – Anti-Poverty
Focus; Community Empowerment; Sustainable
Solutions: and Capacity Building.
Explain why VISTA resources will meet your identified
needs of the community and align with programming
priorities.
Describe how your project intends to build program,
organizational, network, and/or community capacity
so that some systems, processes, and project
activities continue beyond the term of the project.

Where should this information
be addressed in your
application?
Strengthening Communities
Narrative

Need Narrative

Need Narrative

Need Narrative

Project Design Narrative

13

Clearly state how your organization will train,
supervise, and support Volunteers to ensure project
success and to comply with the Domestic Volunteer
Service Act and AmeriCorps VISTA regulations and
program policies.
Illustrate the relationship between key project
elements throughout the application, including a
statement demonstrating the need and intended
outcomes with the targeted population and
community; performance measures; and VISTA
Assignment Description(s).
Ensure that AmeriCorps VISTA and community
resources are sufficient to achieve project goals.
Explain how your organization possesses sufficient
management and technical capability to implement
and oversee the project.
Request an appropriate number of Volunteers to
achieve the project mission and identify the skills and
qualifications needed to meet established goals and
objectives.
Clearly outline how your project will establish a
recruitment schedule and onboarding process.

Project Management Narrative

Need Narrative
Project Design Narrative
VISTA Assignment Narrative

Need Narrative

Organizational Capability Narrative

Requested Number of Volunteer
Slots Section
VISTA Assignment Narrative
Project Management Narrative

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE RESOURCES
•

•

•

AmeriCorps VISTA Resource Opportunity website
o Visit this site for technical assistance resources about AmeriCorps VISTA and
the project application process.
o You will find information on program guidance, resource opportunities, FAQs,
and program regulations.
eGrants instructions.
o These will assist you with navigating the steps of eGrants, our online
application system.
o We recommend you document your responses to the application’s narrative
sections in a word processing document first, then copy and paste them into
the narrative fields of the eGrants. This method provides you with an offline
record.
Webinars
o AmeriCorps hosts Request for Concept Paper webinars to answer questions
about the resource opportunity. AmeriCorps strongly encourages applicants

14

•

•

to participate in these sessions. The schedule and call-in information for the
webinars is on the AmeriCorps VISTA Resource Opportunity website.
o Local AmeriCorps regional offices may conduct additional webinars.
Performance Measures
o Performance Measures Instructions
 This document provides definitions and data collection protocols for
capacity building and anti-poverty programming.
o Visit the AmeriCorps National Performance Measurement Core Curriculum.
AmeriCorps’ Evidence and Readiness Resources.
o Visit this site for tools to assess your organization’s capacity

For additional opportunities to partner with AmeriCorps, other than the VISTA program,
please visit the AmeriCorps Funding Opportunity website.

WHO DO YOU CONTACT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?
•
o

AmeriCorps regional offices are responsible for reviewing applications and
making awards. You can reach out to AmeriCorps regional office staff to ask
questions, discuss project proposals, and to request technical assistance
throughout the application process.
•

o

Need technical assistance with eGrants?

For technical questions and problems with the eGrants, call the AmeriCorps
Hotline at (800) 942-2677. Or submit a question at the AmeriCorps Hotline’s
website. Be prepared to provide the application ID, organization’s name, and
the name of the resource opportunity to which the organization is applying.
•

o

Questions about becoming a partner or your project design?

General questions about the VISTA program?

Organizations can email [email protected].

WHAT ARE THE DEADLINES?
Concept paper and project application deadlines change each fiscal year. Deadlines can be
found on the AmeriCorps VISTA’s Resource Opportunity website.

WHAT IF AMERICORPS VISTA IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE FIT FOR
YOUR PROJECT DESIGN?
If AmeriCorps VISTA is not the right fit for your organization, you can explore other national
service programs on the AmeriCorps website.

15

Continue to the next page for concept paper instructions.

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STEP 1: CONCEPT PAPER
HOW DO YOU COMPLETE AND SUBMIT A
CONCEPT PAPER?
Use the following instructions if you are:
•

A prospective partner interested in applying for AmeriCorps VISTA
resources for the first time.

•

A former partner seeking to create a new project that is substantially
different in project scope or emphasis area from your past project with
AmeriCorps VISTA.

This section provides instructions for completing a concept paper. Below is a submission
checklist to guide you through the steps of the process. The instructions explain the
components of the concept paper.
All concept papers must be submitted through eGrants. Additional eGrants instructions can
be found on the Resource Opportunity website.
To begin the application process, you first need to create an eGrants account to start a
concept paper. To begin a concept paper, you will log into your account and under “Creating
an Application,” select “Concept Paper” and then select the appropriate option under
“Resource Opportunity.”

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
Use the checklist below to ensure you have completed each step of the concept paper
process:
Does your organization meet the requirements to receive VISTA resources?
Register for Unique Entity ID (UEI) from the federal System for Award Management
(SAM.gov)
If your organization already has a UEI, use this information.
Create an eGrants account
You may not create an organization account used by multiple staff. Individuals must
have their own account tied to their individual email address.

17

Read the General Information section in this document.
Complete the Concept Paper sections in eGrants.
□ Applicant Info
□ Confirm the information you entered in SAM.gov exactly matches the
information you input into eGrants.
□

Application Info

□

Narratives (Maximum of 6 pages)
□ Need
□ Strengthening Communities
□ Organizational Capability
□ Intermediary Justification

Tip: Compose your narratives
in a word processing document
first, then copy and paste them
into the narrative fields of
eGrants. This method provides
you with an offline record as
well as a page count.

Review
Authorize and Submit
□ Confirm the person authorizing and submitting the concept paper has the legal
authority to enter into an agreement with the federal government.

APPLICANT INFO
Identify or verify the following information for your organization:
•

Legal Applicant Name (name of organization)
o

This must match your organization’s information in SAM.gov exactly (including
punctuation, capitalization, etc.).
•

Project Information:

If you are applying for a VISTA project for this first time, click on the “create a new project”
link. A pop-up window will appear; you must provide the following information:
o

o

Proposed Project Name (name of project for the duration of the project
period)
•

Do not include specific years or a specific position in the title. Avoid
acronyms when possible.

•

This title will be used in public reports. Typically, your organization
name will appear along with the title.

•

There is a 60-character limit.

Contact information of partner:
•

Mailing address

18

o

o

This must match your organization’s information in SAM.gov exactly
(including punctuation, capitalization, etc.).
•

Phone number

•

Email

•

Website

•

Project Director Name (name of the organization’s representative who will
be the primary contact for the project)

•

Project Director Contact information, if different from organization

•

Timespan you anticipate the project will take to complete in years (e.g., 3
years)

•

Primary project Focus Area(s); select at least one sub-focus area from the
drop-down.

Descriptions of the priority areas under each primary focus area can be found in
the Annual Program Guidance.
•

Primary beneficiary population(s) your project intends to serve as a “Target
Population.” Select at least one.

APPLICATION INFO
Identify the following for your organization and project:
•

Areas affected by the project:
o

The geographic area your proposed project will impact. List only the
cities/town/county/native nation with the state/territory noted. Do not include
narrative sentences.

o

For example:
o
•

o

VA: Arlington, Alexandria, Richmond; MD: Columbia, Baltimore, Howard
County
Other

If your organization was a former partner for any AmeriCorps program
o

If yes, enter the number of year and total number of AmeriCorps Volunteers
previously assigned to your organization.
•

If your organization has received or used ANY AmeriCorps resources
previously. These resources include, but are not limited to:

o

AmeriCorps State and National funds / Volunteers

o

AmeriCorps Seniors funds / Volunteers

o

Days of Services funds (such as MLK Day)

o

Volunteer Generation Funds (VGF)

19

o

AmeriCorps NCCC Volunteers

NARRATIVES
The narratives section is your opportunity to demonstrate to staff reviewers that your
proposed project aligns with the AmeriCorps VISTA’s Core Principles and the agency’s focus
areas. In this section, you will elaborate on how your organization would use and manage
program resources.
The concept paper has four narratives sections. If your concept paper is accepted, you will be
invited to submit a project application, which includes additional narrative sections and
performance measures.
Tips:
•

•
•
•

Compose your narratives in a word processing document first, then copy
and paste them into the narrative fields of eGrants. This method provides
you with an offline record as well as a character count.
Make sure to address all the questions asked in each narrative section.
The narrative portion of your concept paper must not exceed 6 pages.
Please use the most recently published demographic or statistical data.

You will enter the following information into each corresponding narrative field.

NEED NARRATIVE
Purpose: In the Need narrative, you will tell us about the unmet community and
organizational needs that your proposed project will address.
This narrative helps reviewers understand the current circumstances in your community and
why resources are needed.
There are four subsections in the Need narrative section. Answer the following questions in
each subsection:
•
o

What is the unmet community need that your proposed project will address?
•

o

Need: Community Need
Need: Community Demographics & Beneficiaries

What are the demographics of the people living in your community? Use most
recent demographic data, including source(s) and publication date(s).

20

Note: Demographic information describes the characteristics
of the population in a specific community. You may include
information about the age, gender, income level, education,
ethnicity, marital status, employment, and other known
characteristics of the people living in your community.
o

Are the beneficiaries of your project the full community or a subset of the
community? Who are the project’s beneficiaries?
•

o

Need: Addressing the Need

Why is the community need not being addressed? Why is it important that your
organization addresses this need?
•

Need: Project Need

o

What resources does your organization need to be able to effectively address
the community need identified in this section?

o

Why is the VISTA program the appropriate resource to meet your identified
need?

o

What type of capacity building activities will AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteers
perform to help address your organization’s need(s)?
Note:
•

Refer to AmeriCorps VISTA’s core principles for more
information on our definition of capacity building.

•

Your response may be a general summary of the
activities. If your concept paper is accepted, the Project
Application’s VISTA Assignment Narrative is a space to
elaborate on specific Volunteer activities.

o

How will the capacity building activities help your organization effectively
address the community need?

o

How many VISTA Volunteers is your organization requesting to accomplish
these activities?

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES NARRATIVE
Purpose: In the Strengthening Communities narrative, you will explain the impact your
project will have in empowering individuals and communities to alleviate and address
poverty related problems. In this narrative, you will explain the evidence supporting your
approach. You will also describe how you will ensure that the intended beneficiaries are
involved in the project design, implementation, and ongoing support.

21

This narrative helps reviewers understand how your proposed project will address the
poverty-related need.
There are two subsections in the Strengthening Communities narrative section. Answer the
following questions in each subsection:
•

Strengthening Communities: Anti-Poverty Approach
o

Will your project focus on empowering individuals or communities to alleviate
and address poverty-related problems?
o

If yes, what goal(s) are you trying to accomplish by addressing the
poverty related need identified in the “Need” narrative section?

o

If no, please refer to General Information.

o

How will you achieve those goals?

o

What impact do you want your project to have on the beneficiaries and
underserved communities?

o

What evidence supports your project’s approach and intended impact?
o
•

o

For example: Evidence could include past performance, results from
credible research, or from similar successful programs.

Strengthening Communities: Community Involvement

How will you engage members of the underserved communities and the
intended beneficiaries in the design, implementation, and ongoing support of
the project?

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITY NARRATIVE
Purpose: In the Organizational Capability narrative, you will explain your experience
operating anti-poverty programming and your organization’s plan for managing AmeriCorps
resources.
This narrative helps reviewers understand your organization’s capacity to manage federal
resources.
There are two subsections in the Organizational Capability narrative section. Answer the
following questions in each subsection:
•
o

Organizational Capability: Current Programs, Activities or Services

What is your organization’s experience operating anti-poverty programming?
Provide examples of current or past work and impact in this area.
•

Organizational Capability: Plan for Managing AmeriCorps Resources

o

What is your organization’s plan for managing the proposed project?

o

Your response should include answers to the following questions:

22

o

Who is the point of contact to ensure project activities are completed?
Note: In the Applicant Info section you identified a
project director. If another staff member will ultimately be
responsible for overseeing the project, and supervising
VISTA Volunteers, how will that person be selected?

o

What is your plan for recruiting and supervising VISTA Volunteers at
your project?
Note: If your concept paper is accepted, there will be a
space to elaborate on the details of your recruitment plan.

o

Has your organization managed federal resources before?


If yes, please elaborate on how you managed these resources.

o

What is your organization’s plan for involving other staff or community
volunteers in the project?

o

Does your organization have the capability to provide financial and/or in-kind
support to implement the project if approved?
o

List what resources including office and desk space, access to computer
and phone, and other supplies — you will provide to the VISTA
Volunteer(s).

INTERMEDIARY JUSTIFICATION NARRATIVE
Note: The Intermediary Justification narrative only applies to applicants whose
project model includes having VISTA Volunteers serve at multiple, independent
partnering organizations. Definitions and additional information are below.
If your project model is a single service location or multi-service location
model, and does not include these criteria, please write “Not Applicable” in
this narrative field.
Definitions:
 Intermediary Project Model
An intermediary partner (“intermediary”) is a partner that operates a project and provides
AmeriCorps resources to other eligible entities that are also part of the project.
Intermediary partners are the legal entities that apply for and receive the federal /
AmeriCorps VISTA resources. Intermediary partners are responsible for ensuring full
compliance with applicable rules and regulations of the VISTA program.

23

The intermediary partner is often, but not always, a large organization that has the
capacity to develop and support service locations across a wide geographic area or
among a group of organizations that address a common need. The intermediary provides
administrative services, technical support, training, and oversight to organizations where
VISTA Volunteers are assigned, referred to as service locations. The eligible entities or
service locations that participate in an intermediary project are often small organizations
that otherwise might not have access to such resources. The intermediary may operate a
service location with assigned VISTA Volunteer(s) in addition to providing support to
external service locations.
 Multi-Service Location Project Model
Projects that plan to have VISTA Volunteers serve at different locations under their
organization (meaning all service locations are under the same Employee Identification
Number (EIN)) would be considered multi-service location projects. Multi-service location
projects do not need to complete this narrative section and can write “Not Applicable” in
this narrative field.
Purpose: In the Intermediary Justification narrative, you will explain how your organization
will perform as an intermediary partner.
This narrative helps reviewers understand how your organization is prepared to support
multiple independent, eligible partners as they place VISTA Volunteers, and work on their
own capacity building and anti-poverty goals. Your responses help reviewers understand
how you will manage the oversight and monitoring of your service locations and their day-today supervision of their VISTA Volunteers.
Answer the following questions:

o

•

Will your service locations have a shared programmatic focus, objective,
and / or performance measures (such as food security)? Or will your
organization serve only an administrative function (for example, your
service locations will have various programmatic focus areas)?

•

Describe your proposed service locations. Are there any identified partners
for the project? Who are they? How will these service locations and
partners fit within the overall project goals of addressing your identified
poverty need(s)?

•

How many service locations do you plan to have? Where are service
locations located geographically (across a city, county, state, or multistate)?

You do not need to list each service location at this stage. The concept paper
will help reviewers understand your project model.
•

What is your organization’s experience partnering with other entities
(provide an example)? How have you successfully managed those
relationships?

24

•

How will your organization oversee and manage the intermediary project?

REVIEW
“Click “next” after submitting your narratives and you will be on the “Review” page. This page
shows all fields you entered and allows you to review or change fields prior to submitting the
concept paper. To change a field, use the “edit” button next to the corresponding section.
As part of your review, complete the following steps:
•

Review the Submission Checklist to confirm you have completed each step
of the concept paper process.

•

Carefully read the information you have entered for the concept paper:

o

Applicant Info

o

Application Info

o

Narratives
o

Need

o

Strengthening Communities

o

Organizational Capability

o

Intermediary Justification

Once you submit the concept paper, you cannot make changes unless it is returned to you by
an AmeriCorps staff member in eGrants.

AUTHORIZE AND SUBMIT
Carefully read the Authorization and Certification sections.
Complete the following sections in eGrants:
•

Authorization

•

Certification

•

Submit (click on the link)

Note: You must select “view/print” for “I agree” to be selected.

25

Authorized Representative:
•
o

The individual who authorizes the application must be the applicant
organization’s authorized representative.

An authorized representative has the legal authority to enter into an
agreement with the federal government and commit resources for your
organization.

Note: Your authorized representative may be a different person than your project
director. Before submitting, confirm that the authorized representative has the
legal authority to enter into an agreement. Certain actions cannot be undone
once the concept paper is submitted.
•
o

To complete this section, your authorized representative should login to
their eGrants account and go to the “Authorize and Submit” section.

The authorized representative must have their own account. To create an
account, visit the eGrants “Create an Account” page.

Note: Submission of a concept paper does not guarantee you will receive
AmeriCorps VISTA resources.

Post Submission:
Once a staff review is conducted, the regional office managing your concept paper will
contact you about next steps.
If you have questions regarding the review process, please contact the regional office
managing your concept paper.
Once you create a concept paper, you can login to eGrants to continue working on it. You
will NOT need to recreate it again. You can access your created concept paper from the
right-hand side of the eGrants Home Screen under “View My Grants / Applications”. Click on
“Concept Papers” to access your application.

26

STEP 2: APPLICATION
IF YOUR CONCEPT PAPER IS ACCEPTED,
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
The Application is Step 2. If you have not submitted a concept paper, please return to Step 1.
Only organizations with a concept paper accepted by AmeriCorps VISTA should complete a
project application.
Once you receive confirmation that your concept paper was approved, eGrants will
automatically generate a template for you to fill out an application.
This section provides instructions to complete a project application. Below is a submission
checklist to guide you through the steps of the process. The instructions explain the
components of the project application, which is Step 2 of the process.
All project applications must be submitted through eGrants. You can view your application
under “Grantee edit of application or report” and select the corresponding application and
click edit. Your application will open in the “Review” screen section. To navigate sections, use
the menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Additional eGrants instructions are provided on
our website.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
Use the checklist below to ensure you have completed each step of the application process:
Receipt of approval from AmeriCorps regional staff to submit the project application
Verify Unique Entity ID (UEI) from the federal System for Award Management (SAM.gov)
Verify eGrants account login.
Read General Information in this document.
Complete Project Application in eGrants
□

Applicant Info
□ Confirm the information you entered in SAM.gov exactly matches the
information you input into eGrants

27

□

Application Info

□

Narratives (Maximum of 12 pages)
□ Need
□ Strengthening Communities
□ Organizational Capability
□ Project Design
□ Project Management
□ VISTA Assignment
□ Volunteer Management
□ Intermediary Justification
□ Budget/Cost Effectiveness
□ Other (Only if directed to complete)

□

Service Locations

□

Performance Measures

□

Project Budget

□

Requested Number of Volunteer Slots
□ Confirm the number of Volunteers is consistent throughout your
application (narratives, performance measures, etc.)

□

Supporting Documents

Tip: Compose your narratives
in a word processing document
first, then copy and paste them
into the narrative fields of
eGrants. This method provides
you with an offline record as
well as a page count.

Review
□ Does your organization meet the requirements to receive VISTA resources?
□ Have you included all the application evaluation items?
Authorize and Submit
□ Confirm the person authorizing and submitting the concept paper has the legal
authority to enter into an agreement with the federal government.

APPLICANT INFO
Information Copied Over: The information you entered in the Applicant Info section of your
concept paper has been copied into your project application.
Review and confirm all information is accurate.

28

APPLICATION INFO
Information Copied Over: The information you input in the Application Info section of your
concept paper has been copied over.
Some information is populated from data entered in your concept paper. Review and confirm
all information is accurate.
Additional information to include in this section for the Project Application:

o

•

Proposed project start and end dates that will cover the time-period
needed to meet the proposed goals and objectives of your project
application. The minimum time-period is one year.

•

“Other”

Indicate whether your application is subject to Executive Order 12372,
“Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” This will vary by state.
o

o

Indicate if your organization is delinquent on any federal debt.
•

o

Enter “Date of Review” and “State Application Identifier”

“VISTA”

Select a project type from the Program Type drop-down menu.
o

Standard
• Only Volunteer slots are awarded to the partner.

o

Support Grant
•

o

Volunteer slots and a grant to fund supervision, travel, and/or
training are awarded to the partner.

Check the “Cost Share” indicator box if your organization will reimburse
AmeriCorps VISTA for the living allowance of one or more VISTA Volunteers.
•

If you are unsure or have questions about cost share, consult with
your AmeriCorps regional office.

NARRATIVES
The “Narratives” section of the project application is your opportunity to demonstrate to
AmeriCorps staff reviewers that your proposed project aligns with the AmeriCorps VISTA’s
Core Principles and the agency’s focus areas. The narratives elaborate on how your
organization would use and manage VISTA resources.
The project application narratives section builds upon the narratives you drafted in your
concept paper. The project application asks for eight additional narratives. eGrants will carry

29

over the narratives from your concept paper into your application. You may provide
additional content or address certain feedback from the regional office’s concept paper
review to the narratives copied over from the concept paper.
The table below indicates which narrative topics are addressed in the concept paper and
which you will need to write and include in the project application.

Narrative Topic

In Concept Paper

In Project Application

Executive Summary
Need

Copied Over & Editable

Strengthening
Communities

Copied Over & Editable

Organizational Capability

Copied Over & Editable

Project Design
Project Management
VISTA Assignment
Volunteer Management
Intermediary Justification

Additional Information
Required

Budget/Cost Effectiveness

Only if requesting a support
grant

Other

If requested by AmeriCorps

Tips:
•
•

•
•

The narrative portion of your application must not exceed 15 pages.
Compose your narratives in a word processing document first, then copy
and paste them into the narratives fields of the application system. This
method provides you with an offline record.
Make sure to address all the questions asked in each narrative section.
Please use the most recently published demographic or statistical data.

30

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Purpose: The Executive Summary narrative provides the reviewer(s) with an overview of your
project.
Complete the template below by replacing the bolded text with your information.
You must use the following template for the executive summary exactly. You may not alter
the paragraph besides adding the requested information.
[BEGIN TEMPLATE]
[Organization Name]’s mission is [Mission Statement]. The proposed VISTA project
aligns with the [Choose one or more AmeriCorps Focus Area] focus area(s). The VISTA
project will seek to [enter goal(s)] and expects to benefit [enter type and estimated
number of beneficiaries]. [Enter number of Volunteers] VISTA Volunteers will
contribute to the goals of the project by performing activities such as [enter activities]
over the course of [enter expected length of project].
[END TEMPLATE]

NEED NARRATIVE
Information Copied Over: The information you input in the Need narrative field has been
copied over from the concept paper.
Any comments from reviewers should be addressed when you submit your project
application.
To view the questions for the Need narrative, review concept paper instructions above.

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES NARRATIVE
Information Copied Over: The information you input in the Strengthening Communities
narrative field has been copied over from the concept paper.
Any comments from reviewers should be addressed when you submit your project
application.
To view the questions for the Strengthening Communities narrative, review the concept
paper instructions above.

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITY NARRATIVE
Information Copied Over: The information you input in the Organizational Capability
narrative field has been copied over from the concept paper.

31

Any comments from reviewers should be addressed when you submit your project
application.
To view the questions for the Organizational Capability narrative, review the concept paper
instructions above.

PROJECT DESIGN NARRATIVE
Purpose: In the Project Design narrative, you will explain your organization’s capacity
building goals and desired outcomes of your proposed project. This narrative helps
reviewers understand how your organization plans to strengthen your structures and
processes to tackle the unmet need you identified in the Need narrative of the concept
paper.
The Project Design narrative is a space to map out what your project will do to build
organizational, programmatic, and network capacity. Details about your plan to manage dayto-day project operations, supervision, and performance tracking should not be included
here, but in the Project Management narrative.
There are two subsections in the Project Design section. Answer the following questions in
each subsection:
•

Project Design: Goals and Desired Outcomes

o

What are the capacity building goals and desired outcomes of your proposed
project?

o

What are the anti-poverty goals and desired outcomes of your proposed
project?
Note: Outcomes are the changes you expect to result from your
activities.

o

How will meeting these goals help to address your organization’s need, and
ultimately impact the community?

•
o

o

How are the outcomes meeting the need you identified?

o

How are the outcomes impacting the community?

Project Design: Sustainability

How will you design the project so that it is sustainable in the long-term? In
other words, what will you do to ensure that activities continue after VISTA
resources end?
Note: Refer to the core principles for more information on how
AmeriCorps VISTA defines sustainability.

32

PROJECT MANAGEMENT NARRATIVE
Purpose: In the Project Management narrative, you will explain how you plan to provide daily
supervision to the VISTA Volunteers assigned to the project. You will also describe how you
will track and measure the progress and impact on the capacity building of your organization
as well as the anti-poverty project's outputs.
This narrative helps reviewers understand how you plan to manage the day-to-day project
operations.
There are three subsections in the Project Management narrative section. Answer the
following questions:
•
o

o

Project Management: Supervision

How will you provide daily supervision for your VISTA Volunteers?
o

If your project will have VISTA Volunteers at other service locations
belonging to your organization or to other independent organizations
(as an intermediary partner), how will you ensure that there is ongoing
local supervision for those Volunteers?

o

Will the project supervisor(s) and if applicable, site supervisor(s) be fulltime or part-time employees?

How will you train staff about the goals and objectives of the project as well as
VISTA Volunteer management? If your project has multiple service locations,
describe how you will do this for each supervisor.
•

Project Management: Service Locations
Note: Do not list your service locations in this narrative. You will
add all your service locations later in the Service Location section.

o

If your project has multiple service locations (and you are not an intermediary
partner) tell us how VISTA Volunteers will be properly supervised at the
location where they are serving?

o

If your project will have one or more service location(s) that is/are not colocated with the project director and/or supervisor, how will you oversee the
VISTA Volunteers and VISTA Volunteer management at each service location?
o

If those service locations are at other nonprofit or government
organizations then your own, what is your relationship with those other
organizations?

o

Who will be supervising VISTA Volunteers for your project and if applicable, at
each service location?

o

How will you communicate with service locations?

33

•

Project Management: Assessment of Project Performance

o

How will you track and assess the overall project performance?

o

What instruments will you use to collect data to track and measure the
progress toward achieving the capacity building goals of your organization
identified in the “Project Design” narrative? For example, databases, data
tracking logs, attendance lists, surveys, questionnaires, interviews,
observations, other measurement tools, etc.

o

How will you measure the success of your anti-poverty approach?

o

If your project has one or more service location(s), how will you coordinate the
tracking and assessment of progress across these locations?

o

How do you plan to monitor service locations for compliance with the VISTA
program rules and regulations and hold them accountable for reporting and
supervising VISTA Volunteers?

VISTA ASSIGNMENT NARRATIVE
Purpose: In the VISTA Assignment narrative, you will address the key objectives and activities
of the VISTA Volunteer and/or Leader’s assignment as it relates to the proposed project.
Thia narrative helps reviewers understand how the VISTA Volunteer(s’) activities align with
your project’s goals and ensure activities are robust enough to engage a VISTA Volunteer
full-time in a full year of service.
VISTA Volunteers focus on building the capacity of the anti-poverty activities you propose in
the project application, and not on general capacity building for the partner or its service
locations. While VISTA Volunteers focus on capacity-building activities, they may, on
occasion, perform limited direct service activities when deemed necessary to complete their
overall capacity-building assignment.

34

Note: LIMITATIONS ON VOLUNTEER ACTIVITES AND DUTIES
Volunteers may not:
•
•
•
•
•

Provide religious instruction, engage in religious activities, or proselytize as
part of their service.
Engage in lobbying efforts, electoral activities or participate in political
rallies, meetings, or demonstrations while on-duty.
Solicit, accept, or receive political contributions.
Perform activities or duties that would displace employer workers or supplant
the hiring of employed workers.
Assist, directly or indirectly, any labor or anti-labor organizing activity.

For more in-depth information on these prohibited activities, refer to the
AmeriCorps VISTA Member Handbook, Chapter 15, Basic Laws & Federal
Regulations.

Answer the following questions:
•

What are the key objectives of the VISTA assignment(s)? Provide a
summary.

•

What activities will the full-time VISTA Volunteer(s) and Leader(s) perform
to implement the proposed project? What skills or qualifications are
needed to perform these activities?
Note:
•

VISTA Volunteers and Leaders serve for an entire year;
therefore, ensure that the activities are enough to engage a
VISTA Volunteer in a one-year, full-time commitment.

•

The tasks and activities should logically align with the project
goals you propose in the Performance Measures and the Needs
sections.

•

The service activities described in your project’s application will
later be developed into VISTA Assignment Descriptions (VAD) if
your application is awarded.


The VISTA Assignment Description is developed by the
partner and is a critical tool for recruitment and
programming because it clearly states the goals,
objectives, and activities of a VISTA Volunteer during
their service term as part of the project.

35

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT NARRATIVE
Purpose: In the Volunteer Management narrative, you will explain how you plan to recruit
qualified candidates; select and onboard VISTA Volunteers; as well as develop VISTA
Volunteers throughout their term of service.
The Recruitment and Development narrative helps reviewers understand your plans for
recruitment, onboarding, and professional development of your VISTA Volunteers.
Your response should cover these multiple topics:
•

Volunteer Management: Recruitment Strategy

o

How will your organization promote the service opportunity(ies) and recruit
qualified candidates?

o

What knowledge, skills, and abilities should potential candidates have to be
successful at your project?

o

How will you interview candidates and select VISTA Volunteers?

o

Do you plan to promote and provide additional incentives for selected
Volunteers? If so, what additional incentives will your project provide
Volunteers? This may include public transportation passes, gym memberships,
housing, etc.
Tips: Refer to the Sponsor Handbook, Chapter 5:
“Supporting and Supervising Members” for allowable
support benefits.

o

Will VISTA Volunteers be required to travel regularly for the project? This
would include service-related travel, not daily commuting.
o

If yes, how much service-related travel is anticipated for a service term?


How does the project plan to reimburse Volunteers for servicerelated travel or will your project provide a vehicle for servicerelated travel?
Tips: Refer to the Sponsor Handbook, Chapter 5:
“Supporting and Supervising Members” or the Member
Handbook Chapter 7: “Travel & Transportation Support”
for service- related transportation.

o

Will your project allow teleservice as defined by the VISTA program?
o

If yes, how will you support Volunteers who teleserve?

36

Note: Remote service is NOT permitted under the VISTA
program, as Volunteers must reside within the commuting
area of the geographic community of the assigned service
location.
More information can be found on our Teleservice and
Virtual Service Site Update.

•
o

Volunteer Management: Onboarding

How will your project provide an initial orientation, commonly referred to as an
On-Site Orientation and Training (OSOT) in the VISTA Program, to new VISTA
Volunteers?
o

What components and training topics will your On-Site Orientation and
Training include?

o

How long do you plan to spend orientating your VISTA Volunteers to
their service location and assignment activities?


On-Site Orientation and Trainings can include, but are not
limited to, providing a tour of the service location, introduction
of Volunteers to staff and community leaders, reviewing project /
service location policies and procedures, as well as, reviewing
the VISTA Assignment Description (VAD).
Tips: Refer to the Sponsor Handbook, Chapter 4:
“Preparing for New Members” for more information on
OSOT.

o

How will you provide reasonable accommodations (if necessary) to meet the
needs of VISTA Volunteers serving with your project?
•

o

Volunteer Management: Professional Development
Professional development opportunities may be formal, such as
conferences, courses, or workshops, or may be informal such as coaching,
mentoring, job shadowing etc.

How do you plan to provide professional development to your VISTA
Volunteers throughout their service term?
o

Include topics you plan to train your VISTA Volunteer on throughout
their service term, such as resource mapping, grant writing, tracking
systems, etc.

o

If you plan to have your VISTA Volunteer attend a professional training
or conference, you should include those in your response.

37

INTERMEDIARY JUSTIFICATION NARRATIVE
Information Copied Over: If applicable, the information you input in the Intermediary
Justification narrative field has been copied over from the concept paper.
Any comments from reviewers should be addressed when you submit your project
application.
To review the questions that were asked, review the Intermediary Justification narrative
portion of the concept paper instructions above.
Note: In this section you will expand upon the information you submitted in your
concept paper.
Keep all the previously submitted information and answer the following:
•

Have you already identified your potential service locations that are
separate from your own organization?

o

If no, how do you plan to identify them?

o

If yes, indicate that in this narrative. Then, you will need to enter service
locations’ information in the Service Location section of the application.
•

o

Will your proposed service location be required to provide Site Support
Payments (SSPs)?

If yes, what Site Support Payment (SSP) amount do you need for each service
location?
o

How would those funds be used to support the project?

Note: Site Support Pay are funds your organization may request for the
reasonable, actual costs incurred that are directly related to the service
location’s participation in the project and are not covered through a
support grant.

BUDGET/COST EFFECTIVENESS NARRATIVE
Note: The Budget/Cost Effectiveness narrative only applies to applicants who are
applying for a support grant.
If your project is a standard project, and you are not applying for a support
grant, write “Not Applicable” in this narrative field.

38

Purpose: In the Budget/Cost Effectiveness narrative, you will explain your needs for a
support grant, if applicable. In eGrants, you may wish to complete the Budget section first
and then return to complete this narrative.
This narrative explains and justifies each projected cost, linking expenses to project
objectives and demonstrating their necessity and reasonableness. It plays a crucial role in
providing transparency and clarifying the connection between the anticipated expenses and
the proposed project's implementation. Write your narrative so that someone not familiar
with the project can conceptually understand the rationale, purpose, and calculation of the
estimated costs.
The costs associated with your budget must be reasonable, allowable, and necessary as well
conform with AmeriCorps guidance. Refer to the Support Grant Budget Guidance and
Instructions for what the funds can be used for.
Include the following information:
•

Describe the line items that you included in your budget that you are
requesting from AmeriCorps VISTA.

•

Elaborate on any financial or in-kind (non-cash) costs your organization will
be contributing to the project, such as staff time, travel, etc.

OTHER NARRATIVE
Do not complete this section unless you are directed by AmeriCorps staff. Enter N/A.

SERVICE LOCATIONS
Purpose: In the Service Location section, you will list the various service locations that will
receive one or more VISTA Volunteers / Leaders.
If your organization is the only service location, and no other service locations will receive
VISTA Volunteers, you will still need to add your organization information to the list.
Note: You must create your service locations before you enter your Performance
Measures in the next section.
Include the following information for each service location:
•
o

Service Location Name

Enter legal name of organization
•

Physical address including the full zip code

39

•

Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Note: Failure to provide an EIN or providing a fake EIN will result in the
rejection of your application.
•

Supervisor name

•

Supervisor email

•

Supervisor phone number

•

Additionally, there is a drop-down menu to indicate the type of service
location:

o

Performance Measurement Service Location: Beneficiary service location, a
project location that may benefit from service performed in a different location.

o

Placement Service Location: Project location in which VISTA Volunteers will
be physically serving.

o

Both: Project location in which VISTA Volunteers can physically serve, and that
may also benefit from service performed in its location.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Note: You must create your service locations before you may begin this section.
In a previous section of the application, you provided information about your proposed
project in narrative form. In this section, you will navigate through screens in eGrants to enter
information about performance measures related to your proposed project.
The performance measures you enter in this section will be used for future progress reports,
if your application is approved. The performance measures are used to assess the impact and
success of your project. Reporting on the measures that you enter is required.
The Performance Measure module in eGrants contains two screens for you to enter
information about the two conceptual components of a project.
1. Capacity Building
• On the Performance Measures screen, you will indicate how VISTA resources will build
the capacity of your project.
2. Anti-Poverty
• On the Anti-Poverty screen, you will indicate how the project helps individuals and
communities out of poverty.
What is a performance measure set?

40

A performance measure “set” is made up of your capacity building outputs and outcomes as
well as your anti-poverty outputs at a specific service location.
If your project has multiple service locations, you will enter more than one performance
measure set. Each service location will have at least one performance measure set. If you
have multiple capacity building or anti-poverty measures, each service location can have
multiple performance measure sets.

Performance Measure Set
Figure 2 The combination of a capacity building measure, an anti-poverty measure, and a service location make a Performance
Measure set.

Use these resources to complete this section:
•

•

AmeriCorps VISTA Performance Measures Instructions
o This document provides definitions and data collection protocols for capacity
building and anti-poverty programming.
AmeriCorps National Performance Measurement Core Curriculum

PERFORMANCE MEASURES MODULE HOME PAGE
Below are the eGrants instructions for navigating the Performance Measure module home
page:
• To start the module, click the “Begin” button on the home page.
• As you proceed through the module, the home page will summarize your work and
provide links to edit the parts of the module you have completed.
o You may also navigate sections of the module by using the screen feature at the
top of each page.
• Once you have started the module, click “Continue Working” to return to the screen you
were on when you last closed the module.
• After you have created at least one set of performance measures, the home page will
display a summary chart of your measures.
o To edit a performance measure listed in the chart, click the “Edit” button.
o To delete a measure, click “Delete.”

41

PERFORMANCE MEASURES SCREEN
On the Performance Measures screen, enter information about the capacity-building aspects
for each proposed service location(s) for the project year. These measures indicate how the
project will build the capacity of your organization’s ability to sustain your proposed project.
For each service location that will benefit directly from the capacity-building efforts of the
VISTA Volunteer(s), you will provide information about:
•
•
•
•

The capacity goal you hope to reach at the service location
The number of VISTA Volunteer(s) (or Leader(s)) you are requesting at the service location
and the focus of their service activities
At least one capacity-building output, and
At least one capacity-building outcome.

You will also provide information about data collection plans.
For applicants requesting Leader(s), you may either include information about Leaders in a
performance measure set with the VISTA Volunteer(s), or you may create a separate
performance measure set for the Leader(s).
• Select a Service Location
In this section, you will provide information about your project’s service location(s), which
refers to the organization(s) that will benefit most directly from the capacity-building efforts of
the VISTA Volunteer(s).
eGrants Instructions:
1. Select a service location to begin.
o The “Service Location name” drop-down menu lists any service location you entered
into eGrants, following instructions above in the section Service Locations, and
identified as a Performance Measurement Service Location or Both.
o You will not see service locations that you identified as a Placement Service
Location.
2. You will need to complete performance measure information for each service location in
the list, one at a time.
•

Select a Capacity Goal from the List

In this section, you will provide information about your capacity building goals. AmeriCorps
defines capacity building as a set of activities that expand the scale, reach, efficiency, or
effectiveness of projects and organizations. Activities may also increase the ability of the
project or organization to leverage resources. For example, capacity-building activities may
expand services, enhance delivery of services, or generate additional resources. These
activities achieve lasting positive outcomes for the beneficiary populations served by
AmeriCorps-supported organizations.

42

eGrants Instructions:
• Choose one of the following capacity goals that best reflects your intent at this service
location:
o Scale/reach. You aim to increase your project’s ability to serve more people,
serve new groups of people, or provide new or expanded types of services.
o Effectiveness. You aim to increase your project’s ability to achieve better
outcomes for beneficiaries.
o Efficiency. You aim to increase your project’s ability to provide improved
outcomes for beneficiaries with the same level of resources, or to improve or
maintain consistent quality of services with fewer resources.
o Leveraged Resources. You aim to increase your project’s ability to generate
additional resources or assets, such as funding, community volunteers, in-kind
support, and partnerships.
Note: Community volunteers are defined as unpaid citizens from the local
community that are recruited and/or managed because of the project and
VISTA Volunteer activities. VISTA Volunteers are not considered
community volunteers.

If none of these goals represents the capacity you aim to build at this service location, you
may check the last box in the list and create your own capacity-building goal in the text box. If
you have multiple capacity goals at this service location, you will create a separate
performance measure set for each capacity goal.
•

Select Project Year
eGrants Instructions:
• Select the year (1, 2, 3, etc.) that reflects the upcoming project year for which you are
requesting VISTA Volunteer resources at this particular service location and for this
specific capacity goal.
• If this service location has never received VISTA Volunteer resources for this capacity
goal, select “1” for the project year.

•

Select Service Activities
In this section, you will provide information on the VISTA Volunteer activities for this
service location and its capacity-building goal during the proposed project year. (Refer to
the table below for descriptions and examples of Service Activity categories.)
eGrants Instructions:
• Select the Service Activity categories that apply to the VISTA Volunteer(s) during this
project year at this service location for the specific capacity goal you identified above.

43

In the text box next to any Service Activity category you selected, briefly
describe the VISTA Volunteer activities related to this category. The table
below lists examples of VISTA Volunteer activities for each “Service Activity”
category.
If none of the Service Activity categories listed represent the activities of the VISTA
Volunteer(s), you may check the last box in the list and create your own service activity
category in the text box.
 Click the “Add User Service Activity” button to enter additional service
activity categories as needed. This option should be used sparingly.


•

Service Activity Categories:
Service Activity

Description

Examples of VISTA Activities

Community
Assessment

Environmental scan
of community
context and need

– Help design a community assessment
plan
– Help complete a survey of
neighborhood or a report of
need/recommendations based on
findings
– Help incorporate into project service
delivery
– Help update community assessment to
monitor the most pressing community
challenges

Community awareness
and engagement

Expand community
knowledge and
support of the
project effort

– Help complete a public relations media
plan
– Help conduct community outreach or
organizing meetings
– Help develop presentations, newspaper
articles and PSAs

Expand/strengthen
partnerships/networks

Initiate efforts with
other organizations,
for example,
through applying
jointly for funding,
collaborating on
programming or
referrals, sharing
staff and resources,
developing training
and materials that
are shared

– Identify potential collaborators and plan
informational meetings
– Help improve communication about
community projects among partner
organizations
– Help establish intra-organization
systems (e.g. linked database, common
forms)
– Help develop commitments among
collaborators to the project and
formalize partnerships, e.g. MOUs,
budgets

Financial resources

Develop/expand a
diversified funding
stream

– Develop fundraising plan
– Recruit fundraising committee
– Help establish fundraising unit
– Identify resources for fundraising

44

Service Activity

Description

Examples of VISTA Activities
– Help develop capital campaign or
approach donors
– Draft and submit proposals
– Plan ongoing fundraising

Material development

Improvement or
expansion of
materials that
support
programming
(e.g. toolkits,
curricula,
worksheets)

– Assess current materials
– Develop or modify materials to
strengthen programming
– Develop and/or training materials
– Develop manuals
– Train staff in the use of newly developed
materials

Outreach

Participant
recruitment

– Develop an outreach plan for target
beneficiaries/ participants
– Help ensure project is relevant to
potential participants
– Develop/improve presentations,
communication tools and methods of
conducting outreach to potential
participants

Performance
measurement

Assessing results of
project offerings

– Help develop or improve a performance
management system for the anti-poverty
programming
– Help train staff to use performance
management system routinely to
continually improve measures
– Help staff use findings from
performance measurement efforts to
inform improvements of existing and
new project offerings

Project development
and delivery

Improvement or
expansion

– Help expand existing project or develop
new project design
– Help implementation of new/expanded
project

Technology use

Develop systems for
organizational
effectiveness

– Develop, pilot, revise database
(community volunteer, client) or internal
or external knowledge management
system
– Develop social media tools
– Pilot new tools
– Train staff to do updates and maintain
database or knowledge management
system
– Develop on-going staff/community
volunteer/community technology
resource

45

•

Service Activity

Description

Examples of VISTA Activities

Community volunteer
recruitment and
management system

Establish or expand
pool of community
volunteers to assist
with service delivery

– Help organization and other
stakeholders recognize need for and
use of community volunteers
– Help clarify community volunteer roles
– Develop community volunteer
generation plan
– Develop partnerships for recruiting
community volunteers
– Develop community volunteer unit,
volunteer manual/training/curriculum
– Recruit/manage community volunteers
– Develop/pilot community volunteer
training
– Develop community volunteer
intake/tracking/recognition system
– Train staff to manage community
volunteer plan
– Resource plan for ongoing support of
systems (recognition, training,
supervision)

Select Outputs
In this section, you will provide information on your project’s capacity building outputs.
You will gather and report data for each capacity building output you select (see Data
Collection below), following the definitions and protocols identified for that measure.
eGrants Instructions:
• Select at least one capacity-building output that best reflects the results of VISTA
Volunteers capacity-building activities at this service location for this project year.
o You may select more than one output.
o If none of the capacity building output in the list represents the outputs at this
service location, you may check the last box in the list and create your own
capacity building output in the text box. Click the “Add User Output” button to
add blank fields as needed.

•

Select Outcomes
In this section, you will provide information on your project’s capacity building outcomes.
You will gather and report data for each capacity building outcome you select (see Data
Collection below) following the definitions and protocols identified for that measure.
eGrants Instructions:
• Select at least one capacity-building outcome that best reflects the results of the
VISTA capacity-building activities at this service location for this project year.
o You may select more than one outcome.

46

o

•

If none of the capacity-building outcomes in the list represents the outcomes at
this service location, you may check the last box in the list and create your own
capacity-building outcome in the text box. Click the “Add User Outcome”
button to add blank fields as needed.

Enter Data Collection Information
For measures (output or outcome) you selected from a list, you will collect data for future
reports. The data collected for a specific measure must be consistent with the definitions
and protocols identified for that measure, as identified on the AmeriCorps Performance
Measures Instructions.
eGrants Instructions:
• Enter information for any capacity-building output and outcome measures you
identified.
• For each output and outcome measure, select a “Method” for collecting the data from
the drop-down list. Then, enter an “Instrument Description.” Describe how the
instrument will be used, including how and when data will be collected and by whom.
• Add the “Target Number” you expect to reach for the project year.
o The “Unit of Measure” automatically appears if you selected a measure from
the “Output and Outcome” lists.
o If you created your own capacity-building output or outcome measure, you
need to create a corresponding unit of measure.

•

Enter Number of Volunteers Requested
eGrants Instructions
• Enter the number of VISTA Volunteer/Leader slots you are requesting at this service
location for this capacity-building goal for this project year
• Once you have entered all the capacity-building information for this service location,
click the “Add Anti-Poverty Info” button to advance to the Anti-Poverty screen.

ANTI-POVERTY SCREEN
On this screen, you will enter information about how the project will help alleviate poverty for
individuals and communities. At the top of the Anti-Poverty screen, a table titled
“Performance Measure” summarizes the service location and capacity-building information
you entered in the previous section.
You will be required to report on these measures in your progress report. This is a change
from previous instructions.

47

eGrants Instructions:
• Enter only the anti-poverty programming components that specifically relate to the
service location and the capacity-building activities you identified previously on the
Performance Measure screen.
• You will select:
o an anti-poverty output including the REQUIRED target number;
o an anti-poverty outcome with the OPTIONAL target number; and
o an anti-poverty program strategy/intervention.
• You will also enter the number of VISTA Volunteers you are requesting related to each
anti-poverty programming area. Entering information about data collection plans is
required.
• If you have more than one anti-poverty program for which you plan to build capacity at
this service location, you must enter information about each anti-poverty program
separately.
o For example, if you request VISTA resources to increase your organization’s ability to
connect economically disadvantaged individuals to housing resources and to health
care, you will input separate information about the housing-related project and about
the health care project.
Note:
•

You will be asked to demonstrate how you tracked your project’s
outputs and optional outcomes, we do not recommend that you
include more than four or five performance measures sets. For multiservice location and intermediary projects, we do not recommend
more than one performance measures set per service location.

•

Limiting your performance measures sets does not mean your project
cannot include other allowable activities. You should describe those
in the appropriate narrative sections of the application and if
awarded, report on your results in the narrative sections of the Project
Progress Report.

In the Anti-Poverty section, enter the following information:
•

Select Focus Area Type
This section collects information about type of focus area. A focus area is one of a set of
six issue areas (identified in the Serve America Act) that relate to improving communities
and individuals. “Priority Focus Area” refers to the focus areas that best correspond with
the VISTA anti-poverty mission. These include: Economic Opportunity, Education, Healthy

48

Futures, and Veterans and Military Families. The type “Other Focus Area” refers to focus
areas that are not priorities of the VISTA program.
eGrants Instructions:
•
•

Click on “Select Focus Area Type” and choose “Priority Focus Area” or “Other Focus
Area” from the dropdown menu.
When you select a Focus Area Type, a list of corresponding focus areas appears.

•

Select Focus Area and Objective
eGrants Instructions:
• Click “Select Focus Area” to choose one from the drop-down menu. When you select
a Focus Area, a list of agency-defined corresponding Objectives appears.
• Click “Select Objective” to choose one from the drop-down menu. An objective is a
specific set of project activities within each focus area.
• Select “Other” for the objective if your program activities do not fall within one of the
AmeriCorps-defined focus areas.
• When you select an Objective, a list of corresponding “Anti-Poverty Outputs and AntiPoverty Program Strategy/Interventions” appears.

•

Select Anti-Poverty Output
eGrants Instructions:
• Select one anti-poverty output that best reflects the intent of your anti-poverty project
activities at this service location for this project year.
o If none of the anti-poverty output options in the list represent your project
activities, check the last box in the list and enter your own anti-poverty output
in the text box.

•

Select Anti-Poverty Outcomes (optional)
eGrants Instructions:
• Based on the anti-poverty output you selected above; a list of anti-poverty outcomes
appears.
• You may select the anti-poverty outcome that best reflects the results of your antipoverty project activities at this service location for this project year.
• If none of the anti-poverty outcome options in the list represent your project activities,
check the last box in the list and enter your own anti-poverty outcome in the text box.

•

Select an Anti-Poverty Program Strategy/Intervention
eGrants Instructions:
• Select at least one anti-poverty program strategy/intervention from the list and enter a
brief description, including (to the extent known) the design, frequency, and intensity
of the proposed intervention.

49

•

•

If none of the anti-poverty program strategy/intervention options in the list represent
your programming, check the last box in the list and enter your own
strategy/intervention in the text box.
If you are still developing your anti-poverty program strategy/intervention, check the
last box in the list and write “To be developed” in the text box.

•

Enter Data Collection
eGrants Instructions:
• Enter information for the anti-poverty outputs and outcomes measures you identified.
o For each measure, select an Instrument for collecting data from the drop-down list
and then enter a Description.
• Add the “Target Number” you expect to reach for the project year. The “Unit of
Measure” appears if you selected an “Output and Outcome” measure from the list.
You will need to enter this information if you have user created measures.

•

Enter Number of Volunteers
eGrants Instructions:
• Enter the number of VISTA Volunteer(s)/Leaders you are requesting to help
accomplish the capacity building activities and these anti-poverty performance
measures.
Tip: To add another anti-poverty programming area related to this capacity
building set, click “Add New Anti-Poverty Info” at the bottom of the screen. A new
“Anti-Poverty” screen will appear for this capacity building set. To complete the
new screen, follow the preceding instructions for the “Anti-Poverty” screen.

When you have entered information for all the anti-poverty programming areas related to this
capacity building set, click “Done Adding Anti-Poverty Programming”. You will be returned to
the “Performance Measures” screen, where you can add capacity building information for
other service locations or capacity-building goals.

Tip: If you have multiple service locations conducting similar programming, click
the “Duplicate” button in the "Summary of Performance Measures” chart (top of
the screen) to create a copy of this performance measure set. You can also
change individual fields.
When you are done adding performance measure information for the project, click on
“Summary” to go to the Summary screen.

50

SUMMARY SCREEN
The Summary screen shows all the information you entered in the module.
Editing Options:
• To edit a particular performance measure, expand the panels for the measure you are
interested in and click “Edit Performance Measure” to return to the Performance
Measure screen
• Select “Edit Data Collection” to return to the Data Collection section of the
Performance Measure screen.
eGrants Instructions:
• Select “Validate Performance Measures” to verify this module prior to submitting your
application.
• When you are finished entering performance measures and have validated them
successfully, select “Back to eGrants Application” to return to the main application and
complete any remaining sections in the application instructions.
Printing Options:
• To print a summary of all performance measures at all service locations, click “Print All
Performance Measures”.
• To print a summary from previous applications, click “Print PDF (By Project Year)”.
• To print a particular performance measure, expand the panels for the measure you
are interested in and click “Print This Measure”.

BUDGET
Standard projects are not required to have a project budget.
Project budgets are only required for projects that receive support grants. View the Appendix
for the Support Grant Budget Instructions and Guidance for additional instructions if directed
by AmeriCorps staff.

REQUESTED NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER SLOTS
Purpose: In this section, you will indicate how many VISTA Volunteers you are requesting.
As a reminder:
•

The Standard/Federal cost type Volunteers are those whose living
allowance is covered by the VISTA program.

51

•

o

Cost Share/Non-Federal cost type Volunteers are those whose living
allowance is either reimbursed (cost share) or directly funded (non-federal)
by your organization.

For more information on cost sharing volunteers, visit our Cost Share FAQs.
•

You must request at least one or more full-time Volunteers.

•

You can request a Leader for every five full-time Volunteers.

•

First year partners may not have a Summer Associates component, so leave
that column blank.
The table below is an example of a completed request for slots:

Cost Type

Full-Time
Volunteers

Leader

Summer
Associates

Standard / Federal
Cost Share / Non-Federal
TOTAL

20
0
20

1
0
1

N/A
N/A
N/A

Total
Volunteers
(Full-Time
+ Leader)
21
0
21

Total
Positions
(Slots)
21
0
21

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Purpose: As part of your project application, you are required to email certain documents to
your AmeriCorps regional office to verify your organization’s eligibility to be a partner.
The subject line for your email should be “VISTA New Project Supporting Documents.”
After submission, change the document status to “sent” for the following documents in
eGrants:
•

Copy of Financial Statement Audit or SF-990, if applicable

•

Copy of Articles of Incorporation (not applicable to public entities)

•

List of Board of Directors or governing body (not applicable if public entity)

•

Organizational chart of the organization applying for resources

•

Tax exempt status: IRS determination (not applicable to public entities)

•

AmeriCorps Applicant Operational and Financial Management Survey
(OFMS) (applicable only to Support Grant Project Type applications; found
under the “Pre-Award Resources” of the Manage Your Grant page.)

52

REVIEW
Prior to submitting the project application, you can navigate to the sections to review or
change the information you have entered.
Review the following:
•

The Submission Checklist to confirm you have completed each step of the
project application process.

•

Carefully read the information you have entered for the project application:

o

Applicant Info

o

Application Info

o

Narratives
•

Need

•

Strengthening Communities

•

Organizational Capability

•

Intermediary Justification

•

Project Design

•

Project Management

•

VISTA Assignment

•

Volunteer Management

•

Intermediary Justification

•

Budget/Cost Effectiveness

•

Other (Only if directed to complete)

o

Service Locations

o

Performance Measures

o

Project Budget

o

Requested Number of Volunteer Slots

o

Supporting Documents

You can also view and print the information you have entered in the project application. The
document opens as an Adobe PDF read-only file. You may print the project application in
PDF format or save a copy of it onto your computer.
Once you submit the project application, you may not make changes unless it is returned to
you by an AmeriCorps staff member in eGrants.

53

AUTHORIZE AND SUBMIT
Carefully read the Authorization, Assurances, and Certification sections.
Complete the following sections in eGrants:
•

Authorization

•

Assurances

•

Certification

Authorized Representative:
•
o

An authorized representative has the legal authority to enter into an agreement
with the federal government and commit resources for your organization.
•

o

The individual who authorizes the application must be the applicant
organization’s authorized representative.

To complete this section, the authorized representative must login to their
account and go to the “Authorize and Submit” section.

The authorized representative must have their own eGrants account. To create
an account, visit the eGrants “Create an Account” page.

Verify & Submit:
You are required to verify your entire project application before submitting it in eGrants.
Select “verify this project application,” and eGrants will generate a list of any sections that
need correction. When everything is complete and accurate, select “submit grant application
to CNCS” from the available actions to finalize your submission.
Note: Submission of a project application does not guarantee an award of
AmeriCorps VISTA resources.

Post Submission:
Once your project application is submitted, you will receive an automated notice from the
system indicating your submission was successful.
Once a review is conducted, the regional office managing your application will contact you
about next steps.
If you have questions regarding the review process, contact the regional office managing
your application.

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IF YOUR PROJECT IS AWARDED, WHAT ARE
YOUR ONGOING RESPONSIBILITIES?
Reporting: Approved projects will be responsible for timely submission of periodic reports.
The reporting requirements are as follows:
•
o

Every pay period, the system generates a list of your active VISTA Volunteers.
You must certify that they were serving during the previous pay period or
indicate if a Volunteer left the project and the reason.
•

o

Progress Report Supplement:

You will also complete a VISTA Progress Report Supplement (VPRS) annually in
November, or within sixty days of your project closing. This report collects
information about your project’s activities during the federal fiscal year
(October – September) as opposed to your project year.
•

o

Progress Report

You must complete and submit Project Progress Report (PPR) via eGrants. The
Project Progress Report describes your project’s progress toward achievement
of performance targets. Refer to the Project Progress Report instructions for
current due dates. (Also, see the Memorandum of Agreement.)
•

o

Partner Verification Forms

Federal Financial Reports (applicable only to projects with cash grants):

The Federal Financial Report (FFR) is a statement of expenditures associated
with a support grant. More information can be found on the “Manage Your
Grant” webpage.

Monitoring: AmeriCorps’ Office of Monitoring ensures that AmeriCorps’ award recipients
comply with the terms of their award, the memorandum of agreement, and if applicable, the
Notice of Grant Award. They may monitor projects remotely or by conducting in-person site
visits. You may hear directly from the Office of Monitoring, or regional office staff may contact
you if your project is selected for a monitoring site visit.

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APPENDIX
•

Support Grant Budget Guidance and Instructions

•

Memorandum of Agreement Provisions

•

Terms and Conditions for Support Grants

•

Member Handbook (English & Spanish)

•

Sponsor Handbook (English & Spanish)

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