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AmeriCorps State and National

Glossary of Terms – Updated January 2023

Reference this resource of common AmeriCorps State and National terms to better 

understand AmeriCorps programming and grant management:

Administrative 

costs

Costs associated with the standard business operations of a 

program. 

AmeriCorps, the 

agency

Originally established as the Corporation for National and 

Community Service (CNCS), AmeriCorps, the agency, funds 

AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps VISTA, and AmeriCorps 

Seniors projects. AmeriCorps was authorized by the signing of the 

National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. The agency is 

still formally recognized as CNCS doing business as (dba) 

AmeriCorps.

AmeriCorps 

member, corps 

member, member

An individual serving in an AmeriCorps program who is eligible to 

receive a Segal Education Award. 

AmeriCorps 

NCCC 

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC pronounced 

‘N triple C’) is a full-time, team-based residential service program for 

18-26 year-olds. Members serving in the NCCC program are 

assigned to one of four regional campuses and then placed into 

teams ranging between 8-12 members. The teams complete a 

variety of service projects, which are generally 3 to 13 weeks in 

duration, and respond to local communities’ needs throughout the 

United States and territories.

AmeriCorps 

Seniors

AmeriCorps Seniors engages volunteers aged 55 and older to serve 

their communities in programs including, the Foster Grandparent 

Program (FGP), the Senior Companion Program (SCP), and the

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

AmeriCorps State 

and National

Members participate in local service programs operated by not-forprofits, local and state government entities, Native Nations, 

territories, and institutions of higher education, local school and 

police districts, and partnerships among any of the above. 

AmeriCorps 

VISTA

Members of AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service To America) 

serve annually to alleviate poverty by helping local organizations 

expand capacity to make change. 

Benefits AmeriCorps member benefits include training/education, health 

insurance (for full-time AmeriCorps members not otherwise 

covered), and childcare (for eligible full-time AmeriCorps members).

Programs may also provide additional benefits to members as 

appropriate. AmeriCorps member benefits do not include time 

earned (e.g., credited hours towards service requirement) for time 

off, holidays, or sick leave; however, programs may allow members 

to take leave as determined. Time is credited for voter registration, 
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voting, jury duty, and military reserve and guard duty (for a period of 

no more than the two-week annual active duty). 

Communitybased agencyA private nonprofit organization (including a church or other 

religious entity) that is representative of a community or a significant 

segment of a community and is engaged in meeting human, 

educational, environmental, or public safety community needs.

Competitive 

grants

Programmatic grants that support AmeriCorps programs which 

involve members in defined service projects to meet identified 

community needs. All organizations that submit applications to ASN 

competitive NOFOs compete against each other for funding. That 

means that all State Commission competitive subapplications and all 

direct applications subapplications compete against each other for 

the same pool of funding. External reviewers review the applications 

against criteria published in the NOFO. Currently, all ASN’s 

competitive grants are programmatic. 

Corps Describes a team of AmeriCorps members. Corps is pronounced like 

core.

eGrants AmeriCorps’ online grant application and management system. 

Enroll The mechanism to officially recognize an individual as an 

AmeriCorps member. The action of enrolling a member is 

completed through the My AmeriCorps portal. All AmeriCorps 

members must be enrolled through the My AmeriCorps portal no 

later than 8 days after the start date of the member. An individual is 

presumed to be an AmeriCorps member as of the start date 

reflected in the portal.

Evaluation Uses scientifically-based research methods to assess the 

effectiveness of programs. Unlike performance measures, 

evaluations estimate the impacts of programs by comparing the 

outcomes for individuals receiving a service or participating in a 

program to the outcomes for similar individuals not receiving a 

service or not participating in a program. Evaluations are intended to 

establish a causal relationship between the program and a desired 

(or undesired) program outcome.

Federal Financial 

Report (FFR) 

A consolidated federal cash and federal expenditure report 

submitted in eGrants that details the status of AmeriCorps and 

Grantee funds within a specific timeframe.

Formula grants Awarded to states based on a population formula each year. Each 

state commission manages a Formula grant competition and 

conducts a state grant review process to determine the Formula 

grant subrecipients.

Host site A group or organization that is responsible for the actual location 

where program activities are performed. This entity may provide 

task-specific training, technical assistance, supervision, or other 
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services as agreed to in a contract or other formal agreement 

between the program and the host site. 

Living allowance The agency, an applicant, or a grantee can define the AmeriCorps 

State and National AmeriCorps member living allowance as the 

living allowance that a program is paying a member. No other 

member benefits are required to be included in a program’s 

calculation to determine the minimum living allowance amount or 

whether the program is in compliance with the maximum living 

allowance amount. 

My AmeriCorps 

Member Portal

The AmeriCorps online member management system used by all 

grantees and AmeriCorps members.

Member Service 

Year (MSY)

The numerical value of the term of service. One MSY is equivalent to 

one full-time term of service (1,700 hours). A single MSY can be 

composed of one or more slot types to equal one MSY. Less than full 

time slots are prorated in decreasing MSY value as the slots get 

smaller. 

National and 

Community 

Service Act of 

1990, as 

amended by the 

Serve America 

Act

The Act passed by Congress and signed into law in 1990 to establish 

the Commission on National and Community Service, now called

AmeriCorps. In 2009, it was reauthorized and amended into the 

Serve America Act.

National Direct An AmeriCorps State and National prime grantee that provides 

multi-state AmeriCorps programming.

National Service 

Hotline

Toll-free hotline (1-800-942-2677) for members, AmeriCorps 

program administrators, and AmeriCorps grant applicants for

assistance with the Segal Education Award or support with eGrants 

and the MyAmeriCorps portal (including log-in, password, or error 

messages). 

National Service 

Identity

Sense of purpose and membership in a common program that all 

AmeriCorps members share. AmeriCorps program and commission 

staff play key roles in cultivating a national service identity through

training members to represent the field well, AmeriCorps branding, 

and continually promoting the program and field in local 

communities.

National Service 

Trust 

An account in the Treasury of the United States from which 

AmeriCorps makes payments of Segal Education Awards, pays 

interest that accrues on qualified student loans for AmeriCorps 

participants, and makes other payments authorized by Congress.

Native Nation An AmeriCorps State and National prime grantee that is a federally 

recognized Indian tribe. 
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NondisplacementAmeriCorps members may not perform any services that would 

result in a paid employee losing a job or a failure to hire a paid 

employee.

Non-duplication AmeriCorps funds may not be used to duplicate an activity that is 

already available in the locality of a program. 

Notice of Funding 

Opportunity 

(NOFO)

A federal publication that informs the public that funding is available 

for a specific purpose and can be requested through an application 

process. AmeriCorps State and National releases several NOFOs

each year for opportunities including but not limited to, AmeriCorps 

State and National Competitive funding, Native Nations funding, 

Public Health AmeriCorps funding, and AmeriCorps State and 

National Planning Grant funding. 

Office of Grant 

Administration 

(OGA)

AmeriCorps’ grantmaking authority that effectively and efficiently 

safeguards federal resources through fair and compliant 

grantmaking, which includes managing grant application review 

processes; issuing awards; and providing guidance and training to 

staff and external stakeholders.

Office of 

Management and 

Budget (OMB)

Assists the President in preparing the annual federal budget and 

oversees its execution. OMB must approve AmeriCorps regulations, 

applications, forms, and any other documents that affect the public.

Office of Regional 

Operations (ORO)

Established in 2019 through AmeriCorps’ Transformation and 

Sustainability Plan, ORO is the primary workforce administering 

more than 2,000 national service grants and projects for AmeriCorps 

State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors (Foster Grandparent 

Program, Senior Companion Program, and RSVP), AmeriCorps 

VISTA, and Days of Service Programs. ORO implements the agency’s 

priorities and grant making activities within the unique context of 

each of the eight regions by integrating and operationalizing policies 

and priorities within the Office of the Chief of Program Operations.

Operating Site The organization that manages the AmeriCorps program on behalf 

of the multi-state recipient of the grant from AmeriCorps. A multistate grantee must have an operating site in each state in which it has 

AmeriCorps members. AmeriCorps members may be placed at the 

operating site, or an operating site may place AmeriCorps members 

at multiple member service locations.
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Outcomes Reflect the changes or benefits that occur. These changes may be in 

individuals, organizations, communities, or the environment. And the 

types of changes that may occur include attitudes, knowledge, 

behavior, or condition. In general, the most compelling outcomes 

address changes in behavior or conditions. However, what makes a 

change compelling is not just the type of change but the magnitude 

or amount of change. And, of course, the change should reflect the 

activity’s intended purpose and should address the identified need.

Outputs The amount of service provided. They measure the completion of 

activities and document the fact that individuals or organizations 

received services, products were created, or programs were 

developed. They answer the question, “How much service did we 

perform?” or “How many individuals or organizations did we serve?” 

They do not answer the question, “What changed as a result of the 

service provided or individuals or organizations served?”

Performance 

measurement

The ongoing, systematic process of tracking your program or 

project’s outputs and outcomes. It can show whether a change 

occurred, but importantly, it does not indicate whether the change 

occurred as a result of an intervention. Only evaluation can do that.

Portfolio 

Manager

A regional office team member responsible for managing

relationships with external stakeholders and supporting all grant 

awards and projects for organizations located in the states and 

territories within their region. 

Prime grantee A direct recipient of a grant from AmeriCorps; prime grantees 

include state commissions, national/multi-state programs, and Native 

Nations programs.

Program A coordinated group of activities linked by common elements such 

as recruitment, selection, and training of participants and staff, 

regular group activities, and assignment to projects organized for 

the purpose of achieving the mission and goals of national and 

community service. 

Project An activity or a set of activities carried out as part of a program. 

Project Progress 

Report (PPR)

Report submitted in eGrants that details progress toward 

achievement of approved performance targets within a specific 

timeframe. PPRs are collected annually and at the end of a grant.

Public Health 

AmeriCorps 

(PHA)

An AmeriCorps State and National program established by a 

partnership between AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention with the goal of supporting the recruitment, 

training, and development of the next generation of public health 

leaders who will be ready to respond to the nation’s public health 

needs. 

Prohibited 

Activities

A specific set of mandated activities that while charging time to the 

AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or 
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otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps 

program, staff and members may not engage. 

Request for 

Proposal (RFP)

A solicitation by a government entity or agency for products or 

services from public contractors. By law, government agencies are 

required to issue bids publicly whenever they need a specific 

product or service.

Segal AmeriCorps 

Education Award

Available benefit that AmeriCorps members may receive after 

successful completion of a term of service. The award can be used to 

repay qualified student loans and to pay current educational 

expenses at eligible institutions of higher education and training 

programs.

Service Location Site where service activities are being performed by AmeriCorps 

members. 

Slot Refers to a position that a member will occupy; the number of slots 

equals the number of open positions available to fill with members. 

Each slot type has a required minimum number of service hours 

which must be performed, and a time period during which these 

hours must be completed.

Stakeholder People or organizations that have a high degree of interest in your 

organization’s vision, mission, and success.

State Service 

Commission 

An independent, bipartisan commission appointed by a governor to 

implement service programs in their state or U.S. Territory. Each 

state commission receives AmeriCorps formula funding, is eligible 

for AmeriCorps competitive funding, and is responsible for 

managing AmeriCorps subgrantees within their state or territory. 

Subgrantee An entity that receives AmeriCorps grant funds or member positions 

from a prime grantee of AmeriCorps. These include state or local 

programs funded in the Competitive or Formula grant cycles that are 

subgrantees of State Service Commissions.

Symposium AmeriCorps State and National annual training convening for state 

commissions, national direct grantees, and Native Nation grantees.

Term of service A term of service is determined by each program and can range 

from full-time to abbreviated-time which denotes the amount of 

hours a member must complete during a period that does not 

exceed one year. Below are the AmeriCorps terms of service 

options:

Full-Time (FT): 1,700 hours

Three-Quarter-Time (TQT): 1,200 hours

Half-Time (HT): 900 hours

Reduced Half-Time (RHT): 675 hours
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Quarter-Time (QT): 450 hours

Minimum-Time (MT): 300 hours

Abbreviated-Time (AT): 100 hours

Training and 

Technical 

Assistance (TTA)

The support and assistance provided to AmeriCorps programs to 

strengthen program operations.