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Commission Investment Fund

2021 Grantee Progress Report Instructions

How will AmeriCorps use the information reported?

The Commission Investment Fund Grantee Progress Report (GPR) provides information for AmeriCorps

staff to monitor commission progress and to respond to requests from Congress and other stakeholders. 

Some information provided in your GPR may be used by AmeriCorps to promote service. Program staff 

will use the information you provide to identify trends and issues that may lead to changes in policies 

and procedures, allocation of training and technical assistance, or opportunities for peer learning. 

What are the components of the GPR?

The Commission Investment Fund Grantee Progress Report consists of two sections: Performance Data 

Elements and Narratives. 

Please complete the report using eGrants (http://www.nationalservice.gov/egrants/), AmeriCorps’ 

integrated, secure, web-based system for grants management, and follow these instructions. 

When is the GPR due?

The GPR is due on March 31, 2022.*

If you cannot meet the submission deadline for the progress report, you must request an extension from 

your Portfolio Manager. Requests for extensions may be granted when:

1. The report cannot be finished in a timely manner for reasons legitimately beyond the control 

of the commission, and

2. AmeriCorps receives a request explaining the need for an extension before the due date of the 

report.

*If 2021 was the last year of the project period, the GPR is due 90 days after the end of the project 

period, inclusive of any no-cost extensions.

Selecting the Right GPR

After logging into eGrants, click the “Progress Report” link in the lower right corner of the screen.
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You will see a list of possible progress reports for each of your existing grants. Find the grant number 

that includes the 2021 grant year, and expand the list by clicking on the orange arrow key to the right of 

the grant number. 

Find the progress report with the 3/31/2022 due date labeled “Progress Report Annual,” and click on 

the “edit” link. You will be taken to the main progress report screen. 
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Reporting Period

The reporting period is from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. Note that this progress 

report covers the specified reporting period only. The report is not cumulative for the entire multi-year 

grant period and should not include data already reported in past Commission Investment Fund GPRs. 

Data submitted in the Progress Report must be valid (i.e., the data collected and reported must 

accurately align with the approved grant application) and verifiable (i.e., the commission must be able to 

demonstrate the data are accurate). Source documentation that supports the reported results must be 

maintained as grant records.

General Information Tab

The General Information tab displays information for the progress report you have selected. Check the 

reporting period start and end dates, as well as the due date, to ensure you have selected the correct 

report. If you have not selected the correct report for the reporting period and due date, click the 

“Cancel” button and select the correct report. If you have selected the correct report, click the “Begin” 

button to open the progress report. If you return to this tab after starting the report, you will see a 

“Continue Working” button that allows you to open the report that is in progress.

Open amendments may interfere with data entry in the GPR. If you have amendments currently in 

process on your grant, please work with your Portfolio Manager to get the amendment awarded or 

withdrawn before you start entering data into the GPR. Also, it is best to avoid initiating any new 

amendments while you are entering data into the GPR (i.e., after you open the GPR for the first time, 

but prior to submitting the GPR to AmeriCorps); amendments awarded during the GPR data-entry 

process may result in the need to re-enter all of the data from scratch.
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A summary table at the bottom of this tab allows you to see all past reports associated with your grant 

and to view or print a PDF version of these reports.

Performance Data Elements Tab

The Performance Data Elements tab contains a list of data elements of interest to AmeriCorps. The 

definition of each Performance Data Element can be found in the 2021 Commission Investment Fund

GPR Supplemental Instructions, which are in the Appendix of this document. Your responses on this tab 

should include all data collected for these elements during the time period 1/1/2021-12/31/2021, 

regardless of the grant year(s) to which the data are connected.

You are required to report on the following:

• Number of CIF-supported professional development/training events or service projects

• Number of organizations participating in CIF-supported training or technical assistance activities

• Number of commission staff members receiving CIF-supported training or technical assistance

• Number of AmeriCorps members participating in CIF-supported professional 

development/training events or service projects 

Enter a numerical value in each field; do not enter decimals or punctuation. If you do not collect data on 

an indicator, enter a zero (0) in that field. The progress report cannot be submitted until there is a 

numerical value, including zero, entered in every field on this tab. 

Ensure that counts are not duplicated and only represent the direct efforts of the commission (not the 

work of subgrantees). Data reported should not be duplicated in any other AmeriCorps grantee 

progress reports including, but not limited to, AmeriCorps State and National, Volunteer Generation 

Fund, Commission Support Grant, AmeriCorps VISTA, or AmeriCorps Seniors progress reports.

Click “Next” to proceed to the next tab.
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Narratives Tab

Click on the accordion panels to enter narratives. When accordion panels are closed, green check marks 

indicate that text has been entered in the text box. Text must be entered in every narrative field before 

submitting the GPR. For fields that are not required, if not providing narrative, enter “N/A” in the text 

box.

Provide the following narratives:

Performance Management (Required): Describe how you have used, or plan to use, data you collected 

about Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) processes or outcomes during the reporting period to 

improve CIF-supported activities. Based on the data you collected, what has worked well during the 

reporting period, and what changes will you make in the coming year to improve the TTA provided by 

the commission?

Outcomes (Required): Describe how the activities supported by your CIF grant have resulted in 

significant and demonstrable improvements in one or more of the CIF Priority Performance Areas 

included in your application.

Other Narratives (Optional): If required narrative explanations in other sections of the GPR exceeded 

character limits, provide overflow explanations here.

Click “Next” to go to the next tab.

Summary Tab

This tab provides a summary of the data entered in previous tabs. 

From this tab, you can view or print all text and data entered into the GPR by clicking “Print PPR

Summary.” To print all notes entered in the GPR, click “Print Complete Note History.”

To comment on this summary, enter text in the “Overall Grantee Note” text box.
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Submitting the GPR

When all data have been entered into the progress report, go to the Summary Tab and click the 

“Grantee – Submit to CNCS” button.
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APPENDIX

Commission Investment Fund Grantee Progress Report

2021 Supplemental Instructions: Performance Data Elements

Data reported for Performance Data Elements in the Grantee Progress Report (GPR) must adhere to the 

following definitions:

Note: All Performance Data Elements should reflect unduplicated counts and should not be doublecounted in any other progress report submitted to AmeriCorps. 

Required Data Points:

Number of CIF-supported professional development/training events or service projects:

Number of professional development events, training events, or service projects supported in whole or 

in part by CIF funds during the reporting period. Events may be geared toward AmeriCorps members, 

subgrantees, potential grant applicants, and/or any other individuals or organizations served through 

CIF-funded activities. Each event or project should be counted only once even if it spans multiple days.

Number of organizations participating in CIF-supported training or technical assistance activities:

Number of organizations, including (but not limited to) subgrantees and potential grant applicants, who 

participated in training or technical assistance activities supported in whole or in part by CIF funds 

during the reporting period. Each organization should be counted only once even if they received more 

than one type of assistance from the commission.

Number of commission staff members receiving CIF-supported training or technical assistance:

Number of commission staff members who participated in training or technical assistance activities 

supported in whole or in part by CIF funds during the reporting period. Each staff member should be 

counted only once even if they participated in more than one type of training or technical assistance 

activity.

Number of AmeriCorps members participating in CIF-supported professional development/training 

events or service projects:

Number of AmeriCorps members from any program (State, National, VISTA, NCCC) who participated in 

professional development, training events, and/or service projects supported in whole or in part by CIF 

funds during the reporting period. Each AmeriCorps member should be counted only once even if they 

participated in more than one type of activity.