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NOTICE OF FEDERAL FUNDING AVAILABILITY

Federal Agency Name: Corporation for National and Community Service

Funding Opportunity Title: FY 2016 Social Innovation Fund Classic Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type: Initial Announcement 

CFDA Number: 94.019

Important Dates

 Notifications of Intent to Apply are due by April 15, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

 Applications are due May 10, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

 Successful applicants will be notified by August 1, 2016.

 Disclosure: Publication of this Notice of Federal Funding Availability (Notice) does not obligate the

Corporation for National and Community Service to award any specific number of grants or to

obligate any particular amount of funding.

FULL TEXT OF NOTICE

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 

1. Purpose of Social Innovation Fund Funding

The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is to improve lives,

strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Through

AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Volunteer Generation Fund, CNCS has helped to engage millions

of citizens in meeting community and national challenges through service and volunteer action.

Through the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), CNCS has augmented its traditional activities with an

enhanced focus on identifying and growing innovative, evidence-based approaches to our nation’s

challenges.

The purpose of the Social Innovation Fund is to grow the impact of innovative community-based 

solutions that have compelling evidence of improving the lives of people in low-income communities 

throughout the United States. The Social Innovation Fund directs resources toward increasing the 

evidence-base, capacity, and scale of the organizations it funds in order to improve the lives of people 

served by those organizations. The Social Innovation Fund also generates broader impact by 

leveraging the grant program in various ways to improve how philanthropies, federal government 

departments and agencies, state and local government, and community-based organizations deploy 

funds to address social challenges. Additionally, it enhances the ability of the nonprofit sector to 

support the growth of innovative, high-impact organizations.

As one of the President’s “tiered-evidence initiatives,” the Social Innovation Fund embodies a 

commitment to use rigorous evidence to both select recipients of federal funding and to validate the 

impact of its funded program models. The Social Innovation Fund is driven by three core principles: 

(1) many of the most compelling solutions to persistent social problems in low-income communities 

are being developed in those communities and not in federal offices in Washington, D.C.; (2) 

significant impact can be generated for society by proactively identifying the best community-based 

solutions, strengthening their evidence base, and supporting the growth of their impact; and (3) the 

federal government can help drive social innovation by stimulating, focusing and enhancing publicprivate partnerships and cross-sector collaborations to grow the impact of the best community 

solutions. 

The Social Innovation Fund has two distinct grant Programs: Classic and Pay for Success (PFS). This 

Notice concerns the SIF Classic Program.
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The SIF Classic Fundamentals

Taken together, the following fundamental characteristics of the Social Innovation Fund form a 

unique grant program:

 The Social Innovation Fund competitively selects experienced grantmaking institutions (also 

called “recipients”) to do the critical work of identifying promising solutions (“interventions”) to 

community problems, and selecting high-performing nonprofit community organizations 

(“subrecipients”) on a competitive basis. 

o Recipients receive between $1 million and $10 million per year for five years. 

o Recipients award at least $100,000 annually to each subrecipient that they fund for three to 

four years.

o A majority of federal funds awarded to recipients must be invested in subrecipient programs.

 The interventions that are supported by the recipients must be innovative and evidence-based. 

Specifically, the Social Innovation Fund seeks interventions that have advanced beyond the 

beginning stages, are showing signs of effectiveness, and have the potential for greater scale.

Larger programmatic and scaling dollars are awarded to programs that show higher levels of 

evidence, as defined in the Evidence and Evaluation section below, and have stronger capacity.

 Funded interventions must have at least preliminary evidence of effectiveness and then undergo 

rigorous, independent, formal evaluations, which substantively advance the sector’s 

knowledge base. 

 The Social Innovation Fund generates significant non-federal resources through a substantial 

match requirement at two levels. Each federal dollar granted by the Social Innovation Fund to 

the recipients must be matched one to one with cash from private and other non-federal sources. 

Similarly, grants from recipients to the subrecipients must separately be matched on the same one 

to one basis.

 With the support of the recipient, subrecipients grow their programs to make a deeper or 

broader impact in communities.

 And finally, in partnership with the recipients, the Social Innovation Fund engages in knowledge 

sharing through the documentation and dissemination of best practices and lessons learned.

Operational Models

There are two basic operational models of Social Innovation Fund projects:

 A “Geographically-Based Social Innovation Fund” serves low-income communities within a 

specific local geographic area and focuses on achieving measurable outcomes in one or more of 

the Social Innovation Fund’s issue areas. 

 An “Issue-Based Social Innovation Fund” serves low-income communities in multiple 

geographic locations and focuses on achieving measurable outcomes in one of the Social 

Innovation Fund’s issue areas. 

Key SIF Terminology

High-performing nonprofit organizations are those: 1) that are well-run and financially healthy with 

capable leadership, clear goals and objectives; 2) that diligently collect quality data and use this data 

to understand which of their efforts work and which do not; and 3) that use this knowledge to make 

adjustments to their approach to continuously improve.

Innovation is defined as new ways to solve old problems that are faster, cost-effective, data-driven 

and lead to better results for the public good. 

Low-income community 

As specified in section 198K of the National and Community Service Act (NCSA), Pub. L. No. 101-

610, as amended, each Social Innovation Fund recipient must make subawards and otherwise support 

programs that serve “low-income” communities. For purposes of this Notice, “low-income 
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community” means either:

 A population of individuals or households being served by a subrecipient on the basis of having a

household income that is 200 percent or less of the applicable federal poverty guideline, or

 Either a population of individuals or households, or a specific local geographic area, with specific

measurable indicators that correlate to low-income status, such as, but not exclusive to, K-12

students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, long-term unemployment, risk of homelessness,

low school achievement, persistent hunger, or serious mental illness. An application that proposes

to rely on measurable indicators should fully describe the basis for relying upon those indicators

(including citations to appropriate studies) and demonstrate how these measurable indicators

correlate to low-income status. The application also must describe and cite the source of data

supporting the conclusion that the targeted community meets the indicators.

Significantly philanthropically underserved

For purposes of this Notice, CNCS considers applicants to be serving significantly philanthropically 

underserved communities if they support subrecipients that carry out activities in low-income 

communities that have considerably less than the average number of active philanthropic investments 

as similarly populated communities. If applicable, applicants must describe, using data and statistics, 

why and how this definition applies to their community. 

Issue Areas

The Social Innovation Fund only supports programming that targets one or more of the issue areas 

listed below:

 Youth Development – Preparing children and youth for success in school, active citizenship,

productive work, and healthy and safe lives, including crime reduction initiatives focused on

juvenile delinquency and victimization prevention and response.

 Economic Opportunity – Increasing economic opportunities and financial stability for

economically disadvantaged individuals and families.

 Healthy Futures – Improving health outcomes, promoting healthy lifestyles, and decreasing

health disparities that disproportionately affect low-income communities.

2. Funding Priorities

In addition to addressing one or more of the above issue areas, which is a mandatory requirement,

CNCS is particularly interested in supporting applications that propose to include one or more of the

following optional priorities:

• Juvenile Justice: Strategies to improve outcomes for youth involved in, or at risk for

involvement with, the juvenile justice system.

• Technology: Strategies to utilize technology to increase the impact of the proposed evidencebased social programs.

• Early Childhood Education: Strategies to expand access to high quality early learning education

for children through age five that prepares them for lifelong success.

While there are no points assigned for addressing one or more of the optional funding priorities, high 

scoring applications that address a priority are more likely to be recommended for funding than those 

that do not. In order to receive priority consideration, applicants must demonstrate that the priority 

area is a significant part of the program focus and intended outcomes, falls within one or more of 

SIF’s issue areas, and includes a high quality program design. Applicants proposing programs that 

receive priority consideration are not guaranteed funding. 

3. Performance Measurement

Recipients will be required to use performance measures to assess progress. Recipients should expect

to work with CNCS to finalize the performance measures they will use which may include some
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standardized performance measures related to their identified issue areas. For the purposes of this 

Notice, please disregard the Performance Measures section of the Application Instructions.

4. Key Program Requirements

Understanding these key program requirements is critical to determining whether this funding

opportunity is a fit for your organization and to developing a competitive application. Please review

the resources on the SIF NOFA webpage for more information on these requirements.

a) Match

The Social Innovation Fund recipients are required to raise match funds equal to the grant they 

receive. The match must be in cash from non-federal sources. At the time of application, the Social 

Innovation Fund applicants must demonstrate the ability to meet 50 percent of their first year cash 

match requirement, as explained in the Other Submission Requirements section of this Notice.

Subrecipients also will be required to match 100 percent of the grant they receive from the recipient 

in cash from non-federal sources. CNCS is interested in applicants that present both a strong capacity 

to raise additional dollars to be provided to subrecipients, and a serious commitment to share the 

fundraising burden of their subrecipients.

b) Subawarding

Recipients are required to select subrecipients on a competitive basis. This means that recipients must 

run an open competition that is available to eligible nonprofit community organizations beyond their 

own existing grant portfolio or network. Subawards must be made in annual amounts of at least 

$100,000, and of sufficient size and scope to enable the subrecipient to build its capacity to manage 

initiatives and sustain replication or expansion for the initiatives. Subawards should be for a period of 

between three and four years, and cannot extend beyond the period of a recipient’s grant. 

Additionally, any contracts awarded by the recipient or subrecipient may not extend beyond the end 

date of the recipient’s grant. The Social Innovation Fund recipients should award larger programmatic 

and scaling dollars to programs that show higher levels of evidence, as defined below, and have 

greater capacity. 

Experience has shown that subrecipients that receive the minimum level of funding find it 

challenging to meet requirements, especially those related to evaluation. If you are proposing 

subawards at the minimum level, you will need to explain how you will ensure sufficient subrecipient 

capacity to meet program and evaluation requirements. 

Applicants may propose subaward funding strategies that are of two distinct types. In both cases, the 

recipient will have defined a specific social problem it intends to address through its own Social 

Innovation Fund. 

 Strategy A: The applicant seeks and invests in subrecipient organizations that have developed

or implemented innovative, evidence-based solutions to the specified problem.

 Strategy B: The applicant has identified an innovative, evidence-based solution and seeks

subrecipients that are able to effectively implement that solution.

All subgrantees must implement interventions that have at least preliminary evidence of 

effectiveness, and, for Strategy B, the intermediaries’ competitive process must include provisions to 

accurately identify the level of evidence in support of the subgrantees’ proposed intervention.

In order to maximize the impact of the Social Innovation Fund and ensure a diverse array of 

innovative subrecipients across the federal government, recipient applicants should direct grant funds 

toward programs that will not receive grants for the same activities from other federal innovation 

funds (e.g., “Investing in Innovation” at the federal Department of Education). Final award decisions 
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from the Social Innovation Fund may take into consideration the outcomes of other federal 

competitions.

For purposes of the Social Innovation Fund, nonprofit community organizations which may receive 

subawards are nonprofit organizations as defined in 2 C.F.R. §200.70 and nonprofit institutions of 

higher education that carry out innovative, effective initiatives to address community challenges. 

§ 200.70: “Nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other

organization, not including IHEs, that: (a) Is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, 

charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; (b) Is not organized primarily for profit; and (c) 

Uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operations of the organization.”

The Social Innovation Fund recipients will be required to submit for approval detailed plans for 

selecting subrecipients. Successful applicants will receive notification of the requirement shortly after 

being approved for funding and then will have 15 days to submit the plan. Please see Appendix I for 

more details.

c) Growing the Impact of Program Models

The Social Innovation Fund recipients are expected to support the growth of the programs they fund. 

The impact of programs may be grown in several ways, including through expansion of existing 

program sites or replication of the program to new sites in different communities. However, all 

strategies should involve expanding the selected interventions so that more people in low-income 

communities derive substantial, measurable benefit. Not all organizations with preliminary evidence 

have reached a stage of development or produced the kind of substantial results that would make 

them ready for large-scale growth or expansion. Instead, they should focus on the kind of limited 

scaling that aims to further validate the model. 

While all programs will be expected to demonstrate growth during their time in the Social Innovation 

Fund, CNCS expects that there will be a direct, positive relationship between the levels of growth that 

recipients propose for given programs and the level of evidence of the program at the time of 

selection for funding. For example, a program that has strong evidence of impact would be expected 

to have a more ambitious growth plan than a program with preliminary evidence; we would not 

expect to see a plan for broad replication from a subrecipient with preliminary evidence. Likewise, 

programs with higher levels of evidence that have higher growth targets would receive larger funding 

awards. 

d) Evidence and Evaluation

The Social Innovation Fund has three tiers of evidence of effectiveness: preliminary, moderate, and 

strong. (Please see definitions on pages 7-8.) Social Innovation Fund recipients must fund program 

models with at least preliminary evidence and support further evaluation of those models in order to 

increase the level of evidence, thereby adding to the existing evidence base, and developing greater 

understanding of what makes the program successful. These evaluations must be conducted by third 

party, independent evaluation partners. Please review the resources on the SIF NOFA webpage for 

more information on these requirements. 

It is the expectation of CNCS that each program model will achieve moderate or strong evidence (as 

defined in this section) by the end of its three to four year subaward period. Because of the rigor of 

such evaluation designs, program models with only early stages of preliminary evidence may not be 

appropriate candidates for subawards through the Social Innovation Fund. 

Recipients and subrecipients are required to commit significant time and resources to ensure formal 

evaluations of each program model that receives funding from the Social Innovation Fund. 
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Once selected, the Social Innovation Fund recipients should expect to participate in and manage 

several activities to ensure the successful evaluation of models within their portfolios. These activities 

include, but are not limited to: 

 Develop an overall portfolio evaluation strategy that reflects the key outcomes and levels of

evidence their subrecipients are expected to achieve, and describe their contracted research

partners, timetable, budget, and methodology for coordinating all stakeholders and required

evaluation activities. The strategy will be reviewed by CNCS.

 Develop individual evaluation plans for each funded intervention (which could be an

overarching model or unique to each subrecipient) that documents the evaluation’s technical

design and demonstrates how each plan will measure and increase the evaluated program

model’s evidence base; these plans must be approved by CNCS before implementation.

 Provide any necessary capacity building and technical assistance to their subrecipients to

ensure they are able to build their capacity to accomplish all Social Innovation Fund-related

evaluation requirements and continue to measure their program model’s impact into the

future.

 Ensure the implementation of individual subrecipient evaluation plans and report progress

and results to CNCS.

 Collaborate with CNCS to review and strengthen their strategies and plans and ensure

appropriate implementation and reporting of each plan.

Use of Contracted Research Partners

Recipients will choose to either contract with a research partner or require their subrecipients to 

contract with a research partner to help with some or all of the following activities: 

 Determining the technical design of their evaluation plans for assessing program fidelity and

impacts.

 Implementing their CNCS-approved evaluation plans and reporting on the evidence collected.

 Conducting technical assistance for subrecipients to build their capacity to accomplish all

Social Innovation Fund-related evaluation requirements and continue to measure their

program model’s impact into the future.

Please note that contracted research partners and all other contracts must be procured in accordance 

with the procurement requirements in 2 CFR Chapters I II, and XXII. See in particular, 2 CFR 

§§200.317-200.326. Alternatively, nonprofit community organizations may continue to comply with 

the Procurement Standards in 45 C.F.R. §§2543.40-2543.48 for two additional fiscal years, beginning 

after December 26, 2014. Such election must be specified in the nonprofit organization’s documented 

policies and procedures.

Funding for Evaluation Activities

CNCS recognizes that rigorous evaluations are expensive and that nonprofits often are unfamiliar 

with these processes and costs because many funders do not make evaluations a priority. Given the 

central role that evaluation plays in the success of the Social Innovation Fund, recipients and their 

subrecipients must allocate appropriate resources to cover the many activities related to the evaluation 

of each program model’s effectiveness. Your application should specifically indicate your estimated 

costs related to evaluation. Technical assistance resources for this competition include evaluation tips, 

such as considerations when budgeting for evaluation.

CNCS Role

CNCS is committed to supporting recipients in their efforts to increase the evidence of program 

effectiveness within their Social Innovation Fund portfolios. The agency will work closely with 
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recipients to meet this goal by providing them with technical assistance on the design, 

implementation, monitoring and reporting of their subrecipient evaluation plans. All subrecipient 

evaluation plans proposed by recipients will require the approval of CNCS before implementation. 

CNCS sees this process of ongoing evaluation and knowledge building as a key aspect of the Social 

Innovation Fund that can improve recipient and subrecipient programs and also benefit other 

organizations throughout the nonprofit sector. 

Evidence Tiers

The Social Innovation Fund uses the following definitions of evidence recognizing that there are 

multiple levels of development within each tier. These definitions are consistent with those used by 

the Office of Management and Budget.

 Preliminary evidence means evidence that is based on a reasonable hypothesis supported by 

credible research findings. Thus, research that has yielded promising results for either the 

program model or a similar program model will meet CNCS’s criteria. Examples of research 

that meet the standards include: 

1) Outcome studies that track participants through a program and measure participants’ 

responses at the end of the program; and 

2) Third-party pre- and post-test research that determines whether participants have 

improved on an intended outcome. 

 Moderate evidence means evidence from previous studies on the program, the designs of 

which can support causal conclusions (i.e., studies with high internal validity) but have 

limited generalizability (i.e., moderate external validity). This also can include studies for 

which the reverse is true—studies that only support moderate causal conclusions but have 

broad general applicability. 

The following would constitute moderate evidence: 

1) At least one well-designed and well-implemented experimental or quasi-experimental 

study supporting the effectiveness of the practice strategy, or program, with small sample 

sizes or other conditions of implementation or analysis that limit generalizability; 

2) At least one well-designed and well-implemented experimental or quasi-experimental 

study that does not demonstrate equivalence between the intervention and comparison 

groups at program entry but that has no other major flaws related to internal validity; or 

3) Correlational research with strong statistical controls for selection bias and for discerning 

the influence of internal factors.

 Strong evidence means evidence from previous studies on the program, the designs of which 

can support causal conclusions (i.e., studies with high internal validity), and that, in total, 

include enough of the range of participants and settings to support scaling up to the state, 

regional, or national level (i.e., studies with high external validity). 

The following are examples of strong evidence: 

1) More than one well-designed and well-implemented experimental study or well-designed 

and well-implemented quasi-experimental study that supports the effectiveness of the 

practice, strategy, or program; or 

2) One large, well-designed and well-implemented randomized controlled, multi-site trial 

that supports the effectiveness of the practice, strategy, or program.

Of Note: CNCS sees the relationship between evidence and program growth as an iterative process. 

While subrecipients must have at least preliminary evidence of their proposed program model in 
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order to receive funding, CNCS recognizes that all programs move through stages in developing a 

greater body of evidence. Depending on the circumstances and the existing data about an 

intervention, different types of evaluation design or data collection could be appropriate. As a result, 

in order for each program model to achieve moderate or strong evidence by the end of the three to 

four year subaward period, CNCS expects that some models may require a two-step process to build 

their evidence-base during the grant. 

5. Relationship to Other Federal Evidence-Based Programs

Innovation funds currently exist in the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and 

Labor to invest specifically in evidence-based programs in education, teen pregnancy prevention, 

home visiting, health care delivery, and employment and job training system delivery. Therefore, 

CNCS does not intend to make Social Innovation Fund awards to programs in these areas unless they 

clearly propose a solution to an unmet need which cannot be funded through these other funding 

streams, as identified in consultation with these Departments. CNCS also intends to ensure that the 

Social Innovation Fund is not simply adding dollars to existing initiatives. As such, we will prioritize 

efforts where SIF dollars can serve a unique and integral purpose to advance and accelerate the 

intervention. To learn more about key innovation and evidence initiatives at the Departments of 

Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, please visit their websites: 

Department of Education 

 Investing in Innovation Fund: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html

Department of Health and Human Services

 Teen Pregnancy Prevention Tiered Evidence Initiative:

http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-initiatives/teen_pregnancy/

http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-initiatives/teen_pregnancy/db/

 Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Tiered Evidence Initiative:

http://homvee.acf.hhs.gov/

http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/homevisiting/

 Employment Opportunity and Youth Development Research and Evaluation 

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre

 Health Care Innovation

http://innovation.cms.gov/

Department of Labor 

 Workforce Innovation Fund: http://www.doleta.gov/workforce_innovation/

 Office of Evaluation: http://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/AllStudies.htm

6. Program Authority

CNCS’s legal authority to enter into a cooperative agreement is found in Sections 198(a) and 198K of 

the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA), Pub.L.No. 101-610, as amended (42 

U.S.C. §§ 12653(a), 12653k, and in the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act (31 USC 

§§6301-6308).

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION 

1. Estimated Available Funds

According to the FY 2016 Appropriations, up to $39 million is available for the Social Innovation 

Fund’s new and continuation grant awards for the Classic Program.
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CNCS reserves the right to prioritize continuation funding for existing grants. 

2. Estimated Award Amount

Annual award amounts for the FY 2016 Social Innovation Fund grant competition will vary. Per 

statute, the SIF grant awards can range from $1 million to $10 million per year, but CNCS expects 

that most grant awards will be between $3 and $4 million per year. CNCS intends to make larger 

grants to recipient organizations seeking subrecipients with moderate or strong evidence of 

effectiveness. 

3. Project Period

The grant award covers a five year project period. Your proposal should represent the full five year 

period, but your budget should only be for the first year. Funding for subsequent years is dependent 

upon the availability of appropriations and satisfactory performance. CNCS reserves the right to 

adjust the amount of an award or elect not to continue funding.

4. Type of Award

The funding mechanism for the Social Innovation Fund is a cooperative agreement, which provides 

for substantial programmatic involvement by CNCS with the recipient organizations as the approved 

grant activities are implemented. The assigned CNCS program officer will confer with the recipient 

on a regular and frequent basis to develop or review service delivery and project status, including 

work plans, budgets, periodic reports, evaluations, as well as programmatic and financial monitoring 

of contractors, subrecipients and partners, etc. In particular, CNCS anticipates having substantial 

involvement in: 

 Setting parameters for subrecipient selection.

 Developing and approving subrecipient selection plans.

 Reviewing prospective subrecipients and incoming levels of evidence associated with 

subrecipient interventions.

 Developing, approving, and monitoring the implementation of subrecipient evaluation plans.

 Developing and approving subrecipient growth plans.

 Documenting and sharing lessons learned through a CNCS-sponsored learning community.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

This competition is open to existing grantmaking institutions or eligible partnerships. A grantmaking 

institution is an organization in existence at the time of the application that invests in nonprofit 

community organizations or programs through grants as an essential rather than a collateral means of 

fulfilling its mission and vision. The emphasis on grantmaking activities as a part of an organization’s 

mission should be evident in the applicants’ mission statement and promotional materials, and should 

be clearly reflected as a significant percentage of their annual operating budget. 

In keeping with this view, grantmaking institutions will generally:

 Conduct open or otherwise competitive programs to award grants to or make investments in a 

diverse portfolio of nonprofit community organizations, which may have included in-network 

organizations.

 Negotiate specific grant requirements with nonprofit community organizations.

 Oversee and monitor the performance of recipients.

Applications from grantmaking institutions that have primarily funded within their own networks will 

be considered if they clearly and specifically propose to conduct open subaward competitions that 

will involve investing in a diverse portfolio of out-of-network nonprofit community organizations, but 
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which may propose to include a limited number of in-network investments that do not exceed 

approximately one-third of the grant dollars to be distributed. In all other respects, an in-network 

grantmaking institution is required to meet the same eligibility requirements as other existing 

grantmaking institutions as set out below. 

An eligible partnership is a formal relationship between an existing grantmaking institution (as 

defined above) and either an additional grantmaking institution, a State Commission on National and 

Community Service, or a chief executive officer of a unit of general local government, where the 

partner organizations will share responsibilities under the award. An eligible partnership should 

include a legal agreement, such as a Memorandum of Understanding, outlining the roles and 

responsibilities of each partner. In a cooperative agreement with a partnership, CNCS would expect to 

be dealing with each partner organization with some degree of independence concerning its collective 

responsibilities. For example, a partnership could include one organization that handles all aspects of 

a Social Innovation Fund program related to program management and oversight, while another 

organization handles all aspects related to finances and grant administration.

Other collaborations, which may be similar to consultant or contractor arrangements, in which an 

organization obtains access to needed competencies but remains fully responsible for the performance 

of the cooperative agreement, will not be treated as partnerships for purposes of determining 

eligibility. Approval of the recipient’s application by CNCS does not constitute approval of specific 

named contractors. Such arrangements must be contracted according to procurement standards under 

2 C.F.R. §§ 200.317-200.326.

A unit of government is not considered to be an existing grantmaking institution. A unit of general 

local government may participate in an eligible partnership, but cannot itself apply without an 

existing grantmaking institutional partner. Other units of government may collaborate with an existing 

grantmaking institution or eligible partnership.

Organizations that have been convicted of a federal crime may not receive assistance described in this 

Notice. Pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an organization described in Section 

501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 501 (c)(4) that engages in lobbying 

activities is not eligible to apply.

Receiving funding previously from CNCS or another federal agency is not a requisite to apply under 

this Notice. 

Consistent with 198K(e) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-610, 

as amended, current high performing Social Innovation Fund recipients are eligible to apply for 

renewal funding in order to substantially increase knowledge about its funded intervention, i.e. to 

further develop the evidence base to reach the next evidence tier. This might include testing the 

effectiveness of its funded intervention with new populations or locations, or increasing the evidence 

base by implementing a more rigorous evaluation. In order to qualify for renewal funding, the 

recipient should have an on-track or completed evaluation which shows significant results of positive 

impact.

Current Social Innovation Fund recipients are also eligible to apply for funding for a different 

program. 

2. Cost Share or Matching

Successful applicants are required to match their grant on a one to one basis. The match must be in 

cash from non-federal sources; in-kind match is not allowable. Matching funds must be unrestricted 
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new or existing dollars. They cannot be previously, obligated funding that is redirected for purposes 

of meeting the Social Innovation Fund match requirement. 

Subrecipients have the same match requirement as recipients, and must demonstrate on an annual 

basis that they are in compliance with the requirement. Please note that federal rules apply to the 

federal funds awarded as well as to the match funds contributed by the recipient. In general, the cost 

of raising funds in order to meet the matching funds requirement is not an allowable cost under the 

Uniform Cost Principles (2 CFR Subpart E). However, recipients may charge to their grant the cost of 

assisting subrecipients with raising match, with prior written approval. 

For more information, see section A(4)(a) above.

At the time of application, Social Innovation Fund applicants must demonstrate the ability to meet 

50 percent of their first year cash match requirement, as explained in the Other Submission 

Requirements section of this Notice. 

3. Other Requirements

Requirements to be Compliant for Review

In order for an application to be reviewed, the applicant must:

a) Be an eligible organization.

b) Submit an application and required documentation by the submission deadline.

c) Submit an application that is complete, in that it contains all required elements and additional 

documents and follows the instructions provided in this Notice.

d) Submit a budget that reflects a federal share of between $1 million and $10 million.

e) Submit a budget that reflects a plan to distribute a majority of awarded federal funds to 

subrecipients. Note: for further information on this requirement, please see the Budget Instruction 

in the Application Instructions.

f) Demonstrate either cash-on-hand or cash commitments (or a combination thereof) toward 

meeting 50 percent of the required first year matching funds, based on the amount of grant funds 

requested at the time of submission. For example, a request of $1 million needs to be 

accompanied by documentation of $500,000 in cash on-hand or cash commitments at the time of 

application. Instructions for how to provide documentation of matching funds are provided in 

section D.6.b.Submission of Additional Documents. 

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package

Refer to the SIF NOFA webpage to obtain the necessary information to apply. You can also send an 

email to SIFapplication@cns.gov or call (202) 606-3223 for a printed copy of the application 

package. The TTY number is (800) 833-3722.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a) Application Content 

Your completed application must have the following components: 

 Standard Form 424 (SF-424) Facesheet: This is automatically generated when you complete 

the data elements in the eGrants system. When you complete the application in eGrants, 

many of the fields will automatically be filled with information you entered during the 

registration process.

 Narratives

o Executive Summary: This is a brief description of your proposed program. The Executive 

Summaries of all compliant applications are published on the CNCS website following 

grant awards.
12

o Program Design

o Organizational Capability

o Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy

 Standard Form 424A Budget 

 Authorization, Assurances, and Certifications

b) Page Limits

Applications may not exceed 45 double-spaced pages for the Narrative, including the SF-424 

Facesheet and Executive Summary as the pages print out from eGrants. The page limit does not 

include the Budget section. 

Reviewers will not consider material past the page limit in the printed report, even if eGrants allows 

you to enter and submit text over the limit. We strongly encourage you to print out the application 

from the “Review and Submit” page prior to submitting it to check that the application does not 

exceed the page limit.

3. Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and System for Award 

Management (SAM) 

Applications must include a DUNS number and an Employer Identification Number. The DUNS 

number does not replace an Employer Identification Number. You can obtain a DUNS number at no 

cost by calling the DUNS number request line at (866) 705-5711 or by applying online at 

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. The website indicates a 48-hour email turnaround time on requests 

for DUNS numbers; however, CNCS recommends registering at least 30 days before the application 

due date. 

After obtaining a DUNS number, you must register with the System for Award Management (SAM) 

and maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is complete and, if a grant is 

awarded, throughout the life of the award. SAM registration must be renewed annually. CNCS 

suggests finalizing a new registration or renewing an existing one at least two weeks before the 

application deadline to allow time to resolve any issues that may arise. You must use your SAMregistered legal name and address on all grant applications to CNCS.

Applicants that do not comply with these requirements may become ineligible to receive an award. 

See the SAM Quick Guide for Grantees. 

4. Submission Date and Time

a) Notification of Intent to Apply

CNCS strongly encourages applicants to submit a Notification of Intent to Apply by April 15, 2016. 

Please indicate your intent by completing the short survey at this link: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/sifclassic16notice.

b) Application Submission Deadline

Applications are due May 10, 2016 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. CNCS will not consider applications 

received after the deadline, except as noted below. CNCS reserves the right to extend the submission 

deadline and any notice of such extended deadline will be posted on the CNCS website. 

c) Late Applications 

CNCS may consider an application after the deadline, but only if the applicant submits a letter to 

LateApplications@cns.gov explaining the extenuating technical circumstances that caused the delay. 

CNCS must receive the letter within one business day after the deadline. If technical issues prevent an 

applicant from submitting an application on time, the letter should include the eGrants ticket number 
13

provided by the National Service Hotline. Communication with CNCS staff, including an applicant’s 

program officer, is not a substitute for sending the letter. CNCS will determine whether or not to 

accept a late application on a case-by-case basis. Please be advised that CNCS will not consider an 

advance request to submit a late application.

5. Funding Restrictions

Regulations outlining funding restrictions are contained in the Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements section of this Notice. In addition, Social Innovation Fund grant awards cannot be used 

for construction costs.

Indirect Costs 

CNCS allows applicants to include indirect costs in application budgets. Based on qualifying factors, 

applicants have the option of using a federally approved indirect cost rate, a 10% de minimis rate of 

modified total direct costs, or may claim certain costs directly as outlined in 2 CFR § 200.413 Direct 

costs. States, local governments and Indian tribes may use approved cost allocation plans. All 

methods must be applied consistently across federal awards. Applicants who hold a federal negotiated 

indirect cost rate or will be using the 10% de minimis rate must enter that information in the 

Organization section in eGrants.

6. Other Submission Requirements

a) Electronic Application Submission in eGrants

Applicants must submit applications electronically via eGrants, CNCS’s web-based system 

(https://egrants.cns.gov/espan/main/login.jsp). CNCS recommends that applicants create an eGrants 

account and begin the application at least three weeks before the deadline. Applicants should draft the 

application as a word document, then copy and paste the document into the appropriate eGrants field 

no later than 10 days before the deadline.

The person who submits the application must be the applicant’s authorized representative. The 

authorized representative must be using eGrants under his or her own account in order to sign and 

submit the application. A copy of the governing body’s authorization for this official representative to 

sign must be on file in the applicant’s office.

Contact the National Service Hotline at (800) 942-2677 or via 

(https://questions.nationalservice.gov/app/ask_eg) if a problem arises when creating an account or 

preparing or submitting the application. During the application period, the National Service Hotline 

hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and Friday through 

Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Be prepared to provide the application ID, your organization’s name, 

and let them know you are calling in regard to the Social Innovation Fund Notice. If the issue cannot 

be resolved by the deadline, applicants must continue working with the National Service Hotline to 

submit via eGrants.

If extenuating circumstances make it impossible for an applicant to submit in eGrants, applicants may 

send a paper copy of the application via overnight carrier to the following address:

Corporation for National and Community Service 

ATT: Office of Grants Policy and Operations/Social Innovation Fund Application 

250 E Street SW

Washington, DC 20525

Please use a non-U.S. Postal Service to avoid security-related delays. All deadlines and 

requirements in this Notice also apply to paper applications. Paper applications must include a 

cover letter detailing the circumstances that make it impossible to submit via eGrants. CNCS does 

not accept applications submitted via fax or email.
14

b) Submission of Additional Documents

By the application submission deadline, applicants are required to demonstrate through a letter or 

other form of documentation that they have either cash-on-hand or commitments (or a combination 

thereof) toward meeting 50 percent of their first year matching requirement, based on the amount of 

federal grant funds applied for. For example, a request of $1 million needs to be accompanied by 

documentation of $500,000 in cash on-hand or commitments at the time of application. 

Applicants may demonstrate cash-on-hand by a statement from the Chief Financial Officer or other 

officer that the organization has established a reserve of otherwise uncommitted funds for the 

purposes of performing a Social Innovation Fund grant. A bank statement or report of assets is not 

sufficient without the accompanying statement that the funds are uncommitted. Applicants may also 

demonstrate commitments by a dated and signed letter from each donor/foundation, indicating the 

amount of funds committed for the specific use of supporting the Social Innovation Fund grant. Such 

a letter must contain a firm commitment to provide the applicant the stated funding upon award of a 

Social Innovation Fund grant by CNCS.

This documentation must be emailed to SIFapplication@cns.gov with the following subject line: 

Social Innovation Fund Additional Documents – [Application ID number]. Within the email, 

please include the following information:

 the legal applicant name and its point of contact information

 the application ID number

 a list of documents that should be attached to the email

 individually saved files that are clearly labeled 

 files that include the legal applicant name and application ID number within the body of each 

document.

Do not submit supplementary material such as videos, brochures, or any items not requested in this 

Notice. CNCS will not review or return them.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Your application must provide a well-designed plan with clear and compelling justification for receiving 

the requested funds. Reviewers will assess applications against the selection criteria below and rate them 

accordingly so it is important that you provide sufficiently detailed responses to each criterion. 

Understanding the key program requirements, as described earlier in this Notice will help you to develop 

a competitive grant application.

1. Criteria

Categories/Subcategories Percentage

Executive Summary 0

Program Design 70

 Rationale and Approach 10

 Proposal for Subrecipient Selection 15

 Proposal for Evaluation 30

 Proposal for Growing Subrecipient Impact 15

Organizational Capability 15

Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy 15

Before responding to the selection criteria below, carefully review the Key Program Requirements

section of this Notice, as well as resources found on the SIF NOFA webpage.
15

a) Application Executive Summary 

You will be required to provide an Executive Summary of your application, as described in the 

Application Instructions. Executive Summaries will be used to determine compliance with 

requirements and eligibility for the competition, but will not be used by reviewers to assess the 

quality of applications. Executive Summaries of compliant applications will also be posted on 

CNCS’s website. 

b) Program Design (70% total – breakdown as noted below)

As described previously in this Notice, a recipient will utilize one of the following programming 

strategies. When indicated, please respond to the criteria appropriate to your proposed strategy. 

 Strategy A: The applicant seeks and invests in subrecipient organizations that have 

developed or implemented innovative, evidence-based solutions to a specified problem. 

Recipients utilizing this strategy will be expected to complete their subaward selection and 

award process within eight months.

 Strategy B: The applicant has identified an innovative, evidence-based solution and seeks 

subrecipients that are able to effectively implement that solution. Recipients utilizing this 

strategy will be expected to complete their subaward selection and award process within six 

months.

i. Rationale and Approach (10%)

In determining the quality of your application, reviewers will assess the following criteria: 

 Your approach as either a geographically- or issue-based Social Innovation Fund (as 

described in Section A.1: Purpose of Social Innovation Fund Funding), including the target 

community or geographies that you will serve and the Social Innovation Fund issue area(s) 

on which your programming will focus.

 Whether you make a persuasive case, using statistical information, that you have identified a 

critical social problem in the target geographical area(s).

 Whether you demonstrate that solutions currently being implemented to address the selected 

social problem in the target geographical area(s) have not been proven to be effective, are not 

achieving outcomes at scale, or are too slow to respond.

 Whether you present a clear, logical theory of change that outlines your investment approach 

and the specific measurable outcomes that will be achieved through your proposed program. 

You should clearly explain: 

1) the types of organizations you will invest in and why; and 

2) the value-added activities, including technical assistance or other services, you will 

provide to your subrecipients in order to align them with the theory of change and 

achieve the desired outcomes.

 Your description of the programming strategy (A or B above) you plan to utilize and why it’s 

the most appropriate for you to achieve your goals

 Strategy A: The case you make that appropriate, evidence-based solutions exist to address the 

identified social problem in the target geography(ies).

 Strategy B: The case you make that the solution(s) you propose to implement is: innovative 

(as defined in Section A.1: Purpose of Social Innovation Fund Funding), appropriate for the 

social problem identified, aligned with your theory of change, and is likely to produce the 

desired outcomes.

 If you are applying for renewed funding of a currently funded SIF project: whether the 

proposed activities will further increase knowledge about intervention. 

 If you are a current recipient of, or are under consideration for, other federal funding: how the 

proposed SIF project is distinct from, or will supplement rather than duplicate, other federally 

funded projects. Please specify the other federal funding sources.
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ii. Proposal for Subrecipient Selection (15%)

In determining the quality of your application, reviewers will assess the following criteria:

 Your profile of the type of subrecipient organization you hope to fund and how it aligns with 

the rationale and approach described above.

 Whether you provide a clear and comprehensive plan for carrying out a competitive 

subrecipient selection process, that includes:

o the estimated number of subawards that will be made; 

o the estimated range of subaward amounts; 

o the criteria that will be used to determine prospective subrecipients’ fit with your theory 

of change or successfully contribute to its outcome measures; and

o a general timeline or timeframe outlining when stages of the selection process would be 

completed. Note: Depending on the strategy being utilized, the subrecipient selection and 

award process must be completed within six to eight months of the grant award.

 Whether you present a selection process that has a high likelihood of identifying highperforming subrecipients (as defined in Section A.1: Purpose of Social Innovation Fund 

Funding), meet all of the eligibility criteria of a Social Innovation Fund grant as outlined in 

Appendix I. 

 Your capacity to successfully implement your proposed subaward selection process, 

including demonstrated experience selecting and awarding competitive grants to nonprofits.

 Strategy A: How you will attract and select solutions that are innovative as defined in (as 

defined in Section A.1: Purpose of Social Innovation Fund Funding).

 Strategy B: How you will select subrecipients who are well-suited to implement the predefined intervention.

 How you will assess subrecipient applicants for readiness (i.e., necessary skills and 

knowledge) and capacity (i.e., necessary resources) to implement program growth as a part of 

their participation in the Social Innovation Fund.

iii. Proposal for Evaluation (30%)

In determining the quality of your application, reviewers will assess the following criteria:

 Your capacity to ensure successful evaluation(s) of your portfolio as demonstrated by:

o Experience in managing and supporting evaluations of past funded program models; 

o Experience influencing and supporting recipients to use evidence to improve program 

performance; 

o Ability to apply evidence/evaluation results to decision-making (e.g., investment 

strategies); and

o Staff or contractor ability to ensure successful evaluation of their subrecipients’ program 

models.

 The quality of your plan to assess subrecipient applicants for readiness and capacity to 

implement a rigorous evaluation plan that could achieve moderate or strong evidence over a 

three to four year period. 

 The adequacy of your plan to assess needs for and provide technical assistance to 

subrecipients as they design, implement, and monitor evaluations of their program models, 

including a description of the role of staff and contractors.

 Strategy A: Whether you present a reasonable plan for assessing the evidence level of the 

solutions being proposed by prospective subrecipients.

 Strategy B: Whether your evaluation strategy is likely to result in funded program models 

achieving at least moderate evidence over a three to four year grant period.

 Your justification of the adequacy of your budget to support the cost of reasonable evaluation 

activities that will meet the Social Innovation Fund evaluation requirements.
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 Strategy A: Whether you make the case that there are existing program models that align with 

your rationale and approach with at least preliminary evidence and the potential to achieve at 

least moderate evidence during a three to four year period. Please cite the research that 

supports your assessment.

 Strategy B: Whether your proposed solution(s) has at least preliminary evidence and has the 

potential to increase its level of evidence under the Social Innovation Fund, and achieve at 

least moderate evidence. (See definitions in Section A.4.d). Please cite the research that 

supports your assessment.

 If you are applying to more rigorously evaluate a previously funded Social Innovation Fund 

project: whether the evaluation strategy is likely to result in an increased level of evidence. 

iv. Proposal for Growing Subrecipient Impact (15%)

In determining the quality of your application, reviewers will assess the following criteria:

 Your capacity to support subrecipient growth including relevant examples of successful past 

efforts to support growth through replication or expansion and a description of adequate 

resources to support successful subrecipient growth as proposed. 

 Your theory or approach to growing effective subrecipient program models. 

 The characteristics you will use to assess subrecipient capacity for growth and your 

description of how evidence of effectiveness will be used to determine when or how a 

program is well-situated for growth. 

 How you will support strategic and effective subrecipient growth through technical 

assistance, data systems, planning assistance or other resources that results in long-term 

sustainability for the expanded program beyond the three to four year period.

c) Organizational Capability (15% total – breakdown as noted below)

In determining the quality of your application, reviewers will assess the following criteria:

i. Organizational Background and Staff Capacity (7%)

 Whether you make a compelling case for your ability to successfully support the approach 

and outcomes that you propose, including a description of your track record and resources, 

including as applicable:

o Your experience, accomplishments and outcomes operating and overseeing programs in 

the selected issue area(s) of activity.

o Your experience and current capacity to collect and analyze data required for evaluation, 

continuous improvement, compliance and other purposes.

o Your current organizational budget, the percentage of the budget this grant would 

represent, and the implications for your organization.

o The experience, qualifications and current capacity of staff and contractors to effectively 

implement the proposed program. Discuss the involvement of management, and board 

members. 

 Your ability to develop the necessary systems to maintain a grant program compliant with 

federal grant requirements, including a description of how you will ensure compliance with 

CNCS National Service Criminal History Check requirements. For reference, please see 

Section F.3. National Service Criminal History Check Requirements.

 Your capacity to maintain long-term relationships with subrecipients, including how shortand long-term goals will be established.

ii. Subrecipient Support, Monitoring and Oversight (5%)

 Your prior experience setting and implementing goals with recipients.

 Your experience evaluating the performance of recipients for outcome-focused initiatives.

 The technical assistance and other services that you will provide to subrecipients to support 

their success in achieving your proposed outcomes. 
18

 Your plan for building subrecipient capacity to develop compliant federal grants management 

systems.

 Your plan for building subrecipient capacity to achieve scaling, evaluation and other key 

program goals.

 Your plan for developing subrecipient performance measurement systems and your 

description of how you will use these to monitor and improve subrecipient performance. 

 How you will monitor subrecipients for compliance and for progress towards goals. 

iii. Strategy for Sustainability after the SIF Grant Period (3%)

 Your demonstrated commitment to continue the investment priorities articulated in this 

application beyond the life of the grant. 

 Your strategy for ensuring that subrecipients are positioned to continue evaluation and sustain 

program growth beyond the grant lifecycle.

d) Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy (15% total – breakdown as noted below)

In determining the quality of your application, reviewers will assess the following criteria: 

i. Budget Justification (5%)

 Whether the budget you propose is reasonable and sufficient to successfully support program 

activities, including subrecipient selection, evaluation, program growth, and subrecipient 

support and oversight. 

 Whether the budget is aligned with the application narrative and provides an adequate 

explanation for expenses.

 (If applicable) Whether you make a compelling case for higher program costs due to an 

intention to make subawards in areas that are significantly philanthropically underserved.

ii. Capacity to Raise Match (10%)

 Your prior experience achieving significant non-federal fundraising goals.

 Your description of match already raised or committed.

 Your plan for securing the total one-to-one non-federal cash match requirement. 

 Your capacity and plan for assisting subrecipients to secure their required match.

2. Review and Selection Process

The assessment of applications involves a wide range of considerations. CNCS will engage External 

and Internal (Staff) Reviewers with relevant knowledge and expertise to provide insight and input on 

the eligible applications. In the end, the review and selection process will produce a diversified set of 

high-quality programs that represent the selection factors described in this Notice.

a) Stages in the Review Process

Compliance and Eligibility Review

CNCS staff will review all applications to determine compliance with eligibility, deadlines and 

completeness. Applications determined to be non-compliant will not be considered. An application is 

compliant if the applicant satisfies all of the following requirements: 

 Is an eligible organization. 

 Submitted an application and required documentation by the submission deadline.

 Submitted an application that is complete; in that it contains all required elements and 

additional documents and follows the instructions provided in this Notice.

 Submitted a budget that reflects a federal share of between $1 million and $10 million

 Submitted a budget that reflects a plan to distribute some percentage of awarded federal funds 

to subrecipients (note: for further information on this requirement, please see the Budget 

section of the separate Application Instructions). 
19

 Demonstrated either cash-on-hand or cash commitments (or a combination thereof) toward 

meeting 50 percent of the required first year matching funds, based on the amount of grant funds 

requested as in D.6.b. Submission of Additional Documents. 

CNCS will screen applications in accordance with the requirements in this Notice to determine 

whether applications have met all eligibility and other requirements. The screening may occur at 

various stages of the grant-making process. Applicants that are determined to be ineligible will not 

receive an award, regardless of the application assessment results. 

External Review 

External Reviewers (i.e., reviewers not employed by CNCS) will assess applications based on 

Selection Criteria. CNCS will recruit and select reviewers on the basis of demonstrated expertise in 

Social Innovation Fund programming and evaluation, the Selection Criteria and Issue Areas. All 

External Reviewers will be screened for conflicts of interest.

Post Review Quality Control (Quality Control)

After the initial review process is complete, CNCS staff will review the results for fairness and 

consistency. Some applications may be selected for a Post Review Quality Control assessment. This 

additional level of review will be used to conduct and assess the applications for which there were 

significant irregularities in the review panel. 

Selection of Applications for Internal Review

Applications will advance to Internal Review based on the results of the External Review, and the 

Post Review Quality Control, as well as the consideration of the selection factors. Applications that 

do not advance to Internal Review will not be recommended for funding. 

Internal Review

CNCS Staff reviewers will assess the applications based on the Program Design, Organizational 

Capability, and Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy. Staff Reviewers will also consider the 

comprehensiveness and feasibility of the application, broad community perspectives, as well as the 

selection factors detailed in this Notice. CNCS will recruit and select reviewers on the basis of 

demonstrated expertise in Social Innovation Fund programming and Focus Areas, as well as prior 

experience assessing grant applications. All Reviewers will be screened for conflicts of interest. 

For applicants ranked favorably by this stage in the process, CNCS might ask for clarifying 

information, including but not limited to information to ensure compliance with federal procurement 

requirements. This information is used by CNCS staff to make funding recommendations. A request 

for clarification does not guarantee a grant award. Applicants may be recommended for funding even if 

they are not asked for clarification. Failure to respond to a request for clarification in a timely fashion 

will result in removal of applications from consideration. CNCS staff may conduct a site visit 

inspection, as appropriate. 

Risk Assessment Evaluation

CNCS staff will evaluate the risks to the program posed by applicants, including conducting due 

diligence to ensure an applicant’s ability to manage federal funds. This is in addition to the evaluation 

of the applicant’s eligibility and the quality of its application on the basis of the Selection Criteria. 

Results from this review will inform funding decisions. If CNCS determines that an award will be 

made, special conditions that correspond to the degree of risk assessed may be applied to the award. 

In evaluating risks, CNCS may consider the following: 

 Financial stability

 Quality of management systems and the ability to meet the management standards prescribed 

in applicable OMB Guidance
20

 Applicant’s record in managing previous CNCS awards, cooperative agreements, or 

procurement awards, including: 

o Timeliness of compliance with applicable reporting requirements

o Accuracy of data reported

o Validity of performance measure data reported

o Conformance to the terms and conditions of previous federal awards 

o If applicable, the extent to which any previously awarded amounts will be expended prior 

to future awards

 Information available through OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility 

qualification or financial integrity information, such as:

o Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)

o Duns and Bradstreet and SAM

o “Do Not Pay”

 Reports and findings from single audits performed under Subpart F – Audit Requirements, 2 

CFR Part 200 and findings and reports of any other available audits

 IRS Tax Form 990

 Applicant organization’s annual report

 Publicly available information, including information from the applicant organization's 

website

 Applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements 

imposed on award recipients.

b) Selection for Funding 

The review and selection process is designed to: 

 Identify applications that demonstrate high alignment with the selection criteria 

 Yield a diversified portfolio based on the following strategic considerations: 

o Geographic representation 

o Issue Area representation 

o Proposals that embrace an innovative approach to solving problems 

With the goal of a diverse portfolio, the Chief Executive Officer will select the final portfolio 

awardees based on staff recommendations, broad community perspectives and support, and the 

selection factors. 

CNCS reserves the right to make changes to the review process, in the event that unforeseen 

challenges or exigent circumstances make it impossible, impractical or inefficient to execute the 

review process as planned. Any such adjustments or changes will not affect the selection criteria 

that will be used to assess applications submitted in response to this Notice.. 

3. Feedback to Applicants 

Following grant awards, compliant applicants will receive summary comments from the review. This 

feedback will be based on the review of the original application and will not reflect information that 

may have been provided during clarification. 

4. Transparency in Grant-making

CNCS is committed to transparency in grant-making. The following information for new and 

recompeting applications will be published on the CNCS website within 90 business days after all 

grants are awarded:

 A list of all compliant applications submitted

 Executive summaries of all compliant applications submitted by the applicants

 Data extracted from the Standard Form SF-424 Facesheet and the program narratives for 

successful applications
21

 A blank template of the external review worksheet

 A list of all External Reviewers that completed the review process

 A summary of External Reviewer comments for successful applications

In addition, all recipients of Social Innovation Fund grants will be required to release, at a minimum, 

the following information about their subaward competitions: 

 A description of their subrecipient selection process

 A list of External Reviewers for their subrecipient selection process

 A list of awarded subrecipients

 Summaries of External Reviewer comments on successful subaward applications 

 The full applications of successful subrecipients

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 

1. Federal Award Notices

CNCS will make awards following the grant selection announcement. CNCS anticipates announcing 

the results of this competition by August 1, 2016. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions via 

email. This notification is not an authorization to begin grant activities. The Notice of Grant Award 

signed by the grant officer is the authorizing document for grant activities. Unsuccessful applicants 

will also receive a notification that their application was not approved for funding.

An awardee may not expend federal grant funds until the start of the Project Period identified on the 

Notice of Grant Award.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 

The Notice of Grant Award incorporates the approved application as part of the binding commitments 

under the cooperative agreement, as well as the requirements of section 198K of the National and 

Community Service Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-610, as amended and other applicable statutes. 

Awards will also be subject to the Terms and Conditions or Special Conditions attached to the award.

Cooperative agreements under this program are subject to 2 CFR Chapter I, Chapter II, and XXII. 

This final guidance supersedes and streamlines requirements from OMB Circulars A–21, A–87, and 

A–122 (the former Cost Principles), A-110 and A-102 (the former Administrative Requirements), A–

133 and A-50 (the former Audits and Audit Follow up), and A-89 (the former Federal Domestic 

Assistance Program Information). 

3. National Service Criminal History Check Requirements

The National Service Criminal History Check (NSCHC) is a screening procedure established by law 

to protect the beneficiaries of national service. The law requires recipients to conduct and document 

NSCHCs on any person (including award-funded staff, national service participant, or volunteer) 

receiving a salary, living allowance, stipend or education award through a program receiving CNCS 

funds. An individual is ineligible to serve in a position that receives such CNCS funding if the 

individual is registered, or required to be registered, as a sex offender or has been convicted of 

murder. The cost of conducting NSCHCs is an allowable expense under the award.

Unless CNCS has provided a recipient with a written exemption or written approval of an alternative 

search procedure, recipients must perform the following checks–

All award-funded staff, national service participants, and volunteers must undergo NSCHCs that 

include:

1. A nationwide name-based search of the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW); 

and
22

2. Either

 A name- or fingerprint-based search of the statewide criminal history registry in the 

person’s state of residence and in the state where the person will serve/work or

 A fingerprint-based FBI criminal history check.

Special Rule for Persons Serving Vulnerable Populations. Award-funded staff, national service 

participants, and volunteers with recurring access to vulnerable populations (i.e., children age 17 

or younger, individuals age 60 or older, or individuals with disabilities) must undergo NSCHCs 

that include:

1. A nationwide name-based check of the NSOPW; and

2. Both

 A name- or fingerprint-based search of the statewide criminal history registry in the 

person’s state of residence and in the state where the person will serve/work; and

 A fingerprint-based FBI criminal history check.

See 45 C.F.R. § 2540.200–§ 2540.207 and http://www.nationalservice.gov/resources/criminal-historycheck for complete information and FAQs. 

4. Use of Materials 

To ensure that materials generated with CNCS funding are available to the public and readily 

accessible to recipients and non-recipients, CNCS reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and 

irrevocable right to obtain, use, modify, reproduce, publish, or disseminate publications and materials 

produced under the award, including data, and to authorize others to do so (CFR §200.315(b)).

5. Reporting

Recipients are required to submit a variety of reports which are due at specific times during the life 

cycle of a grant award. All reports must be accurate, complete, and submitted on time.

Recipients are required to provide quarterly or semi-annual progress reports and semi-annual 

financial reports through eGrants, CNCS’s web-based grants management system. All recipients must 

provide quarterly expense reports through the Payment Management System (PMS) at the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services.

Evaluation reports (interim and final), as outlined in approved evaluation plans will be submitted to 

CNCS for review. Final evaluation reports will be made available to the public.

In addition, at the end of the grant period, recipients must submit final financial and progress reports 

that are cumulative over the entire award period and consistent with the close-out requirements of 

CNCS’s Office of Grants Management. The final reports are due 90 days after the end of the 

agreement. 

Award recipients will be required to report at www.FSRS.gov on all subawards over $25,000, and 

may be required to report on executive compensation for the recipient organization and its 

subrecipients. Recipients and subrecipients must have the necessary systems in place to collect and 

report this information. See 2 CFR Part 170 for more information and to determine how these 

requirements apply. 

Once the grant is awarded, recipients will be expected to have data collection and data management 

policies, processes, and practices that provide reasonable assurance that they are giving CNCS high 

quality performance measure data. At a minimum, recipients should have policies, processes, and 

practices that address the following five aspects of data quality for themselves and for subrecipients:
23

 the data measures that it intends to measure

 the data reported is complete

 the recipient collects data in a consistent manner

 the recipient takes steps to correct data errors

 the recipient actively reviews data for accuracy prior to submission. 

In addition, CNCS expects recipients to hold subrecipients accountable for their progress against 

agreed-upon indicators of success. Recipients will be asked to report subrecipient performance 

information to CNCS. As part of knowledge collection and dissemination efforts, all or a portion of 

reports submitted may be made available to the public. 

6. Other Responsibilities under the Cooperative Agreement

Failure to submit accurate, complete, and timely required reports may affect the recipient’s ability to 

secure future CNCS funding.

CNCS will require Social Innovation Fund recipients to develop detailed plans for selecting 

subrecipients, for evaluating their funded interventions, and for growing subrecipient program impact 

that will be reviewed and approved by CNCS. 

The SIF recipients also must:

 Identify and document effective practices and lessons learned in order to share those lessons 

widely.

 Participate in a Social Innovation Fund learning community that will work collaboratively to 

capture and share lessons and insights within the network and social sector to inform the 

work of the larger philanthropic, nonprofit, and public sectors.

 Meet as necessary with their CNCS program officer, or other staff or consultants.

 Provide ongoing information about and access to subrecipients and match funders.

 Encourage subrecipients and match funders to provide information about program progress 

and to participate in SIF network events and conversations.

 Require attendance from senior-level leadership and SIF project staff at Social Innovation 

Fund orientations and annual meetings.

 Participate in compliance training.

7. Continuation Funding Information and Requirements

CNCS will require all Social Innovation Fund recipients to participate in a continuation process in 

order to receive funding for activities in subsequent years. Funding is contingent upon availability of 

appropriations. 

Recipients will submit a continuation request in response to the review criteria below. In addition to 

the continuation submission, the review will also be based on progress reports, the federal financial 

report (FFR), evaluation plans, Scaling Plans, and CNCS’ staff’s knowledge of the grant program. To 

be approved for continued funding, recipients must demonstrate satisfactory performance with respect 

to key program goals and requirements, as well as compliance with the terms and conditions of the 

grant. The review criteria are: 

a) Subrecipient Selection and Continuation

 Recipient has successfully completed its subrecipient selection process in alignment with the 

approved subrecipient selection plan, including ensuring that all subrecipients had at least 

preliminary levels of evidence.

 Recipient has successfully completed its subrecipient continuation review process and made 

decisions based on subrecipient performance, spending, and progress towards evaluation 
24

goals (as applicable).

 Recipient has a reasonable plan for the use of any funds recouped through the subrecipient 

continuation review process (as applicable).

b) Program Evaluation 

 Recipient has secured (or is making sufficient progress towards securing) approval of its 

subrecipient evaluation plans that target moderate or strong levels of evidence of 

effectiveness by the end of the three or four year grant period. 

 Recipient demonstrates adequate progress towards subrecipient evaluation plan 

implementation, satisfactorily addressing challenges where they have occurred.

c) Growing Subrecipient Impact

 Recipient has an approved scaling plan.

 Recipient has made appropriate progress towards its goals for scaling or replicating 

subrecipients, or has otherwise built their capacity for growth and its plans for sustaining that 

growth.

d) Ensuring and Maintaining Compliance with Grant Requirements and Laws

 Recipient has provided adequate training to subrecipients on grant requirements.

 Recipient is adequately overseeing and monitoring its subrecipients.

 Recipient has effectively utilized (or ensured the utilization of) grant funds at the recipient 

and subrecipient level. 

 Recipient and subrecipient are on track to meet their match requirements on an annual basis. 

 Recipient has taken appropriate action in response to subrecipient non-compliance (e.g., not 

raising the required annual match).

 Recipient has communicated program implementation challenges with its program officer 

and has adequately addressed them. 

 Recipient has been responsive to CNCS’s requests for information, including the timely 

submission of financial, evaluation, and progress reports, evaluation plans and continuation 

applications.

e) Proposed Changes to the Program Plan and Budget

 Recipient has presented reasonable justification for proposed changes to the program plan or 

budget.

Grantees will be held accountable for meeting these expectations and, likewise should have processes in 

place to assess and monitor their subgrantees’ progress towards these expectations. Should a subgrantee 

or grantee fail to meet these expectations, consequences will ensue and may include the return of grant or 

subgrantee funds or reduction and/or refusal of future annual awards. 

G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS

For more information or a printed copy of related material(s), call (202) 606-3223 or email 

SIFapplication@cns.gov. The TTY number is (800) 833-3722. 

For technical questions and problems with the eGrants system, call the National Service Hotline at (800) 

942-2677. Potential applicants can also use this link: https://questions.nationalservice.gov/app/ask for 

questions. Be prepared to provide the application ID, organization’s name, and the name of the Notice to 

which the organization is applying.

H. OTHER INFORMATION 

1. Technical Assistance

CNCS will host technical assistance calls to answer questions about the funding opportunity and 
25

about eGrants. CNCS strongly encourages all applicants to participate in these sessions. The schedule 

of calls and call-in information will be posted on CNCS’Ss website: 

http://www.nationalservice.gov/build-your-capacity/grants/funding-opportunities.

2. Re-Focusing of Funding

CNCS reserves the right to re-focus program dollars in the event of disaster or other compelling 

needs. 
26

Appendix I: Subrecipient Selection Requirements 

After being approved for funding, the Social Innovation Fund recipients will receive detailed instructions 

about the required submission of subrecipient selection plans. These requirements will be similar to the 

following:

The subrecipient selection plan will include: 

 The estimated number or range of subawards that will be made

 Whether the subrecipients will be: 1) implementing more than one intervention across multiple 

subrecipients with separate evaluation plans; 2) implementing more than one intervention across 

multiple subrecipients in which all subrecipients are participating in the same evaluation; or 3) 

implementing the same intervention across all subrecipients in which all subrecipients are part of the 

same evaluation.

 The estimated range of subawards amounts, noting:

o How the recipient will ensure that nonprofits with preliminary levels of evidence receive less 

funding for scaling than nonprofits with higher levels of evidence.

o How the recipient will ensure subrecipients have the information they need, based on best 

practices and lessons learned, to develop adequate evaluation budgets, and outline such plans 

accordingly. 

o How the recipient will ensure that applicants have thoroughly addressed long-term sustainability 

and funding streams after the SIF dollars have ended. 

 A description of: 

o How key required subapplicant eligibility criteria will be determined, particularly the level of 

evidence currently established for proposed subgrantee programs.

o How the recipient will assess the subrecipients capacity to implement evaluation requirements.

o The proposed review and selection process.

o Who will review grant applications and how the process will ensure that appropriate conflict of 

interest policies are in place.

Subaward eligibility criteria include, at a minimum: 

 A description of the initiative the community organization plans to replicate or expand, and how the 

initiative relates to the issue area(s) identified by the recipient 

 Data on the measurable outcomes the community organization has improved, and information on the 

measurable outcomes the community organization seeks to improve by replicating or expanding a 

proven initiative or supporting a new initiative, which shall be among the measurable outcomes that 

the eligible entity identified in the eligible entity’s application, in accordance with subsection 

 An identification of the community in which the community organization proposes to operate 

 A description of the evidence-based decision making strategies the community organization uses to 

improve the measurable outcomes, including: 

o A description of how the community organization uses data to analyze and improve its initiatives 

o Specific evidence of how the community organization will meet the requirements for providing 

matching funds 

o A description of how the community organization will sustain the replicated or expanded 

initiative after the conclusion of the subaward period and 

o Any other information the recipient may require. 

Recipients’ selection processes must ensure that the following information is available to all potential 

applicants: 
27

 The desired characteristics and eligibility requirements of organizations the recipient is seeking as 

subrecipients.

 How to obtain and submit an application. 

 The selection criteria that will be considered in reviewing applications. 

 Requirements for program growth and evaluation: The evaluation strategy the recipient intends to 

pursue, e.g. one evaluation for all subrecipients, an individual evaluation for each subrecipient, or a 

combination.
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Appendix II: Scaling Plan 

During the first year of their grant, the Social Innovation Fund recipients will be required to propose and 

implement detailed plans for growing their reach during the period of their grant and ensuring fidelity to 

the program model. 

The required content of these plans will be similar to the following: 

 How growth is supported by existing evidence and connected to the subrecipients plan to improve its 

level of evidence.

 The estimated number of additional people expected to benefit from the program each year due to 

growth.

 The strategies subrecipients will use to generate growth in the number of people reached through 

strategies such as expansions in current locations, replication of the program model to more locations, 

or other methods that do not require physical expansion (for example, expanded use of technology, 

adoption of wide-scale policy mandates, etc.).

 The estimated number of and description of new populations and locations to be reached and the 

strategies subrecipients will use to generate such growth.

 The services, including training and technical assistance, the recipient will provide to subrecipients to 

facilitate the planned growth and ensure fidelity to the program model.

 How the recipient will track and assess actual growth of service capacity, as measured compared to 

the estimates included in their plan.
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Appendix III: Application Instructions

OMB Control #: 3045-0155 Expiration Date: 1/31/2017

IMPORTANT NOTICE

These application instructions conform to the Corporation for National and Community Service’s 

online grant application system, eGrants. All funding announcements by the Corporation for 

National and Community Service (CNCS) are posted on www.nationalservice.gov and 

www.grants.gov. 

Public Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated 

to average 24 hours per submission, including reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining 

the data needed, and completing the form. Comments on the burden or content of this instrument 

may be sent to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Attn: Amy Borgstrom, 1201 

New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20525. CNCS informs people who may respond to this 

collection of information that they are not required to respond to the collection of information 

unless the OMB control number and expiration date displayed on page one are current and valid. 

(See 5 C.F.R. § 1320.5(b)(2)(i).) 

Privacy Act Notice: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C § 552a) requires that the following notice be 

provided to you: The information requested on the Social Innovation Fund Application Instructions 

is collected pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 12653k of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 as 

amended. Purposes and Uses - The information requested is collected for the purposes of reviewing 

grant applications and granting funding requests. Routine Uses - Routine uses may include 

disclosure of the information to federal, state, or local agencies pursuant to lawfully authorized 

requests. In some programs, the information may also be provided to federal, state, and local law 

enforcement agencies to determine the existence of any prior criminal convictions. Executive 

Summaries of all compliant applications received and applications of successful applicants will be 

published on the CNCS website as part of ongoing efforts to increase transparency in grantmaking. 

This is described in more detail in the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity/Availability. Effects of 

Nondisclosure - The information requested is mandatory in order to receive funding. 

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act: Grant recipients will be required to 

report at www.FSRS.gov on all subawards over $25,000 and may be required to report on executive 

compensation for recipients and subrecipients. Recipients must have the necessary systems in place 

to collect and report this information. See 2 C.F.R. Part 170 for more information and to determine 

how these requirements apply.

Universal Identifier: Applications must include a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number and register with the Central Contractor’s Registry (CCR). All grant 

recipients are required to maintain a valid registration, which must be renewed annually.
30

APPLICATION RESOURCES

Use these instructions in conjunction with the Social Innovation Fund Notice of Funding 

Opportunity/Availability (Notice). The Notice includes deadlines, eligibility 

requirements, submission requirements, funding priorities and other relevant 

information that might change annually.

Please also refer to the SIF Performance Measures Definitions guide for assistance in 

determining which performance measures to select for your organization.

Other resources for completing your application include eGrants instructions, technical 

assistance conference calls and a voicemail and email address for submitting inquiries. 

Information on all application resources can be accessed from the SIF webpage on the CNCS 

website (http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/social-innovation-fund).

CREATING AN EGRANTS USER OR ORGANIZATION ACCOUNT

First-time eGrants users need to create an eGrants account by accessing this link: 

https://egrants.cns.gov/espan/main/login.jsp and selecting Don’t have an eGrants 

account? Create an account.

If you need help establishing a new organization account or a new user account for an 

existing organization account, or with other aspects of eGrants, contact the National Service 

Hotline at 800-942-2677 or via: https://questions.nationalservice.gov/app/ask. 

If you are applying for continuation funding (years 2 through 5) of an existing SIF 

grant, please skip to the ‘REQUESTING CONTINUATION FUNDING’ Section.

NEW SOCIAL INNOVATION FUND GRANT APPLICATIONS

To initiate an application: 

 Start a new grant application: Select New under the Creating an Application heading 

on your Home Page 

 Select a Program Area: Other 

 Select a NOFA: Social Innovation Fund [Applicable year of funding]

Once you have initiated an application, it will be listed in the View My Grants/Applications

section of your homepage. If you exit and then return to eGrants and wish to continue 

entering or editing your application, please open your saved version by selecting View My 

Grants/Applications. You should not use the New button again as this will start a brand 

new application. 
31

APPLICATION CONTENT

Your application consists of the following sections. Please complete each section. 

I. Applicant Info 

II. Application Info 

III. Narratives 

IV. Performance Measures – Please disregard this module in eGrants. 

V. Documents 

VI. Budget 

VII. Review, Authorize, and Submit

Information entered in the Applicant Info, Application Info, and Budget sections will 

populate the SF 424 Facesheet of your application. 

I. Applicant Info

 Under Project Information select Enter New, create a title for the proposed project, 

and enter the contact information. 

 Select a Project Initiative: Choose the operational model which best describes your 

Social Innovation Fund application from the following options:

 SIF—Geographic Healthy Futures 

 SIF—Geographic Economic Opportunity 

 SIF—Geographic Youth 

 SIF—Geographic Multiple Issues 

 SIF—Issue Area Healthy Futures 

 SIF—Issue Area Economic Opportunity 

 SIF—Issue Area Youth 

 Select an individual as the Project Director, by choosing a name from the pull-down 

menu or adding a new contact.

Please note that the Authorized Representative will be filled in at the end of the 

application when completing the Assurances and Certifications section. (Attachment A)

II. Application Info

Complete this section as follows:

 Areas affected by the project: List only the largest political or municipal entities 

affected (e.g., counties and cities). Please include the two-letter abbreviation with both 

letters capitalized for each state where you plan to operate. Separate each two-letter 

state abbreviation with a comma. For city or county information, please follow each one 

with the two-letter capitalized state abbreviation.

 Proposed project start and end dates. You may not request a start date earlier than 

August 15 or later than September 30. Your project period is for five years.

 Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs: Enter ‘No.’ This program is NOT 

subject to Executive Order 12372.
32

 Delinquent on any federal debt: Check the appropriate box. This question applies to 

the applicant organization, not the person who signs as the authorized representative. 

Categories of debt include delinquent audit allowances, loans, and taxes. If ‘Yes’, type 

your explanation in the text box provided.

 State Application Identifier: Enter N/A.

Note: Falsification or concealment of a material fact or submission of false, fictitious or 

fraudulent statements or representations to any department or agency of the United States 

Government may result in a fine or imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both. 

(18 USC § 1001).

III. Narratives

The application narrative has four sections.

 Executive Summary

 Program Design

 Organizational Capability

 Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy

Page Limit and Formatting

 It is important that you preview the eGrants PDF of your application to ensure that you 

don’t exceed the page limit as prescribed in the Notice. Reviewers will stop reading 

your application when they reach the page limit.

 Also, please note that bold face, bullets, underlines, charts, diagrams, and tables or other 

types of formatting will not copy into eGrants.

A. Executive Summary

The executive summary will be used in the initial eligibility review to assess an 

applicant’s status as an existing grantmaking institution or an eligible partnership, and 

to confirm its identification as either a geographically-based or issue-based Social 

Innovation Fund (see the eligibility section of the Notice). Therefore, the summary 

should contain clear and concise indications of both eligibility criteria. 

Please note that executive summaries for all applications will be made public and 

posted to CNCS’ website.

Please complete the Executive Summary as follows:

Heading: For the title of the Executive Summary, applicants should use the name of the 

sole or lead intermediary (if an eligible partnership).

Provide a summary of the proposed program as follows: 

Overview:
33

 Describe the applicant organization including whether it is an existing 

grantmaking institution or an eligible partnership.

 Identify as either a geographically-based or an issue-based Social Innovation 

Fund. 

 Identify priority issue area(s) of focus. 

 Identify geographic areas where subrecipients are likely to be located.

 Identify other organizations that will play a key role in the implementation of the 

strategy to select, support, monitor, or evaluate subrecipients. If applying as an 

eligible partnership, clearly identify the other members of the partnership.

 Identify the grant amount being requesting and the proposed grant period. 

 Identify the main sources of match that have been secured. 

Project Summary:

 Provide an overview of the proposed program and the need(s) the program will 

meet.

 Outline the program’s theory of change and describe the measurable outcomes 

the program will achieve in the identified issue area(s).

 Provide an overview of the proposed subrecipinet portfolio strategy including 

selection, evaluation, and growth of subrecipients.

 Briefly describe the experience, expertise, and other strengths or assets the 

organization and its partners will contribute to successfully realizing its 

identified outcomes.

Applicants should complete the narrative sections of Program Design, Organizational 

Capability, and Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy by responding to the selection 

criteria detailed in the Notice.

B. Program Design

In responding to the program design criteria, applicants should demonstrate the 

identification of a compelling need(s) and desired outcomes, and describe a convincing 

strategy for achieving those outcomes through the selection, support, evaluation and 

scaling of evidence-based program interventions. 

If applicable, describe if the proposed program will address SIF funding priorities 

identified in the Notice.

C. Organizational Capability 

In responding to the organizational capability criteria, applicants should demonstrate 

the experience and capacity to successfully implement the proposed grant program and 

to adhere to the requirements and expectations of a SIF recipient. 

If you are requesting a reduced match requirement, provide the information requested 

in the Notice.
34

D. Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy

In completing the budget and responding to these criteria, you should demonstrate a 

reasonable plan for meeting the financial needs of the proposed program and for raising 

the required match.

Clarification Summary and Continuation Changes are not relevant to this application. 

Please enter N/A for not applicable under these narrative sections. 

E. Amendment Justification 

Enter N/A. This field is used when requesting an amendment to an awarded grant. 

F. Clarification Information 

Enter N/A. This field is used to enter information that requires clarification in the postreview period. 

G. Continuation Changes 

Enter N/A. This field is used to enter changes in your narratives in your continuation 

requests.

IV. Performance Measures

Please disregard this section of the application. You will not create performance 

measures as part of your application process. 

In the Performance Measures module of eGrants you will create performance measures; set 

targets and describe data collection plans for your performance measures; identify 

interventions associated with your program; and identify performance measures for 

subrecipients (as applicable). 

A. Accessing the Performance Measures Home Page 

You can either access the Performance Measures Module after completing the 

Documents section of your application or directly by clicking on Performance 

Measures on the left side of your screen. 

 To begin entering performance measures, 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. You may 

also navigate sections of the module using the tab feature at the top of each page. 

 Once you have started the module, clicking Continue Working will return you to 

the tab you were on when you last closed the module. 

 To edit a performance measure, click the Edit button. 

 To delete a measure, click Delete. 

 To create a new performance measure, click the Add New Performance Measure

button. 
35

B. Creating Performance Measures 

On the Performance Measures Tab, you can create performance measures for all the 

grant activities you intend to measure. Please note that there are mandatory measures 

for which you must set targets and report. There are additional measures that you will

select as they pertain to your program. 

1. Select Applicant Type: Grantee. 

2. Select Applicant Name: Your organization’s name. 

3. Enter a Problem Statement: In 2-3 sentences, briefly describe the problem that you 

propose to address through your SIF grant activities. 

4. Select Targets for Mandatory Performance Measures

 Enter a baseline and target number for mandatory SIF performance measures. 

 For each measure, select and describe the instrument(s) you will use to measure 

the appropriate output or outcome. Instruments are specific tools used to collect 

information such as a behavior checklist, attitude questionnaire, attendance 

sheet, or interview protocol. Include the title of the instrument(s), a brief 

description of what it measures and how it will be administered, and details 

about its reliability and validity if applicable. 

5. Add Additional Performance Measures 

Select additional measures if they are applicable to your program. Consult the SIF 

Performance Measures Definitions guidance to determine which performance 

measures are appropriate for your program. 

 Select a focus area and relevant outputs and/or outcomes. Enter a baseline and 

target number for each measure. 

 For each measure, select and describe the instrument(s) you will use to measure 

your output or outcome. 

 To create additional measures, select Add Another FA End Outcome (FA=Focus 

Area) and select desired focus areas, outputs, and outcomes, as appropriate. 

6. Identify Interventions

Select the interventions that you will carry out to address the problem identified in 

the application. Only interventions that correspond with the focus area(s) you 

selected will appear. 

 Select all interventions that are a part of your program design. 

 Click Add User Intervention to add and describe any intervention not listed. 

7. Saving Performance Measures

 After entering all information, select, Complete PM. This will return you to the 

Home Page. 

 If you are an existing SIF recipient and wish to create performance measures for 

another subrecipient, repeat the process. If you would like to continue to the 
36

Summary Tab to validate your performance measures, click Next. 

8. Validating Performance Measures 

You will not be able to submit your application without first validating your 

performance measures. The Summary Tab allows you to review all of the measures 

and targets that you selected. 

 You can select to print the performance measures by clicking either Print PDF of 

Table or Print All Performance Measures. 

 If you need to edit a measure, click Edit Performance Measures which will take 

you back to the Performance Measures Tab. 

 Once your performance measures are complete, click Validate Performance 

Measures to include them in your application. 

V. Documents

In addition to the application submitted in eGrants, you are required to provide 

documentation of match as described in section Submitting Match Verification section of 

the Notice. After you have submitted your match verification, change the status in eGrants 

from the default “Not Sent” to the applicable status “Sent.” 

VI. Budget 

A. Budget Requirements

Applicants must submit a proposed first year budget that includes both federal and 

match funding. If an application is selected for award, CNCS will determine the final 

amount of the award of federal funds, and will negotiate a final budget. Upon award, 

compliance with the approved budget will be a material term and condition of the 

cooperative agreement with the Social Innovation Fund recipient.

Your proposed budget should be sufficient to allow you to perform the tasks described 

in your narrative and provide a full explanation of costs including their purpose, 

justification, and the basis of your calculations. Reviewers will consider the information 

you provide in your budget as part of their assessment of the Cost Effectiveness and 

Budget Adequacy criteria. 

In eGrants, the preparation of a detailed budget provides the data that creates the 

summary budget and the budget narrative. The detailed budget should provide a full 

explanation of associated costs including their purpose, justification, and the basis of 

the calculations. eGrants will perform a limited compliance check to validate the budget. 

If it finds any compliance issues you will receive a warning and/or error messages. You 

must resolve all errors before you can submit your budget.
37

As you prepare your budget: 

 All the amounts you request must be for a particular purpose. Do not include

miscellaneous, contingency, or other undefined budget amounts.

 Itemize each cost and present the basis for all calculations in the form of an

equation, identifying the number of persons involved with the event, the cost per

person or unit, and/or the annual salary cost.

The non-federal share of the budget must equal or exceed the federal share of the 

budget (this implements the dollar-for-dollar cash match requirement). There is no 

requirement that the non-federal share of the budget “mirror” or be allocated on the 

same basis as the federal share of the budget. For example, if you allocate 80 percent 

of the recipient's share of funds to subrecipients, you do not have to allocate the same 

amount to the federal share. 

 Do not include fractional amounts (cents).

 The value of any in-kind goods or services provided to the applicant are

unallowable cannot be included in the proposed or final budgets.

 Because of the required one-to-one match for Social Innovation Fund recipients, the

budget must reflect total costs being distributed equally between the federal and

recipient shares, but individual categories do not have to be equally distributed.

 A majority of the federal share must be awarded to subrecipients; the balance may 

go toward the recipient’s program support costs, including evaluation, knowledge 

management, and Social Innovation Fund implementation.

Programs must comply with all applicable federal laws, regulations, and OMB 

requirements for grant management under Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 

CFR Part 200 and CNCS’s implementing regulations at 2 CFR Part 2205), allowable 

costs, and audits, including providing audits to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse if 

expending over $750,000 in federal funds, as required in 2 C.F.R. § 200.501.

Allowable Costs 

Please refer to the Uniform Cost Principles (2 CFR Subpart E). 

It is important to understand that “allowable costs” under federal awards do not 

necessarily include all costs that the organization will incur in order to perform their 

awards. The cost principles reflect government-wide requirements that one must be 

aware of when developing a budget.

B. Matching Funds

The non-federal share of the budget represents the dollar-for-dollar cash matching 

funds requirement. Any organization that receives a SIF award is responsible for 

securing the necessary matching funds. Matching funds may come from state, local, or 

private sources, which may include state or local government agencies, businesses, 

private philanthropic organizations, or individuals. Federal funds may not be used 

toward the match requirement. 
38

Additionally:

 If the applicant is an eligible partnership that includes a State Commission or a local

government office, the state or local government involved must provide not less than

30 percent and not more than 50 percent of the matching funds.

C. Budget Line Items

Section I. Program Costs

 Project Personnel Expenses

List each staff position separately with a brief statement of responsibilities, salary

and the percentage of staff time that will apply to the grant. Each staff person’s

role listed in the budget must be described in the application narrative and each

staff person mentioned in the narrative must be listed in the budget as either

CNCS or recipient share.

 Personnel Fringe Benefits

Include costs of benefit(s) for the project staff. Identify the types of fringe

benefits to be covered and the costs of benefit(s) for each staff position.

Allowable fringe benefits typically include FICA, Worker’s Compensation,

Retirement, SUTA, Health and Life Insurance, IRA, and 401K. You may provide a

calculation for total benefits as a percentage of the salaries to which they apply

or list each benefit as a separate item. If a fringe benefit amount is over 30%,

please list covered items separately and justify the high cost. Holidays, leave, and

other similar vacation benefits are not included in the fringe benefit rates, but

are absorbed into the personnel expenses (salary) budget line item.

 Staff Travel

Describe the purpose for which project staff will travel. Allowable costs are

transportation, lodging, subsistence, and other related expenses. Provide a

calculation that includes itemized costs for airfare, transportation, lodging, per diem,

and other travel-related expenses multiplied by the number of trips/staff. Where

applicable, identify the current standard reimbursement rate(s) of the organization

for mileage, daily per diem, and similar supporting information. Reimbursement

should not exceed the federal mileage rate unless a result of applicant policy and

justified in the budget narrative. Only domestic travel is allowable. Include costs for

four staff members (CEO, project lead, evaluation lead and finance lead) to attend

the annual SIF Recipient Convening.

Example of budget detail required: The project lead will conduct a monitoring visit: 

1 person X $750 airfare + $50 ground transportation + $150 lodging + $35 per diem 

X two days = $1,170 for Monitoring. 

 Equipment

Equipment is defined as tangible, non-expendable personal property having a useful

life of more than one year AND an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit

(including accessories, attachments, and modifications). If applicable, show the unit
39

cost and number of units you are requesting. Provide a brief justification for the 

purchase of the equipment under Item/Purpose. You might be asked to provide 

further explanation of equipment costs that exceed 10% of the total CNCS funds 

requested. Any items that do not meet this definition should be entered under 

Supplies. 

 Supplies

Include the funds for the purchase of consumable supplies and materials that do not

fit the definition above. Applicants must individually list any single item costing

$1,000 (one thousand) or more. Applicants should provide the calculation for cost

determinations.

 Contractual and Consultant Services

Include costs for consultants related to the project’s operations, except training

or evaluation consultants who should be listed in those sections. Where

applicable, indicate the daily rate for consultants.

 Training

Include the costs associated with training of staff working directly on the

project, especially training that specifically enhances staff project

implementation and professional skills. If using a consultant(s) for training,

indicate the estimated daily rate.

 Evaluation

Include costs for project evaluation activities, such as use of evaluation

consultants, purchase of instrumentation and other costs specifically for this

activity. Indicate daily rates of consultants, where applicable. If subrecipient

evaluations will be paid at the subrecipient level using subaward funds, include

them in section I. Other.

 Other Costs

Subawards - Please enter all subaward costs in a line titled, “Subawards.” The

amount entered for the CNCS share should reflect a majority of federal funds.

As with other categories, the recipient share of subaward funds does not

need to equal the CNCS share.

Criminal History Checks - Please include a line titled “Criminal History Checks” and 

enter costs for criminal history background checks for all employees or other 

individuals who receive a salary, stipend or similar payment from the grant (CNCS 

or non-CNCS share). Please note that criminal history checks are required at both 

the intermediary and subrecipient levels. 

Other allowable costs in this section may include office space rental, utilities, 

and telephone and Internet expenses that directly involve program staff and are 

not part of the organization’s indirect cost/admin cost. If shared with other 
40

projects or activities, you must prorate the costs equitably. List each item and 

provide a justification in the budget.

 

 Indirect Costs

Indirect costs are those costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting 

more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives 

specifically benefitted, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved. 

These costs may include administrative staff positions, rent, IT costs, etc. 

 If you have a federally approved indirect cost (IDC) rate you must use it unless 

authorized by CNCS to use another method. Specify the Cost Type for which your 

organization has current documentation on file, i.e., Provisional, Predetermined, 

Fixed, or Final indirect cost rate, and specify the cognizant agency for indirect 

costs. Supply your approved IDC rate (percentage). It is at your discretion 

whether or not to use your entire IDC rate to calculate indirect costs. If you 

choose to claim a lower rate, please include this rate under the Rate Claimed 

field.

 If you do not have an IDC, indirect costs should be entered as direct expenses.

 If you are a nonprofit organization or an institution of higher education and have 

never had an IDC, instead of entering indirect costs as direct costs, you could also 

enter an amount up to 10% of your modified total direct costs. Modified total 

direct costs are direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials 

and supplies, services, travel, and subawards and subcontracts up to the first 

$25,000 of each subaward or subcontract (regardless of the period of 

performance of the subawards and subcontracts under the award). Modified 

direct costs do not include costs for equipment, capital expenditures, patient 

care, tuition remission, etc. See 2 CFR §200.68 and §200.414(f) for more 

information.

 If you do not have an IDC, you may negotiate with your cognizant agency for 

indirect costs for an IDC rate. See 2 CFR §200.414(e) for information on how to 

submit a proposal. See 2 CFR §200.19 to find out who your cognizant agency for 

indirect costs is.

 Source of Matching Funds

Describe the recipient match contribution by entering a brief description, the 

amount, the match classification (Cash or Not Available) and Match Source 

(State/Local, Private, Other or Not Available) for your entire match. Define any 

acronyms the first time they are used. Each source should be entered as a separate 

line item. For example, if you receive support from two separate foundations, enter 

each one on a separate line.

Note: You will be prevented from validating your budget in eGrants if you do not meet the 

dollar-for-dollar cash match. You will receive an error message that states, “Grantee share 

must be greater than or equal to CNCS share.”
41

VII. Review, Authorize, and Submit

eGrants requires that you review and verify your entire application before submitting by 

completing the following steps:

 Review

 Authorize

 Assurances

 Certifications

 Verify

 Submit

Read the Assurances and Certifications carefully (Attachment A). The person who 

authorizes the application must be the applicant’s Authorized Representative or his/her 

designee and must have an active eGrants account to sign these documents electronically. 

An Authorized Representative is the person in your organization authorized to accept and 

commit funds on behalf of the organization. A copy of the governing body’s authorization 

for this official representative to sign must be on file in the applicant’s office.

Be sure to check your entire application to make sure that there are no errors before 

submitting it. eGrants will also generate a list of errors if there are sections that need to be 

corrected prior to submission when you verify the application. If someone else is acting in 

the role of the applicant’s authorized representative, that person must log into his/her 

eGrants account to proceed with Authorize and Submit. After signing off on the 

Authorization, Assurances, and Certifications, his/her name will override any previous 

signatory that may appear and show on the application as the Authorized Representative.

Note: Anyone within your organization who will be entering information in the 

application at any point during application preparation and submission in the eGrants 

system must have their own eGrants account. Individuals may establish an eGrants 

account by accessing this link: https://egrants.cns.gov/espan/main/login.jsp and selecting 

“Don’t have an eGrants account? Create an account.”
42

CONTINUATION REQUESTS

These instructions apply only to programs that are in years one through four of a SIF grant 

and are requesting funding for the next year.

 Log into eGrants

 On your eGrants Home Page, under Creating a Grant Application, select 

Continuation/Renewal

 Select Continue from the options listed to the right of your SIF grant. Do not start a new 

application. If you have more than one grant with the Corporation, be sure to select the 

correct one. The system will copy your most recently awarded application. 

 Select Next on the screen that opens

APPLICATION CONTENT

Your application consists of the following components. Make sure to review each section. 

I. Applicant Info 

II. Application Info 

III. Narratives 

IV. Performance Measures 

V. Documents 

VI. Budget 

VII. Review, Authorize, and Submit

I. Applicant Info

Update this section if necessary.

 In particular, click View/Edit under Project Director to see if the contact information is 

current. Make any necessary changes to the project director’s contact information.

 If the project director has changed, you must create a record for the new person by 

clicking Enter New. DO NOT overwrite the information for an existing contact with the 

information for a new contact because this affects the historical record.

 Document in the Continuation Changes field any changes you have made to this 

section.

II. Application Info

Update Areas affected by the project and Delinquent on any federal debt as necessary. 

Do not adjust the project period dates.

III. Narratives

Please comply with the page limit listed in the Notice. Preview the eGrants PDF of your 

application to ensure that you don’t exceed the page limit as prescribed in the Notice.
43

 Your original application will appear in the different sections of the Narratives

screen. Do not enter continuation changes in, or otherwise edit, the original

narrative fields. Instead provide the information described below in the narrative

field called Continuation Changes.

 If you have previously requested continuation funding, please distinguish this year’s

text from previous by labeling this year’s narrative “Year ___(2 , 3, 4, etc.)

Continuation Changes”.

 Please enter narrative for the following topics, clearly labeling each with a new

heading:

 Changes to Applicant Info or Application Info Screens: As applicable, note any

changes you have made to the Applicant Info and Application Info screens.

 Changes in Staff: If applicable, describe changes in key staff positions. If any key 

positions are currently vacant, describe how the functions are being carried out 

and when the positions will be filled.

 Continuations review criteria outlined in the Notice: Provide a narrative 

response to the review criteria.

 Changes to Budget: If applicable, provide a rationale for any proposed changes to 

the budget. 

IV. Performance Measures

Update this section as necessary. In the Continuations Changes narrative section, identify 

describe any performance measures changes made.

V. Documents

In addition to the application submitted in eGrants, you are required to complete and 

submit a table summarizing your subrecipient awards to date as directed in the Notice. The 

table can be found in Attachment B. This information helps us to understand the amount of 

federal dollars that are flowing to the local communities. This information is also used to 

validate the SIF’s claim that it effectively leverages private match sources. These charts 

will be prepopulated based on previous year’s submissions. Please update where 

applicable for a previous year and complete the section for your current year of subawards. 

Items included in the chart are by subrecipient: 

 Year ___ Award (Start and End Date) 

 Year ___ Award Amount (Federal) 

 Year ___ Award Amount (Recipient* Match) 

 Year ___ Award Total (Federal and Recipient Match)** 

 Year ___Subrecipient Match Funds Received 

 Year ___Subrecipient Match Funds Expended 

 Year ___Subrecipient Federal Funds Expended 

 Year ___Subrecipient Intermediary Funds Expended 
44

 Total Subrecipient Federal and Intermediary Funds Awarded (cumulative to date)** 

 Total Subrecipient Match Funds Received (cumulative to date)** 

 Total Subrecipient Match Funds Expended (cumulative to date)** 

 Total Subrecipient Federal Funds Expended (cumulative to date)** 

 Total Subrecipient Intermediary Funds Expended (cumulative to date)** 

 Total Subrecipient Federal Funds Expended (cumulative to date)** 

 Total Subrecipient Funds Expended (cumulative to date)** 

After you have submitted the table as requested, change the status in eGrants from the 

default Not Sent to the applicable status Sent. Submit completed spreadsheets to your program 

officer via email by the application due date. 

* For 2015 onward, terminology has changed and is consistent with the changes in Title 2 

of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR Part 200). As a result, an intermediary is now 

defined as a recipient and a subgrantee is a subrecipient.

**Will automatically populate 

VI. Budget

Your budget from the previous year will be copied into your continuation request. Make 

any necessary adjustments to the existing budget. 

VII. Review, Authorize, and Submit

Read the Assurances and Certifications carefully (Attachment A). The person who 

authorizes the application must be the applicant’s Authorized Representative or his/her 

designee and must have an active eGrants account to sign these documents electronically. 

An Authorized Representative is the person in your organization authorized to accept and 

commit funds on behalf of the organization. A copy of the governing body’s authorization 

for this official representative to sign must be on file in the applicant’s office.

Be sure to check your entire application to make sure that there are no errors before 

submitting it. eGrants will also generate a list of errors if there are sections that need to be 

corrected prior to submission when you verify the application. If someone else is acting in 

the role of the applicant’s authorized representative, that person must log into his/her 

eGrants account to proceed with Authorize and Submit. After signing off on the Assurances 

and Certifications, his/her name will override any previous signatory that may appear and 

show on the application as the Authorized Representative.
45

ATTACHMENT A: Assurances & Certifications

ASSURANCES

As the duly authorized representative of the applicant, I assure, to the best of my knowledge and belief, 

that the applicant:

 Has the legal authority to apply for federal assistance, and the institutional, managerial, and 

financial capability (including funds sufficient to pay the non-federal share of project costs) to 

ensure proper planning, management, and completion of the project described in this application. 

 Will give the awarding agency, the Comptroller General of the United States, and if appropriate, the 

state, through any authorized representative, access to and the right to examine all records, books,

papers, or documents related to the award; and will establish a proper accounting system in

accordance with generally accepted accounting standards or agency directives.

 Will establish safeguards to prohibit employees from using their position for a purpose that 

constitutes or presents the appearance of personal or organizational conflict of interest, or personal 

gain. 

 Will initiate and complete the work within the applicable time frame after receipt of approval of the 

awarding agency. 

 Will comply with the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4728-4763) relating to

prescribed standards for merit systems for programs funded under one of the nineteen statutes or 

regulations specified in Appendix A of OPM’s Standards for a Merit System of Personnel 

Administration (5 CFR 900, Subpart F). 

 Will comply with all federal statutes relating to nondiscrimination. These include but are not limited

to: (a) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352) which prohibits discrimination on the 

basis of race, color, or national origin; (b) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as 

amended (20 U.S.C. 1681-1683, and 1685-1686). which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex; 

(c) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794), which prohibits 

discrimination on the basis of disability (d) The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (42 

U.S.C. 6101-6107), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age; (e) The Drug Abuse Office 

and Treatment Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-255), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of 

drug abuse; (f) The Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment and 

Rehabilitation Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-616), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of 

alcohol abuse or alcoholism; (g) sections 523 and 527 of the Public Health Service Act of 1912 (42 

U.S.C. 290dd-3 and 290ee-3), as amended, relating to confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse

patient records; (h) Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), as amended, 

relating to nondiscrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing; (i) any other 

nondiscrimination provisions in the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended; and 

(j) the requirements of any other nondiscrimination statute(s) which may apply to the application. 

 Will comply, or has already complied, with the requirements of Titles II and III of the Uniform

Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-646) which 

provide for fair and equitable treatment of persons displaced or whose property is acquired as a 

result of federal or federally assisted programs. These requirements apply to all interests in real 

property acquired for project purposes regardless of federal participation in purchases.

 Will comply with the provisions of the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. 1501-1508 and 7324-7328) which 

limit the political activities of employees whose principal employment activities are funded in 
46

whole or in part with Federal funds.

 Will comply, as applicable, with the provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C 276a and 276a77), the Copeland Act (40 U.S.C 276c and 18 U.S.C. 874), and the Contract Work Hours and 

Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 327-333), regarding labor standards for Federally assisted 

construction sub-agreements. 

 Will comply, if applicable, with flood insurance purchase requirements of Section 102(a) of the 

Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-234) which requires the recipients in a special flood 

hazard area to participate in the program and to purchase flood insurance if the total cost of 

insurable construction and acquisition is $10,000 or more. 

 Will comply with environmental standards which may be prescribed pursuant to the following: (a) 

institution of environmental quality control measures under the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190) and Executive Order (EO) 11514; (b) notification of violating facilities 

pursuant to EO 11738; (c) protection of wetlands pursuant to EO 11990; (d) evaluation of flood 

hazards in floodplains in accordance with EO 11988; (e) assurance of project consistency with the 

approved state management program developed under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972

(16 U.S.C 1451 et seq.); (f) conformity of federal actions to State (Clean Air) Implementation 

Plans under Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act of 1955, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); (g) 

protection of underground sources of drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, 

as amended (P.L. 93-523); and (h) protection of endangered species under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (P.L. 93-205).

 Will comply with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (16 U.S.C 1271 et seq.) related to 

protecting components or potential components of the national wild and scenic rivers system. 

 Will assist the awarding agency in assuring compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470), EO 11593 (identification and protection of 

historic properties), and the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974 (16U.S.C. 469a-l et 

seq.). 

 Will comply with the National Research Act (P.L. 93-348) regarding the protection of human 

subjects involved in research, development, and related activities supported by this award of 

assistance.

 Will comply with the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-544, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 

2131 et seq.) pertaining to the care, handling, and treatment of warm blooded animals held for 

research, teaching, or other activities supported by this award of assistance. 

 Will comply with the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 4801 et seq.) 

which prohibits the use of lead based paint in construction or rehabilitation of residence structures.

 Will cause to be performed the required financial and compliance audits in accordance with the Single 

Audit Act of 1984, as amended, and 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Subpart F. 

 Will comply with all applicable requirements of all other Federal laws, executive orders, 

regulations, application guidelines, and policies governing this program. 

 Will comply with the pilot program on Contractor employee whistleblower protections 

established at 41 U.S.C. 4712 by section 828 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

Fiscal Year 2013 (Pub. L. 112-239). 

o This award and employees working on this award will be subject to the whistleblower 

rights and remedies in the pilot program. 

o Under this pilot program, an employee of a recipient may not be discharged, demoted, or 

otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing information that the employee 
47

reasonably believes is evidence of gross mismanagement of a Federal contract or award, a 

gross waste of Federal funds, an abuse of authority (an arbitrary and capricious exercise of 

authority that is inconsistent with the mission of CNCS or the successful performance of a 

contract or grant of CNCS) relating to a Federal contract or award, a substantial and 

specific danger to public health or safety, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related 

to a Federal contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or award. 

o The recipient shall inform its employees in writing, in the predominant language of the 

workforce or organization, of employee whistleblower rights and protections under 41 

U.S.C. 4712, as described above. 

For Social Innovation Fund Applicants ONLY

 Will use the funds received through the award in order to make subawards to community 

organizations that will use the funds to replicate or expand proven initiatives, or support new 

initiatives, in low-income communities. 

 Will consult with a diverse cross section of community representatives in making decisions 

about subawards for communities (including individuals from the public, nonprofit private, 

and for-profit private sectors). 

 Will make sub-grants of a sufficient size and scope to enable the community organizations to 

build their capacity to manage initiatives, and sustain replication or expansion of the initiatives;

 Will not make any subawards to--

 the parent organizations of the applicant,

 a subsidiary organization of the parent organization of the applicant, or,

 if the applicant applied for a SIF award as a partnership, any member of the partnership. 

 Commits to meeting the matching cash fund requirements of section 198k(i) of the National and 

Community Service Act of 1990, as amended, (42 U.S.C. §12653k(i)).

 Commits to use data and evaluations to improve the applicant’s own model and to improve the 

initiatives funded by the applicant.

 Commits to cooperate with any evaluation activities undertaken by CNCS.
48

CERTIFICATIONS

Certification – Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters

This certification is required by the government-wide regulations implementing Executive Order 12549, 

Debarment and Suspension, 2 CFR Part 180, Section 180.335, What information must I provide before 

entering into a covered transaction with a Federal agency?

As the duly authorized representative of the applicant, I certify, to the best of my knowledge and belief, 

that neither the applicant nor its principals: 

 Is presently excluded or disqualified;

 Has been convicted within the preceding three years of any of the offenses listed in § 180.800(a)

or had a civil judgment rendered against it for one of those offenses within that time period; 

 Is presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity 

(Federal, State, or local) with commission or any of the offenses listed in § 180.800(a); or 

 Has had one or more public transactions (Federal, State, or local) terminated within the preceding 

three years for cause or default. 

Definitions

The terms “debarment”, “suspension”, “excluded”, “disqualified”, “ineligible”, “participant”, “person”,

“principal”, and “voluntarily excluded” as used in this document have the meanings set out in 2 CFR Part

180, subpart I, “Definitions.” A transaction shall be considered a “covered transaction” if it meets the 

definition in 2 CFR part 180 subpart B, “Covered Transactions.”

Assurance requirement for subaward agreements

You agree by submitting this proposal that if we approve your application you shall not knowingly enter 

into any lower tier covered transaction with a person who is debarred, suspended, declared ineligible, or 

voluntarily excluded from participation in this covered transaction, unless authorized by us.

Assurance inclusion in subaward agreements

You agree by submitting this proposal that you will obtain an assurance from prospective participants in 

all lower tier covered transactions and in all solicitations for lower tier covered transactions that the 

participants are not debarred, suspended, ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from the covered transaction. 

Assurance of subaward principals

You may rely upon an assurance of a prospective participant in a lower-tier covered transaction that is not 

debarred, suspended, ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from the covered transaction, unless you know 

that the assurance is erroneous. You may decide the method and frequency by which you determine the 

eligibility of your principals. You may, but are not required to, check the List of Parties Excluded from 

Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs.

Non-assurance in subaward agreements

If you knowingly enter into a lower tier covered transaction with a person who is suspended, debarred, 

ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction, in addition to other remedies 

available to the federal government, we may terminate this transaction for cause or default. 

Certification – Drug Free Workplace

This certification is required by the Corporation’s regulations implementing sections 5150-5160 of the 
49

Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-690), 2 CFR Parts 182 and 2245. The regulations require 

certification by recipients, prior to award, that they will make a good faith effort, on a continuing basis, 

to maintain a drug-free workplace. The certification set out below is a material representation of fact 

upon which reliance will be placed when the agency determines to make an award. False certification

or violation of the certification may be grounds for suspension of payments, suspension or termination

of awards, or government-wide suspension or debarment (see 2 CFR Part 180, Subparts G and H). 

As the duly authorized representative of the recipient, I certify, to the best of my knowledge and 

belief, that the recipient will provide a drug-free workplace by: 

A. Publishing a drug-free workplace statement that:

a. Notifies employees that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use 

of a controlled substance is prohibited in the recipient’s workplace; 

b. Specifies the actions that the recipient will take against employees for violating that 

prohibition; and 

c. Informs employees that, as a condition of employment under any award, each employee 

will abide by the terms of the statement and notify the recipient in writing if the 

employee is convicted for a violation of a criminal drug statute occurring in the 

workplace within five days of the conviction; 

B. Requiring that a copy of the statement described in paragraph (A) be given to each employee 

who will be engaged in the performance of any Federal award; 

C. Establishing a drug-free awareness program to inform employees about:

a. The dangers of drug abuse in the workplace; 

b. The recipient’spolicy of maintaining a drug-free workplace; 

c. Any available drug counseling, rehabilitation, and employee assistance programs; and 

d. The penalties that the recipient may impose upon them for drug abuse violations 

occurring in the workplace; 

D. Providing us, as well as any other Federal agency on whose award the convicted employee was 

working, with written notification within 10 calendar days of learning that an employee has 

been convicted of a drug violation in the workplace; 

E. Taking one of the following actions within 30 calendar days of learning that an employee has 

been convicted of a drug violation in the workplace: 

a. Taking appropriate personnel action against the employee, up to and including termination; or 

b. Requiring that the employee participate satisfactorily in a drug abuse assistance or 

rehabilitation program approved for these purposes by a Federal, State, or local health, 

law enforcement, or other appropriate agency; 

F. Making a good faith effort to continue to maintain a drug-free workplace through 

implementation of paragraphs (A) through (E). 

Certification - Lobbying Activities

As required by Section 1352, Title 31 of the U.S. Code, as the duly authorized representative of the 

applicant, I certify, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that:

 No funds received from CNCS have been or will be paid, by or on behalf of the applicant, to any 

person or agent acting for the applicant, related to activity designed to influence the enactment of 

legislation, appropriations, administrative action, proposed or pending before the Congress or any 
50

State government, State legislature or local legislature or legislative body. 

 If any funds other than federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for 

influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a member of 

Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a member of Congress in

connection with this federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the applicant will 

submit Standard Form-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying," in accordance with its 

instructions;

 The applicant will require that the language of this certification be included in the award

documents for all subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subawards, and contracts under 

grants, loans and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients will certify and disclose

accordingly. 

Erroneous certification or assurance

The assurances and certifications are material representations of fact upon which we rely in determining 

whether to enter into this transaction. If we later determine that you knowingly submitted an erroneous 

certification or assurance, in addition to other remedies available to the federal government, we may 

terminate this transaction for cause or default. 

Notice of error in certification or assurance

You must provide immediate written notice to us if at any time you learn that a certification or assurance 

was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous because of changed circumstances.

Prudent person standard

Nothing contained in the aforementioned may be construed to require establishment of a system of 

records in order to render in good faith the assurances and certifications required. Your knowledge and 

information is not required to exceed that which is normally possessed by a prudent person in the 

ordinary course of business dealings.