Corporation for National and Community Service

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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The Board of Directors for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

convened in Washington, DC. The following members of the Board were present:

Shamina Singh, Chair 

Rick Christman (by telephone)

Mona Dixon (by telephone)

Chair’s Opening Remarks

Board Chair Shamina Singh called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone joining by 

phone and those gathered in person at the CNCS Headquarters. She welcomed her fellow Board

members Rick Christman and Mona Dixon; Vice Chair Dean Reuter, Eric Liu, and Victoria 

Hughes were unavailable for the meeting. She extended greetings to those observing Rosh 

Hashanah and thanked Board members for participating in CNCS activities and events. She 

stated that Eric participated in an event in Washington State that showcased the Social 

Innovation Fund, and will be on hand for that state’s annual AmeriCorps induction later this 

month, when 1,000 new members will be sworn in. She also stated that Mona recently did a site 

visit to the Maricopa Integrated Health Systems in Arizona, and Victoria attended some of the 

Social Innovation Fund convening last month.

Ms. Singh invited members of the public, on behalf of the Board, to comment on the business of 

the Board.

Ms. Singh noted that the Board met via conference call last week. During the call, Wendy 

Spencer gave a detailed CEO report, which she will share today. Jeff Page, the Chief Operations

Officer, gave an update on operations and our Enterprise Risk Management strategy. Kim 

Mansaray, the Chief Program Officer, shared several program updates. Kim Allman, the Director 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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of Government Relations, briefed the Board on the budget and on outreach to Congress about the 

importance and value of the Social Innovation Fund. Last, Ted Miller, the Chief of External 

Affairs, updated the Board about the 9/11 Day of Service and plans for AmeriCorps induction 

ceremonies for the One Millionth AmeriCorps member.

Ms. Singh expressed her appreciation to CNCS staff for their commitment, hard work, and 

professionalism. She thanked the dedicated staff, members, and volunteers who are part of the 

extended CNCS family, including AmeriCorps, NCCC, and VISTA; Senior Corps, including 

Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and RSVP; and the Social Innovation Fund. She also 

thanked the vital partners in the state Service Commissions. 

Ms. Singh then asked the CEO, Ms. Wendy Spencer, to present to the Board.

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

Ms. Spencer reported to the Board and public as follows:

 Ms. Spencer started with an update on the budget. She thanks the members of the Office 

of Grants Management (OGM) and the Field Financial Management Center (FFMC) for 

their hard work to complete another successful closeout of the past fiscal year which 

ended on September 30, 2016. OGM processed 490 grant awards totaling $525.7 million 

dollars, and reviewed 827 cost reimbursement grant financial reports and fixed award 

drawdown analyses. The FFMC teams processed 1,711 Senior Corps grants and 261 

AmeriCorps grants with a combined value of $218 million. They processed 6,157 VISTA 

travel vouchers; established 173 debts; launched the first-ever FBI channeler contract,

which has conducted 12,707 FBI checks; updated processes to speed audit resolutions, 

and provided 70 in-person trainings and webinars to grantees, potential applicants, and 

CNCS staff. 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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 Regarding Fiscal Year 2017, Congress recently passed, and the President signed, a 

Continuing Resolution that fully funds CNCS through December 9, 2016. Looking to a 

future budget after December 9, 2016, the Senate version of the CNCS appropriations bill 

fulfills the CNCS funding request for AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the State 

Commissions, but unfortunately cut $50 million from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), 

which would eliminate the program. SIF has proven itself to be a tremendous model for 

funding evidence-based solutions to the country’s most pressing challenges. During the 

past six years, it has used $295 million in federal investments to leverage $627 million in 

non-federal matching commitments. CNCS will continue to make our case for full 

funding for the SIF program and the innovative solutions this program amplifies.

 CNCS continues to focus on pressing problems, including the devastating floods that hit 

Louisiana in August. The flood damaged homes, businesses, and infrastructure in 26 

parishes – more than 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. That flood came on the 

heels of another this past March, which saw flooding in 37 parishes. CNCS-funded 

resources deployed quickly, in close coordination with FEMA and the State of Louisiana. 

More than 984 national service members have responded to the Louisiana floods. These 

national service members have cleaned up 10,758 cubic yards of debris – the equivalent 

of 768 dump truck loads; gutted or mucked out of 215 homes; assessed the damage in 

more than 225 homes; and collected and distributed 242 tons of food and 444 tons of 

supplies. 

 Ms. Spencer travelled to Louisiana in August to visit the operations. Lt. Governor 

Nungesser hosted a welcome dinner for more than 600 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps 

members providing the disaster relief in Louisiana. Governor Edwards, local mayors,

and Judd Jeansonne, Executive Director of Volunteer Louisiana, participated.

 On the 9/11 National Day of Service, national service teams gutted 23 homes belonging 

to first responders to prepare them to be rebuilt. Elected officials participated in the 

gutting; these included Lt. Governor Nungesser and Congressman Graves and his wife,
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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who is an AmeriCorps alumna and a recent appointee to the Volunteer Louisiana 

Commission.

 CNCS’s ability to move in quickly, set up a command structure, and help survivors is a 

testament to the experience we have gained from responding to 200 disasters in the past 4 

years, and reflects well on our history of collaboration and training. Ms. Spencer 

recognized our Disaster Services Unit and its leader, Kelly DeGraff, for the wonderful 

work they are doing.

 CNCS is doing more than ever to support Native American communities. In FY 2016, 

AmeriCorps will make the largest tribal organization investments of the past 11 years. 

The CNCS investment is up 74% from 2012. This is due to CNCS’s sustained and 

focused commitment to increase our agency’s support to Native American communities 

through a range of efforts to stimulate awareness of our resources among those 

communities and improve the quality of their applications. At the AmeriCorps 

Symposium, CNCS showed a special video by Rep. Tom Cole from Oklahoma, chairman 

of the subcommittee that funds CNCS and a member of the Chickasaw nation. He 

complimented CNCS for our outreach to engage more tribes in national service. Just last 

week, CNCS announced that it is expanding the Resilience AmeriCorps program to 55 

tribal communities. Over the next 3 years, CNCS will place up to 160 AmeriCorps 

VISTA members in Indian Country to boost their capacity to prepare for severe weather 

events. Members will serve at sites in 15 states, through partnerships with the 

Conservation Legacy, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Enterprise 

Community Partners, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Housing Authorities. 

 One of the great strengths of national service is its ability to adapt to emerging needs. 

We are using our flexibility to focus on two critical issues facing communities: the 

growing prescription drug and opioid abuse crisis and civil unrest and the breakdown of 

trust between police and citizens. We made these two issues funding priorities in the 

2017 AmeriCorps Notice of Funding Opportunity released last month, and we are 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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backing it up with capacity-building support. Last month, we awarded planning grants to 

22 State Service Commissions to help them assess the problem, explore service 

providers, and give technical assistance to help organizations apply for AmeriCorps 

grants in these new areas of focus. Sixteen commissions will focus on opioid abuse, 4 on 

public safety, and 2 on both priorities. CNCS is also building a learning community for 

all commissions to gain expertise on these issues, and is coordinating with federal 

partners, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Department of 

Justice, on outreach and best practices.

 Since the last Board meeting, all three of our core programs have held their annual 

grantee meeting.

o At the end of August, nearly 500 Senior Corps program directors from Foster 

Grandparents, Senior Companions, and the RSVP programs from across the 

country came together in Reston, Virginia for a three-day training conference. 

Participants attended workshops on grants management, compliance monitoring,

criminal history background checks, performance measurement tools, and best 

practices in managing senior volunteer programs. Attendees also celebrated the 

45th anniversary of RSVP and saluted 107 year-old Foster Grandparent Virginia 

McLaurin. She attended with her granddaughter, who has herself just started as a 

Foster Grandparent in a school.

o In early September, attendees from around the country attended CNCS’s annual 

Social Innovation Fund convening. The convening focused on how grantees and 

subgrantees can effectively replicate or expand proven solutions to our nation’s 

challenges. During the convening, CNCS announced $4.3 million in new SIF 

Classic grant funding to four organizations: Friends of the Children, the North 

Carolina Partnership for Children, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and 

United Way of Central Indiana.
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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o Two weeks ago, we hosted the annual AmeriCorps Symposium, with more than 

400 State Commission and AmeriCorps grantee staff. At the symposium we gave 

Harkin Awards to honor four outstanding AmeriCorps programs and members; 

gave workshops on program management, compliance, and effective practices; 

shared details of the FY 2017 AmeriCorps NOFO; and held conversations about 

AmeriCorps policies. Last year four State Service Commissions (Alabama, 

Indiana, Massachusetts, and Nevada) held intensive learning sessions on the key 

building blocks of successful programs with more than 2,000 AmeriCorps, 

AmeriCorps VISTA, and Senior Corps program staff. In 2017, the Arizona, Ohio, 

Maryland, and Florida State Commissions who will host these conferences.

 At the AmeriCorps Symposium, Ms. Spencer and AmeriCorps Program Director Bill 

Basl laid out some of the opportunities for the AmeriCorps field for the future, including: 

enrolling more Employers of National Service; getting more colleges to match the 

AmeriCorps education award; finding creative solutions for affordable housing for 

AmeriCorps members; and developing new and innovative programs to address tough 

challenges facing our communities. Ms. Spencer and Mr. Basl also reminded the 

attendees of our shared responsibility for compliance and for ensuring that every taxpayer 

dollar is spent appropriately.

 CNCS has been working for several years with the Franklin Project to make a year of 

paid, full-time service a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. 

Recently the Franklin Project merged with ServiceNation and the Service Year Exchange 

to become a new organization called the Service Year Alliance, led by Shirley Sagawa. 

Voices for National Service remains a separate organization. The new organization’s 

primary focus is the Service Year Exchange, a website that connects young people who 

want to serve with service year opportunities. There are nearly 25,000 positions currently 

in the Exchange, the overwhelming majority of which are AmeriCorps positions. Last 

month, CNCS signed an MOU with the Service Year Alliance to expand and raise the 

visibility of AmeriCorps service opportunities. The agreement is designed to: support 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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recruitment for AmeriCorps positions; generate private sector resources to expand 

AmeriCorps and other service year positions; ensure proper branding of AmeriCorps in 

the Service Year Exchange; and gather data on the demographics of applicants for 

AmeriCorps and other positions. The Alliance will have a public launch on November 

14 in New York City.

 Our collaboration with the Service Year Alliance is one part of our highly successful 

partnerships and growth strategy. This strategy to grow AmeriCorps has resulted in the 

creation of FEMA Corps, School Turnaround AmeriCorps, Justice AmeriCorps, and 

many others. We have launched AmeriCorps Affiliate, a new streamlined model for 

organizations to apply for AmeriCorps members. As we move into the transition, we will 

continue this strategy, institutionalize existing partnerships, and create new ones.

 Ms. Spencer noted that this Board meeting might be her last one as part of the 

Administration, and she thanked the outstanding individuals who serve on the Board: 

Chair Shamina Singh, Vice Chair Dean Reuter, members Rick Christman, Eric Liu, 

Victoria Hughes, and Mona Dixon. She is thankful for their time, energy, guidance, and 

commitment. She also recognized the other Board Chairs who had served in the Obama 

Administration: Laysha Ward, Lisa Quiroz and Alan Solomont. Ms. Spencer said that all 

of these individuals had been so important to her, to the agency, and to the field that she 

wanted to publicly recognize them for their valuable service to our nation.

Ms. Spencer closed by noting that even this long list of achievements doesn’t include everything 

CNCS has achieved. Wherever one looks, our national service and social innovation programs 

are providing solutions that our country needs right now. Service is not only central to how we 

solve our problems, or how we expand opportunity – it is also a powerful way to bring 

Americans together. She thanks everyone for the hard work and dedication they provide every 

day to help national service “get things done.” For Ms. Spencer, it has been a distinct honor to 

serve with this amazing team at CNCS. They are professional, creative, committed, and 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

3:05 p.m. – 3:52 p.m., ET

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passionate about engaging Americans in service and solving problems with federal and local 

resources.

The Board Chair thanked Ms. Spencer and introduced Ted Miller, CNCS’s Chief of the Office of 

External Affairs. 

Presentation by Ted Miller

Mr. Miller stated that he had the pleasure of leading the Office of External Affairs (OEA), which 

is in charge of what the outside world sees about national service. Because the American people 

make a billion dollar investment in the agency, OEA wants to make sure every day that the 

American people can see what AmeriCorps members, Senior Corps volunteers, and Social 

Innovation Fund programs are doing to transform lives and improve communities. Mr. Miller 

presented three examples of how OEA and CNCS are doing this.

Two statistics help show how widely we’re telling our story to the public. First, we track how 

much people are seeing about all national service and Social Innovation Fund programs. 

Between March and September of this year, 14,200 articles about national service and Social 

Innovation funds appeared in media outlets across the country, totaling 985 billion times that one 

of our programs was seen by somebody, either on television or through online media. Second, 

during that same period, mission-related hash tags on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media 

were used 310,000 times.

The September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance is an example of the collective 

impact we are having in telling the story of service. This year, the 15th anniversary of the 

terrorists’ attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, was a milestone 

moment, and as such, an opportunity for CNCS to give credit to the 9/11 families. It was thanks 

to them and their efforts through Congress that our agency and partners could create this day of 
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

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service as a way to commemorate those we lost and to remind our nation that service is one way

we come together to unite around a common purpose. On September 9th, Ms. Spencer, along 

with leaders of the 9/11 Day, the 9/11 families, and other partners, went to the New York Stock 

Exchange to lead a moment of silence for those who were lost on 9/11. The next day, Ms. 

Spencer and other leaders from CNCS joined 1,000 other leaders in New York City at an

Opportunity Summit to focus on creating opportunities for youth. At the Opportunity Summit,

General Stanley McChrystal swore in a class of 80 AmeriCorps VISTA members. The members 

are serving with Service Works, which is supported by the Citibank Foundation in the largestever corporate investment in an AmeriCorps VISTA program. The next day, on September 11th, 

more than 300 AmeriCorps members joined the 9/11 families, the 9/11 organization, employees

of City Year and American Express, and others in New York City to package more than 500,000 

meals for needy families in the New York area.

On September 11th, there were service events across the country. In Louisiana, AmeriCorps 

Director Bill Basl, several elected officials, and other local leaders served alongside some of the 

nearly 1,000 AmeriCorps members who are there helping communities rebuild after the floods.

Many CNCS grantees, including Youth Service America, Points of Light, and Service for Peace,

organized projects in Washington, D.C. and across the country. The AARP Foundation was the 

leader for a two-day service project on the National Mall, during which AmeriCorps members, 

Senior Corps volunteers, and volunteers through the AARP Foundation packed one million 

meals for needy families in the Greater Washington area.

On October 7th, CNCS will celebrate an especially big day for the AmeriCorps community. On 

that day – “the big digital day” – we will swear in the millionth AmeriCorps member. Reaching 

one million members is quite an accomplishment for a program that has existed for only 22 

years. The focus of this milestone moment is really on the incoming class of AmeriCorps 

members. This year nearly 80,000 individuals will serve in AmeriCorps. We want those serving 

in AmeriCorps now, and the AmeriCorps alumni, to tell their family and friends and personal 

networks why they chose to join AmeriCorps and how that influenced their career choices and 

the paths they took to continue to serve. 
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On the same day, Ms. Spencer and all the AmeriCorps directors will join nearly 200 AmeriCorps 

members at the NASA auditorium, where we will hear from AmeriCorps alumni and currentlyserving AmeriCorps members. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, a retired Marine and Major 

General, and an astronaut who flew four missions, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

As October 7th is a big kick-off, we want to say thank you to all our State Service Commissions 

and the other AmeriCorps programs that are swearing in AmeriCorps members that day and 

throughout October. Board members and others will participate in these events across the 

country.

Concluding Remarks by Ms. Wendy Spencer

Ms. Spencer thanked the Chair, Shamina Singh, and Board members Mona Dixon, Victoria 

Hughes, Eric Liu, and Dean Reuter for supporting her and for being such great leaders for the 

agency. The agency was able to tap into the gifts of each Board member, who all provided great 

advice, energy and guidance. 

Ms. Spencer thanked the Board Chair for her service, noting that Shamina Singh had been 

someone the agency could count on, and that it takes a lot more time for the Chair of the Board

than it does the other Board members to respond to agency needs. The Chair has been in constant 

contact and available on short notice many times. Ms. Spencer also recognized the other three 

Chairs that the Board has had near the end of the current Administration: Alan Solomont, Laysha 

Ward and Lisa Garcia Quiroz. All of the Board Chairs continue to be great champions for service 

and for the agency.

Ms. Spencer closed by noting that even though this was probably her last Board meeting of this 

Administration, there were still several months to go in the Administration and CNCS was not 

slowing down. However, Ms. Spencer wanted to pause and take a look back at a few of the 

highlights that we have accomplished together in the last eight years during the Obama 

Administration:
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

October 3, 2016

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 The highest federal AmeriCorps appropriation in the agency’s history.

 The establishment of FEMA Corps within AmeriCorps NCCC to increase our nation’s 

disaster response capacity.

 The President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service yielded 11,000 new national 

service positions and $61 million in new, non-CNCS investments, paved the way for 

more partnerships in the future, and streamlined the AmeriCorps Affiliate program.

 Launch of the Social Innovation Fund, which has now invested $295 million federal 

funds and garnered $627 million in non-federal matching funds, and invested in Pay for 

Success, a cutting-edge model.

 Created and expanded Mayor, County, and Tribal Recognition Day for National Service 

– the largest local elected official endorsement on record for any issue in America – with 

3,539 Mayors and county officials representing 178 million Americans.

 Established Employers of National Service – 402 employers from across all sectors that

recruit alumni from AmeriCorps and Peace Corps as part of their hiring strategies. These 

employers represent 2.3 million jobs.

 Largest Native American national service investment over the last decade.

 For the first time in CNCS history, the annual local match and leveraged support from 

local entities exceeds the agency’s annual federal appropriation: $1.1 billion federal vs. 

$1.26 billion local support.

 In October 2016, the one millionth AmeriCorps member will be inducted! 

 Deployed more than 16,000 national service members to respond to more than 200 stateand federally-declared disasters, just during the past 4 years.

 Significantly increased our presence in the digital world by using social media. As one 

example, CNCS had 222,000 visitors to nationalservice.gov in early 2012, but 850,000 in

July 2016.

 Strengthened capacity of Governor-appointed State Service Commissions to lead service 

and volunteering in their states and effectively manage three-fourths of AmeriCorps State 

and National grants.
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Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

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 Strengthened Senior Corps’ focus on impact programming and implemented competition 

for RSVP.

 Increased our agency’s focus on using evidence and data in decision-making.

 Launch of the Volunteer Generation Fund, which has strengthened volunteer 

management practices and leveraged hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the 

country. 

 Created the National Veteran Corps to recognize the 24,000 veterans who serve in Senior 

Corps or AmeriCorps.

Ms. Spencer noted that it was a pretty amazing list that all of the Board members had been a part 

of, and that the field had responded to. It has been phenomenal to see what’s been accomplished 

with a great team. Ms. Spencer said that every single day, it had been a distinct honor to serve 

with an amazing group of professionals, the CNCS staff. They are creative, they are committed, 

they are passionate about their work and the mission, and they work very hard. It had been a true 

honor for her to serve these past four and a half years and she was so proud that together we’ve 

been able to accomplish so much for the American public.

Remarks by the Board Chair and the CEO’s Response

Ms. Singh thanked Ms. Spencer for sharing her thoughts and talking to the Board about the 

professional commitment of the staff and the team. It is clear that CNCS has momentum going 

into this transition. We have the second highest level of service members in the agency’s history, 

with 345,000 Senior Corps members and AmeriCorps members serving in more than 50,000 

locations. We have an experienced network of more than 2,000 grantees, successful 

implementation of the Social Innovation Fund program, a record level of leveraging non-CNCS 

resources, bipartisan support from elected officials, and a greater public awareness of national 

service. The Chair noted that a big reason for much of this success was Ms. Spencer’s leadership. 

The Chair expressed appreciation for her energy, vision, and leadership. She stated that it was a 

personal and professional privilege to have served with her. She spoke for all of the Board and 

thanked Ms. Spencer for her tireless, non-stop, consistently principled, values-based leadership 
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that has not only advanced the work of CNCS but frankly, because of the work of CNCS, has 

advanced the country in immeasurable ways. On behalf of the Board, the Chair thanked Ms. 

Spencer for her service and said that the Board looked forward to continuing to work with her in 

the coming months.

Ms. Spencer thanked the Board Chair for her remarks and accepted them on behalf of the 

amazing team at CNCS, to which she attributed CNCS’s great success. 

Conclusion of the Meeting

Ms. Singh concluded the Board meeting by thanking the members of the Board, the CNCS staff, 

and the members of the public for joining. She noted that this meeting had been a very important 

discussion, whereupon she adjourned the Board meeting at 3:52 p.m.