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Volunteer Generation Fund

2020 Grantee Progress Report Instructions

How will AmeriCorps use the information reported?

The Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) Grantee Progress Report (GPR) provides information for 

AmeriCorps staff to monitor grantee progress and to respond to requests from Congress and other 

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

Program staff will use the information you provide to identify trends and issues that may lead to 

changes in policies and procedures, allocation of training and technical assistance, or opportunities for 

peer learning. 

What are the components of the GPR?

The VGF Grantee Progress Report consists of three sections: Performance Data Elements, Performance 

Measures, and Narratives. 

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

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

When is the GPR due?

The GPR is due on December 31, 2021.*

If you cannot meet the submission deadline, you must request an extension from your Portfolio 

Manager. Requests for extensions may be granted when:

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

of the grantee, and

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

report.

*If 2020 was the last year of the project period, the GPR is due 90 days after the end of the project 

period, inclusive of any no-cost extensions.

Selecting the Right GPR

After logging into eGrants, click the “Progress Report” link in the lower right corner of the screen.

 
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You will see a list of possible progress reports for each of your existing grants. Find the grant number 

that includes the 2020-21 program year, and expand the list by clicking on the orange arrow key to the 

right of the grant number. 

Find the progress report with the 12/31/2021 due date (or the due date that is 90 days after the end of 

your grant) labeled “Progress Report Annual,” and click on the “edit” link. You will be taken to the main 

progress report screen. 

Reporting Period 

The reporting period is from the beginning of your 2020 grant year through September 30, 2021. 

• For Performance Data Elements, report all data collected during the time period 10/1/2020-

9/30/2021, regardless of the program year to which the data are connected. 

• For Performance Measures, report all data pertaining to your 2020 program year, plus any 

previously unreported data from the previous (2019) program year. Any activities taking place 

during the reporting period that correspond to a later grant year should be reported on the 

subsequent end-of-year GPR. 

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

accurately align with the performance measure instructions, approved program design, and grant 

application) and verifiable (i.e., the commission must be able to demonstrate the data are accurate). 

Source documentation that supports the reported results must be maintained as grant records. 
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General Information Tab

This tab displays information for the progress report you have selected. Check the due date to ensure 

you have selected the correct report. If you have not selected the correct report for the reporting 

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

click the “Begin” button to open the progress report. If you return to this tab after starting the report, 

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

Open amendments on the same grant year as the GPR may interfere with data entry in the GPR. If you 

have amendment(s) currently in process that fit this description, please work with your Portfolio 

Manager to get the amendment(s) awarded or withdrawn before you start entering data into the GPR. 

Also, it is best to avoid initiating amendments on the same grant year while you are entering data into 

the GPR (i.e., after you open the GPR for the first time, but prior to submitting the GPR to AmeriCorps); 

same-year amendments awarded during the GPR data-entry process may result in the need to re-enter 

all of the data from scratch.

A summary table at the bottom of this tab allows you to see all past reports associated with your grant 

and to view or print PDF versions of these reports.

Performance Data Elements Tab

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

definition of each Performance Data Element is listed below. Your responses on this tab should include 

all data collected for these elements during the time period 10/1/2020-9/30/2021, regardless of the 

program year to which the data are connected.

The following elements are required for all commissions:

• Number of volunteers recruited or managed:

Number of volunteers recruited, trained, managed, or coordinated by your Volunteer 

Generation Fund program during the time period from October 1-September 30. Each individual 

volunteer should be counted only once even if they participated in more than one volunteer 

opportunity.

• Number of hours served by recruited or managed volunteers:

Total number of hours served by volunteers that were recruited, trained, managed, or 

coordinated by your Volunteer Generation Fund program during the time period from October 

1-September 30.

Enter a numerical value in each field. If you did not collect data on an indicator, enter a zero (0) in that 

field. The progress report cannot be submitted unless there is a numerical value, including zero, entered 

in every field on this tab. 

Data reported in the Volunteer Generation Fund GPR should not be duplicated in any other AmeriCorps

grantee progress reports including, but not limited to, AmeriCorps State and National, Commission 

Support Grant, Commission Investment Fund, VISTA, or AmeriCorps Senior progress reports.

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

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

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

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

the text box.

Provide the following narratives (please limit your remarks in each section to 1,500 words or less)*:

Data Quality (Required): Describe the specific steps you took to verify data from sites reported in this 

GPR.

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

collected about your Volunteer Generation Fund processes or outcomes (including performance 

measurement data) during the reporting period to improve your program. Based on the data you 

collected, what has worked well in your program during this reporting period, and what changes will you 

make in the coming year to improve processes and/or outcomes to better address the objectives of your 

Volunteer Generation Fund grant?

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

character limits, provide overflow explanations here.

Click “Next” to proceed to the next tab.

*The PDF printout of the GPR often truncates the narratives entered in the Progress Report interface. 

However, the Progress Report screens themselves will accept 32,000 characters per narrative field and 

will save the entire narrative entered up to that limit, even if the narrative does not display fully in the 

PDF.

Performance Measures Tab

The Performance Measures tab asks you to enter performance measure data for the 2020 program year

and to compare achieved (actual) values to the targets set in the grant application. Your responses on 

this tab should include all data pertaining to your 2020 program year (i.e., the outputs and outcomes 

accomplished by your 2020 program activities), plus any previously unreported data from the 

previous (2019) program year. Any activities taking place during the reporting period that correspond 

to a later grant year (2021 or beyond) should be reported on the subsequent Volunteer Generation 

Fund GPR.

Expand each performance measure to show a panel with each output and outcome for the performance 

measure. Enter the actual for each output and outcome. Enter “0” in each remaining field (# of Vols, 

Project Hours, MSYs and Amount). If you do not enter zeroes as required, the GPR will be returned to 

you for revision.

When you have entered all data for one performance measure, check the “Done with Section” box. A

green checkmark will appear on the accordion panel when it is collapsed, signaling that you are done 

entering data in this panel. If you leave any fields blank or include any characters other than numbers 
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(e.g., commas, decimals, the percent symbol) these fields will default to values of zero when you move 

to the next tab or save the report.

Once data have been entered for each performance measure, click the “Calculate Progress” button at 

the bottom of the page. This will enable eGrants to calculate the percent of target for each output and 

outcome. 

An explanation is required for any output or outcome measure for which one or more of the following is 

true:

• The actual is lower than the target value;* 

• The actual greatly exceeds the target value (i.e., by 400% or more);

• Program activities and/or data collection are still ongoing for this measure, even if targets have 

already been met; and/or

• Data from the previous grant year that were not reported on the previous GPR have been 

included in the reported actual 

The content of the explanations should be as follows: 

Situation Required Explanation

Actual that is lower 

than the target value*

Reason(s) why the target was not met. If activities are still ongoing, please 

see below for the required explanation content.

Actual that exceeds the 

target value by 400% or 

more

Reason(s) why the actual value is significantly higher than originally 

projected. It must be clear in the explanation that no data were doublecounted and that all data are directly attributable to program activities.

Ongoing program 

activities and/or data 

collection, even if the 

target is already met

State that activities are still ongoing and explain when program activities 

will be completed and a full set of data will be available. Any output or 

outcome data that are not reported in this GPR will need to be included in 

next year’s end-of-year GPR.

Data included that 

were not reported in 

the previous GPR

Indicate what numerical portion of the actual value corresponds to the 

current grant year vs. the previous grant year. Only data that were NOT 

already reported on the previous year’s GPR should be included here.

*If you include performance measurement data from the previous year that were not reported in the

prior GPR (i.e., noted as “ongoing” on prior report due to continuing program activities and/or data 

collection), it may appear that targets for the current year were met when they actually were not. 

Explanations should be provided for any output or outcome where the actual value for the CURRENT 

grant year is lower than the target value.

Provide these explanations in the Grantee Note text box. If you need additional space, utilize the “Other 

Narratives” field on the Narratives tab.

Performance measurement data reported should not be duplicated in any other AmeriCorps grantee 

progress report including, but not limited to, AmeriCorps State and National, Commission Support 

Grant, Commission Investment Fund, VISTA, or AmeriCorps Senior progress reports.

Click “Next” to go to the next tab.
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Summary Tab

From this tab, you can view or print a summary of data entered in the GPR by clicking “Print PPR 

Summary.” To print a summary of any notes entered in the application, click “Print Complete Note 

History.”

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

Submitting the GPR

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

and click the “Grantee – Submit to AmeriCorps” button.