Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions Program 

2017 GRANT TERMS AND CONDITONS

Effective December 1, 2016

These Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) Grant Terms and Conditions are 

binding on the recipient. By accepting funds under this award, the recipient agrees to comply 

with, and include in all awards and these program-specific Grant Terms and Conditions, the 

CNCS general grant terms and conditions, all applicable federal statutes, regulations and 

guidelines, and any amendments thereto. The grantee agrees to operate the funded program in 

accordance with the approved grant application and budget, supporting documents, and other 

representations made in support of the approved grant application. The term recipient is used to 

connote the grant recipient as appropriate, throughout these Terms and Conditions. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

FOSTER GRANDPARENT (FGP) AND SENIOR COMPANION (SCP) PROGRAM 

GRANT TERMS AND CONDITIONS ...........................................................................1

A. Stipends ...................................................................................................................1

B. Recognition Events..................................................................................................1

C. Failure to Maintain VSYs .......................................................................................2

D. Grant Period ............................................................................................................2

E. Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) – Jan - Jun and Jul – Dec ..................................2

F. Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) – Apr - Sep and Oct – Mar ...............................2

G. Federal Financial Reporting/Disbursements ...........................................................3

H. Annual Progress Report ..........................................................................................3

I. Recognition of Federal Funding .............................................................................3

J. Program/Project Manager Authority .......................................................................3

K. Prohibition on Use of Program Grant Funds ..........................................................3

L. External Evaluation and Data Collection ................................................................5

M. Lobby Disclosure ....................................................................................................5

N. Reporting Requirements .........................................................................................6

O. Program Income ......................................................................................................6

P. Budget and Programmatic Changes ........................................................................7

Q. National Criminal History Checking Training ........................................................8

Attachment

Grant Program Civil Rights and Non-Harassment Policy ............................................9

A. Stipends

The recipient may not expend funds approved for payment of stipends for any other 

purpose without the prior written approval of CNCS’s Grants Officer.

B. Recognition Events

Recipient will ensure that at recognition events, CNCS is acknowledged as the Federal 

agency responsible for the primary Federal funding of the project.
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C. Failure to Maintain VSYs

Failure of the grantee to maintain Volunteer Service Year (VSY) program levels in 

accordance with the approved work plan and budget covered by the Notice of Grant 

Award may result in a reduction of funding for the succeeding year in accordance with 

CNCS policies. 

D. Grant Period

Unless otherwise specified, the award covers a three year project period. In approving a 

multiyear project period, CNCS makes an initial award for the first budget period. 

Additional funding for subsequent budget periods is contingent upon satisfactory 

progress and the availability of funds. The project period and the budget are noted on the 

award document.

E. Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) – Expenditures/Jan - Jun and Jul - Dec

Recipients with budget periods starting in January or July paid through HHS/PMS must 

submit the Standard Form 425, Federal Financial Report (FFR), semi-annually, from the 

start date of the award, to report the status of all funds. FFRs must report expenses on a 

cumulative basis over the performance period of the award and be submitted according to 

the following schedule:

Period Covering: Report Due:

January 1 to June 30 July 30

July 1 to December 31 January 30

Programs completing the final year of their grant must submit a final FFR that is 

cumulative over the entire grant period. This FFR is due 90 days after the close of the 

grant.

F. Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) – Expenditures/Apr - Sep and Oct - Mar. 

Recipients with budget periods starting in April or October paid through HHS/PMS must 

submit the Standard Form 425, Federal Financial Report (FFR), semi-annually, from the 

start date of the award, to report the status of all funds. FFRs must report expenses on a 

cumulative basis over the performance period of the grant and be submitted according to 

the following schedule:

Period Covering: Report Due:

April 1 - September 30 October 30

October 1 - March 30 April 30

Programs completing the final year of their grant must submit a final FFR that is 

cumulative over the entire grant period. This FFR is due 90 days after the close of the 

grant.
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G. Federal Financial Reporting/Disbursements

Recipients paid through HHS/PMS will report quarterly disbursements to HHS through 

SMARTLINK II. Recipients will report disbursements using the web based version of the 

Standard Form 425, Federal Financial Report, no later than 30 calendar days following 

the end of each quarter.

H. Annual Progress Report

Recipients must prepare a full Progress report at the end of the budget period. The report 

must be submitted in eGrants no later than 30 days after the end of the designated 

reporting period. Recipients must prepare and submit the Progress Report Volunteer 

Service Year production data elements at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters of the 

budget period. These reports must be submitted in eGrants no later than 30 days after the 

end of the designated reporting period.

I. Recognition of Federal Funding

When issuing statements, press releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations, annual 

reports and other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part 

with CNCS money, the grantee receiving federal funds, including but not limited to state 

and local governments, shall clearly state: (1) the percentage of the total cost of the 

program which will be financed with CNCS money, and (2) the dollar amount of CNCS

funds for the project or program.

J. Program/Project Manager Authority

The Program/Project Manager for this award is listed on the face page of the Notice of 

Grant Award. The Program/Project Manager has full authority to represent CNCS in 

connection with management of the technical and programmatic performance of the 

award. This individual is not authorized to change the terms and conditions, estimated 

costs, or period of performance, or to give approvals, written or verbal, which is 

specifically reserved for the Grants Officer.

K. Prohibition on Use of Program Grant Funds 

As specified in 42 U.S.C. § 5043(c), 45 C.F.R. §§ 2551.121 and 2552.121, while 

charging time to a Foster Grandparent or Senior Companion program, accumulating

service, or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the Senior 

Companion or Foster Grandparent Program or CNCS, staff and volunteers may not 

engage in the following activities:

1. Political activities.

a. No part of any award shall be used to finance, directly or indirectly, any activity to 

influence the outcome of any election to public office, or any voter registration activity.

No project shall be conducted in a manner involving the use of funds, the provision of 

services, or the employment or assignment of personnel in a matter supporting or 

resulting in the identification of such project with:
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i. Any partisan or nonpartisan political activity associated with a candidate, or 

contending faction or group, in an election; or

ii Any activity to provide voters or prospective voters with transportation to the 

polls or similar assistance in connection with any such election; or

iii Any voter registration activity, except that voter registration applications and 

nonpartisan voter registration information may be made available to the public 

at the premises of the sponsor. But, in making registration applications and 

nonpartisan voter registration information available, employees of the sponsor 

shall not express preferences or seek to influence decisions concerning any 

candidate, political party, election issue, or voting decision.

b. Notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. § 5043(c), 45 C.F.R. §§ 2551.121(a)(3) and 

2552.121(a)(3), language in CNCS’s current appropriations prohibits recipients from 

using CNCS funds to pay the salary or expenses of any grant or contract recipient, or 

agent acting for such recipient, related to any activity designed to influence the 

enactment of legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative action, or 

Executive order proposed or pending before the Congress or any State government, 

State legislature or local legislature or legislative body, other than for normal and 

recognized executive-legislative relationships or participation by an agency or officer 

of a State, local or tribal government in policymaking and administrative processes 

within the executive branch of that government.

2. Non-displacement of employed workers. A Senior Companion or Foster Grandparent 

Program Volunteer shall not perform any service or duty or engage in any activity that 

would otherwise be performed by an employee of the sponsor, or that would supplant the 

hiring of, or result in the displacement of employees, or impair existing contracts for 

services.

3. Compensation for service. A Senior Companion or Foster Grandparent Program

agency or organization to which SCP or FGP volunteers are assigned, or which operates 

or supervises any SCP or FGP program, shall not request or receive any compensation 

from SCP or FGP volunteers or from beneficiaries for services of SCP or FGP

volunteers.

i The regulations do not prohibit a sponsor from soliciting and accepting 

voluntary contributions from the community at large to meet its local support 

obligations under the grant or from entering into agreements with parties other 

than beneficiaries to support additional volunteers beyond those supported by 

the CNCS award;

ii A volunteer station may contribute to the financial support of the Foster 

Grandparent or Senior Companion Program. However, this support shall not 

be a required precondition for a potential station to obtain Foster Grandparent 

or Senior Companion services;

iii If a volunteer station agrees to provide funds to support additional Foster 

Grandparent Volunteers or Senior Companion Volunteers, or pay for other 

volunteer support costs, the agreement shall be stated in a written 

Memorandum of Understanding. The sponsor shall withdraw services if the 

station's inability to provide monetary or in-kind support to the project under 
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the Memorandum of Understanding diminishes or jeopardizes the project's 

financial capabilities to fulfill its obligations;

iv Under no circumstances shall Foster Grandparent or Senior Companion

volunteers receive fees for service from service recipients, their legal 

guardians, members of their family, or friends.

4. Labor and anti-labor activity. The sponsor shall not use grant funds directly or 

indirectly to finance labor or anti-labor organizations or related activities.

5. Fair labor standards. A sponsor that employs laborers and mechanics for 

construction, alteration, or repair of facilities shall pay wages at prevailing rates as 

determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, as 

amended, 40 U.S.C. 276a.

6. Religious activities. A Foster Grandparent volunteer or Senior Companion volunteer 

or a member of the project staff funded by CNCS shall not give religious instruction, 

conduct worship services or engage in any form of proselytization as part of his or her 

duties.

i A sponsor or volunteer station may retain its independence and may continue 

to carry out its mission, including the definition, development, practice, and 

expression of its religious beliefs, provided that it does not use CNCS funds to 

support any inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious 

instruction, or proselytization, as part of the programs or services funded. If an 

organization conducts such activities, the activities must be offered separately, 

in time or location, from the programs or services funded under this part.

7. Nepotism. Persons selected for project staff positions shall not be related by blood 

or marriage to other project staff, sponsor staff or officers, or members of the 

sponsor Board of Directors, unless there is written concurrence from the community 

group established by the sponsor under Subpart B of this part and upon prior 

notification and approval by CNCS.

L. EXTERNAL AND DATA COLLECTION

The grantee must cooperate with the Corporation and its evaluators in all monitoring and 

evaluation efforts. As part of this effort, the grantee must collect and submit certain project 

data, as defined in the Project Profile and Volunteer Activity (PPVA), and must provide data 

as requested or needed to support external evaluations.

M. LOBBY DISCLOSURE

For grant awards exceeding $100,000, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1352, the Grantee is required to 

file a disclosure report, Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, at the end of 

any quarter, when the Grantee has paid or agreed to pay any lobbying entity 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 a covered Federal action. The report must be submitted to the Corporation State 

Program Director.
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N. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The recipient is responsible for timely submission of periodic financial and progress reports 

during the project period and a final financial report at the end of the period. 

1. Financial Reports. The recipient shall complete and submit financial reports in eGrants 

to report the status of all funds. The recipient must submit timely cumulative financial 

reports in accordance with CNCS guidelines and sections E and F, above. 

2. Final Financial Report. A recipient must submit, in lieu of the last semi-annual 

financial report, a final financial report. These reports are due no later than 90 days after 

the end of the project period.

3. Reporting at the Dept. of Health and Human Services/Payment Management 

System. (HHS/PMS) All recipients must submit the Federal Financial Report (FFR) 

Cash Transactions Report on a quarterly basis to the HHS/PMS per the Electronic Funds 

Transfer Agreement.

4. Progress Reports. The recipient shall complete and submit timely progress reports, 

including a summary of accomplishments during the reporting period. This includes 

reporting on the progress to date made by the recipient for that reporting period. The 

report is submitted through the appropriate electronic system. Individual program 

guidance determines the due dates for the reports. 

5. Requests for Extensions. Each grantee must submit a financial report by the given 

dates. Extensions of reporting deadlines will be granted only when 1) the report cannot 

be furnished in a timely manner for reasons, in the determination of CNCS, which are 

legitimately beyond the control of the grantee, and 2) CNCS receives a written request 

explaining the need for an extension before the due date of the report. 

Extensions of deadlines for financial reports may only be granted by the Field Financial 

Management Center (FFMC), and extensions of deadlines for progress reports may only 

be granted by the Program Office.

6. Other. The recipient shall meet as necessary with the CNCS Program Office or with 

other staff or consultants designated by the CNCS Program Official to exchange views, 

ideas, and information concerning the project. The recipient shall submit such special 

reports as may be reasonably requested by CNCS.

O. PROGRAM INCOME

1. General. Income, including fees for service earned as a direct result of the grant-funded 

program activities during the award period, must be retained by the grantee and used to 

finance the grant’s non-CNCS share.

2. Excess Program Income. Program income earned in excess of the amount needed to 

finance the grantee share must follow the appropriate requirements of 2 CFR § 

200.307(e)(1) and be deducted from total claimed costs, or with prior written approval 

from CNCS, the requirements of 2 CFR § 200.307(e)(2) through a budget amendment be 

used to enhance the program (additive process). Recipients that earn excess income must 

specify the amount of the excess in the comment box on the financial report.
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3. Fees for service. When using assistance under this grant, the grantee may not enter into a 

contract for or accept fees for service performed by participants when:

i. The service benefits a for-profit entity; 

ii. The service falls within the other prohibited activities set forth in statute, 

regulation, or these award terms and conditions. 

P. BUDGET AND PROGRAMMATIC CHANGES

1. Programmatic Changes. The grantee must obtain the prior written approval of CNCS 

before making changes

a. in the scope, objectives or goals of the project, transfer of the project effort, or project 

timeline whether or not they involve budgetary changes;

b. in key personnel specified in the application or the federal award;

c. involving the disengagement from the project for more than three months, or a 25 

percent reduction in time devoted to the project by the approved Project Director.

2. Budgetary Changes. The grantee must obtain the prior written approval of CNCS’s Field 

Financial Management Center (FFMC) before deviating from the approved budget in any of 

the following ways:

a. specific costs requiring prior approval before incurrence under 2 CFR § 200.407. 

examples of costs requiring prior written approval before they are allowed include

rearrangement and alteration costs, and pre-award costs;

b. purchases of equipment over $5,000 using grant funds, unless specified in the 

approved application and budget;

c. the Federal awarding agency may, at its option, restrict the transfer of funds among 

direct cost categories or programs, functions and activities for Federal awards in which 

the Federal share of the project of such transfers exceeds or is expected to exceed 10 

percent of the total budget as last approved by the Federal awarding agency. The 

Federal awarding agency cannot permit a transfer that would cause any Federal 

appropriation to be used for purposes other than those consistent with the 

appropriation;

d. changes in the amount of approved cost-sharing or matching provided by the nonfederal entity;

e. the inclusion, unless waived by the federal awarding agency, of costs that require 

prior approval in accordance with sub part E cost principles in 2 CFR.

4. Approvals of Programmatic and Budget Changes. CNCS’s Grants officers are the only 

officials who have the authority to alter or change the provisions or requirements of the 

grant. Programmatic changes also require final approval of CNCS’s Field Financial 

Management Center (FFMC) after written recommendation for approval is received from 

the Program Office. The Grants Officers will execute written amendments, and 

Recipients should not assume approvals have been granted unless documentation from the 

Grants Office has been received.
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Q. NATIONAL SERVICE CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK TRAINING

All grant recipients must complete CNCS’ National Service Criminal History Check (NSCHC) 

training every year. The CNCS designated e-course provides a thorough overview of the 

requirements and can be found at: http://cncstraining.articulate-online.com/4240214797 unless 

otherwise notified by CNCS. Each grant recipient must identify at minimum one staff person 

who has some responsibility for NSCHC compliance to fulfill this requirement on behalf of the 

grant recipient or sub-recipient. The grant recipient must retain the certificate of completion and 

assign staff to retake the course annually prior to the expiration of the certificate. Grant 

recipients must save certificates of completion from each year as grant records.
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ATTACHMENT 

Grant Program Civil Rights and Non-Harassment Policy 

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has zero tolerance for the harassment of any individual 

or group of individuals for any reason. CNCS is committed to treating all persons with dignity and respect. CNCS 

prohibits all forms of discrimination based upon race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, 

disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, or military service. All 

programs administered by, or receiving Federal financial assistance from CNCS, must be free from all forms of 

harassment. Whether in CNCS offices or campuses, in other service-related settings such as training sessions or service 

sites, or at service-related social events, such harassment is unacceptable. Any such harassment, if found, will result 

in immediate corrective action, up to and including removal or termination of any CNCS employee or volunteer. 

Recipients of Federal financial assistance, be they individuals, organizations, programs and/or projects are also subject 

to this zero tolerance policy. Where a violation is found, and subject to regulatory procedures, appropriate corrective 

action will be taken, up to and including termination of Federal financial assistance from all Federal sources. 

Slurs and other verbal or physical conduct relating to an individual’s gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual 

orientation or any other basis constitute harassment when it has the purpose or effect of interfering with service 

performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive service environment. Harassment includes, but is not 

limited to: explicit or implicit demands for sexual favors; pressure for dates; deliberate touching, leaning over, or 

cornering; offensive teasing, jokes, remarks, or questions; letters, phone calls, or distribution or display of offensive 

materials; offensive looks or gestures; gender, racial, ethnic, or religious baiting; physical assaults or other threatening 

behavior; or demeaning, debasing or abusive comments or actions that intimidate. 

CNCS does not tolerate harassment by anyone including persons of the same or different races, sexes, religions, or 

ethnic origins; or from a CNCS employee or supervisor; a project, or site employee or supervisor; a non-employee 

(e.g., client); a co-worker or service member. 

I expect supervisors and managers of CNCS programs and projects, when made aware of alleged harassment by 

employees, service participants, or other individuals, to immediately take swift and appropriate action. CNCS will not 

tolerate retaliation against a person who raises harassment concerns in good faith. Any CNCS employee who violates 

this policy will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination, and any grantee that permits harassment in 

violation of this policy will be subject to a finding of non-compliance and administrative procedures t h a t may result 

in termination of Federal financial assistance from CNCS and all other Federal agencies. 

Any person who believes that he or she has been discriminated against in violation of civil rights laws, regulations, or 

this policy, or in retaliation for opposition to discrimination or participation in discrimination complaint proceedings 

(e.g., as a complainant or witness) in any CNCS program or project, may raise his or her concerns with our Office of 

Civil Rights and Inclusiveness (OCRI). Discrimination claims not brought to the attention of OCRI within 45 days of 

their occurrence may not be accepted in a formal complaint of discrimination. No one can be required to use a program, 

project or sponsor dispute resolution procedure before contacting OCRI. If another procedure is used, it does not affect 

the 45-day time limit. OCRI may be reached at (202) 606-7503 (voice), (202) 6063472 (TTY), eo@cns.gov, or through 

www.nationalservice.gov. 

6/17/2015______________

Date