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2021 Terms and Conditions for Volunteer Generation Fund Grants 

These AmeriCorps1 Grant Program- Specific Terms and Conditions as well as the 2021 

AmeriCorps General Terms and Conditions, and the provisions of 45 C.F.R. Part 2540 are 

binding on the recipient.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Changes from the 2020 Volunteer Generation Fund Terms 

and Conditions

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II. Definitions 1

III. Budget and Programmatic Changes 2

IV. Reporting Requirements 3

V. Award Period and Incremental Funding 5

 VI. Program Income 5

VII. National Criminal History Checking Training 6

I. CHANGES FROM THE 2020 VOLUNTEER GENERATION FUND TERMS AND 

CONDITIONS 

- Replaced all references to CNCS with AmeriCorps. 

- Replaced all references to Grants Officers and Program Officers with Portfolio Manager.

- Section III: updated the Authorities of Programmatic and Budget Changes section to 

reflect AmeriCorps responsibilities. 

- Section IV: changed the due date of the final progress report and the final FFR from 90 

days to 120 days to align with new Uniform Guidance requirements.

- Section VII: updated the links for the required National Service Criminal History Check 

training.

II. DEFINITIONS

A. Recipient, for the purposes of this agreement, means the direct recipient of 

this award. The recipient is legally accountable to AmeriCorps for the use of 

award funds and is bound by the provisions of the award. The recipient is 

responsible for ensuring that subrecipients or other organizations carrying 

out activities under this award comply with all applicable Federal 

requirements, including the AmeriCorps General Terms and Conditions, 

these specific terms and conditions, regulations applicable to the program, 

and the NCSA. 

1 AmeriCorps is the operating name for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
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B. Subrecipient refers to an organization receiving AmeriCorps grant funds 

from a recipient of AmeriCorps funds. See 2 CFR § 200.93. 

C. Program refers to the activities supported under the award. 

D. NCSA means the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended. See 

42 U.S.C. §§ 12501-12657. 

III. BUDGET AND PROGRAMMATIC CHANGES

A. Programmatic Changes. The recipient must first obtain the prior written 

approval of the AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager before making any of the 

following changes (1-3):

1. Changes in the scope, objectives or goals of the program, whether or not 

they involve budgetary changes;

2. Entering into subawards or contracts for activities funded by the award, 

but not identified or included in the approved application and award 

budget;

4. Upon notification to the AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager, recipients may 

make programmatic changes due to, or in response to, an officially

declared state or national disaster without written approval from 

AmeriCorps. As soon as practicable, recipients making disaster-related 

programmatic changes must discuss the performance measure 

adjustments and other AmeriCorps grant requirements with the 

AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager. While written approval from AmeriCorps 

not required before making disaster-related programmatic changes, 

AmeriCorps reserves the right to limit or deny disaster-related 

programmatic changes, including disallowing costs associated with the 

disaster related activities. 

B. Budgetary Changes. The recipient must obtain the prior written approval of 

AmeriCorps’ Portfolio Manager before deviating from the approved budget in 

any of the following ways:

 

1. Specific Costs Requiring Prior Approval before Incurrence under the 

uniform administrative requirement, cost principles, and audit 

requirements for Federal grants at 2 CFR § 200.407. Certain cost items in 

2 CFR § 200.407 require prior written approval of the awarding agency for 

the cost to be allowable such as pre-award costs. Please ensure you 

consult the regulations prior to incurring costs to ensure allowability. 
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2. Purchases of Equipment over $5,000 using grant funds, unless specified 

in the approved application and budget. 

3. Unless the AmeriCorps share of the grant is $100,000 or less, changes to 

cumulative and/or aggregate budget line items that amount to 10 

percent or more of the total budget must be approved in writing in 

advance by AmeriCorps. The total budget includes both the AmeriCorps

and recipient shares. Recipients may transfer funds among approved 

direct cost categories when the cumulative amount of such transfers does 

not exceed 10 percent of the total budget. 

C. Approval of Programmatic and Budget Changes. AmeriCorps’ Portfolio 

Managers are the only officials who have the authority to alter or change the 

terms and conditions or requirements of the award. Portfolio Managers will 

execute written amendments and recipients should not assume approvals have 

been granted unless documentation from AmeriCorps’ Office of Grant 

Administration (OGA) has been received via a Notice of Grant Award. 

Programmatic changes also require final approval of AmeriCorps’ OGA after 

written recommendation for approval is received from the Portfolio Manager.

IV. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

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

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

the period. The recipient is responsible for setting submission deadlines for its 

respective subrecipients to ensure the timely submission of recipient reports.

A. Progress Reports. The recipient shall complete and submit one annual progress

report in eGrants to report on progress toward achievement of its approved 

performance targets. 

Due Date Reporting Period Covered 

 November 30 Start of the award through September 30 

B. Final Progress Reports. A recipient must submit, in lieu of the last annual 

progress report, a final project report. This final progress report is due 60 days 

after the end of the project period. 

C. Federal Financial Reports (FFRs). 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 AmeriCorps 

guidelines according to the following schedule:

Due Date Reporting Period Covered 

April 30 Start of the award through March 31

October 31 April 1 – September 30
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A recipient must set submission deadlines for its respective subrecipients that 

ensure the timely submission of recipient reports. 

 

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

financial report, a final financial report. The final report is due no later than 120 

days after the end of the project period.

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

System (HHS/PMS). The recipient must submit the Federal Financial Report (FFR) 

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

Funds Transfer Agreement.

F. Requests for Extensions. Each recipient must submit required reports 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 

AmeriCorps, which are legitimately beyond the control of the recipient, and 2) 

AmeriCorps receives a written request explaining the need for an extension 

before the due date of the report.

Extensions of deadlines for reports may only be granted by the AmeriCorps 

Portfolio Manager, as appropriate. 

 

V. AWARD PERIOD AND INCREMENTAL FUNDING

For the purpose of this award, a project period is the complete length of time the 

recipient is proposed to be funded to complete approved activities under the award. A 

project period may contain one or more budget periods. A budget period is a specific 

interval of time for which Federal funds are provided to fund a recipient’s approved 

activities and budget. 

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

multi-year project period, AmeriCorps generally makes an initial award for the first year 

of operation. Additional funding is contingent upon satisfactory performance, a 

recipient’s demonstrated capacity to manage an award and comply with award 

requirements, and the availability of Congressional appropriations. AmeriCorps reserves 

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

subsequent years. The project period and the budget period are noted on the award 

document. 
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VI. PROGRAM INCOME

A. General. Income, including fees for service earned as a direct result of the awardfunded program activities during the award period, must be retained by the 

recipient and used to finance the grant’s non-AmeriCorps share.

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

to finance the recipient share must follow the appropriate requirements of 2 CFR § 

200.307(e)(1) and be deducted from total claimed costs. Recipients that earn 

excess income must specify the amount of the excess on the financial report. 

C. Fees for service. When using assistance under this grant, the recipient may not 

enter into a contract for or accept fees for service performed under the award when: 

1. The service benefits a for-profit entity;

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

regulation, or these grant terms and conditions, or

3. The service violates the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 12637 – Nonduplication 

and Nondisplacement. 

VII. NATIONAL SERVICE CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK TRAINING 

All recipients and subrecipients must complete AmeriCorps’ National Service Criminal 

History Check (NSCHC) training every year. The AmeriCorps designated e-course 

provides a thorough overview of the requirements and can be found at: 

https://americorps.gov/grantees-sponsors/history-check, unless otherwise notified by 

AmeriCorps. Each grant recipient and subrecipient 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 subrecipient. The grant recipient and subrecipient 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.