Strategic Plan

2011-2015

The Corporation for Nation

and Community Servi
How to Serve

If you are interested in joining or learning more about CNCS programs, go to nationalservice.gov. 

Under the “For Individuals” menu, click on “Join Now” to discover which opportunity is right for you.

1201 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20525

202-606-5000 • TTY 202-606-3472 

NationalService.gov • info@cns.gov
Table of Conte

Executive Summary 2

Environmental Context 4

CNCS Mission and Agency Overview 6

Our Programs 7

Strategic Goals and Strategy

Overview of Our Strategic Framework and Core Principles 8

Goal 1: Increase the impact of national service on community 11

needs in communities served by CNCS-supported programs

Goal 2: Strengthen national service so that participants engaged in CNCS-supported programs 17

consistently find satisfaction, meaning and opportunity

Goal 3: Maximize the value we add to grantees, partners and participants 21

Goal 4: Fortify management operations and sustain a capable, responsive and accountable organization 23

Measuring Performance and Evaluation 25

Conclusion 27

Appendix 28

1
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

2

People—diverse, passionate and committed—

make America strong. Through national service and 

volunteering, Americans from all walks of life contribute 

to their communities and the nation. Today’s social 

and economic challenges are complex and require 

comprehensive, integrated and innovative approaches to 

shape solutions that work. Engaged citizens are at the 

center of these solutions.

The Corporation for National and Community Service 

(CNCS) empowers and supports Americans to tackle 

persistent challenges such as helping youth succeed in 

school, securing safe affordable housing for economically 

disadvantaged families, or helping communities respond to 

disasters. Through this work, CNCS achieves its mission of 

improving lives, strengthening communities and fortifying 

the civic health of our nation.

CNCS, a federal agency, brings leadership, resources, 

coordination, focus, and scale to America’s voluntary sector. 

Our programs unite the passion, commitment and talent of 

participants with the assets of community organizations 

and the funding from public and private sectors to 

build enduring community capacity to solve problems. 

CNCS supports a network of state service commissions, 

intermediary organizations, grantees and sponsors (the 

national service network) through which millions of 

Americans help the most vulnerable citizens, improve their 

neighborhoods, and transform their own lives. As a result 

of the network, citizen-centered solutions take root, are 

sustained, and transform communities and the nation.

For more than 45 years, successive Administrations of 

both parties have made investments in national service 

to engage citizens in solving problems and build the 

capacity of America’s voluntary sector. Sixteen years ago, 

Congress created CNCS to engage Americans of all ages 

and backgrounds in service to meet pressing national and 

community needs, based on common-sense principles of 

local control, competition, accountability, leveraging of 

non-federal resources, and public-private partnership. 

Through AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, Senior 

Corps and our other programs and activities, five million 

Americans serve with nearly 70,000 organizations in the 

national service network. These organizations use national 

service resources to develop innovative solutions across a 

broad spectrum of issues. 

In recognition of this successful foundation, Congress 

in 2009 passed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America 

Act (Serve America Act) to bring national service to 

higher levels of impact, innovation and effectiveness. 

This landmark law, which passed with strong bipartisan 

support, is an inflection point for CNCS and the foundation 

for our Strategic Plan. The law directs CNCS to expand 

opportunities to serve, build the capacity of individuals, 

nonprofits and communities, and encourage innovative 

approaches to addressing community challenges. The law 

puts a strong emphasis on focusing national service on a 

core set of priority issue areas and measuring the impact 

of service, and this directive is a guiding force for our 

Strategic Plan. 

We have an opportunity to leverage the effective programs 

of the national service network to drive toward a specific set 

of results on critical national issues. We will produce these 

results by investing in effective local initiatives, engaging 

more Americans in service, supporting evidence-based 

programs, and leveraging public-private partnerships. 

Executive Summary
3

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

To focus our efforts, CNCS has the following four strategic 

goals. These goals are the foundation for our Strategic Plan. 

They also challenge us to lead and operate at the highest 

level of accountability, integrity and transparency. 

1.  Increase the impact of national service 

community needs in communities served by 

CNCS-supported programs 

 CNCS invests in community programs and projects 

that achieve outcomes in Disaster Services, Economic 

Opportunity, Education, Environmental Stewardship, 

Healthy Futures, and Veterans and Military Families. 

Going forward, our new investments will focus on 

achieving a specific set of outcomes in these areas.

2. Strengthen national service so that participants 

engaged in CNCS-supported programs consistently 

find satisfaction, meaning and opportunity 

 CNCS supports the national service network in 

providing experiences that offer a unique combination 

of professional, educational and life benefits to service 

participants. The network also recruits a diversity of 

Americans, especially those from underrepresented 

populations. We will collaborate with the national service 

network to strengthen outreach efforts in underserved 

communities and to implement best practices that 

ensure a powerful service experience.

3. Maximize the value we add to grantees, partners

and participants 

To support our focus on a specific set of community 

outcomes and a powerful service experience, CNCS 

will develop a relevant and accessible knowledge base 

informed by research and rigorous evaluation, and 

conduct capacity building activities that advance the 

adoption of best practices. 

4. Fortify management operations and sustain a 

capable, responsive and accountable organization

 We will work across programs and enhance our 

operations to support evidence-based decision making 

and a culture of performance. We will build upon our 

current infrastructure to strengthen and enhance our 

information technology systems, workforce and financial 

and grants management efforts.

 As the blueprint guiding our work, the Strategic Plan 

includes further details on the specific objectives, 

strategies and performance measures which determine 

how we will evaluate our success over the next five years. 
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

4

America’s story is the story of service—people who step 

forward to change lives and strengthen our nation. The 

needs of communities are pressing and complex. They 

require comprehensive, integrated and innovative solutions. 

CNCS and the national service network are important 

elements of community solutions. Our work is informed by 

the following contextual factors:

Leaders at the local, state and national level are

calling upon national service. 

Governors and mayors are embracing the potential of 

service to address community needs. In 2011, Governors 

Nathan Deal of Georgia, Sam Brownback of Kansas and 

Deval Patrick of Massachusetts made “days of service” 

a centerpiece of their inaugurations. They asked citizens 

to join them in feeding the hungry, assisting the jobless, 

and helping their neighbors in a host of other ways. 

Some governors have elevated the role of state service 

commissions and others have made service a cabinet level 

position. More than 100 mayors of cities large and small are 

part of the Cities of Service coalition and have pledged to 

engage citizens to address local priorities. 

Service is a cost-effective investment in 

community solutions.

In times of fiscal restraint and significant community 

challenges, leveraging and investing in the national service 

network is a smart strategy that taps the energy and 

ingenuity of our greatest resource—the American people—

to help solve pressing problems. In FY 2009, participants in 

CNCS programs gave almost 263 million hours of service.1

As the nation’s largest funder of service and volunteering, 

CNCS plays a vital role in building the capacity of America’s 

nonprofit community, expanding the impact of service 

participants in addressing problems, and strengthening the 

American culture of civic engagement. 

Community organizations are in need of human capital 

and other resources.

Nonprofit organizations are often in the lead on delivering 

community solutions. Unfortunately, nonprofits—including 

those organizations that leverage national service 

resources—are struggling to keep up with an increasing 

demand for services during a time of steep decline in public 

and private giving. Many nonprofits have experienced and 

are expecting continuing cuts in revenue. To mitigate this 

trend, CNCS-supported participants can play a role in 

leveraging community volunteers to serve alongside them. 

In fact, in FY 2010, over 81,000 AmeriCorps members 

served in communities across the nation and mobilized an 

estimated 2.8 million additional volunteers—roughly 35 

leveraged volunteers per AmeriCorps member.2

Americans throughout the country are volunteering 

their time and skills in record numbers. 

In 2009, 63.4 million Americans volunteered to help their 

communities. This is an additional 1.6 million people who 

volunteered compared to 2008, making 2009 the largest 

single-year increase since 2003, according to CNCS’ 2010 

Volunteering In America report. Volunteering increased 

among all racial and ethnic groups.3

 Baby boomers today 

are volunteering at rates as much as 50 percent greater 

Environmental Context

1. Compiled from grant applications and progress reports: State and National—budgeted member service years from grant applications; Senior Corps—actual hours 

served, from the supplemental progress reports; Learn and Serve—actual hours served, from LASSIE; VISTA—calculated from counts of enrolled members; 

NCCC—taken from project reports.

2. 2010 Annual Financial Report, http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/11_1115_final_fy_10_afr.pdf.

3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Volunteering in the United States (2009).
5

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

than in past decades.4 Today’s young people are serving 

at twice the rate of the generation before them. Last year 

more college freshmen than ever before reported that 

volunteering in the community is important to them.5

CNCS and the network of organizations we support are 

uniquely positioned to tap this growing demand for and 

supply of citizen service in the next five years. We plan to 

take the opportunity and focus our resources and efforts 

on a core set of challenges. As a result, we will strive to 

demonstrate tangible impact on beneficiaries of service, 

the lives of service participants, and on communities 

across the nation. 

4. Foster-Bey, J, Grimm, R, & Dietz, N. Keeping Baby Boomers Volunteering. Corporation for National and Community Service (2007).

5. Pryor, J.H., Hurtado, S., DeAngelo, L., Palucki Blake,L., & Tran, S. The American freshman: National norms fall 2009. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research 

Institute, UCLA (2009).
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

6

We are the federal agency that provides pathways and 

opportunities for Americans to engage in their communities. 

Our mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities and 

foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. 

CNCS’ primary role is to provide critical resources 

and leadership to support local initiatives that tackle 

community challenges. We do this by directing resources 

to those organizations and community programs that have 

proven to be effective in using service at the local level to 

address the key priorities of Disaster Services, Economic 

Opportunity, Education, Environmental Stewardship, 

Healthy Futures, and Veterans and Military Families. 

Through AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, Senior 

Corps and our other programs and activities, five million 

Americans serve with nearly 70,000 organizations in the 

national service network.

We implement direct service programs, make grants, 

provide capacity-building and support to nonprofits, conduct 

research and evaluation to inform best practices, provide 

thought leadership,6

 and foster collaboration with other 

federal agencies, foundations, community organizations, 

and state, local and tribal governments. CNCS adds 

further value through our focus on the quality of the service 

participant’s experience and continued engagement.

Successive Administrations of both parties have recognized 

the importance of volunteers in addressing key issues and 

made investments in national service7

 to build the capacity 

of America’s voluntary sector. Most recently in April 

2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Serve 

America Act, which amended the national service laws to 

reauthorize CNCS and expand its scope and programs. This 

landmark bill, which passed with bipartisan support, is the 

foundation for our Strategic Plan. The legislation authorizes 

CNCS to focus on key issues, expand opportunities to 

serve, build the capacity of individuals, nonprofits and 

communities, and encourage innovative approaches to 

addressing community challenges. 

CNCS Mission and Agency Overview

6. Thought leadership is defined as the content, speeches, publications and reports that provide our perspective on the context, challenges and opportunities facing CNCS, 

our grantees, sponsors and partners, and the national service field in order to inform and influence the action of others.

7. Throughout the remainder of this document, “national service” is used for brevity as a way to refer to the service activities carried out by individuals and organizations 

supported by CNCS.
7

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

Our work is carried out through the following programs 

that engage people from all communities and of all ages 

in service and volunteering—from one-day or occasional 

volunteering to an intensive year-long commitment.

Senior Corps consists of three programs—RSVP, Foster 

Grandparent Program (FGP) and Senior Companion Program 

(SCP)—that use the experience, skills and talents of more 

than 450,000 volunteers age 55 and older to serve at-risk 

youth, help seniors live independently and meet other 

community needs. Senior Corps volunteers serve through 

more than 65,000 local nonprofits, public agencies, faithbased and other community organizations.

AmeriCorps provides opportunities for more than 80,000 

Americans each year to provide intensive results-driven 

service to respond to natural disasters, expand economic 

opportunity, strengthen education, protect the environment, 

enable access to health services, support veterans 

and military families, and meet other critical needs. 

AmeriCorps members serve in thousands of nonprofit, 

faith-based and other local organizations through three 

programs: AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps 

VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) and AmeriCorps 

NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps). AmeriCorps 

members—and the nearly three million volunteers they 

recruit and supervise—tutor and mentor youth, build 

affordable housing, operate afterschool programs, help 

veterans readjust to civilian life, and help communities 

respond to disasters. 

Learn and Serve America provides opportunities for

more than 1.3 million students every year to strengthen 

communities, enhance education and develop an enduring 

ethic of service for youth. We fund state education 

agencies, K-12 schools, community-based organizations, 

Indian tribes and U. S. territories, and institutions of higher 

education to develop, support and sustain high quality 

service-learning programs. This teaching and learning 

strategy integrates community service with classroom 

learning, enriching academic experiences and promoting 

civic engagement.

The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) targets public a

private dollars to expand effective solutions across three 

issue areas: Economic Opportunity, Healthy Futures and 

Youth Development. The SIF is a competitive grant program 

that invests in innovative solutions with evidence of impact 

and that are ready to grow to meet the needs of more 

communities. This work will create a catalog of evidencebased approaches that can be replicated in communities 

across the country. 

The Volunteer Generation Fund strengthens the

role of volunteers in tackling pressing problems by 

expanding the capacity of state service commissions and 

volunteer connector organizations to recruit, manage, 

support and retain individuals to serve in high-quality 

volunteer assignments.

The Call to Service engages citizens in service

opportunities that expand the impact of community 

organizations and encourage volunteers to develop their 

own “do-it-yourself” projects. Each year, annual service 

days, such as the MLK Day of Service and the 9/11 

National Day of Remembrance and Service, mobilize 

millions of Americans to become active participants in 

community solutions. 

Our Programs
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

8

Strategic Goals and Strategy

Overvew of Our Strat

Moving forward on the course directed by the national service laws, CNCS has developed the following strategic goals and 

objectives illustrated in the figure below. Our four strategic goals are aligned with the key constituents whom we serve and 

through whom we accomplish results, namely:

Mission Sta

Improve lives, strengthen communities and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.

Serve Americ Act F

Disaster Services

Economic Opportunity

Education

Environmental Stewardship

Healthy Futures

Veterans and Military Families

Goal 3

Maximize the value we add to grantees, partners and participants

Goal 4

Fortify management operations and sustain a capable, responsive and accountable organization

CNCS Pro

Goal 1

Increase the impact of national 

service on community needs 

in communities served by 

CNCS-supported programs

Goal 2

Strengthen national service so that 

participants engaged in CNCS-supported 

programs consistently find satisfaction, 

meaning and opportunity
9

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

• Service recipients, the Americans who directly benefit 

from the efforts of national service participants.

• National service participants, those individuals who are 

engaged in national service activities in communities 

across the country.8

• Effective nonprofits, including state service 

commissions, CNCS grantees and sponsors, those 

organizations through which we provide national 

service resources and to which we provide additional 

services including capacity building, training and 

technical assistance.9

• CNCS staff, CNCS employees who monitor and 

support the activities undertaken by national 

service participants engaged in programs and the 

organizations through which they serve.

Core Pri

Across our strategic goals, there is a set of core principles 

that shape and guide how we do our work, which are rooted 

in our collaboration with the national service network.

Core Principle #1: Identify and invest in

community solutions.

CNCS believes that many of the best solutions come from 

outside Washington, D.C., where people are finding ways 

to solve problems in their communities. CNCS program 

participants serve through more than 70,000 organizations, 

from national nonprofits to small faith-based and 

community groups. In 2010 they mobilized more than 3.5 

million volunteers to engage in results-driven service for 

these organizations.10 

We work closely with state service commissions to support 

citizen-centered community solutions. For example, at 

least 35.3 percent of AmeriCorps State and National funds 

go to states through formula funds and an additional 30 

percent is awarded through a national competition. We also 

work with national organizations, state education agencies 

and Indian tribes to identify and invest in local programs 

with place-based strategies that deliver tangible and 

measurable outcomes to the local community as well as 

service participants.

Core Principle #2: Engage Americans in service.

By engaging millions of Americans in service and 

volunteering, CNCS is strengthening civic engagement and 

democratic participation and building a diverse, committed 

network of engaged citizens. Through the AmeriCorps 

programs, individuals embark on a pathway to opportunity 

that engages them in year-long projects where they learn 

valuable skills, earn money for education and chart a course 

of lifelong citizen engagement. A longitudinal study has 

suggested that AmeriCorps alumni are more likely to be 

civically engaged; to go into public service careers such as 

teaching, public safety, social work and military service; 

and to volunteer in their communities.11 

The skills participants gain include both those specific 

to their service as well as general skills of leadership 

and problem-solving. Since 1994, AmeriCorps members 

have earned more than $2 billion in Segal AmeriCorps 

Education Awards for training, to help pay for college or to 

pay back student loans.12 Engaging Americans in service 

enables individuals to take action in their communities and 

contribute to solutions while developing skills and accessing 

new opportunities.

8. Our various programs refer to people who participate in national service in different ways, e.g., AmeriCorps members, Learn and Serve America participants and/or 

Senior Corps volunteers. In this document, we often use the broad term “participant” to encompass all programs.

9. Technical assistance includes creating a learning community, creating best practice toolkits and providing examples of what success will look like.

10. CNCS Performance Management Database System.

11. Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development, Serving Country and Community: A Longitudinal Study of 

Service in AmeriCorps. Washington, D.C. (2006).

12. 2010 Annual Financial Report, http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/11_1115_final_fy_10_afr.pdf.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

10

Core Principle #3: Support evidence-based programs.

With guidance from Congress through the Serve America 

Act, we are targeting our programming to demonstrate 

impact on critical community issues and to build on 

the base of effective national service programming. 

By understanding how community solutions can be 

effective in responding to community needs—and where 

national service can make the biggest difference—

CNCS can direct resources to support the most effective 

programs and encourage their growth and expansion to 

those areas that are under-resourced, such as rural and 

Native American communities. 

We continue to work with the national service 

network to establish a collective understanding of what 

works and why, based on evidence from well-designed 

and well-implemented experimental or quasi-experimental 

studies that demonstrate impact. Where appropriate, we 

also work to reproduce these evidence-based approaches 

and expand them to other communities. For example, the SIF 

awards grants to and works with intermediaries to direct 

resources to community-based nonprofit organizations that 

can validate and grow promising approaches to challenges 

facing local communities. 

Core Principle #4: Leverage public-private

partnerships.13 

National service was established as a public-private 

partnership, encouraging investment in the form of 

matching funds and other resources from businesses, 

foundations and state and local agencies. For example, 

AmeriCorps VISTA members help nonprofits expand 

services, raise funds, develop new collaborations, measure 

impact, and create innovative and sustainable programs. 

In 2010, we enabled grantees, sponsors and projects to 

leverage $800 million in funds and in-kind donations.14

These resources—in addition to CNCS grants, training 

and research—help nonprofit, faith-based and community 

organizations across the nation expand their reach 

and better achieve their missions. We also encourage 

collaboration among organizations in order to reduce 

duplication of effort and ensure more effective approaches 

to solving complex problems.

The nation is facing significant challenges and as 

Americans look for ways to give back, CNCS is more 

critical than ever. These core principles complement our 

specific strategies, which together inform how we will 

accomplish our strategic goals. 

13. The use of the terms “partner” and “partnership” throughout this document are not intended to convey any legal relationship. Where there is a legal implication we use 

the term “formal partnership.”

14. Data extracted and analyzed from eGrants. Includes budgeted matching amounts from grant applications, actual cost share for AmeriCorps VISTA projects, and 

dollars and in-kind donations raised by AmeriCorps VISTA members.
11

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

Goal 

Increase the impact of national service on

community needs in communities served by 

CNCS-supported programs 

We will continue to focus on opportunities where 

national service can make the greatest difference in 

communities across the country. The Serve America Act 

amended the national service laws and expected CNCS 

to strengthen the service network and address areas of 

need that CNCS has the capacity to address, including 

Disaster Services, Economic Opportunity, Education, 

Environmental Stewardship, Healthy Futures, and 

Veterans and Military Families. 

I. Rational

Our belief is that Americans can effectively respond to 

challenges by getting involved in their local communities 

through service, and that citizen-centered action often 

can drive community solutions. CNCS’ unique value is 

a triple “bottom line” return on investment in terms of 

benefits to service recipients, service participants and 

the community in general. By deploying people to work 

on the toughest community challenges, national service 

contributes to community needs, helps to develop future 

leaders of America and builds community capacity to 

respond to problems.

Improving the educational outcomes of children is a 

priority for communities across the country. Thus, we 

have historically made large investments in education with 

over 40 percent of all our program funds targeted to that 

work.15 Over the years, our grantees and sponsors have 

developed service-based approaches to address needs in 

education and supplement the work of schools. We can 

build on our investment in education by targeting effective 

programs to increase and expand the impact of service on 

educational outcomes. 

Meeting the needs of veterans and military family 

members is also a civic priority. Unemployment rates 

among veterans are greater than those for civilians, 

military service members and their families redeem food 

stamps at twice the civilian rate, and there is increasing 

evidence that a child’s development and well-being is 

affected by a parent’s active duty deployment.16 Our work 

with veterans and military families is a developing area 

of focus for us. Although a few national service programs 

have historically supported veterans and military families, 

our current veterans and military families portfolio makes 

up less than one percent of the total programmatic funds 

awarded by CNCS.17 Thus, we will continue to invest in 

programs that serve veterans and military families, grow 

our knowledge base of how national service can best 

meet the needs of veterans and military families, support 

efforts that engage veterans who want to continue their 

service in new ways at home, and promote effective 

collaboration with our veterans, military family members 

and veteran-serving organizations. 

While we focus on the strategies for education and 

veterans and military families in this Plan, we will also 

continue to invest in effective solutions in the other 

focus areas of Disaster Services, Economic Opportunity, 

Environmental Stewardship and Healthy Futures. 

Performance measurement will continue to evolve with 

experience in new focus areas, through on-going data 

definitions and through modernizing information technology 

systems to enhance data capture and analysis. The 

overviews of strategies and priority performance measures 

for all of the focus areas are in the Appendix. 

15. Program data extracted and analyzed from eGrants and current as of October 21, 2010. The dollar figures are based on the amount of service, measured in member 

service years, which can be classified by issues area. The dollar amounts are normalized so that they equal the appropriated dollar amount for each program.

16. Yonkman, Mary, and John Bridgeland. All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service. Washington, DC: Civic Enterprises, November (2009).

17. Ibid.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

12

II. Strategies and Obje

ED

Provide, support and/or facilitate access to services and 

resources that contribute to improved educational outcomes 

for economically disadvantaged people, especially children. 

Many economically disadvantaged children and youth have 

difficulty succeeding in school. The dropout process begins 

with young children entering school ill-prepared, and too 

many are unable to catch up and perform at grade level. 

With the right support, all children can succeed. Engaging 

children in the early years and throughout their academic 

career helps ensure more children, youth and adults develop 

essential skills and an appreciation for learning. Our 

education strategy is grounded in this challenge and in our 

unique role as a service provider and capacity-builder for 

schools and communities.

When we examine the education interventions that lead 

to the best education outcomes for students in most 

need—increased instructional time, family involvement, 

smaller student-teacher ratios, better teachers—we can 

identify a common element. These kinds of policies promote 

personal attention by caring, capable adults devoting time 

and attention to a student.18 Personal attention from caring 

and capable adults is the reason we have a remarkable 

opportunity to improve education outcomes for students. 

Well-implemented national service-supported efforts can 

lead to critical outcomes such as improved attendance, 

improved engagement in coursework, improved course 

completion, performance at grade level, performance on 

standardized tests, high school graduation, and persistence 

in college and university. Academic achievement—

performance on standardized tests, high school or 

college graduation—is premised on strong academic 

engagement—high levels of attendance, positive behavior 

in class, or on-time course completion. Our education 

programs support both academic achievement and 

engagement, but the large majority of our education grants 

and expertise are focused on engagement. Thus, we don’t 

propose to solve the dropout crisis, but we do propose to 

help strategically address what precipitates it. 

A chart outlining the education focus area strategy can 

be found in the Appendix. Below is an overview of our 

objectives, strategies and performance measures. 

OBJECTIVE 1: Improve school readiness19 f

economically disadvantaged young children.

Strategy: 

• Focus funding activities and other resources on 

programs in which CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers develop or engage in 

proven or promising20 activities that include teaching, 

tutoring and/or the provision of education-related 

supportive services for children or their families that 

improve school readiness.

Priority Measures:

• Percent of children demonstrating gains in 

school readiness in terms of social and 

emotional development. 

• Percent of children demonstrating gains in school 

readiness in terms of literacy skills. 

• Percent of children demonstrating gains in school 

readiness in terms of numeracy (math) skills.

18. Other critical supports that correlate with improved education outcomes include living in safe, supportive housing, access to preventive health care and family 

economic supports. Those supports will not be addressed here but may be supported through other CNCS programs and focus areas such as the SIF, Economic 

Opportunity or Healthy Futures.

19. School readiness refers to preparation for kindergarten which includes multiple indicators assessed across developmental and behavioral domains, including but not 

limited to physical wellbeing, health and motor development, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language development, cognitive development, and age-appropriate skills and behaviors.

20. Promising practices have established a preliminary level of evidence to inform program interventions and strategies. Preliminary evidence is evidence that is based 

on a reasonable hypothesis supported by research findings (third-party or original). Proven practices have established at least a moderate level of evidence. Moderate 

evidence is evidence from independent evaluations of program impact that used an experimental or quasi-experimental research design. Both levels of evidence are 

further defined on page 25.
13

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

OBJECTIVE 2: Improve educational and behavior

outcomes of students in low-achieving 

elementary, middle and high schools. 

Strategy: 

• Focus funding and other resources on programs 

in which:

– CNCS-supported members, participants and 

volunteers engage in proven or promising 

activities intended to improve learning and 

grade-level success in low-achieving schools, 

such as teaching, tutoring and/or mentoring 

of students; providing supportive services to 

assist staff; providing extended learning 

programs in cooperation with school systems 

(such as after school and summer learning); 

or providing other types of school improvement 

support to school systems;

– CNCS-supported members, participants and 

volunteers engage in high quality service-learning 

projects in low-achieving schools;

– CNCS provides assistance to higher education 

institutions and alternative certification programs 

to increase the number of teachers or teaching 

aids working in low-achieving schools or otherwise 

provide assistance to community-based learning 

centers in high poverty communities; and

– CNCS-supported members, participants and 

volunteers provide proven or promising capacitybuilding services for state and local education 

agencies or community-based learning centers.

Priority Measures:

• Percent of students served by or serving in CNCSsupported programs21 who demonstrate improved 

academic performance (including the percent meeting 

state proficiency levels in reading and math or whose 

scores on state standardized tests improved). 

• Percent of students served by CNCS-supported 

programs, or engaged in CNCS-supported 

service-learning, who demonstrate improved 

academic engagement.

OBJECTIVE 3: Improve the preparation fo

and prospects of success in, post-secondary 

education institutions for economically 

disadvantaged students.

Strategy: 

• Focus funding activities and other resources on those 

programs in which:

– CNCS-supported members, participants 

and volunteers engage in proven and 

promising counseling, academic, enrollment and 

retention support activities for economically 

disadvantaged students. 

Priority Measures22: 

• Percent of students served by CNCS-supported 

members, participants and volunteers23, or serving in 

CNCS-supported programs, who received counseling 

and guidance associated with skills needed for college 

preparation and success.

• Percent of students served by CNCS-supported 

members, participants and volunteers who applied for 

and enrolled in a postsecondary institution.

• Percent of students served by CNCS-supported 

members, participants and volunteers who continued 

to a second year of post-secondary education.

21. For purposes of performance measures, “CNCS-supported programs” include AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America and/or Senior Corps. The agency is in the 

process of specifying which priority measures apply to each program. We will provide this information in a Performance Management Addendum to be released 

later in FY 2011.

22. We are currently working with Department of Education to establish a baseline for the higher education priority measures.

23. Refers to AmeriCorps members, Learn and Serve America participants and Senior Corps volunteers.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

14

VETRAN

Demonstrate the potential for CNCS-supported national 

service interventions to 1) positively impact the quality of 

life of veterans and 2) improve military family strength. 

Over the next five years, we will seek to expand national 

service interventions that improve the quality of life of 

veterans and military family strength24. We will invest in 

emerging and established programs to address the needs 

of veterans and military families. We will focus efforts on 

learning where service-based programs have the greatest 

potential to improve military family strength and facilitate 

the reintegration of service members back into civilian 

life. Our focus includes programs that engage veterans 

and military family members in service (described in 

Goal #2), as well as those that provide service to this 

important population. 

Engaging veterans and military family members in 

programs that serve other veteran and military family 

members has the potential to be an effective approach. 

Veterans and military family members prefer to receive 

information about services from friends, family and 

neighbors.25 There is extensive research that indicates 

peers delivering social and mental health services to other 

peers results in better outcomes. Research suggests that 

peers are: 1) more able to empathize with other consumers, 

2) more able to help them access services, 3) more able to 

appreciate other consumers’ strengths, and 4) more able 

to be tolerant, patient and responsive to consumers’ needs 

and desires.26 Finally, the use of peers in a mental health 

setting has been associated with improvement in illness 

management, larger social support networks, enhanced 

self-esteem and social functioning, improvement in skill 

deficits and use of available resources to meet needs, and 

lower service costs overall.27

Based on our work, CNCS will refine a theory of change and 

a logic model28 to inform our veterans and military families’ 

strategy in 2013. In 2014-2015, we will focus our work in 

implementing this strategy.

A chart outlining the veterans and military families 

focus area strategy can be found in the Appendix. 

Below is an overview of our objectives, strategies and 

performance measures. 

OBJECTIVE 1: Increase the number of vetera

and military service members and their families 

served by CNCS-supported programs

Strategies: 

• CNCS will provide information and technical assistance 

that encourage grantees and sponsors to develop 

established program responses tailored to veterans 

and military service members and their families.

• CNCS will encourage the national service network 

to consider and apply for support to implement and 

test innovative approaches that will benefit veterans 

and military service members and their families, 

particularly in rural and underserved areas.

• CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers 

will engage in or develop proven or promising activities 

that provide, support and/or facilitate veterans and 

military service members and their families’ access to:

24. Military families are defined as the spouse or unmarried dependent children (including stepchildren, adopted children and foster children) not more than 23 years of 

age when residing with the member of the U.S. Armed Forces. Family strength is defined as the ability of a family to successfully cope with the stresses associated with 

deployment. Veterans are former service members who qualify for benefits under programs of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs which defines a veteran as person 

who served in the active military, naval or air service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

25. Department of Defense, Plans for the Department of Defense for the Support of Military Family Readiness. 

26. Kathy Dohoney. The Power of Peers within a Mental Health Care System. Presentation to Mental Health Staff at the Dallas VA Medical Center (April 18, 2008).

27. Ibid.

28. A theory of change is a strategy or blueprint for achieving large-scale, long-term goals. It identifies the preconditions, pathways and required outcomes and 

accomplishments for achieving the long-term goals. A logic model sets out how an intervention (such as a project, a program or a policy) is understood or intended to 

produce particular results. Some versions of a logic model present it as four components in a linear sequence: inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes.
15

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

Special Focus: Intermediary 

Intermediary organizations—those that provide sub-grants to and place service participants with other 

organizations—have always been a critical part of the national service network. We work with an extensive 

network of intermediaries including state service commissions, state education agencies, consortia of higher 

education institutions and other regional and national organizations. They provide many faith-based and 

community-based organizations from small towns and rural communities with access to infrastructure support 

and national service resources, thereby helping these organizations better meet needs in their communities. Some 

intermediaries, due to their responsiveness to local needs, are multi-focused and address a variety of community 

needs from education to economic opportunity to disaster services. Intermediaries build the capacity of nonprofits 

and local education agencies to expand and improve services, foster collaboration among organizations, recruit 

volunteers, and engage community members as partners in creating sustainable solutions to local problems. Many 

intermediaries also invest in developing the leadership and life skills of service participants. 

As intermediaries, state service commissions play an important role in capacity building, infrastructure 

development, program development, and training and technical assistance for service and volunteering programs 

in their states. They enhance service and volunteering in their states through the creation of a state service plan. 

These plans are developed through an open and public process that provides for maximum participation and 

input from diverse stakeholders resulting in improved coordination and effectiveness of federal, state and local 

resources. These key functions improve community outcomes.

Intermediaries also play a critical role in the SIF. In order to identify those community-based organizations with 

the greatest potential for generating increased impact, help them strengthen their evidence base, and proactively 

support the growth of their work in order to significantly improve the lives of more people in more economically 

disadvantaged communities, the SIF relies on intermediaries with strong skills and track records of success to do 

the critical work of selecting, validating and growing high-impact nonprofit organizations. 

Given their distinct roles, collaboration with intermediary organizations is necessary to achieve both our community 

impact and participant experience goals. CNCS is working with our intermediary grantees and sponsors to develop 

performance measures that adequately capture their impact in communities and on service participants.

– Services/benefits to which they are entitled;

– Workforce development resources and services 

(e.g., financial, computer and job-search and 

workforce skills training or job placement 

programs);

– Services that improve educational attainment (e.g., 

mentoring, tutoring, peer-to-peer counseling);

– Safe, affordable housing; and

– Other quality-of-life improvements.

Priority Measure:

• Number of veterans and military service members 

and their family members who are served by 

CNCS-supported programs.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

16

Special Focus: Rural C

Investment in community solutions is central to our Strategic Plan. One of our top priorities is to ensure that 

national service reaches all kinds of communities, including those in rural areas. National service provides the 

opportunity for people from rural communities to get involved in community solutions while reaping the benefits 

of service. In particular, state service commissions are instrumental in ensuring that national service reaches 

communities in rural areas. 

The needs of rural communities align with the Disaster Services, Economic Opportunity, Education, Environmental 

Stewardship, Healthy Futures, and Veterans and Military Families priorities discussed in this Plan. They are also 

addressed through all of CNCS’ programs.

In recent years, AmeriCorps has provided increasing grants to small and rural states such as Kansas, Mississippi, 

Iowa and Utah, all of which received an average increase of 51 percent in their state formula grant allocations in 

the AmeriCorps State and National program in FY 2010. Also, 67 percent of grantees that self-identified as having 

a rural programming focus received funding.29 

United Way of Northwest Georgia supports nine VISTA members who participate in activities related to early 

childhood education, parent enrichment, community-based educational opportunities, and adult assisted 

learning. VISTA members assist with helping maintain critical services that promote literacy, improve health and 

human services, and increase housing and supportive housing initiatives in rural counties in Northwest Georgia, 

specifically Whitfield, Murray, Gilmer, Pickens and Fannin Counties.

The Nevada Rural Counties RSVP annually engages over 900 volunteers in rural Nevada to provide more than 

160,000 hours of volunteer service to over 160 public and nonprofit community agencies and to Nevada’s elderly 

population. The activities of RSVP volunteers are far-ranging, from managing food distribution efforts to providing 

transportation services for seniors to offering respite for 24/7 care providers. 

Many of these programs provide opportunities for residents in rural communities to become national service 

participants and therefore benefit from the economic opportunity and educational benefits of service while giving 

back to their communities. 

29. Program data extracted and analyzed from eGrants, current as of February 1, 2011.
17

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

Goal 

Strengthen national service so that participants 

engaged in CNCS-supported programs consistently 

find satisfaction, meaning and opportunity

We will strengthen and enhance the national service 

experience so that we can continue to offer a unique 

combination of professional, educational and life benefits to 

service participants. We will continue to expand our reach to 

include more Americans of diverse backgrounds so that they 

can take full advantage of the distinct benefits of service 

and develop a sustained commitment to civic engagement 

and national service. Moreover, by engaging diverse citizens 

who possess a wide range of cultural competencies, we will 

achieve greater impact on community challenges.

In order to accomplish this goal, we have established the 

following objectives:

• Make national service opportunities accessible and 

attractive to Americans of all backgrounds;

• Help CNCS-supported participants find meaning in 

their service experience and remain highly engaged in 

their communities;

• Ensure that CNCS-supported participants are satisfied 

with the quality of their service experience;

• Ensure that CNCS-supported participants find 

professional, educational or civic growth opportunities 

in their service experience; and

• Help CNCS-supported veterans and participants 55 

years of age and older experience the health benefits 

associated with service.

I. Rational

Our rationale for continuing to engage a diverse base of 

citizens in service and for strengthening and enhancing the 

participant experience is based on the following factors:

Engaging a diversity of participants brings new perspectives 

and approaches, making our work better and strengthening 

the solutions accomplished by our partners. For example, 

health is a personal issue, and people view health care 

in varying ways. Hence, service participants need to be 

knowledgeable, culturally competent and persuasive in 

order to be effective in connecting people with health 

services. The specialized training, sustained commitment 

and immersion of CNCS-supported participants in local 

communities enable them to take an active leadership role 

in the communities in which they serve and develop a level 

of trust so they can work effectively with residents. 

Outcomes for both the service participant and the 

communities in which they serve are improved when the 

participant has a positive service experience filled with 

opportunities for professional, educational and personal 

growth. National service offers the participant a unique 

combination of professional, educational and life benefits. 

CNCS-supported participants may receive an education 

award to pay education costs at qualified institutions 

of higher education, for educational training or to repay 

qualified student loans. Since 1994, over $2 billion have 

been earned by over 600,000 AmeriCorps members.30 In 

fact, nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of participants 

surveyed report that the education award was an incentive 

for them to join AmeriCorps.31

Another benefit is the wide range of skills that CNCSsupported participants develop during their experience, 

ranging from hard skills such as construction and 

weatherizing, disaster response planning and operations, 

to softer skills such as counseling, leadership, teamwork, 

30. 2010 Annual Financial Report, http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/11_1115_final_fy_10_afr.pdf.

31. AmeriCorps: Changing Lives, Changing America, Washington, D.C. (2007). http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0515_ac_memberimpact.pdf.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

18

appropriate workplace behaviors and cultural competency. 

High percentages of AmeriCorps members report that they 

earned valuable skills that they used in later employment.32

Promising research suggests that connecting with and 

serving one’s community may be associated with an 

individual’s improved physical health and emotional 

well-being. The research, which is primarily the result 

of observational studies, suggests that volunteering is 

correlated to physical and emotional health. For example, 

those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater 

functional ability and lower rates of depression later in 

life than those who do not volunteer.33 Other research 

suggests that national service participants and volunteers 

themselves can gain greater self-confidence, enhanced 

ability to cope with their own illnesses and issues, 

greater self-esteem, and improved quality of life.34 Future 

research will be needed to determine if the health benefits 

associated with being a volunteer can be attributed to 

volunteer activity. 

Participants who have a meaningful service experience 

remain engaged in their communities and in national 

service. In addition to these more tangible benefits, 

informal interviews and testimonials from CNCS-supported 

participants indicate that participants gain an increased 

sense of purpose which can be directed into a lifelong 

commitment to civic engagement and service. CNCSsupported participants can experience a unique sense of 

empowerment that stems from the realization that they 

possess the ability to make a difference in communities, 

that they are part of an effort to solve issues of 

significance, and that with open minds and effort, they can 

be accepted by and connected to communities with which 

they have not interacted before. 

We believe that the benefits of service and its 

transformative potential exist within all of our service 

programs including Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn 

and Serve America. The powerful combination of benefits is 

a compelling reason for expanding the opportunity to serve 

to Americans of all backgrounds. Moreover, we believe that 

the greater the diversity of national service participants 

who bring new perspectives and new approaches to our 

grantees’ and sponsors’ work, the better national service is 

able to address community challenges. Finally, working in 

collaboration with the national service network, CNCS will 

continue on our path to reach the target of 50 percent fulltime AmeriCorps positions by 2012.35 

II. Strategies and Obje

In order to achieve the goal of expanding the opportunity to 

serve and strengthening the CNCS participant experience, 

CNCS will employ two overarching strategies: 

a) An outreach strategy that involves:

• Increasing applications from rural and underserved 

communities for national service programs;

• Engaging the national service network in knowledge 

sharing about best practices for ensuring that 

participants find satisfaction, meaning and 

opportunity;

• Forming partnerships with organizations in the national 

service network that are working in alignment with our 

goals; and

• Connecting national service participants engaged in 

programs to each other to enhance the participant 

experience.

32. Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development, Still Serving: Measuring the Eight-Year Impact of AmeriCorps 

on Alumni, Washington, D.C. (2008).

33. Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development. The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent 

Research, Washington, D.C. (2007).

34. Kathy Dohoney. The Power of Peers within a Mental Health Care System. Presentation to Mental Health Staff at the Dallas VA Medical Center (April 18, 2008).

35. Subject to the availability of appropriations and quality service opportunities.
19

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

b) A targeted funding strategy that involves:

• Identifying, sharing and supporting the program 

models that best accomplish our goals in strengthening 

the participant experience or expanding the opportunity 

to serve. 

OBJECTIVE 1: Make CNCS-supported natio

service opportunities accessible and attractive 

to Americans of all backgrounds

Strategies:

• Prioritize funding to organizations that seek to 

recruit and engage traditionally underrepresented 

populations in service. We will prioritize funding 

through our grant competition processes to ensure 

that grantees and sponsors are provided incentives 

to engage underrepresented populations that 

may require innovative recruitment, training and 

retention strategies. 

• Strengthen outreach and technical assistance efforts 

to ensure an expanded pool of grant applicants 

proposing specific programs and strategies that 

engage underrepresented populations in service to 

their communities. 

• Conduct outreach to encourage existing CNCSsupported programs to collaborate with organizations 

with depth of experience in serving veterans, military 

service members and their families and/or traditionally 

underrepresented populations. 

• Explore partnerships with other federal agencies that 

work directly with veterans, military families and 

Veterans Serving Organizations (VSOs).

Priority Measures:

• Percent of CNCS-supported participants who are 

members of underrepresented populations.

• Number of veterans and military family members 

engaged in providing services through CNCSsupported programs.

OBJECTIVE 2: CNCS-supported participants fi

meaning in their service experience and remain 

engaged in their communities.

OBJECTIVE 3: CNCS-supported participants ha

a high quality service experience.

OBJECTIVE 4: CNCS-supported participan

find professional, educational or civic growth 

opportunities in their service experience.

Strategies (for Objectives 2-4):

• Collect best practices and promising program 

models that provide the “best in class” in terms of 

understanding and distinguishing “meaningful” and 

“satisfactory” participant experiences. 

• Disseminate that knowledge to the national service 

network so that it can continue to improve the service 

experience it provides to CNCS-supported participants. 

• Continue to study CNCS-supported participant 

satisfaction and develop a solid baseline measure for it. 

Priority Measures:

• Percent of CNCS-supported participants who are aware 

of community needs and community driven solutions.36 

• Percent of CNCS-supported participants who 

report that they are connected to the national 

service community.

• Percent of CNCS-supported participants who report 

that they are satisfied with their service experience.

36. Data collection instruments will provide clear definitions of community, community needs, community driven solutions and other relevant terms.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategic Plan

20

	 • Percent of CNCS-supported participants who repo

gaining skills they can apply to future educational or

professional endeavors.

OBJECTIVE 5: CNCS-supported participants

55 and older and veterans experience health 

benefits associated with service.

Strategy:

	 • CNCS will measure the impact of service on vetera

as well as participants age 55 and older, including

Senior Corps and encore volunteers. The national

service laws call for the inclusion of older adults

in service. Congress set a goal that 10 percent of

AmeriCorps competitive funding should support

encore service programs. CNCS seeks to meet that 10

percent target and encourages programs that engage

a significant number of participants age 55 or older to

apply.37 As we continue to engage veterans and older

adults in service, we will measure the psychosocial

health impacts that they experience.

Priority Measure:

	 • Percent of CNCS-supported participants 55 and olde

or veterans, who report psychosocial health benefits

associated with service.

37. Amended Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity AmeriCorps State and National Grants FY 2011.
21

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

Goal

Maximize the value we add to grantees, partners 

and participants 

We will strengthen the collective capacity of CNCS and 

the national service network to measure performance and 

conduct rigorous evaluations of program impacts. 

In order to maximize the value we add to grantees, 

partners and participants, we will focus on three 

interrelated objectives: 

• Build on the knowledge base of best practices and 

support efforts to measure results;

• Improve organizational capacity to conduct rigorous 

evaluation of programs to measure outcomes and/or 

impact; and

• Leverage community assets through public-private 

partnerships.

I. Rational

CNCS will continually conduct research and evaluation 

projects to understand how national service can help solve 

pressing problems. This knowledge base of best practices 

will provide our grantees and sponsors with the necessary 

tools to better achieve their desired results and measure 

their performance. To accomplish this we need to work 

closely with national service network organizations that 

have the knowledge and skills to align their work with our 

goals, strategies and performance measures. The value to 

the network will be the relevance and accessibility of this 

knowledge base, and the extent to which organizations are 

able to improve their work by applying it.

II. Strategies and Obje

OBJECTIVE 1: Build on the knowledge ba

of best practices and support efforts to 

measure results.

Strategies:

• Conduct research and evaluation activities to build 

knowledge in three specific areas:

– How national service delivers effective solutions 

to community problems;

– How engagement in national service programs and 

projects delivers benefits to participants; and

– How to improve CNCS’ effectiveness.

• Work with the national service network to develop 

targeted materials that will facilitate application of 

learning and thought leadership, specifically in the 

following content areas: 

– Best practices in using service in the six 

focus areas;

– Performance management and measurement 

practices aligned with CNCS performance 

measures; and 

– Best practices in maximizing participant impact. 

• Disseminate thought leadership and capacity 

building tools, publications and reports to those 

who have the potential to integrate service into 

community solutions and achieve results in the 

six focus areas (i.e., state service commissions, 

nonprofit leaders, policy makers, federal agencies 

and other actors). Depending on the content area 

and the targeted audience, the kinds of methods 

we might use include:

– Website and media outlets (e.g., online courses, 

blogs and facilitated learning communities);

– The National Conference on Volunteering and 

Service;

– Meetings or convenings; and

– Articles and reports. 
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

22

Priority Measure:

• Percent of grantees and sponsors that opt into 

performance measures who participated in a specific 

capacity building activity.

OBJECTIVE 2: Improve organizational capaci

to conduct rigorous evaluations of our programs 

to measure outcomes and/or impact.

While this objective and measures are specific to the 

SIF, in the future we plan to use the experience and 

knowledge gained through this work to disseminate best 

practices and support across all our programs to enhance 

evaluation capacity.

Strategies:

For the SIF:

• Require evaluation as a prerequisite to funding 

allocations;

• Conduct technical reviews of evaluations to inform 

investment decisions;

• Review grantee evaluation strategies;

• Provide training and technical assistance in support of 

grantee program and evaluation strategies; and

• Develop, implement and maintain active learning 

communities.

 CNCS has established a learning community to maximize 

the individual and collective impact of the entities 

involved with the SIF. The Social Innovation Fund 

Knowledge Network provides opportunities to share 

protocols, ideas and promising practices, as well as a 

forum to discuss strategies, ask questions and solicit 

support. It is a prototype for establishing future learning 

communities among organizations working in each of our 

strategic focus areas. 

Priority Measure:

• Percent of organizations38 that implement evaluations 

that demonstrate stronger evidence of program 

effectiveness than in the year prior to receiving 

CNCS funding.

OBJECTIVE 3: Leverage community asse

through public-private partnerships.

National service has always been a vehicle for publicprivate partnership through match requirements and 

strategies requiring local collaboration to receive our 

resources. The structure of the SIF reinforces CNCS’ role 

as a catalyst for leveraging federal investments with 

private funding. 

Strategies:

• Develop a plan for measuring the impact of capacity 

building activities that leverage private investment in 

community solutions. These capacity building activities 

may be provided by VISTA, state service commissions, 

intermediary grantees and others; 

• Develop collaborations with national service network 

organizations for disseminating CNCS knowledge, 

expanding opportunities to serve and building capacity 

to use service at the local level; and 

• Develop collaborations with the philanthropic 

community. We hope to supplement our investments in 

local communities by actively seeking opportunities for 

joint investment. 

Priority Measure:

• To be determined—Outcomes of capacity building 

efforts initiated by CNCS activities on key indicators of 

nonprofit organization capacity.

38. In 2011 and 2012, this priority measure will only apply to the Social Innovation Fund. We are in the process of determining the applicability to other CNCS 

programs and the data collection method.
23

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

Goal

Fortify management operations and sustain a capable, 

responsive and accountable organization

I. Rationale

The primary resources for our operations are human capital, 

grants funding and information technology (IT). Building 

upon our current infrastructure, we will strengthen and 

enhance our information technology systems, workforce 

and financial and grants management efforts so that CNCS 

is optimally positioned to meet the strategic goals and 

objectives detailed in Goals 1 through 3 of this Plan.

II. Strategies and Obje

OBJECTIVE 1: Strengthen IT systems to enhan

efficiencies, enable program effectiveness and 

improve accountability. 

Strategies:

• Enhance data warehouse.39

With our focus on results, we need to improve 

collection and analysis of grantees’ and sponsors’ 

performance measures. We will rely on an enhanced 

data warehouse that will provide the infrastructure 

needed to collect, analyze and report detailed 

performance measures. This work will continue to 

support the Open Government initiative to make data 

more readily available to the public.

• Modify our public facing systems and user interface.

The Strategic Plan public forums we conducted with 

the national service network identified key interfaces 

we need to modify (e.g., enhanced flexibility and 

ease of use in grant application and member 

management systems).

• Continue to improve the computing environment by 

shifting to modern software and cloud computing. 

A recent government-wide plan requires federal 

agencies to move toward cloud computing solutions. 

Embracing cloud computing will lower IT costs, improve 

system access and stability, and enable IT staff to 

focus on supporting the needs of the programs.

• Enhance IT security.

As systems are enhanced and/or redesigned, we 

will prioritize security. There will be a concerted effort 

to reduce or eliminate privacy data and improve 

access controls while staying compliant with laws 

and regulations.

Priority Measure:

• Complete modernization of IT infrastructure.

OBJECTIVE 2: Develop and retain a talente

diverse and adaptive workforce that continues 

to promote organizational excellence and 

advance national service.

Strategy: 

• Develop and implement a strategic human capital plan 

to achieve strategic work alignment.

– CNCS will develop a human capital strategic plan 

reflecting workforce assessment, identification of 

new competencies and a baseline for recruitment 

and retention (including technical competency 

and leadership development). In order to foster 

innovation and responsiveness, we must also 

create an organizational culture that promotes 

adaptability and continuous learning through 

workforce engagement across program areas, 

cross-training and use of matrix management.

– We will plan, recruit and place positions in the 

workforce in order to meet CNCS’ current and 

projected work requirements. CNCS is committed 

to the strategic management of federal personnel. 

Additional experience in our six focus areas will be 

39. A data warehouse is a central repository for all or significant elements of data that an organization’s various information systems collect.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

24

needed to advance our work, along with a working 

knowledge of program evaluation and results 

accountability. 

– We will continually assess the key requirements 

of our work. An assessment will be used to align 

the competencies of the workforce with the work 

requirements. Accordingly, on-going assessment 

and monitoring of key human capital talent 

dimensions will be planned to ensure our workforce 

is properly supporting CNCS’ goals. 

Priority Measure:

• Implement strategic human capital plan.

OBJECTIVE 3: Ensure that financial and gran

management systems and policies support 

CNCS’ business infrastructure so that the

objectives and goals of this Strategic Plan

can be met. 

Strategies: 

• Maintain an optimal, secure, financial system 

environment.

CNCS will establish and maintain an environment for 

financial transaction integrity and internal controls 

because it is fundamental to our core grantmaking 

function and essential to providing fiscal accountability 

to the public. CNCS will continue efforts to achieve 

a grant payment processing environment that is 

convenient, efficient, automated, cost-effective, and 

secure, while ensuring transactions are processed 

at the highest level of security as demonstrated 

by preparing and publishing independently audited 

financial statements for the public.

• Promote adherence to internal controls.

We will implement and test controls over financial 

reporting required by law and public policy. CNCS 

will expand the use of internal control associates to 

promote a strong control environment, identify areas 

for improved operations and test agency compliance. 

These activities will have a specific focus on CNCS’ 

grant processes and program operations, which 

collectively comprise a majority of CNCS’ funding. 

• Award grants and contracts and publish results within 

timelines prescribed by policy.

We will carry out our grant award activity in a timely 

and transparent manner, promote accountability by 

providing the public with information and improve 

program effectiveness by promoting a focus on results, 

service quality and customer satisfaction. CNCS will 

continue efforts to streamline grant award processes.

Priority Measures:

• Prepare and publish audited financial statements 

covering CNCS operations within 45 days of fiscal 

year end.

• Ensure that no internal control or compliance issues 

are identified in annual financial statements.

• Award and close grants and contracts within 

prescribed timeframes.

• Achieve acquisition cost savings and efficiencies.
25

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

The cross-cutting goals and objectives in CNCS’ Strategic 

Plan align our programs and focus our work to achieve a 

specific set of results. Each goal describes the outcome 

that we aim to achieve with a defined set of objectives. 

For each objective, we have identified related strategies 

that define how we intend to accomplish those results. 

Finally, these strategies have specific performance 

measures that define how we will know that we are 

successful in achieving our goals.

Our ability to achieve the goals and objectives described 

in this Strategic Plan depends on the level and allocation 

of budgetary and human resources. We are committed to 

allocating resources efficiently by measuring performance, 

evaluating programs and monitoring the work of our 

grantees and sponsors. 

We are also committed to strengthening our ability to 

report on performance results in achieving strategic 

goals and delivering value to the American public. 

Historically, we have held ourselves accountable for 

increasing the overall rates of volunteering in America 

and the types of individuals engaged in service. From FY 

2006-2010, we increased the number of CNCS-sponsored 

volunteers by 50 percent—from 3.7 million to 5.6 million. 

We generated a 400 percent increase in the number of 

college students serving their communities. In some cases, 

we also tracked the population served. For example, during 

this period our programs mentored more than 110,000 

children and youth of incarcerated parents, an increase 

of more than 300 percent.40 Moving forward we will be 

more rigorous in measuring the success of national service 

in meeting critical community needs, as reflected in our 

performance measures. 

The Strategic Plan focuses on 42 agency-level measures 

that reflect our top priorities. For some measures, there 

is a level of performance or ‘target’ assigned with the 

expectation that it will be met. In FY 2011 and FY 2012 

we will establish the baselines for the measures where no 

targets have yet been established. Once the baselines are 

established, we will set annual performance targets to track 

and improve our progress. We will assess our performance 

against these targets annually. We will build operational and 

programmatic improvements into the agency to reinforce 

a culture of continuous improvement and operational 

excellence based on our learnings. Because much of our 

success is based on our grantees’ and sponsors’ ability to 

report their results, we will also encourage sharing across 

grantees and sponsors to support evidence-based decision 

making and program improvements. Because FY 2011 is the 

first year of the Plan, the majority of CNCS programs will 

begin tracking performance measures in FY 2012. 

Buildin an E

We continue to build an evidence base that seeks to bolster 

our ability to make informed decisions about our strategies 

and effective use of resources. 

Projects include a balanced mix of rigorous, long-term 

evaluations that identify program and participant impacts 

and shorter-term policy and management studies that 

provide more timely information about administrative and 

policy matters that are important to the agency. 

Measuring Performance 

and Evaluation

40. 2010 Annual Financial Report, http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/11_1115_final_fy_10_afr.pdf.
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

26

The evidence contin

The SIF, which requires funded organizations to conduct evaluations of program impact, has established a 

continuum of evidence to categorize a program’s effectiveness. Over the next five years, CNCS will use this 

continuum as a starting point to inform an evidence continuum for service-based solutions. 

Strong I

Strong impact means an impact with a substantial likelihood of yielding a major change in life outcomes for 

individuals or improvements in community standards of living. This definition will vary with context. For example, 

a mentoring program that cut youth crime by two percent over a given period would not have a strong impact, 

but a program that cut such crime by 20 percent could. 

Strong Evidence (Proven Program o

Strong evidence means evidence from previous studies whose designs can support causal conclusions (i.e., 

studies with high internal validity), and studies 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). 

An example of strong evidence is more than one well-designed and well-implemented experimental study that 

supports the effectiveness of the practice, strategy or program.

Moderate Evidence (Proven Program o

Moderate evidence means evidence from previous studies whose designs can support causal conclusions (i.e., 

studies with high internal validity) but have limited generalizability (i.e., moderate external validity), or studies 

with high external validity but moderate internal validity. An example of moderate evidence is at least one welldesigned 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.

Preliminary Evidence (Promising Program 

Preliminary evidence means evidence that is based on a reasonable hypothesis supported by research findings. 

Thus, research that has yielded promising results for either the program, or a similar program, will constitute 

preliminary evidence and will meet CNCS’ criteria. An example of preliminary evidence is outcome studies that track 

program participants through a service ‘pipeline’ and measure participants’ responses at the end of the program.
27

The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

Americans can effectively respond to challenges by getting 

involved in their local communities through service. To 

realize this potential and fulfill our mission, we will work 

together with the national service network to invest in local 

solutions, engage Americans in service, support evidence 

based programs and leverage public-private partnerships. 

In executing this Strategic Plan, CNCS will help build 

enduring capacity to solve community problems at the local 

level. More economically disadvantaged young children will 

be ready for school, work and life; veterans and military 

families will be appreciated, supported and continue to 

serve their communities; economically disadvantaged 

people will have improved economic well-being and security 

of economically disadvantaged people will be improved. 

Citizens engaged, motivated, supported and linked together 

through a national service network will be the solution.

Conclusion
The Corporation for National and Community Service | Strategi

28

Since its inception, CNCS has been authorized to focus 

on community needs throughout the nation in education, 

the environment, human needs and public safety. 

The Serve America Act increases the agency’s focus 

specifically on Disaster Services, Economic Opportunity, 

Education, Environmental Stewardship, Healthy Futures, 

and Veterans and Military Families. It follows that the six 

strategic focus areas for Goal 1 of the Strategic Plan—

to increase the impact of national service activities on 

community needs—will guide how CNCS’ programs and 

initiatives benefit communities. 

To ensure that CNCS programs support interventions that 

deliver results aligned with the objectives and strategies 

developed for each focus area, we have developed Strategy 

Charts for Goal 1 which are included in this document. 

Each chart states the overall goal of the focus area at the 

top and lists the key objectives CNCS intends to achieve in 

that area over the next five years. For each key objective, 

the charts show the strategies CNCS will implement to 

achieve it through investments in programs that provide 

direct services to recipients and in collaboration with other 

national service network organizations. 

The third column in the charts indicates the performance 

measures by which CNCS will measure and report our 

progress in meeting the strategic objectives for each focus 

area. Priority measures are agency-level performance 

measures intended to measure the impact of CNCS’ 

collective activities in implementing the Strategic Plan. For 

the Goal 1 focus areas, priority measures represent the 

most important, end-state outcomes in that they measure 

actual changes in behavior or condition by aggregating a 

series of supporting measures. Where it may not be feasible 

for CNCS grantees and sponsors to measure outcomes, the 

priority measures represent quantifiable results, or outputs, 

of key activities. Supporting measures are performance 

measures that CNCS grantees and sponsors (Goals 1 and 

2) or CNCS management (Goals 3 and 4) collect and report 

on. These may be a combination of outputs, outcomes and 

process measures. The supporting measures are under 

development in 2011 and are therefore not included in the 

Strategy Charts.

The last column in the charts indicates when baselines for 

each priority measure will be established. For AmeriCorps, 

pilot measures from the 2010 Notice of Funding Availability, 

baselines will be established in the winter of 2011 when 

grantees submit their annual progress reports. For some 

new measures, baselines will be developed in 2012 after 

the 2011 grant competitions.

Appendix
Disaster Services: Strategy Char

Overall Goal: Build the capacity of national service network organizations to help their states and localities prepare, respond, recover and mitigate disasters and 

increase community resiliency.

Objectives Strategies Priority Measures

Baseline 

Availability

1. Increase the preparedness of states 

and communities through engagement 

and support of CNCS and its affiliates.

1.1. Engage in planning with partners at the federal, state and local 

levels, and with NGOs, to identify the role that CNCS and its 

affiliates will fulfill.

1.2. Build the knowledge base of CNCS and its grantees and sponsors 

about roles in the disaster readiness management cycle.

1.3. Provide effective communication and outreach to partners, 

grantees, sponsors and states regarding available disaster 

services preparedness support.

1.1. Pre-disaster partnerships developed with five national 

organizations active in disasters. These partnerships will 

serve as a venue to build public trust and confidence in 

CNCS as well as to integrate CNCS assets and resources 

in areas identified as underserved and vulnerable.

2012

2. Increase the assistance provided to 

help states and communities increase 

their readiness to respond.

2.1. Provide support in advance of disasters, which will assist a 

community in responding, organizing, galvanizing and coordinating 

volunteer resources.

2.2. Provide knowledge and training to increase the preparedness of 

individuals.

2.1. Establish pre-disaster, early partnerships, planning and 

initiatives with federal agencies which support disaster 

readiness programs as an entry to maximize CNCS 

assets and resources in underserved and vulnerable 

communities.

TBD

3. Increase the assistance provided to 

help states and communities recover 

from disasters.

3.1. Support short and long term recovery activities in stricken areas. 3.1. Increased quality of training/outreach/direct service which 

provides long-term economic/environmental and/or social 

services support to individuals and families identified as 

unmet needs populations not supported through federal 

disaster assistance programs.

TBD

4. Increase the assistance provided to 

help states and communities mitigate 

disasters.

4.1. Target repetitive disaster prone and/or vulnerable communities, 

states and regions.

4.1. Number of organizations, grantees, sponsors and state 

service commissions partnering with CNCS to develop 

mitigate service projects and/or outreach activities.

TBD

29
30

Economic Opportunity: Strategy Cha

Overall Goal: Provide, support and/or facilitate access to services and resources that contribute to the improved economic well-being and security of economically 

disadvantaged people.

Objectives Strategies Priority Measures

Baseline 

Availability

1. Economically 

disadvantaged* people 

have improved access 

to services and benefits 

aimed at contributing to 

their enhanced financial 

literacy. 

1.1. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising activities that 

provide, support and/or facilitate access to resources and services that improve financial literacy, 

stability and security. Such activities include: dissemination of financial education resources; tax 

preparation; provision of consumer counseling or financial fitness coaching; referrals to government 

programs like child support enforcement or unemployment insurance; connection to community 

resources, services or benefits; etc.

1.1. Percent of economically 

disadvantaged people receiving 

financial services-related 

assistance from CNCS-supported 

members, participants and 

volunteers who show improvement 

in their financial literacy. 

2011

2. Economically 

disadvantaged people 

transition into or are able 

to remain in safe, healthy, 

affordable housing.

2.1. Emphasize programs involving CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers serving: 

persons with HUD-defined “worst case” housing needs; persons who are homeless or at risk of 

becoming homeless; disabled persons; veterans and military families; seniors needing assistance to 

live independently; or other especially vulnerable populations.

2.2. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising activities 

that provide, support and/or facilitate access to or utilization of housing resources—including those 

involving wrap-around supportive services. Such activities include construction or repair of housing, 

provision of counseling or case management services, assistance with activities of daily living, etc.

2.1. Percent of economically 

disadvantaged people receiving 

housing-related assistance from 

CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers who 

show improvement in their housing 

situation.

2011

3. Economically 

disadvantaged people have 

improved employability 

leading to increased 

success in becoming 

employed.

3.1. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising activities 

that provide, support and/or facilitate access to workforce development resources and services—

including for veterans and military families—intended to lead to improved employability and, 

ultimately, to employment. Such activities include assisting in job training and job placement 

programs, etc.

3.2. Emphasize (prioritize) programs in which CNCS-supported service enhances the employment 

prospects for economically disadvantaged CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers 

(Goal 2).

3.1. Percent of economically 

disadvantaged people receiving 

employment-related assistance 

from CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers who 

become employed.

2011

* Must be receiving or meet the income eligibility requirements to receive: TANF, food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, SCHIP, Section 8 housing assistance.
Education: Strategy Cha

Overall Goal: Provide, support and/or facilitate access to services and resources that contribute to improved educational outcomes for economically disadvantaged 

people, especially children. CNCS will, throughout its activities, focus on the use of evidence-based and promising practices and will collaborate with other agencies, 

such as the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor and the White House Office of Faith-based Initiatives. Priority in funding new grants will be 

given to applicants that provide evidence on the effectiveness of their programs.

Objectives Strategies Priority Measures

Baseline 

Availability

1. Improve school 

readiness for 

economically 

disadvantaged 

young children.

1.1. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers develop or engage in proven or 

promising activities that include teaching, tutoring and/or the provision of educationrelated supportive services for children or their families that improve school readiness.

1.2. CNCS will work with grantees and sponsors to understand where service can make 

the greatest impact among the supporting measures. Once more data is collected and 

analyzed, CNCS will promote a more specific priority measure.

1.1. Percent of children demonstrating gains in school readiness in 

terms of social and emotional development. 

1.2. Percent of children demonstrating gains in school readiness in 

terms of literacy skills.

1.3. Percent of children demonstrating gains in school readiness in 

terms of numeracy (math) skills.

2011

2. Improve 

educational 

and behavioral 

outcomes of 

students in 

low-achieving 

elementary, 

middle and 

high schools.

2.1 CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising 

activities intended to improve learning and grade-level success in low-achieving 

schools, such as: teaching, tutoring and/or mentoring of students; providing supportive 

services to assist staff; providing extended learning programs in cooperation with school 

systems (such as after school and summer learning); or providing other types of school 

improvement support to school systems.

2.2. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in high quality servicelearning projects in low-achieving schools.

2.3. CNCS provides assistance to higher education institutions and alternative certification 

programs to increase the number of teachers or teaching aids working in low-achieving 

schools or otherwise provide assistance to community-based learning centers in high 

poverty communities.

2.4. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers provide proven or promising 

capacity-building services for state and local education agencies or community-based 

learning centers.

2.1. Percent of students* served by or serving in CNCS-supported 

programs**, who demonstrate improved academic performance 

(including the percent meeting state proficiency levels in 

reading and math or whose scores on state standardized tests 

improved).

2.2. Percent of students* served by CNCS-supported programs, or 

engaged in CNCS-supported service-learning, who demonstrate 

improved academic engagement.

2011

3. Improve the 

preparation for 

and prospects 

of success in 

post-secondary 

education 

institutions for 

economically 

disadvantaged 

students.

3.1. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven and 

promising counseling, academic, enrollment and retention support activities for 

economically disadvantaged students.

3.1. Percent of students* served by CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers, or serving in CNCS-supported 

programs, who received counseling and guidance associated 

with skills needed for college preparation and success.

3.2. Percent of students* served by CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers who applied for and enrolled in a 

post-secondary institution.

3.3. Percent of students* served by CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers who continued to a second year of 

post-secondary education.

2012

* Depending on the type of intervention delivered (teaching, tutoring, service-learning), CNCS anticipates different types of outcomes.

** For purposes of performance measures, “CNCS-supported programs” include AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America and/or Senior Corps. The agency is in the process of specifying which priority measures apply to each program. 

31
Environmental Stewardship: Strategy Ch

Overall Goal: Provide direct services that contribute to increased energy and water efficiency, renewable energy use, or improving at-risk ecosystems, and support 

increased citizen behavioral change leading to increased efficiency, renewable energy use, and ecosystem improvements particularly for economically disadvantaged 

households and economically disadvantaged communities.

Objectives Strategies Priority Measures

Baseline 

Availability

1. Decrease energy and 

water consumption.

1.1. CNCS funds and supports projects engaged in physical construction activities on new 

beyond-code* housing units or community facilities, or improvements of existing housing 

units or community facilities, related to energy and water performance in economically 

disadvantaged households and for public facilities in economically disadvantaged 

communities.

1.1. Number of energy-efficient housing units constructed 

or retrofitted by CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers. 

2011

2. Improve at-risk 

ecosystems.

2.1. CNCS funds and supports projects engaged in direct sustained recycling and waste 

treatment activities, improving at-risk public lands, or improving at-risk public 

waterways.** This work may coincide with other national, state or local ecosystem 

improvement initiatives, like the Environmental Protection Agency’s CARE or the U.S. 

Department of the Interior’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.

2.1. Number of total acres improved by CNCS-supported 

members, participants and volunteers.

2011

3. Increase behavioral 

changes that lead 

directly to Objectives 

1 and 2.

3.1. CNCS funds and supports projects engaged in proven or promising activities that 

create awareness among economically disadvantaged households and economically 

disadvantaged communities of personal actions to benefit energy and water conservation 

and efficiency, solid waste recycling, and the environmental conditions of public lands and 

waterways leading to subsequent personal and community action. This includes engaging 

households in appropriate public services as well as potential private actions.

3.1. Number of individuals reached by outreach 

campaigns, events, workshops or similar awareness 

strategies launched by CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers.

2012

4. Increase green 

training opportunities 

that may lead to 

Objectives 1 and 2.

4.1. CNCS funds and supports programs that provide formal and informal green job training for 

economically disadvantaged individuals (members and non-members) and economically 

disadvantaged communities.***

4.1. Percent of economically disadvantaged or 

unemployed individuals completing formal green job 

training programs provided or coordinated by CNCSsupported members, participants and volunteers.

2012

* Beyond-code refers to energy-efficient reductions beyond what is required based on building code.

** “Improvement” in at-risk public lands, waterways or trails must be beyond general cleanup. Sample activities include removal of invasive species, natural storm water system restoration, fire fuel reduction and indigenous flora 

replanting. 

*** “Formal” green job training is defined as a longer-term training program leading to a widely-accepted industry or academic credential. Most green job training programs are still not formal as the U.S. Department of Energy 

began defining credential standards recently and is expected to complete them in 2012. Therefore, we will track both formal and informal programs until more formal programs are available.

32
Healthy Futures: Strategy Char

Overall Goal: Provide direct services that enable seniors to remain in their own homes with the same or improved quality of life for as long as possible; increase 

physical activity and improve nutrition in youth with the purpose of reducing childhood obesity; and improve access to primary and preventive health care. 

Objectives Strategies Priority Measures

Baseline 

Availability

1. Increase seniors’ ability 

to remain in their own 

homes with the same or 

improved quality of life for 

as long as possible.

1.1. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising 

activities to provide services such as transportation services, nutrition services and 

social contact that promote the ability of older Americans to remain in their own homes 

(age in place).

1.1. Percent of homebound or older adults and 

individuals with disabilities receiving CNCSsupported services (or their families or 

caseworkers) who report that: the services 

have helped them to continue living at home 

and/or they have benefited from the social 

contact with volunteers.

TBD

2. Increase physical activity 

and improve nutrition in 

youth with the purpose of 

reducing childhood obesity.

2.1. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising 

activities to provide school-based or after-school physical activity programs to increase 

awareness of the importance of physical activity and good nutrition and promote improved 

behaviors related to physical activity and nutrition with the purpose of reducing childhood 

obesity. 

2.2. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising 

activities to provide school-based or after-school nutrition education programs, including 

school or community gardens, to increase awareness of the importance of good nutrition 

and promote improved behaviors related to nutrition with the purpose of reducing 

childhood obesity.

2.3. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising 

activities that provide, support and/or facilitate reliable access to food resources or 

services for children and families. Such activities include distributing or delivering food, 

providing food education counseling, referrals to government programs like SNAP and WIC, 

etc.

2.1. Number of children and youth who 

participated in in-school or after-school 

physical education activities provided through 

CNCS-supported members, participants and 

volunteers.

2.2. Number of children and youth who received 

nutrition education including school or 

community gardens activities provided with 

the assistance of CNCS-supported members, 

participants and volunteers. 

2.3. Number of individuals who gain access to 

food resources provided with the assistance 

of CNCS-supported members, participants 

or volunteers. 

2011

2011

2012

3. Improve access to primary 

and preventive health care 

for communities served by 

CNCS-supported programs 

(access to health care).

3.1. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers engage in proven or promising 

activities to provide uninsured, economically disadvantaged and medically underserved 

individuals with connections to preventive and primary health care services and programs.

3.2. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers perform outreach, engagement and 

education services to provide uninsured and economically disadvantaged individuals with 

information on health insurance, health care access and health benefits.

3.3. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers perform outreach, engagement and 

support to increase enrollment of uninsured and economically disadvantaged individuals in 

health insurance and health benefits programs.

3.1. Number of uninsured and economically 

disadvantaged individuals connected to and 

utilizing preventive and primary health care 

services and programs, through support from 

CNCS-supported members, participants and 

volunteers.

2011

33
Veterans & Military Families: Strategy Cha

Overall Goal: Over the next five years, CNCS will demonstrate the potential for CNCS-supported, national service interventions to 1) positively impact the quality of life 

of veterans and 2) improve military family strength. 

Objectives Strategies Priority Measures

Baseline 

Availability

1. Increase the number of veterans 

and military service members 

and their families served by 

CNCS-supported programs.

1.1. CNCS will provide information and technical assistance that encourages grantees and sponsors 

to develop established program responses tailored to veterans and military service members and 

their families.

1.2. CNCS will encourage the national service network to consider and apply for support to implement 

and test innovative approaches that will benefit veterans and military service members and their 

families, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

1.3. CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers will engage in or develop proven 

or promising activities that provide, support and/or facilitate veterans and military service 

members and their families’ access to:

• Services/benefits to which they are entitled;

• Workforce development resources and services (e.g., financial, computer, job-search 

and workforce skills training or job placement programs);

• Services (e.g., mentoring, tutoring, peer-to-peer counseling) that improve 

educational attainment; 

• Safe, affordable housing; and

• Other quality-of-life improvements.

1.1. Number of veterans and military 

service members and their families 

who are served by CNCS-supported 

programs.*, **, ***

2012

2. Increase the number of 

veterans and military family 

members engaged in service 

provision through CNCSsupported programs.

2.1. Conduct outreach to encourage existing programs to engage veterans and military family 

members and organizations with depth of experience serving veterans and/or traditionally 

underrepresented populations. 

2.2. Explore partnerships with other federal agencies that work directly with veterans, military family 

members and Veteran Serving Organizations (VSOs).

2.1. Number of veterans and military 

family members engaged in providing 

services through CNCS-supported 

programs.

2011

* This objective measures the accomplishments/outcomes directly associated with CNCS-supported grantees/sponsors’ activities (related to strategy 1.3), not the efforts undertaken by CNCS and the outputs from strategies 

1.1 and 1.2.

** CNCS will ask grantees and sponsors to report the number/percentage of veterans separately from that of military families, and to report each of these by breaking down into the specific kinds of service focus the project offered 

(e.g., employment, educational, housing).

*** For some projects, grantees and sponsors may document client outcomes routinely using pre- and post-tests or by accessing related official records (e.g., school report cards to show improvement in attendance, grades or graduation 

to next level; certificates; and licensure); for other projects, it may be necessary for grantees and sponsors to collect brief post-service surveys that collect outcomes self-reported by clients. 

34