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AmeriCorps National Service and Civic Engagement 

FY 2023 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

These AmeriCorps (AmeriCorps is the operating name for the Corporation for 

National and Community Service) Program Specific Terms and Conditions and the 

20232 AmeriCorps General Terms and Conditions, are binding on the recipient.

Table of Contents

I. CHANGES FROM THE 2022 AMERICORPS NATIONAL SERVICE AND CIVIC 

ENGAGEMENT COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS ....... 1

II. STATUTORY AUTHORITY .......................................................................................... 1

III. NATIONAL SERVICE AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT RESARCH PROGRAMSPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS ...................................................................... 2

A. DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................... 2

B. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE RECIPIENT ............................................. 3

C. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AMERICORPS ................................................ 4

D. NOTIFICATION OF BUDGET, STAFF, AND MANAGEMENT CHANGES ............ 5

E. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................... 6

F. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PERIOD AND INCREMENTAL FUNDING ........... 10

G. BREACHES OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII) .................... 10

H. KEY CONCEPTS OF FINANCIAL GRANTS MANAGEMENT TRAINING............. 11

I. CHANGES FROM THE 2022 AMERICORPS NATIONAL SERVICE AND CIVIC 

ENGAGEMENT COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

- Section III.E.: Consolidated progress reporting into one section

- Section III.E.: Removed the HHS/PMS reporting requirement 

- Section III.E.1.: Added reporting requirements for Year 1 awardees 

- Section III.E.2.: Change programmatic reporting requirements for Year 2 

awardees to one report

- Section III.E.h.: Changed review and approval from Program Officer to 

Portfolio Manager and added the purpose of the review

- Section III.H.: Added annual Key Concepts of Financial Grants 

Management eCourse 

II. STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This award is authorized by and subject to Subtitle H – Investment for Quality and 

Innovation, Part III – National Service and Civic Engagement Research Competitions 
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Pilot Program, Section 198K (Funds) of the National and Community Service Act of 

1990, as amended by the Serve America Act (the “NCSA”), 42 U.S.C. §12653(d) and 

by the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act (FGCAA), 31 U.S.C. §§6301-

6308. Other authorities are outlined in the General Terms and Conditions.

III. NATIONAL SERVICE AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT RESARCH PROGRAMSPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. DEFINITIONS

For this Cooperative Agreement the following definitions apply:

1. Application means all information and materials (including all 

assurances and certifications, the proposed budget as approved by 

AmeriCorps, or any information incorporated by reference) submitted 

by the Awardee in AmeriCorps’ eGrants system in response to the 

Notice of Federal Funds Availability, including any amendments or 

modifications to the information and materials made in response to any 

AmeriCorps request for clarification. Copies of the assurances and 

certifications agreed to in the eGrants system are included for reference 

as appendices to these Terms and Conditions.

2. Awardee means the direct recipient of this award under section 198k of 

the NCSA (42U.S.C. 12653k).

3. Civic infrastructure is defined as the “invisible structures and processes 

through which the social contract is written and rewritten in 

communities,” “the formal and informal processes and networks through 

which communities make decisions and solve problems”, or “the 

network that exists among local groups such as community 

development corporations (CDCs), foundations, other nonprofits, local 

governments, public housing authorities, businesses, and voluntary 

associations”.

4. Civic engagement is defined as a cluster of individual efforts and 

activities oriented toward making “a difference in the civic life of ... 

communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, 

values, and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the 

quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political 

processes” and through informal or formal networks.

5. Volunteering is unpaid, noncompulsory work, specifically, time one 

gives without pay to activities performed either through organizations 

such as schools, nonprofits, churches, civic, or political organizations 
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(e.g., formal) or directly for others outside one’s own household (e.g., 

informal).

6. National service is defined as a structured opportunity for individuals to 

serve their communities for an extended period of time through 

volunteering with or without a stipend. AmeriCorps is the largest 

supporter of national service, though other avenues for national service 

exist and this competition is not exclusive to opportunities funded by 

AmeriCorps.

7. Social capital can be understood as the “shared norms or values that 

promote social cooperation, instantiated in actual social relationships” 

(Fukuyama 2002) or as the facilitating agent for social cohesion and civic 

engagement.

B. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE RECIPIENT

1. General

The Awardee must perform the activities supported by this Cooperative 

Agreement in compliance with the statutes, regulations and 

administrative authorities cited or referred to in these Terms and 

Conditions, in conformance with its approved Application (including the 

approved budget), and consistent with any approvals or directions 

provided by AmeriCorps in the course of carrying out the Cooperative 

Agreement. The Awardee is legally accountable to AmeriCorps for the 

use of award funds and is bound by the provisions of the award.

2. National Service Criminal History Check Requirements

AmeriCorps has determined that the National Service Criminal History 

Check Requirements as set forth under the General Terms and 

Conditions, paragraph E., are not applicable to this Research grant 

competition and that awardees need not fulfill that requirement to be in 

compliance with the responsibilities under this Cooperative Agreement.

3. Affiliation with AmeriCorps and with the National Service and Civic 

Engagement Research Competition

a. Sharing Award Products. Awardees will make their products 

available to others in the field, including posting to relevant 

websites (i.e., the grantee’s university website, community 

partners), to facilitate AmeriCorps linking to our website to 

increase public access.
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b. Acknowledgement of support. All publications, conference 

presentations, posters, or other dissemination activities related to 

the project funded by the National Service and Civic Engagement 

Research Competition must explicitly state that the project is 

funded by AmeriCorps.

c. The awardee is responsible for assuring that the following 

acknowledgement and disclaimer appears in any external report 

or publication of material based upon work supported by this 

award:

“This material is based upon work funded by the Office of 

Research and Evaluation at AmeriCorps under Grant No. XX

(add grant number here) through the National Service and Civic 

Engagement research grant competition. Opinions or points of 

view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do 

not necessarily reflect the official position of, or a position that is

endorsed by, AmeriCorps.”

d. The Awardee will include the appropriate AmeriCorps logo on 

documents and presentation materials.

e. The Awardee may not use or display the AmeriCorps name or 

logo in connection with any activity prohibited in these 

provisions, or if the activity is not funded by this grant or is not 

prohibited in these provisions, the Awardee may not use or 

display the AmeriCorps name or logo unless they have received 

written permission to do so from the AmeriCorps Office of 

External Affairs.

4. Approval from Institutional Review Board

Awardees must submit protocols and receive approval from their 

institution’s Institutional Review Board.

C. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AMERICORPS

Performance under this Cooperative Agreement is subject to the general 

oversight and monitoring of AmeriCorps. Additional substantial involvement of 

AmeriCorps will include:

1. Research Plans

Reviewing and approving the Awardee’s work plan and final research 

plan for carrying out the research project.
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2. Convening of Awardees

Convening awardees to discuss projects and share feedback with one 

another. These convenings may include awardees attending and 

presenting at the AmeriCorps Research Summit, Grantee meetings, 

AmeriCorps program convenings, webinars, etc. The convenings may 

also include AmeriCorps staff and external experts identified by 

AmeriCorps and the awardees.

3. Access to AmeriCorps data and Program Staff

a. Facilitating access to AmeriCorps data sources that are publicly 

available and reasonable to obtain as well as facilitating restricted 

use data with additional data sharing agreements.

b. Facilitating access to AmeriCorps program staff relevant to the 

awardees’ research projects, in a manner that is reasonable and 

not overly burdensome on AmeriCorps staff.

c. AmeriCorps is under no obligation to provide access to data or 

staff if such access is not feasible or deemed overly costly by 

AmeriCorps.

4. Dissemination of Research Project Results

a. AmeriCorps may decide to disseminate the results of awardee 

research projects, either in a report produced by awardees, or 

material produced by AmeriCorps based on the report.

b. AmeriCorps will provide feedback for final product.

D. NOTIFICATION OF BUDGET, STAFF, AND MANAGEMENT CHANGES

1. Within 5 business days, the Awardee must notify the AmeriCorps 

Portfolio Manager of any change in the staffing of any key position 

included (in whole or in part) as a cost in the award budget. This 

requirement applies regardless of whether the position is included in 

the federal or matching cost portions of the budget. The Awardee must 

also notify AmeriCorps of any changes in any positions which are not 

included in the approved budget, but which involve leadership 

oversight of the activity under this award. The Awardee must also notify 

AmeriCorps of any change in the senior leadership of the Awardee.
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2. The recipient must first obtain the prior written approval of the 

AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager before changes in the scope, objectives,

or goals of the program, and whether they involve budgetary changes.

3. The recipient must obtain the prior written approval of AmeriCorps’ 

Portfolio Manager before deviating from the approved budget in any of 

the following ways:

a. Specific Costs Requiring Prior Approval before Incurrence under 

the uniform administrative requirement, cost principles, and audit 

requirements for Federal awards at 2 CFR Parts 200 and 2205. 

Certain cost items in 2 CFR Parts 200 and 2205 require approval 

of the award agency for the cost to be incurred as allowable. 

Please consult the regulations and/or your Portfolio Manager 

prior to incurring costs to ensure allowability.

b. Purchases of Equipment over $5,000 using award funds, unless 

specified in the approved application and budget.

c. Unless the AmeriCorps award is $50,000 or less, changes to 

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

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

in advance by AmeriCorps. Recipients may transfer funds among 

approved direct cost categories when the cumulative amount of 

such transfers does not exceed 10 percent of the total budget.

4. Approvals of Budget, Staff, and Management Changes. AmeriCorps’ 

Portfolio Managers are the only officials who have the authority to alter 

or change the terms and conditions or requirements of the award. 

Portfolio Managers will execute written amendments and recipients 

should not assume approvals have been granted unless documentation 

from AmeriCorps’ Office of Grant Administration (OGA) has been 

received. Programmatic changes also require final approval of OGA 

after written recommendation for approval is received from the Portfolio 

Manager.

E. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

1. FY23 Continuations (starting year 2 on October 1, 2023)

a. In Year 2, each awardee shall participate in phone and/or virtual 

meetings with other awardees as requested and with staff from the 

Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) on a regular schedule to be 

determined to discuss topics on civic engagement and volunteering, 
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their workplan, research projects, paper presentations, and 

publications.

b. In Year 2, each awardee shall work with ORE to prepare documents 

which can lead to papers and other materials to be used publicly 

regarding the research completed during Year 1.

c. Progress Reports. The Awardee shall complete and submit progress 

reports in eGrants to report on progress toward achievement of its 

approved performance targets according to the following schedule:

Due Date Reporting Period Covered

October 30, 2024 July 1 – September 30, 2024 

d. In Year 2, a progress report shall constitute findings from Year 2 of the 

award. This progress report (labeled as an annual report in eGrants) will 

be due for the period ending September 30, 2024 by October 30, 2024, 

and will be reviewed by AmeriCorps within 45 days. AmeriCorps will 

provide feedback that may be incorporated into the following year’s 

work. 

e. If available and applicable, the Awardee understands and agrees that in 

subsequent continuation years of the grant, there will be reporting 

requirements that will be similar to, but may not match exactly, the 

reporting requirements set forth in paragraph E. An Awardee receiving 

a continuation grant in Year 2 or 3 agrees to comply with the current 

reporting requirements. 

f. By the end of the project period, each awardee shall submit a 

comprehensive technical report, summarizing their annual progress 

reports. Organization of this final technical report will be provided by 

AmeriCorps 90 days in advance of the due date and will include 

relevant datasets, instruments, interview questions, etc.

g. By the end of the project period, each awardee is expected to submit a 

scholarly manuscript for publication as “open access” to be reviewed 

and approved by the Portfolio Manager prior to submission. The review 

is intended to ensure all the necessary information and AmeriCorps 

branding is included – not to dispute the findings or results. Please see 

“Section B.3.” in this document that specifies how grantees should share 
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grant products and acknowledge AmeriCorps support in publications 

and other material.

h. Federal Financial Reports. The Awardee shall complete and submit 

financial reports in eGrants (Financial Status Reports on the menu tree) 

to report the status of all funds. For year 2, the Awardee must submit 

timely cumulative financial reports in accordance with AmeriCorps 

guidelines according to the following schedule:

Due Date Reporting Period Covered

April 30, 2024 Start of award through March 31, 

2024 

October 30, 2024 April 1 – September 30, 2024 

i. Final Financial Reports. Awardees completing the final year of their 

award must submit, in lieu of the last semi-annual financial report, a final 

financial report in eGrants. This final financial report is due no later than 

120 days after the end of the project period. 

j. Final Progress Reports. Awardees must submit, in addition to the last 

annual progress report, a final progress report. This final report is due 

no later than 120 days after the end of the period of performance. 

2. FY23 New (for new award starting in July 2023)

a. In Year 1, the awardee shall participate in phone and/or virtual meetings 

as requested and with staff from the Office of Research and Evaluation 

(ORE) on a regular schedule to be determined to discuss topics on civic 

engagement and volunteering, their workplan, research projects, paper 

presentations, and publications.

b. In Year 1, the awardee shall work with ORE to prepare documents which 

can lead to papers and other materials to be used publicly regarding 

the research completed during Year 1.

c. Progress Reports. The Awardee shall complete and submit progress 

reports in eGrants to report on progress toward achievement of its 

approved performance targets according to the following schedule:
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Due Date Reporting Period Covered

July 30, 2024 Start of award through June 30, 

2024 

d. In Year 1, a progress report shall constitute findings from Year 1 of the 

award. This progress report (labeled as an annual report in eGrants) will 

be due for the period ending June 30, 2024 by July 30, 2024, and will 

be reviewed by AmeriCorps within 45 days. AmeriCorps will provide 

feedback that may be incorporated into the following year’s work. 

e. If available and applicable, the Awardee understands and agrees that in 

subsequent continuation years of the grant, there will be reporting 

requirements that will be similar to, but may not match exactly, the 

reporting requirements set forth in paragraph E. An Awardee receiving 

a continuation grant in Year 2 or 3 agrees to comply with the current 

reporting requirements. 

f. By the end of the project period, each awardee shall submit a 

comprehensive technical report, summarizing their annual progress 

reports. Organization of this final technical report will be provided by 

AmeriCorps 90 days in advance of the due date and will include 

relevant datasets, instruments, interview questions, etc. 

g. By the end of the project period, each awardee is expected to submit a 

scholarly manuscript for publication as “open access” to be reviewed 

and approved by the Portfolio Manager prior to submission. Please see 

“Section B.3.” in this document that specifies how grantees should share 

grant products and acknowledge AmeriCorps support in publications 

and other material.

h. Federal Financial Reports. The Awardee shall complete and submit 

financial reports in eGrants (Financial Status Reports on the menu tree) 

to report the status of all funds. For year 1, the Awardee must submit 

timely cumulative financial reports in accordance with AmeriCorps 

guidelines according to the following schedule:
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Due Date Reporting Period Covered

January 30, 2024 Start of award through December 

31, 2023 

July 30, 2024 January 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024 

i. Final Financial Reports. Awardees completing the final year of their 

award must submit, in lieu of the last semi-annual financial report, a final 

financial report in eGrants. This final financial report is due no later than 

120 days after the end of the project period. 

j. Final Progress Reports. Awardees must submit, in addition to the last 

annual progress report, a final progress report. This final report is due 

no later than 120 days after the end of the period of performance. 

F. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PERIOD AND INCREMENTAL FUNDING

For the purpose of National Service and Civic Engagement Cooperative 

Agreements, a project period is the complete length of time an Awardee is 

funded to complete approved activities under the agreement. A project period 

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

of time for which Federal funds are being provided to fund an Awardee's 

approved activities and budget.

Unless otherwise specified, the Awardee’s Cooperative Agreement covers a 

three-year project period. In approving a multiyear project period, AmeriCorps 

generally makes an initial award for the first year of operation. Additional 

funding is contingent upon satisfactory performance, a recipient’s 

demonstrated capacity to manage the Cooperative Agreement and comply 

with the requirements, and the availability of funds. AmeriCorps reserves the 

right to adjust the amount of a Cooperative Agreement or elect not to continue 

funding for subsequent years. The project period and the budget period are 

noted on the award document.

G. BREACHES OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII)

All recipients need to be prepared for potential breaches of Personally 

Identified Information, PII. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

defines PII as any information about an individual, including, but not limited to, 
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education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment 

history and information which can be used to distinguish or trace an 

individual’s identity, such as their name, social security number, date and place 

of birth, mother’s maiden name, biometric records, etc., including any other 

personal information which is linked or linkable to an individual. All recipients 

must ensure they have procedures in place to prepare for and respond to 

breaches of PII, and notify the federal awarding agency in the event of a 

breach. 

If your AmeriCorps grant-funded program or project creates, collects, uses, 

processes, stores, maintains, disseminates, discloses or disposes of PII within 

the scope of that Federal grant award, or uses or operates a Federal 

information system, you must establish procedures to prepare for and respond 

to a potential breach of PII, including notice of a breach of PII to AmeriCorps. 

Grantees experiencing a breach should notify AmeriCorps’ Office of 

Information Technology, your AmeriCorps Program Officer, and AmeriCorps’ 

Office of Inspector General. 

H. KEY CONCEPTS OF FINANCIAL GRANTS MANAGEMENT TRAINING

All recipients must complete and retain a certificate of completion of the 

AmeriCorps’ Key Concepts of Financial Grants Management eCourse training 

every year to ensure that recipients and subrecipients are aware of major 

financial grants management requirements for all federal recipients. The 

AmeriCorps designated eCourse provides a thorough overview of the 

requirements and can be found 

at: https://americorpsonlinecourses.litmos.com/account/login/?C=7513619. 

Each grant recipient and subrecipient must identify at minimum one staff 

person who has some responsibility for financial grants management 

compliance to fulfill this requirement on behalf of the grant recipient or 

subrecipient. The grant recipient must retain the certificate of completion and 

assign staff to retake the course annually prior to the expiration of the 

certificate. Grant recipients must save certificates of completion from each year 

as grant records.