Welcome to the Categories of AmeriCorps Grants presentation.  This is the fourth in a

series of presentations for potential AmeriCorps Grant applicants. It  will walk you through

the different types of AmeriCorps grant funding that are available to your organization.

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AmeriCorps State and National aims to focus grant making in six areas identified by the

Serve America Act:

Disaster Services

Economic Opportunity

Education

Environmental Stewardship

Healthy Futures and

Veterans and Military Families

Grants may also provide support for capacity building activities provided by national service

participants. As a general rule, CNCS considers capacity building activities to be indirect

services that enable CNCS‐supported organizations to provide more, better, and sustained

direct services in CNCS’ six focus areas.

Much more information about each of these focus areas and other funding initiatives can

be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.  Please review it carefully.

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Before we discuss the different categories of AmeriCorps Grants, you need to understand

the ways in which AmeriCorps funding is awarded to an organization.

AmeriCorps grants are 3‐year commitments. The grant funds are awarded on an annual

basis. In the first year, an applicant submits a full application for review. In years 2 and 3, as

a grantee you will submit your request for funding and members, and a reduced amount of

narrative information for review.

After the third year, you will have to recompete, submitting another full application for

review, if you intend to continue the program.

Organizations may apply for a cost‐reimbursement grant or a fixed‐amount grant.

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Cost reimbursement grants fund a portion of program operating costs and member living

allowances with flexibility to use all of the funds for allowable costs regardless of whether

or not the program recruits and retains all AmeriCorps members.  

Cost reimbursement grants are available to all applicants regardless of whether or not they

have previously received AmeriCorps funding.

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If you choose to apply for a cost reimbursement grant, you must provide a detailed budget

with your application submission. The budget may include program operating costs such as

personnel, training, travel and supplies; member support costs such as the member living

allowance and health insurance; and indirect costs associated with program administration.

Cost reimbursement grants must meet specific match requirements as described in the

Notice of Funding Opportunity and the AmeriCorps regulations.

A grantee with a cost reimbursement grant must also submit two financial reports to CNCS

annually.

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There are three main types of cost reimbursement grants.  Traditional cost reimbursement

grants support the majority of AmeriCorps programs.  There are no restrictions on the type

of member slot that may be requested under traditional cost‐reimbursement grants.  The

maximum amount of funding that may be requested per member service year, or cost per

MSY, is published annually in the AmeriCorps Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Cost reimbursement grants can also be used to support Planning Grants and Professional

Corps programs.  Planning Grants and Professional Corps will be discussed on the next two

slides.

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AmeriCorps State and National sometimes offers planning grants as well as program

grants.  The purpose of a planning grant is to support an organization’s development of a

new AmeriCorps program.

Planning grants are for one year only and do not support AmeriCorps members. During

the planning period, the applicant designs an AmeriCorps program which addresses a

need in their community or communities.

Planning grants may be offered by State Service Commissions for their states or by CNCS

for multi‐state or tribal programs. However, they are not offered every year. You must

review the current Notice of Funding Opportunity closely to determine if and how you can

apply for a planning grant for the current year’s competition.

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Professional Corps is a program model that recruits and places qualified members in

positions as teachers, health care providers, police officers, engineers, or other

professionals. To be eligible to receive a Professional Corps grant, applicants MUST

demonstrate an inadequate number of such professionals in the communities in which

they intend to serve.

Professional Corps member salaries are paid entirely by the organizations with which the

members serve. Member salaries or living allowances may not be included in the grant

budget.

Professional corps applicants can request a small level of funding per MSY through either a

fixed amount OR a cost reimbursement grant.  

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AmeriCorps funding can also be awarded on a fixed amount basis.  There are a few

different types of fixed amount grants, however the following information pertains to all

fixed amount programs:

Fixed amount grants provide a specific dollar amount per MSY to an organization.

In order to access all of the funds provided, programs must recruit and retain all

AmeriCorps members supported under the grant based on the MSY level awarded.

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Like cost‐reimbursement grants, fixed amount grants support only a portion of program

operating costs.  Organizations are responsible for raising the additional funds needed to

run the program.

Programs are not required to submit budgets as part of their applications, and they are not

required to submit financial reports. There is also no formal matching requirement.

However, applicants will be asked to identify in their applications the total amount required

to operate the program and explain how the organization will raise the additional resources

it will need.

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There are three types of fixed‐amount grants:  Full‐Time Fixed, or less than full‐time serving

in a full‐time capacity; Education Award Program, or EAP; and Professional Corps.  

Professional Corps grants were discussed on a previous slide; the other two types of fixed‐

amount grants will be discussed on the next couple of slides.

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Full‐time fixed amount grants may only be used to support full‐time AmeriCorps members,

or less than full‐time members serving in a full‐time capacity (for example, members who

serve full‐time during the summer).  The maximum cost per MSY is published annually in

the AmeriCorps Notice of Funding Opportunity or NOFO.  

New applicants who have not previously received AmeriCorps funds are not eligible to

apply for full‐time fixed amount grants.

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Education Award Programs apply for a very small fixed amount per MSY and use their own

resources to cover all other program expenses.  Unlike full‐time fixed amount grants, EAP

programs may enroll members for any slot type and there is no requirement that members

serve in a full‐time capacity.

Programs are not required to pay a living allowance to members and can access all grant

funds based on enrolling the full complement of members supported under the grant.  This

is different than the full‐time fixed amount, which must enroll and retain all members in

order to access the full amount of grant funds.

EAP grants are available to all applicants regardless of whether or not they have previously

received AmeriCorps funding.

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To recap what we just discussed, a Cost reimbursement grant involves a budget, financial

reporting, match requirement, and full access to grant funding

Fixed Amount grants involve no formal match, no budget, and no financial reporting, but

access to all funding is dependent on enrollment and retention of all AmeriCorps members.  

Except for EAP grants, new applicants may not apply for fixed amount grants.

No matter which grant type you request, the grant funding will supply only a portion of

your program costs.  You will need to secure additional resources to support program

operations.

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Now we will briefly review the different mechanisms by which AmeriCorps State and

National grants are awarded. Which mechanism you use to apply for a grant will depend on

the type of entity you are representing, where your program will operate, and the stage of

development of your program.

The Grant Types for AmeriCorps are:

• AmeriCorps State

• National Direct

• Indian Tribes

• Planning Grants

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We discussed single state AmeriCorps programs and state service commissions in the

Introduction to AmeriCorps State and National webinar.  Please review that webinar for

more detailed information

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Multi‐state AmeriCorps programs are also called National Directs.  Our definition of

“national” is a program operating in at least 2 states.  These applicants submit directly to

CNCS for funding. For additional details on multi‐state AmeriCorps programs, please review

the Introduction to AmeriCorps State and National webinar.

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AmeriCorps State and National sets aside 1% of our funding to support programs that are

developed and administered through federally recognized tribes. These include any

Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Native

village, Regional Corporation, or Village Corporation as defined under the Alaska Native

Claims Settlement Act, that the United States Government determines is eligible for

special programs and services provided under federal law to Indians because of their

status as Indians.  The definition also includes tribal organizations controlled, sanctioned,

or chartered by one of these entities.

A nonprofit that desires to apply for a grant as a “tribal organization” on behalf of a

federally‐recognized tribe, or multiple specific federally‐recognized tribes, must submit a

sanctioning resolution adopted by the Tribal Council (or comparable tribal governing

body) of each tribe. The resolution must identify the nonprofit by name as a “tribal

organization” and it must authorize the nonprofit organization to act on behalf of and

include the tribe in a CNCS grant application for the purpose of conducting the activities

and providing the services described in the application.

AmeriCorps releases a separate NOFO specifically for Indian Tribes, which may include

both regular grants and planning grants. Programs eligible to apply for AmeriCorps Indian

Tribes funding may choose to apply to either the AmeriCorps Indian Tribes NOFO or to the

main AmeriCorps NOFO.  Please note that the release date and application deadline for

the AmeriCorps Indian Tribes NOFO may differ from those of the main NOFO.

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This slide provides a quick reference to help you determine where to submit your

AmeriCorps application.  If you are operating in one state, you should apply for an

AmeriCorps State grant through the State Service Commission.  If you are operating in two

or more states, you should apply for an AmeriCorps National Direct grant directly to CNCS.  

If you are a federally recognized Indian tribe, you can apply via either the main AmeriCorps

Notice of Funding Opportunity (through the State Service Commission or directly to CNCS)

or via the Indian Tribes NOFO.

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This concludes the Categories of AmeriCorps Grants presentation, the fourth in a series of

technical assistance presentations available to help familiarize you with AmeriCorps State

& National funding. In addition, please review the Notice of Funding Opportunity and

other materials posted on our website.

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If you have any questions, please contact CNCS at AmeriCorpsGrants@cns.gov.

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