1

2015 Notice 

Glossary 
2

GLOSSARY

21st Century Service Corps (21st CSC): The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) is a bold 

national effort to put young Americans and veterans to work protecting, restoring, and enhancing 

America’s great outdoors. The 21CSC, built on the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, will

complete high quality, cost effective projects on public and tribal lands and waters across the nation. 

The 21CSC goals: 

Put Americans to work: The 21CSC will provide service, training, education and employment 

opportunities for thousands of young Americans and veterans, including low income and disadvantaged 

youth.

Preserve, protect, and promote America’s greatest gifts: The 21CSC will protect, restore and 

enhance public and tribal lands and waters as well as natural, cultural, and historical resources and 

treasures. With high-quality, cost-effective project work, the 21CSC will also increase public access and 

use while spurring economic development and outdoor recreation.

Build America’s future: Through service to America, the 21CSC will help develop a generation of 

skilled workers, educated and active citizens, future leaders, and stewards of natural and cultural 

resources, communities and the nation.

In order to qualify for this priority area, applicants must demonstrate that they are a 21CSC member 

organization. Applications for membership are reviewed quarterly. Instructions for applicants are 

available in the Federal Register Notice, here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-04-11/pdf/2014-

08101.pdf 

Capacity Building: Grants also will 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. Capacity building activities cannot be solely intended to support the 

administration or operations of the organization. Examples of capacity building activities include 

recruiting and/or managing community volunteers; implementing effective volunteer management 

practices; completing community assessments that identify goals and recommendations; developing 

new systems and business processes (technology, performance management, training, etc.); or 

enhancing existing systems and business processes.

Cost Reimbursement Grants: These 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 include a formal 

matching requirement and require the submission of a budget and financial reports. 

Encore Programs: Congress set a goal that 10 percent of AmeriCorps funding should support encore 

service programs that engage a significant number of participants age 55 or older. CNCS seeks to meet 

that 10 percent target in this competition and encourages encore programs to apply. 
3

Education Award Grants (EAP) fixed amount grant: Programs apply for a small fixed amount per MSY, 

can enroll less than full-time members, and use their own resources to cover all other costs. Programs 

can access funds under the grant based on enrolling the full complement of members supported under 

the grant. As with full-time fixed amount grants, there are no specific match or financial reporting 

requirements. 

Enrollment Rate: Enrollment rate is calculated as slots filled, plus refill slots filled, divided by slots 

awarded.

Fixed Amount Grants (non EAP): These fixed amount grants are available for programs that enroll fulltime members or less than full-time members that are serving in a full time capacity only, including 

Professional Corps. These grants provide a fixed amount of funding per Member Service Year (MSY) that 

is substantially lower than the amount required to operate the program. Organizations use their own or 

other resources to cover the remaining cost. Programs are not required to submit budgets or financial 

reports, there is no specific match requirement, and programs are not required to track and maintain 

documentation of match. Professional Corps programs applying for operational funding through a Fixed 

Amount Grant must submit a budget in support of their request for operational funds. However, CNCS 

provides only a portion of the cost of running the program and organizations must still raise the 

additional resources needed to run the program. Programs can access all of the funds, provided they 

recruit and retain the members supported under the grant based on the MSY level awarded. 

Governor and Mayor Initiative: CNCS will accept one application per state in each year’s new and 

recompete competition. If a state has a Governor and Mayor Initiative in continuation status, the state 

commission can submit a new application. However, CNCS is interested in increasing the number of 

states that have Governor and Mayor’s Initiative as well as funding high quality program designs. 

The application must address a pressing challenge the Governor wishes to solve in her or his state. A 

Governor must apply with one Mayor in his or her state and a minimum of two nonprofits. In 

conjunction with the Mayor, the Governor will be responsible for identifying and selecting those 

nonprofits that are best able to achieve a demonstrated positive impact on the problem. The application 

should include letters of commitment from all relevant parties. If the Governor and Mayor have not yet 

selected partnering nonprofit entities, they should describe the process that the Governor and Mayor 

will use to select the nonprofit entities. The application, submitted to the State Commission, will 

respond to the application criteria and explain how several nonprofits working together, with the 

Governor’s office serving as a convener, will effectively deploy AmeriCorps members for a collective 

impact. Only the Governor, Mayor, their designated government office (but not the state commission), 

or a public university may apply for grants under the Governor and Mayor initiative. Applications from 

other entities will be deemed non-compliant and will not be considered under this initiative.

For example, a Governor and a Mayor in a state could conclude the most pressing challenge facing the 

state is its high school graduation rate. The Governor and/or Mayor would submit one application 

describing:
4

• How the partnership will be organized and AmeriCorps resources will be allocated between the 

partnering entities (State, locality, and nonprofit entities).

• The proposed theory of change and program model.

• How they will utilize an identified consortium of nonprofits that are well positioned to achieve 

outcomes identified in the theory of change.

Applications submitted as part of the Governor and Mayor Initiative must check the “Governor and 

Mayor Initiative” box in the Performance Measure tab and email a letter of endorsement cosigned by 

the Governor and Mayor, as well as signed letters of commitment from partnering nonprofits to 

additionaldocuments@cns.gov by the application due date in order to be considered for this Initiative. 

Member Service Year (MSY): One Member Service Year (MSY) is equivalent to a full-time AmeriCorps 

position (at least 1700 service hours.) 

Multi-focus Intermediates: Given the capacity required to successfully apply for and implement an 

AmeriCorps program, CNCS recognizes that severely under-resourced communities may have limited 

applicant options, either based on the size of the non profits or the lack of available matching funds. 

Thus it may be necessary to engage an eligible applicant that will develop an application and oversee the 

implementation of an AmeriCorps program that engages multiple grassroots non profits/eligible 

applicants that individually do not have the necessary organizational or fundraising capacity to apply for 

and run an AmeriCorps program independently. Given the desire to address community needs 

holistically, the non profits/eligible applicants that make up the consortium may have different focus 

areas and thus the non profit/eligible aplicant intermediary will be multi-focused. 

Applications seeking consideration under this priority must demonstrate that they will be serving in 

severely under-resourced communities, and how the activities provided by the consortium collectively 

address a compelling community need or set of needs. The applicant must demonstrate that they have 

sufficient financial and management capacity to act as an umbrella organization for the consortia. 

The nonprofit/eligible applicant intermediary should submit one application which describes:

• How the partnership will be organized and AmeriCorps resources will be allocated between the 

partnering entities (intermediary and consortia members).

• The proposed theory(ies) of change and program model(s).

• How they will utilize an identified consortium of nonprofits/eligible applicants that are well 

positioned to achieve outcomes identified in the theory of change.

Applicants must email memoranda of understanding or signed letters of commitment from all members 

of the consortia to additionaldocuments@cns.gov by the application due date in order to be considered 

for this Initiative. . 

My Brother’s Keeper: President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to address 

persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can 

reach their full potential.
5

Through this initiative, the Administration is joining with cities and towns, businesses, and foundations 

who are taking important steps to connect young people to mentoring, support networks, and the skills 

they need to find a good job or go to college and work their way into the middle class. 

My Brother’s Keeper is focused on five milestones: 

1. Getting a Healthy Start and Entering School Ready to Learn: All children should have a healthy start 

and enter school ready – cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally.

2. Reading at Grade Level by Third Grade: All children should be reading at grade level by age 8 – the 

age at which reading to learn becomes essential.

3. Graduating from High School Ready for College and Career: Every American child should have the 

option to attend postsecondary education and receive the education and training needed for quality 

jobs of today and tomorrow.

4. Successfully Entering the Workforce: All those who want jobs should be able to find work that allows 

them to support themselves and their families.

5. Keeping Kids on Track and Giving Them Second Chances: All children should be safe from violent 

crime; and individuals who are confined should receive the education, training and treatment they need 

for a second chance.

In order to qualify for this priority area, applicants must demonstrate that their program addresses one 

or more of the five milestones.

Opportunity Youth: Opportunity youth are economically disadvantaged individuals age 16-24 who are 

disconnected from school or work for at least six months prior to service. CNCS defines “economically 

disadvantaged” consistent with the definition used in the member development performance measures, 

“Receiving or meet the income eligibility requirements to receive: TANF, Food Stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, 

SCHIP, Section 8 housing assistance.” CNCS defines “disconnected from school or work” as unemployed, 

underemployed, and not in school for at least six months prior to service. A member who was not 

economically disadvantaged prior to becoming an AmeriCorps member but became economically 

disadvantaged because the living allowance was low enough to make them eligible for SNAP, etc. cannot 

be counted as economically disadvantaged. In order to apply under this priority the applicant must 

demonstrate the programmatic elements they will implement in order to recruit and support 

opportunity youth as members, and a substantial portion of their requested MSYs must fall into this 

category.

Professional Corps: Professional Corps programs recruit and place qualified members in positions as 

teachers, health care providers, police officers, engineers, or other professionals in communities with an 

inadequate number of such professionals. CNCS’ assumption is that Professional Corps will be covering 

the operating expenses associated with the AmeriCorps program through non CNCS funds and thus will 
6

not be requesting operating funds as part of their applications. CNCS will consider operating funds of up 

to $1,000 per MSY if an applicant is able to demonstrate in its narrative and supporting budget materials 

significant organizational financial need and challenges to raising non CNCS resources. Professional 

Corps members’ salaries are paid entirely by the organizations with which the members serve, and are 

not included in the budget. In order to be considered for funding, applicants must demonstrate that 

there are an inadequate number of professionals in the community(ies) where the corps seeks to place 

members. These grants can either be fixed amount or cost reimbursement grants.

Retention Rate: Retention rate is calculated as the number of members exited with award (full or partial 

award) divided by the number of members enrolled.

Rural: CNCS uses rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) codes to classify program addresses as either rural 

or urban for analytic purposes. RUCA codes classify U.S. census tracts using measures of population 

density, urbanization, and daily commuting. Census tracts with an urban cluster population less than 

50,000 are considered rural (RUCA codes 4 – 10). Applicants are encouraged to designate themselves as 

serving rural communities if some or all service locations are in rural areas as defined by RUCA codes or 

if the program can provide other compelling evidence that the program is rural in the narrative portion 

of the application. This self-designation will be considered in grant-making decisions. 

For more information about RUCA codes, please visit the USDA website found here: 

http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-commuting-area-codes.aspx

The Office of Grants Management uses Beale Codes when assessing alternative match requirements. 

Same Project: Two projects will be considered the same if they: Address the same issue areas, Address 

the same priorities, Address the same objectives, Serve the same target communities and population, 

Utilize the same sites, Use the same program staff and members

Programs need to get approval from their CNCS program officers to be considered a new project.