250 E Street SW

Washington, D.C. 20525

202-606-5000/ 800-942-2677

AmeriCorps Fiscal 

Year 2021

Annual Plan for 

Grantmaking

December 7, 2020
2

Contents

AmeriCorps State and National FY 2021 Annual Plan............................................................................ 4

AmeriCorps VISTA FY 2021 Annual Plan ................................................................................................... 6

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) FY 2021 Annual Plan................................. 8

AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP FY 2021 Annual Plan ..................................................................................... 10

AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program FY 2021 Annual Plan ........................................... 12

AmeriCorps Seniors: Senior Companion Program FY 2021 Annual Plan ............................................ 14

Subtitle H FY 2021 Annual Plan ................................................................................................................ 15

(AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund and Days of Service – Martin Luther King Jr. and 

September 11th Days of Service) ........................................................................................................... 15

State Commission Support Grants & Commission Investment Funds FY 2021 Annual Plan ............. 16
3

Purpose of Plan: The Annual Plan authorizes AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA, and 

National Civilian Conservation Corps (NCCC) programs and authorized agency staff to make 

grants and/or enroll (or authorize grantees to enroll) eligible individuals as AmeriCorps 

members. It also authorizes AmeriCorps Seniors to award grants. 

National Service Position authorizations in the plan are issued to AmeriCorps State and 

National, VISTA, and NCCC programs as Member Service Years (MSYs). For the AmeriCorps 

VISTA and AmeriCorps NCCC programs, an MSY authorizes the program to enroll a single 

individual as an AmeriCorps member. For AmeriCorps VISTA, an MSY is equal to 12 months 

of full-time service (or approximately five Summer Associate terms). For AmeriCorps State 

and National, an MSY authorizes the enrollment of a single full-time member or a 

combination of three-quarter time, part-time, reduced part-time, minimum time, or 

abbreviated time members that will equal 1700 hours of service.
4

AmeriCorps State and National FY 2021 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $407,659,501 (after reservation of funds under sec. 501(a)(6) of the 

NCSA)1

Target Member Service Year (MSY) Level: 37,966

Key Milestones

• January 6, 2021: FY 2021 Application Deadline 

• Mid-May 2021: FY 2021 Awards 

• Summer 2021: FY 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity Release

• August/September 2021: Annual AmeriCorps State and National Symposium

Funding Priorities

Consistent with the Serve America Act of 2009, AmeriCorps State and National will seek to 

fund programs in the following six focus areas that use an evidence-based approach to 

create community impact and solve community problems: 

• Disaster services

• Education

• Environmental stewardship

• Healthy futures

• Economic opportunity

• Veterans and military families.

Congress requires AmeriCorps to select a minimum of two focus areas per year for 

AmeriCorps State and National Grants. For the 2021 AmeriCorps State and National 

competition, AmeriCorps seeks to prioritize investment of national service resources in the 

following areas: 

• Efforts to help local communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants may 

propose programming in any AmeriCorps focus area to aid communities as they 

recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

1 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds. 
5

• Programs that actively engage in removing structural racial inequities, advancing racial 

equality, and increasing opportunity in order to achieve sustainable change in 

communities. 

• Economic opportunity – a program model that increases economic opportunities for 

communities by preparing people for the workforce. 

• Education – see sixth bullet, evidence-based interventions. 

• Healthy futures – a program model that reduces and/or prevents prescription drug and 

opioid abuse. 

• Evidence-based interventions on the AmeriCorps Evidence Exchange 

(https://www.nationalservice.gov/impact-our-nation/evidence-exchange) that are 

assessed as having Moderate or Strong evidence. 

• Veterans and military families – a program model that positively impacts the quality of 

life of veterans and improves military family strength. 

• Rural intermediaries - organizations that demonstrate measurable impact and primarily 

serve rural communities with limited resources and organizational infrastructure. 

• Faith-based organizations. 

• Programs that reduce child poverty. 

• Environmental stewardship. 

• Economic Mobility Corps – a joint initiative with the Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund to place national service members at Certified Community 

Development Financial Institutions to enhance their capacity to provide financial 

literacy, financial planning, budgeting, saving, and other financial counseling activities 

in distressed and underserved areas.

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps State and National continues to require competitive grantees to use the agencywide performance measures or applicant-determined performance measures. 
6

AmeriCorps VISTA FY 2021 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $93,364,0002

Target Member Level: 6,555

Key Milestones 

• August 2020: Issue FY 2021 Program Guidance (which articulates AmeriCorps VISTA 

programming priorities) to Regional/Field Offices and prospective sponsors

• October 2020: Issue initial FY 2021 resource allocations to AmeriCorps Regional Offices 

(initial pending FY 2021 Congressional appropriation)

• Request for Concept Papers Schedule:

o Q1 Cycle

▪ October 1, 2020: Deadline for Concept Paper submissions

▪ January 2021: Target for Application awards

o Q2 Cycle:

▪ January 4, 2021: Deadline for Concept Paper submissions

▪ April 2021: Target for Application awards

o Q3 Cycle:

▪ March 15, 2021: Deadline for Concept Paper submissions

▪ May 2021: Target for Application awards

o Q4 Cycle:

▪ June 1, 2021: Deadline for Concept Paper submissions

▪ August 2021: Target for Application awards

• October 2020 – September 2021: Hold Virtual Member Orientations and Virtual 

Supervisor Orientations throughout the year 

• May 1, 2021 – September 1, 2021 – Summer Associate member service period

Funding Priorities 

This year, AmeriCorps VISTA will prioritize COVID-19 response, rural community 

development, veterans, STEM, workforce development (e.g., apprenticeships), projects that 

help prevent and treat opioid/drug abuse, and access to broadband and digital literacy. 

Ultimately, AmeriCorps expects to invest resources in its VISTA program toward building the 

capacity of initiatives in the following focus areas:

2 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds. 
7

• Economic opportunity (housing and eviction prevention, employment/workforce 

development, and bridging the digital divide) 

• Education (school readiness, K-12 success, Career and Technical Education (CTE), 

post-secondary success, and STEM, including remote learning in all areas 

• Healthy futures (access to health care particularly in response to the COVID-19 

pandemic, food security, and opioid addiction prevention and recovery)

• Veterans and military families (economic opportunity, education, and healthy futures)

• Priority populations: rural communities, Indian country, and areas of concentrated 

poverty

• Additional priority consideration: projects that work in the above areas and 

populations that address issues of racial equity. 

AmeriCorps VISTA continues to build out its virtual training resources and is intensifying 

training and technical assistance for AmeriCorps VISTA supervisors in FY 2021.

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps VISTA projects continue to use the agency-wide performance measures to 

demonstrate the effectiveness of their proposed intervention in addressing community 

needs. 
8

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) FY 2021 Annual Plan 

Funding Allocation: $32,500,0003

Target Member Level (Traditional): 1,360

Target Member Level (FEMA Corps): up to 1,000 (FEMA Corps members are supported by 

FEMA funds) 

Key Milestones & Region Start Dates

• October 2020: Southwest Region (Denver, CO) and Pacific Region (Sacramento, CA) 

Traditional 

• February 2021: North Central Region (Vinton, IA) Traditional

• March 2021: Southern Region (Vicksburg, MS) FEMA Corps 

• June 2021: Southwest Region (Denver, CO) Traditional 

• June 2021: Pacific Region (Sacramento, CA) FEMA Corps

• July 2021: North Central Region (Vinton, IA), Southern Region (Vicksburg, MS) 

Traditional

Funding Priorities

The Serve America Act of 2009 authorizes the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community 

Corps (NCCC) to operate a residential national service program that provides young people 

with leadership and team-building opportunities to meet national and community needs.

To evaluate the program’s effectiveness and efficiency, AmeriCorps NCCC measures key 

objectives and targets, including the impact of member service and the opportunities and 

training provided to its members. 

AmeriCorps NCCC Service Projects and Special Initiatives

In 2021, AmeriCorps NCCC project outreach and implementation will reflect a continued 

focus on the program’s specific service areas as outlined in the Serve America Act of 2009: 

response to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental 

stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. 

To further build upon programmatic strengths such as our residential design and intensive 

member training program, AmeriCorps NCCC will continue in its role as the agency’s lead 

responders in times of disasters as well as disaster preparation, mitigation, and recovery. 

3 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds. 
9

AmeriCorps NCCC will continue its partnership with the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA) to support the goal of up to an additional 1,000 AmeriCorps members in its 

NCCC program who will work solely on FEMA-sponsored projects during their term of 

service. 

AmeriCorps Members in NCCC

The Serve America Act of 2009 mandates that AmeriCorps NCCC engage participants from 

economically, geographically, and ethnically diverse backgrounds. In addition, Congress 

directed AmeriCorps NCCC to conduct outreach to increase participation of disadvantaged 

youth to a target enrollment of 50 percent by the year 2012. In 2021, we anticipate reaching 

more than 40 percent, accompanied by an aggressive strategy for keeping us moving toward 

the very ambitious goal. To meet this goal, AmeriCorps NCCC will continue to implement 

measures as outlined in the program’s Annual Recruitment plan, including:

• Leverage new contract recruiters to target all AmeriCorps NCCC applicant 

requirements

• Expand AmeriCorps NCCC recruitment efforts by conducting outreach to 

organizations and institutions that support youth from disadvantaged circumstances

• Collaborate with state and local corps programs to promote second year of service 

opportunities with AmeriCorps NCCC among their membership

• Promote AmeriCorps Week, National Service Recognition Day, and all National Days of 

Service as opportunities to introduce school-aged children to service and volunteering

• Increase use of social media outlets to recruit new members 

• Expand the strategic use of the approximately 24,000 AmeriCorps alumni from the 

NCCC program in recruitment efforts to increase the applicant pool for corps members 

and team leaders and aggressively promote national service

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps NCCC will contribute to the seven applicable measures of the agency-wide 

performance measures. 
10

AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP FY 2021 Annual Plan 

Funding Allocation: $49,220,8294

Target Volunteer Level: 183,000

Key Milestones

• Fall of FY 2021: Augmentations for all AmeriCorps Seniors programs in support COVID19 pandemic response, technology and infrastructure to serve virtually during 

pandemic.

• Spring and Summer 2021: Award competitive grants initially awarded competitively in 

FY 2015 and administratively renewed in FY 2017 as required by statute 

• Spring and Summer 2021: Award continuation grants competitively awarded in FY 

2016, 2017, and 2018, and administrative renewal of expansion grants as required by 

statute

• Spring 2021: Consider additional grant and/or non-grant activities such as outreach, to 

be determined based on availability of FY 2021 funds, to include in part: augmentations 

for evidence-based programming, permanent augmentations for baseline funding for 

volunteer recruitment and disaster response, and programs that support COVID-19 

pandemic response or advance racial equality

Funding Priorities

The agency plans to make a total of approximately 630 grants through RSVP this year. The FY 

2021 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition Notice prioritizes grantmaking in the six focus 

areas identified by the Serve America Act of 2009 and in alignment with the AmeriCorps 

Strategic Plan: Disaster Services; Economic Opportunity; Education; Environmental 

Stewardship; Healthy Futures; and Veterans and Military Families. Within the six focus areas, 

funding priorities for the RSVP program include:

• Evidence-based program implementation

• Access to care – opioid abuse

• Aging in place – elder justice

• Aging in place – independent living

• Economic opportunity – workforce development

• Education – intergenerational programming

• Disaster services

4 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds. 
11

• Veterans and military families

In addition to the six focus areas identified in the Service America Act of 2009, the agency is 

also prioritizing RSVP projects that actively engage in removing structural racial inequities, 

advancing racial equality, and increasing opportunity in order to achieve sustainable change 

in communities and/or help local communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Applicants may propose programming in any focus area to aid communities as they recover 

from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Performance Measures 

AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP projects must use standardized Performance Measures as part of a 

comprehensive performance measurement strategy that relies on both performance and 

evaluation data to learn from their work and make tactical and strategic adjustments to 

achieve their goals. All unduplicated AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in the RSVP program 

must be integrated into the Performance Measure work plans included in the application. 

Work plans must meet the maximum cost per unduplicated volunteer in outcome 

assignments. For every $1,000 in annual base federal funding, at least one unduplicated 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer in RSVP must be placed in work plans that result in 

Performance Measure Outcomes.
12

AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program 

FY 2021 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $114,550,6285

Target Volunteer Level: 22,000

Key Milestones 

• Fall of FY 2021: Augmentations for all AmeriCorps Seniors programs in support COVID19 pandemic response, technology and infrastructure to serve virtually during 

pandemic.

• March and June 2021: award approximately 325 renewal and continuation grants noncompetitively as required by statute 

• June 2021: Senior Companion Program Expansion Competition Awards

• Spring 2021: consider additional grant and/or non-grant activities to be determined 

based on availability of FY 2021 funds

Currently, all grants and volunteer service years relinquished in any state are centralized to 

AmeriCorps for budget contingencies. Centralized funding will be used for competitive 

augmentation awards that support evidence-based programs and expansion sponsor 

competitions. 

Funding Priorities

Competitive and continuation grants fulfill program priorities around:

• Evidence-based program implementation

• Education – intergenerational programming

• COVID-19 pandemic recovery

• Advancing racial equality

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program projects must use standard performance 

measures as part of a comprehensive performance measurement strategy that relies on both 

performance and evaluation data to learn from their work and make tactical and strategic 

5 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds. 
13

adjustments to achieve their goals. All unduplicated AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in the 

Foster Grandparent Program must be integrated into the work plans included in the 

application. Work plans must meet the maximum cost per volunteer service year in outcome 

assignments. For every $6,500 in annual base federal funding, at least one volunteer service 

year must be included in work plans that result in education-related performance measure 

outcomes.
14

AmeriCorps Seniors: Senior Companion Program 

FY 2021 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $48,734,1866

Target Volunteer Level: 11,000

Key Milestones 

• Fall of FY 2021: Augmentations for all programs in support COVID-19 pandemic 

response, technology and infrastructure to serve virtually during pandemic.

• March and June 2021: Award approximately 200 renewal and continuation grants noncompetitively as required by statute 

• June 2021: Senior Companion Program Expansion Competition Awards

• Spring 2021: Consider additional grant and/or non-grant activities to be determined 

based on availability of FY 2021 funds

Funding Priorities

Competitive and continuation grants fulfill program priorities around:

• Evidence-based program implementation

• Aging in place – elder justice

• Aging in place – independent living

• COVID-19 pandemic recovery

• Advancing racial equality

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Companion Program projects must use standard performance 

measures as part of a comprehensive performance measurement strategy that relies on both 

performance and evaluation data to learn from their work and make tactical and strategic 

adjustments to achieve their goals. All unduplicated AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in the 

Senior Companion Program must be integrated into the work plans included in the 

application. Work plans must meet the maximum cost per volunteer service year in outcome 

assignments. For every $6,500 in annual base federal funding, at least one volunteer service 

year must be included in work plans that result in performance measure outcomes related to 

Aging in Place.

6 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds. 
15

Subtitle H FY 2021 Annual Plan

(AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund and Days of Service – Martin Luther King Jr. 

and September 11th Days of Service)

Funding Allocation: $9,600,0007

Target Member/Volunteer Level: Not Applicable

Key Milestones

• AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund:

o New and recompete applications will be awarded competitively and continuation 

grants will be awarded noncompetitively.

• Days of Service:

o Due to expected continuation liability, AmeriCorps will not conduct a new and 

recompete competition for Days of Service. Continuation grants will be awarded 

noncompetitively. 

Funding Priorities

• AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund: Grantees must provide evidence that 

subgrantees have increased their effectiveness, efficiency and/or program scale/reach 

with respect to volunteer recruitment or management. 

Performance Measures

Performance measures for Subtitle H funds must include reports on the number of 

community volunteers recruited and/or managed by AmeriCorps-supported organizations 

and national service participants as applicable. 

7 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds. 
16

State Commission Support Grants & Commission Investment Funds FY 2021 Annual 

Plan

Funding Allocation: $17,538,000 and $8,500,0008

Target Member/Volunteer Level: Not Applicable

Key Milestones

• FY 2021 awards: December 2020 – 1

st Round

• After FY 2021 Budget is approved – 2

nd Round

Funding Priorities

As required by the National and Community Service Act, funding will be awarded on a 

formula basis to support State Service Commissions as they implement service as a strategy 

to address local problems, such as: leading disaster response and readiness efforts; 

addressing high school dropout rates; increasing mentoring efforts; providing training and 

technical assistance; supporting persons with disabilities; and establishing volunteer centers, 

online matching platforms, and other systems to effectively engage citizens in service. Funds 

will also be used in their outreach to prospective AmeriCorps grantees, administration of 

grant competitions, and oversight and monitoring of grants and programs.

In addition, Commission Administrative Grants and Commission Investment Funds will be 

used to cultivate high-performing organizations by strengthening their training and technical 

assistance, accountability, and grant oversight activities.

Performance Measures

Each State Service Commission is required to report on standard performance measures.

8 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking assume funding levels consistent with the 

FY 2020 appropriation. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment of the final FY 

2021 appropriation. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the 

amount of funding ultimately available for grants or carry over authority for FY 2020 funds.