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2023 Terms and Conditions for Volunteer Generation Fund Grants

Effective 4/26/2023

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

National and Community Service) Grant Program Specific Terms and Conditions 

and the General Terms and Conditions are binding on the recipient.

Table of Contents

I. CHANGES FROM THE 2022 VOLUNTEER GENERATION FUND TERMS AND 

CONDITIONS .............................................................................................................. 1

II. DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................... 2

III. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................ 2

IV. BUDGET AND PROGRAMMATIC CHANGES .......................................................... 3

V. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................... 5

VI. AWARD PERIOD AND INCREMENTAL FUNDING.................................................. 6

VII. PROGRAM INCOME ................................................................................................... 7

VIII. NATIONAL SERVICE CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK TRAINING .............................. 7

IX. KEY CONCEPTS OF FINANCIAL GRANTS MANAGEMENT TRAINING............... 8

I. CHANGES FROM THE 2022 VOLUNTEER GENERATION FUND TERMS AND 

CONDITIONS 

We have identified additional changes from the initial 2023 Volunteer Generation

Fund Grant terms and conditions. We reiterate the importance of reviewing all 

award terms and conditions, because recipients are responsible for knowing, 

understanding, and complying with all award terms and conditions.

The following revisions were made to the Revised 2023 Volunteer Generation Fund 

Grant Terms and Conditions: 

- Section III: Added this section

- Section V.C.: Corrected the Non-ARP Reporting Period for the April 30 FFR 

Report

- Section V.D.: Added this section 

The following revisions were made to the initial 2023 Volunteer Generation Fund 

Grant Terms and Conditions: 

- Section IV: Removed the HHS/PMS reporting requirement

The changes listed below were the original changes noted as changes to the 2022 

Volunteer Generation Fund Grant Terms and Conditions:
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- Section IV.A. and C.: Added specific reporting period dates for the annual 

progress report and the financial reports for American Rescue Plan (ARP) and 

non-ARP Volunteer Generation Fund grants.

- Section IV.C: Changed the due date for the October financial report to align to 

the Uniform Guidance 

- Section V: Changed to a three-year project period

- Section VIII: Added annual Key Concepts of Financial Grants Management 

eCourse

II. DEFINITIONS

A. Recipient, for the purposes of this agreement, means the direct recipient of 

this award. The recipient is legally accountable to AmeriCorps for the use of 

award funds and is bound by the provisions of the award. The recipient is 

responsible for ensuring that subrecipients or other organizations carrying out 

activities under this award comply with all applicable Federal requirements, 

including the AmeriCorps General Terms and Conditions, these specific terms 

and conditions, regulations applicable to the program, and the NCSA. 

B. Subrecipient refers to an organization receiving AmeriCorps grant funds from 

a recipient of AmeriCorps funds. See 2 CFR § 200.93. 

C. Program refers to the activities supported under the award.

D. NCSA means the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended. 

See 42 U.S.C. §§ 12501-12657.

III. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

While charging time to the AmeriCorps program or otherwise performing activities 

supported by the AmeriCorps program or AmeriCorps, staff may not engage in the 

following activities (see 45 CFR § 2520.65):

1. Attempting to influence legislation;

2. Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes;

3. Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing;

4. Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining 

agreements;

5. Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to 

influence the outcome of an election to any public office;
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6. Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include 

advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political 

candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials;

7. Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing 

instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction 

or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction 

or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious 

instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization;

8. Providing a direct benefit to—

a. A business organized for profit;

b. A labor union;

c. A partisan political organization;

d. A nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions 

contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 related 

to engaging in political activities or substantial amount of lobbying except 

that nothing in these provisions shall be construed to prevent participants 

from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and

e. An organization engaged in the religious activities described in 

paragraph 7. above, unless AmeriCorps assistance is not used to support 

those religious activities;

9. Conducting a voter registration drive or using AmeriCorps funds to conduct 

a voter registration drive;

10. Providing abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services; and

11. Such other activities as AmeriCorps may prohibit.

IV. BUDGET AND PROGRAMMATIC CHANGES

A. Programmatic Changes. The recipient must first obtain the prior written 

approval of the AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager before making any of the 

following changes (1-3): 

1. Changes in the scope, objectives or goals of the program, whether or 

not they involve budgetary changes; 
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2. Entering into subawards or contracts for activities funded by the award, 

but not identified or included in the approved application and award 

budget; 

3. Upon notification to the AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager, recipients may 

make programmatic changes due to, or in response to, an officially 

declared state or national disaster without written approval from 

AmeriCorps. As soon as practicable, recipients making disaster-related 

programmatic changes must discuss the performance measure 

adjustments and other AmeriCorps grant requirements with the 

AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager. While written approval from 

AmeriCorps not required before making disaster-related programmatic 

changes, AmeriCorps reserves the right to limit or deny disaster-related 

programmatic changes, including disallowing costs associated with the 

disaster related activities. 

B. Budgetary Changes. The recipient must obtain the prior written approval of 

AmeriCorps’ Portfolio Manager before deviating from the approved budget in 

any of the following ways: 

1. Specific Costs Requiring Prior Approval before Incurrence under the 

uniform administrative requirement, cost principles, and audit 

requirements for Federal grants at 2 CFR § 200.407. Certain cost items 

in 2 CFR § 200.407 require prior written approval of the awarding 

agency for the cost to be allowable such as pre-award costs. Please 

ensure you consult the regulations prior to incurring costs to ensure 

allowability. 

2. Purchases of Equipment over $5,000 using grant funds, unless specified

in the approved application and budget. 

3. Unless the AmeriCorps share of the grant is $100,000 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. The total budget includes both the 

AmeriCorps and recipient shares. 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. 

C. Approval of Programmatic and Budget 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 
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Administration (OGA) has been received via a Notice of Grant Award. 

Programmatic changes also require final approval of AmeriCorps’ OGA after 

written recommendation for approval is received from the Portfolio Manager. 

V. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The recipient is responsible for timely submission of periodic progress and 

financial reports during the project period and a final progress and financial 

report at the end of the period. The recipient is responsible for setting 

submission deadlines for its respective subrecipients to ensure the timely 

submission of recipient reports. 

A. Annual Progress Reports. The recipient shall complete and submit one 

annual progress report in eGrants to report on progress toward achievement 

of its approved performance targets. 

ARP Due Date ARP Reporting Period Covered

June 30 Start of the award through March 31 

Non-ARP Due Date Non-ARP Reporting Period Covered

December 30 Start of the award through September 30

 

B. Final Progress Reports. A recipient must submit, in lieu of the last annual 

progress report, a final project report. This final progress report is due 120 

days after the end of the project period.

C. Federal Financial Reports (FFRs). The recipient shall complete and submit 

financial reports in eGrants to report the status of all funds. The recipient must 

submit timely cumulative financial reports in accordance with AmeriCorps 

guidelines according to the following schedule:

ARP Due Date ARP Reporting Period Covered

October 30 Start of the award through September 30

April 30 October 1-March 31
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Non-ARP Due Date Non-ARP Reporting Period Covered

April 30 Start of the award through March 31 

October 30 April 1–September 30

A recipient must set submission deadlines for its respective subrecipients that 

ensure the timely submission of recipient reports. 

D. Reporting Other Federal Funds. The recipient shall report the amount and 

sources of federal funds, other than those provided by AmeriCorps, claimed as 

matching funds. This includes other federal funds expended by subrecipients 

and operating sites and claimed as match. This information shall be reported 

annually on the financial report due October 30 or at the time the final financial 

report is submitted if the final report is due prior to October 30. Fixed Amount 

recipients are not required to report this information. 

 

E. Final Financial Report. A recipient completing the final year of its award must 

submit, in lieu of the last financial report, a final financial report in eGrants. The 

final financial report is due no later than 120 days after the end of the project 

period. 

F. Requests for Extensions. Each recipient must submit required reports by the 

given dates. Extensions of reporting deadlines will be granted only when: 1) 

the report cannot be furnished in a timely manner for reasons, in the 

determination of AmeriCorps, which are legitimately beyond the control of the 

recipient, and 2) AmeriCorps receives a written request explaining the need for 

an extension before the due date of the report. 

Extensions of deadlines for reports may only be granted by the AmeriCorps 

Portfolio Manager, as appropriate. 

VI. AWARD PERIOD AND INCREMENTAL FUNDING 

For the purpose of this award, a project period is the complete length of time 

the recipient is proposed to be funded to complete approved activities under 

the award. A project period may contain one or more budget periods. A 

budget period is a specific interval of time for which Federal funds are 

provided to fund a recipient’s approved activities and budget. 

Unless otherwise specified, the award 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 
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satisfactory performance, a recipient’s demonstrated capacity to manage an 

award and comply with award requirements, and the availability of 

Congressional appropriations. AmeriCorps reserves the right to adjust the 

amount of an award or elect not to continue funding for subsequent years. The 

project period and the budget period are noted on the award document.

VII. PROGRAM INCOME

A. General. Income, including fees for service earned as a direct result of the 

award- funded program activities during the award period, must be retained 

by the recipient and used to finance the grant’s non-AmeriCorps share. 

B. Excess Program Income. Program income earned in excess of the amount 

needed to finance the recipient share must follow the appropriate 

requirements of 2 CFR § 200.307(e)(1) and be deducted from total claimed 

costs. Recipients that earn excess income must specify the amount of the 

excess on the financial report. 

C. Fees for service. When using assistance under this grant, the recipient may 

not enter into a contract for or accept fees for service performed under the 

award when: 

1. The service benefits a for-profit entity; 

2. The service falls within the other prohibited activities set forth in statute, 

regulation, or these grant terms and conditions, or 

3. The service violates the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 12637 – 

Nonduplication and Nondisplacement.

VIII. NATIONAL SERVICE CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK TRAINING 

All recipients and subrecipients must complete and retain a certificate of 

completion of the AmeriCorps’ National Service Criminal History Check 

(NSCHC) eCourse training every year to ensure that recipients and 

subrecipients conducting criminal history background checks comply with all 

NSCHC requirements. The AmeriCorps designated eCourse provides a 

thorough overview of the requirements and can be found at: 

https://americorpsonlinecourses.litmos.com/?C=325500. 

Each grant recipient and subrecipient must identify at minimum one staff 

person who has some responsibility for NSCHC compliance to fulfill this 

requirement on behalf of the grant recipient or subrecipient. The grant 

recipient and subrecipient must retain the certificate of completion and assign 

staff to retake the course annually prior to the expiration of the certificate. 
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Grant recipients and subrecipients must save certificates of completion from 

each year as grant records.

IX. KEY CONCEPTS OF FINANCIAL GRANTS MANAGEMENT TRAINING

All recipients and subrecipients 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 and subrecipients. 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 and subrecipient must retain the certificate of 

completion and assign staff to retake the course annually prior to the 

expiration of the certificate. Grant recipients and subrecipients must save 

certificates of completion from each year as grant records.