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Title: VISTA Annual Guidance 

Date issued: 09/01/2023

Date posted: 09/01/2023

Unique identifier: VISTA 001

Topic: VISTA Annual Program Guidance

Summary: This guidance for potential and existing project sponsors directs the development of new projects and outlines national 

programming priorities for FY 2024. The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to 

bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under 

the law or agency policies.

AMERICORPS VISTA 

ANNUAL PROGRAM GUIDANCE 

FOR CURRENT AND POTENTIAL

PROJECT SPONSORS

Fiscal Year 2024

October 1, 2023–September 30, 2024
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................................................ 2

I. I N T R O D U C T I O N ............................................................................................................................................... 2

II. IMPORTANT DATES ............................................................................................................................................... 3

III. OVERVIEW OF AMERICORPS VISTA ................................................................................................................ 3

IV. FRAMEWORK FOR VISTA PROGRAMMING ................................................................................................... 5

V. PROGRAMMING PRIORITIES FOR FY 2024..................................................................................................... 6

VI. PRIORITY POPULATIONS AND REGIONS FOR FY 2024 ..................................................................................... 9

VI. ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS ................................................................................................. 10

VII. MEMBER RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING.................................................................................................... 11

VIII. VISTA CONCEPT PAPER AND APPLICATION PROCESS ......................................................................... 12

XI. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ..................................................................................................................................... 14

I. I N T RO D U C T I O N

This AmeriCorps VISTA Program Guidance for current and potential project sponsors directs the development 

of new projects and outlines national programming priorities for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. We anticipate awarding 

approximately 100 new and 500 continuation applications to support placement of an estimated 5,000 fulltime members, leaders, and summer associates.

Prospective sponsors should read the guidance in its entirety. Current sponsors should review this guidance 

to stay informed of VISTA’s programming priorities. Existing projects are not expected to shift priorities to 

address changes in this guidance.

Current and potential sponsors should review the AmeriCorps VISTA Concept Paper Instructions and the 

AmeriCorps VISTA Project Application Instructions for additional details. 

Disclosure: Publication of this document does not obligate AmeriCorps to award any specific number of 

resources or to commit any particular amount of funding. The actual level, timing, and process of awarding 

resources will be subject to the availability of appropriations.
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II. IMPORTANT DATES

To apply for AmeriCorps VISTA resources, prospective sponsors complete a two-step process. The first step is the 

submission of a Concept Paper. AmeriCorps VISTA will accept Concept Papers formally three times for FY 2024. 

Below are the cycle due dates for Concept Papers:

Task Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Cycle 3

Concept Papers 

Due Date

November 16, 2023 February 15, 2024 March 28, 2024

Concept Paper 

Decisions Target 

Date

December 2023 March 2024 April 2024

Application 

Award Target 

Date

March 2024 June 2024 July 2024

For current sponsors, annual continuation applications are due prior to the expiration of the current Memorandum 

of Agreement between your organization and AmeriCorps. Regional Office staff send continuation notices 

approximately 120 days prior to the end date on the current Memorandum of Agreement. 

III. OVERVIEW OF AMERICORPS VISTA

AmeriCorps is the federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic 

engagement through service and volunteering. AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle the country’s 

most pressing challenges through national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps members and 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities 

and those serving. AmeriCorps helps make service a cornerstone of our national culture. 

Founded in 1965, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) is a federal anti-poverty national service 

program designed to provide resources to nonprofit organizations and public agencies to strengthen 

efforts to address poverty and poverty-related problems in the United States. In 1993, VISTA was 

incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of national service programs, administered by the Corporation 

for National and Community Service, now known as AmeriCorps.

AmeriCorps VISTA supports efforts to address poverty by providing opportunities for Americans, 18 years of 

age and older, from a diverse range of backgrounds, to dedicate a year of full-time service with a sponsoring 

organization (“sponsor”) on a project that will create, strengthen, or expand initiatives designed to empower 

individuals and communities in overcoming poverty.

AmeriCorps VISTA Projects

An AmeriCorps VISTA project refers to a set of activities, as set forth in a project application, for which a 

federal award of VISTA resources is made. An AmeriCorps VISTA project is operated and overseen by, and 

the responsibility of, a sponsor. The duration of projects varies, but typically lasts for three to five years. 

Project activities are carried out by AmeriCorps VISTA members placed at project sites.
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AmeriCorps VISTA Sponsors

An AmeriCorps VISTA Sponsor is a nonprofit organization, government agency, or Native- led organization 

that applies for and receives an award to place AmeriCorps VISTA members, and in some cases, receives

AmeriCorps VISTA grant funds. Sponsors design, operate, and direct the project, recruit, and supervise 

AmeriCorps VISTA members, and provide the necessary administrative support to achieve the goals of the 

project. Sponsors develop and implement projects with meaningful involvement of project beneficiaries.

The following entities are eligible to be an AmeriCorps VISTA sponsor:

• Nonprofit organizations

• Native Nations and Native-led organizations

• Public and/or nonprofit schools

• State and local government agencies

Sponsorship is not limited to nonprofit organizations designated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

specifically as 501(c)(3). Nonprofits with other IRS-designated 501(c) statuses that focus on anti-poverty 

outcomes are also eligible. An entity is prohibited from being a VISTA sponsor or from otherwise receiving 

VISTA assistance if a principal purpose or activity of the entity includes electoral activities, voter registration, 

or transportation to polls.

Organizations interested in becoming a sponsor should begin by visiting AmeriCorps.gov for additional 

information. Interested organizations can also learn more by participating in a scheduled webinar or 

listening to a recorded webinar. AmeriCorps Region Office staff are available to answer questions, discuss 

project proposals, and to provide technical assistance throughout the application process.

Prospective sponsors apply by submitting a concept paper and application through the AmeriCorps webbased eGrants system under the FY 2024 AmeriCorps VISTA New Projects Notice of Funding 

Opportunity (NOFO). Additional details are available on the AmeriCorps Funding Opportunities webpage.

Current sponsors submit continuation applications through the AmeriCorps web-based eGrants system 

under the FY 2024 AmeriCorps State Continuations Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). 

AmeriCorps VISTA Members

AmeriCorps VISTA members, including VISTA leaders, vary in age and hail from a range of diverse 

backgrounds and experiences. AmeriCorps VISTA sponsors are responsible for recruiting and selecting 

candidates to serve as members with their project. AmeriCorps staff maintain final approval for all sponsor 

selected candidates.

Each member commits to one year of full-time service on a specific project operated by a sponsor. A 

member’s service should focus on creating, strengthening, or expanding an organization’s specific antipoverty initiative and building local capacity to ensure sustainability once AmeriCorps VISTA resources 

are withdrawn.

Project sponsors may be eligible to apply for summer associate resources to complement their year-round 

programming. The AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate Program allows individuals to serve with an 

existing AmeriCorps VISTA project for 8, 9, or 10 weeks during the summer months. Summer associates may 
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perform both direct service and capacity building activities. The FY24 Summer Associate program is subject 

to resource availability. Project sponsors are encouraged to reach out to their local AmeriCorps Region 

Office to inquire whether resources are available at the time of your application submission. 

All members receive a modest living allowance and other benefits during their service. After successfully 

completing a term of service, members, leaders, and summer associates may receive either a Segal 

AmeriCorps Education Award, which can be used to pay for college or student loans, or an end-of- service 

cash stipend. Individuals interested in serving with AmeriCorps VISTA should visit https://americorps.gov/join.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, AmeriCorps VISTA plans to support approximately 5,000 full-time AmeriCorps VISTA 

members and summer associates who will serve with approximately 600 sponsors. They will leverage people, 

financial, and material resources to develop sustainable solutions to challenges in low-income communities 

across the country.

IV. FRAMEWORK FOR VISTA PROGRAMMING

Core Principles

Projects must be developed in accordance with AmeriCorps VISTA’s core principles: an anti-poverty focus; 

community empowerment; sustainable solutions; and capacity building.

Anti-Poverty Focus

The statutory purpose of AmeriCorps VISTA is to strengthen and support efforts to alleviate poverty and 

poverty-related problems in the United States.

The organizations supported with AmeriCorps VISTA resources address poverty in many ways. Some projects 

address social determinants of health and well-being (e.g., improving education, neighborhood resilience, 

access to health care, and healthy food); other approaches are targeted directly at increasing a household’s 

income and assets (housing, connection to benefits like cash and in-kind transfers, financial savings, and asset 

development); and still other approaches attempt to address larger regional systemic barriers to community 

development.

All AmeriCorps VISTA service activities must be designed to support one or more specific anti-poverty 

projects at a site. Applications must clearly define the anti-poverty initiative being created or enhanced as 

opposed to focusing solely on capacity building for the organization. The anti-poverty initiative described in 

the Application Narrative must carry through to the Performance Measures and to the VISTA Assignment 

Description(s), created by approved sponsors as part of the recruitment process.

Community Empowerment

Community empowerment aims to increase the influence and control a community has over their lives as well 

as programs and structures that impact their lives. Prospective and current AmeriCorps VISTA project 

sponsors must engage people of the communities affected by the project in planning, developing, 

implementing, and evaluating the project. Each project must be responsive and relevant to the lives of 

community residents and must tap into inherent community assets, strengths, and resources. To foster 

community empowerment, projects may choose to form an advisory council that engages community 

members while strengthening relationships.
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Sustainable Solutions

AmeriCorps VISTA members serve as short-term resources to build the long-term sustainability of antipoverty efforts. AmeriCorps VISTA projects make a lasting difference through the commitment, energy, and 

initiative that members bring to the community; involvement of the sponsoring agency in supervising the 

project, supporting the members, and assessing the progress of the project toward meeting its goals; 

participation of the project beneficiaries in all phases of project development and implementation; and the 

continued involvement of community members by providing needed resources such as volunteers, material 

and financial resources, and expertise. Sponsors must develop projects with a goal to phase out the need for 

AmeriCorps VISTA members and have the project continue without AmeriCorps VISTA resources.

Capacity Building

AmeriCorps VISTA members create systems that remain long after their term of service ends. AmeriCorps 

VISTA projects expand the scale, impact, and resource-leveraging ability of specific anti-poverty initiatives. 

AmeriCorps VISTA members strengthen sponsors’ efforts by expanding community partnerships, securing 

cash and in-kind resources, recruiting, and managing volunteers, and addressing specific local needs, with all 

activities focused on creating pathways out of poverty for individuals and communities. AmeriCorps VISTA 

members focus on building the capacity of specific anti-poverty interventions, not on general capacity 

building for the sponsor or its sites.

While AmeriCorps VISTA members focus on capacity-building activities, they may, on occasion, perform limited 

direct service activities when deemed necessary to complete their overall capacity-building assignment. 

AmeriCorps VISTA members are not staff members or employees of the sponsoring organizations to which 

they are assigned. VISTAs may not engage in activities at sponsoring organizations that would displace or 

supplant paid staff, contractors, or existing volunteers. These prohibitions against displacement and 

supplantation include activities related to the application and management of other AmeriCorps grants and 

programs.

Key Legislation and Regulations

The AmeriCorps VISTA program’s governing legislation and applicable regulations are as follows:

• Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (as amended)

• National and Community Service Act of 1990 (as amended)

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 45, Chapter 25 Part 2556.

V. PROGRAMMING PRIORITIES FOR FY 2024

The AmeriCorps 2022-2026 Strategic Plan defines the agency’s goals, objectives, and strategies, to both 

meet and exceed the agency’s mission to improve lives and strengthen communities. AmeriCorps 

supports the following goals to better position the agency to respond to national and local needs and 

help the communities it serves prosper: partner with communities to alleviate poverty and advance racial 
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equity; enhance the experience for AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers; unite 

Americans by bringing them together in service; effectively steward federal resources; and make 

AmeriCorps one of the best and most equitable places to work in the federal government. 

AmeriCorps is investing in existing and new partnerships with non-profit, faith-based, and Native-led

organizations, and state service commissions, to get things done for America. We are prioritizing

investment in the most critical issues of our time — public health, climate and the environment, education,

and economic opportunity — and we are increasing our efforts to ensure our AmeriCorps members and 

AmeriCorps Senior volunteers reflect the communities where they serve. We are targeting our 

investments toward communities where the need is greatest, particularly those with populations that face 

racial inequality and poverty. These steps will enable more Americans than ever to strengthen the 

communities that need it most across the nation through their service.

AmeriCorps VISTA is seeking project applications for programming in any of the following five

AmeriCorps Focus Areas in FY 2024:

• Economic Opportunity

• Healthy Futures

• Education

• Veterans and Military Families

• Environmental Stewardship

Priority consideration will be given to project applications that fall under the specific programming areas 

below. Additionally, AmeriCorps VISTA will focus on awarding projects that advance racial equity and that 

invest in underserved communities, particularly those impacted by the long-term recovery from the 

pandemic. These priorities are established annually based on Administration guidance, input received from 

AmeriCorps staff, sector research, and a review of the existing portfolio of AmeriCorps VISTA projects 

nationwide.

Economic Opportunity

AmeriCorps VISTA’s commitment to addressing poverty includes focusing on projects that create or 

strengthen opportunities for low-income individuals to develop workforce knowledge and skills that will 

meet the needs of employers. In addition, projects that focus on housing are strongly encouraged to apply.

Priority areas include:

Housing: Transitioning individuals into or helping them remain in safe, affordable housing, with a special 

focus on veterans. AmeriCorps VISTA also strongly encourages organizations focused on eviction

prevention to apply.

• Employment/workforce development: Improving or creating job skills training programs that lead 

to increased employment.

• Federal Benefit access: Increasing awareness of and access to federal benefit programs such as the 

Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit (CTC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 

(SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and others.
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Healthy Futures

The AmeriCorps VISTA program will give priority to projects that meet health needs for economically 

disadvantaged individuals.

Priority areas include:

• Access to health care: Connecting economically disadvantaged individuals to preventative 

education and treatment/recovery services, to include mental health services.

• Food security: Alleviating hunger and increasing access to nutritious food. Potential partners may 

include, but are not limited to, individual food banks and pantries, networks of food banks, K-12 

schools, community gardens, and after-school programs.

Education

The AmeriCorps VISTA program will support projects that enhance access to services and resources that 

contribute to improved educational outcomes for economically disadvantaged children. AmeriCorps VISTA 

will target new project development in communities with large concentrations of low-income students (e.g., 

Title I schools).

Priority areas include:

• School readiness and learning loss for economically disadvantaged children.

• K-12 success in student educational and behavioral outcomes in low-achievingschools.

• Post secondary support for career and college:

• Career and Technical Education (CTE) to help students gain the skills they need to 

competefor employment.

• College access and success for economically disadvantaged students.

• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs as pathways for economicallydisadvantaged students.

Veterans and Military Families

AmeriCorps VISTA will support projects that focus on Veterans and military families experiencing poverty as 

beneficiaries.

Priority areas include:

• Economic opportunity: Employment and homelessness prevention/reduction.

• Education: School readiness, success in K-12 education, and post-secondary career and 

college success.

• Healthy futures: Access to health services, including substance abuse prevention and recovery and 

mental health services.
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Environmental Stewardship

The AmeriCorps VISTA program will support anti-poverty initiatives that focus on environmental 

stewardship and climate change in low-income communities.

Priority areas include:

• Energy Efficiency: Connecting underserved populations to renewable energy and energy efficient

practices.

• Awareness & Stewardship: Building community resilience.

FY 2024 Summer Associate Programming

The FY24 Summer Associate program is subject to resource availability. Only current sponsors are eligible to 

participate in the Summer Associate program, pending the availability of resources. To be considered a 

current sponsor and eligible to host a Summer Associate project in the summer of 2024 (May – August), 

organizations must have a Memorandum of Agreement in place by March 31, 2024. 

The Summer Associate program is an opportunity to enhance an existing sponsor’s approved project and

should advance the sponsoring organization’s overall project. The Summer Associate project design may 

incorporate both direct service and capacity building activities for 8, 9, or 10 weeks of service during the 

summer months. 

AmeriCorps VISTA encourages current project sponsors that are interested in Summer Associate

programming to plan for and include such requests in their continuation applications or through an 

application amendment.

VI. PRIORITY POPULATIONS AND REGIONS FOR FY 2024

Within the focus areas described in Section V, AmeriCorps VISTA encourages new project development in 

the following specific populations and geographic areas. Projects focused on serving these populations and 

communities will be given the highest consideration for investments of AmeriCorps VISTA resources.

Areas of Deep Poverty

Priority will be given to projects that serve individuals experiencing deep poverty and communities with a 

high number of households experiencing deep poverty. Deep poverty is defined as having a household 

income below 50% of the federal poverty line.

Priority consideration will be given to projects that propose serving beneficiaries experiencing deep poverty 

in Puerto Rico or states in AmeriCorps Midwest, Southeast South Central, or West Regions.

Rural Communities

More than 35% of individuals in rural counties live in high-poverty areas, and 85% of persistent poverty 

counties are in rural America. AmeriCorps VISTA will prioritize projects that create economic opportunity and 

ensure access to health care in rural communities.
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Native Nations and Tribal Communities

Programming in Native Nations and Tribal Communities remains a priority for AmeriCorps VISTA. 

AmeriCorps VISTA has served as a partner to Native Nations and Tribal Communities since our inception. We 

honor Native Nations sovereignty and self-determination, and their ability to implement programming that 

best fits the needs and priorities of their individual communities and people.

Potential AmeriCorps VISTA sponsors can be Native nations, Native and Tribal-led nonprofit organizations, 

or nonprofit organizations that are proposing projects specifically targeting native nation and tribal 

communities. Outreach to Tribal Colleges and Universities is encouraged. Potential nonprofit sponsors 

should ensure that their proposed project has the support of the local native nation or tribal government 

and/or native or tribal community.

VI. ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS

In choosing which project applications to support, AmeriCorps evaluates prospective and current AmeriCorps 

VISTA sponsors on their ability to manage and effectively apply AmeriCorps VISTA resources. An AmeriCorps 

VISTA project application should:

• Explain how community members will be involved in project development andimplementation.

• Address the relevant needs of low-income communities and otherwise comply with the provisions of 

the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4950et seq.), and all 

applicable regulations, guidelines, and policies.

• Describe how the project intends to build program, organizational, network, and/or community 

capacity so that some systems, processes, and project activities continue beyond the AmeriCorps 

VISTA term of the project.

• Describe the intended outcomes of the project with the targeted population and community.

• Clearly state how AmeriCorps VISTA members will be trained, supervised, and supported to 

ensure project success and to comply with the DVSA, AmeriCorps VISTA regulations, and 

AmeriCorps VISTA program policies.

• Illustrate the relationship between key project elements throughout the application, including a 

statement demonstrating the need and intended outcomes, performance measures, and AmeriCorps 

VISTA member assignment description(s).

• Ensure that AmeriCorps VISTA and community resources are sufficient to achieve project goals.

• Explain how the applicant possesses sufficient management and technical capability to 

implement and oversee the project.

• Request an appropriate number of AmeriCorps VISTA members to achieve the project mission and 

recommend for selection AmeriCorps VISTA members with the requisite skills and qualifications to 

meet established goals and objectives.

• Clearly outline how the AmeriCorps VISTA project will establish a recruitment schedule and 

onboarding process.

Current sponsors will also be evaluated on their member recruitment, placement, and retention rates, as well 

as timeliness in complying with reporting deadlines for Progress Reports, Sponsor Verification Forms, and 
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Federal Financial Reports, as applicable. Additional factors will be cost share repayment status, if applicable, 

and demonstrated achievement of project goals leading towards sustainability.

AmeriCorps VISTA resource recipients will be assigned to an AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager, who will be 

responsible for assessing recipients’ performance, providing technical assistance, and serving as the agency 

primary point of contact. 

Performance Measures

All AmeriCorps VISTA project applications must identify project’s goals, activities, and performance measures, 

along with the instruments and methods they plan to use to collect data related to performance measures. 

The performance measures must establish capacity building and anti-poverty outputs and outcomes which align 

with the AmeriCorps VISTA National Performance Measures. 

To support the submission of quality data, all AmeriCorps VISTA projects should create data collection processes 

that satisfy the data collection protocols for any AmeriCorps National Performance Measures that were selected. 

The performance measure instructions identify typical interventions as well as the protocol for data collection 

(instruments and methods) to report progress toward the selected objectives.

Key definitions and data collection protocols for each AmeriCorps National Performance Measure are available 

in the AmeriCorps VISTA Performance Measures Instructions.

VII. MEMBER RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

Once an organization’s project application is approved, the sponsor’s designated project director will 

complete the AmeriCorps VISTA Sponsor Orientation learning path on the VISTA Campus. Next, AmeriCorps 

staff will discuss recruitment timing with the designated project director. It is critical that project sponsors be 

able and ready to recruit AmeriCorps VISTA members to set up a successful AmeriCorps VISTA project.

All new AmeriCorps VISTA member candidates must complete VISTA Member Orientation at the start of 

service. VISTA sponsoring organizations must design and deliver On-Site Orientation and Training for new 

members and must have a plan to supervise and support members throughout their terms of service. By 

working together to provide this type of orientation, training, and support, AmeriCorps VISTA and sponsoring 

organizations help members have effective and high-quality service experiences.

Current project directors are encouraged to participate in ongoing training opportunities provided ondemand, virtually and in-person by AmeriCorps VISTA. 

For additional assistance, please contact your AmeriCorps Region Office or visit the AmeriCorps VISTA website.
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VIII. VISTA CONCEPT PAPER AND APPLICATION PROCESS

For organizations that wish to develop an AmeriCorps VISTA project, AmeriCorps conducts a Request for 

Concept Papers process, and organizations complete a two-step process to apply for AmeriCorps VISTA 

resources:

Step 1: AmeriCorps VISTA Concept Paper

Organizations submit an AmeriCorps VISTA concept paper via eGrants. New organizations are 

encouraged to reference the eGrants User Guide for additional information on how to set-up an account. 

The concept paper is a preliminary screening tool that AmeriCorps uses to evaluate whether the 

organization would be an appropriate AmeriCorps VISTA sponsor and if the proposed project meets core 

criteria.

Step 2: AmeriCorps VISTA Project Application

If the concept paper is accepted, the organization is invited to submit a full AmeriCorps VISTA 

Project Application, which includes additional narratives and performance measures.

Learn more about the concept paper process here. For additional information, please contact your 

AmeriCorps Region Office.

Current AmeriCorps VISTA project Sponsors must submit continuation applications when notified by their 

AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager to ensure the Memorandum of Agreement does not lapse. Continuation 

applications should not only discuss the previous year’s accomplishments but should also address and 

incorporate any necessary program model changes to achieve sustainability.

Other Information

Organization Requirements: UEI and SAM

All applicants and sponsors must have a Unique Entity ID (UEI) number to receive federal resources from 

AmeriCorps VISTA. The UEI is assigned automatically to entities when they register on SAM.gov. Submitting 

a registration and getting a Unique Entity ID is free. 

All applicants and sponsors must register with the System for Award Management (SAM) and maintain an 

active SAM.gov registration until the application process is complete. If an applicant is awarded VISTA 

resources, it must maintain an active SAM.gov registration throughout the life of the award. See the SAM 

Quick Guide for Grantees.

SAM.gov registration must be renewed annually. AmeriCorps suggests that applicants finalize a new 

registration or renew an existing one at least three weeks before the application deadline, to allow time to 

resolve any issues that may arise. Applicants must use their SAM.gov registered legal name and physical 

address on all grant applications to AmeriCorps. The legal applicant’s name and physical address in eGrants 

must match exactly the applicant’s SAM-registered information.

Modernization

Updates may occur to the eGrants system in FY 2024 as part of the AmeriCorps modernization process. At the 

date this document was posted, AmeriCorps was utilizing the eGrants system to accept concept papers and 

applications. Updates or changes to the process will be communicated widely and posted on the 

americorps.gov website as they become available. 
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Guidance and Instructions

This document should be read together with the AmeriCorps VISTA Concept Paper Instructions, AmeriCorps 

VISTA Project Application Instructions, AmeriCorps VISTA Budget Instructions, and AmeriCorps VISTA 

Regulations (Title 45, Chapter 25 Part 2556). These documents are available online at 

www.americorps.gov/vistarfcp.

Pre-Award Risk Assessment

AmeriCorps staff will assess the risks to the program posed by each applicant to determine an applicant’s ability 

to manage federal resources. This evaluation is in addition to those about the applicant’s eligibility and the 

quality of its application based on the application assessment criteria. Results from this assessment will inform 

funding decisions. If AmeriCorps VISTA determines that an award will be made to an applicant with assessed 

risks, special conditions that correspond to the degree of assessed risk may be applied to the award. 

Additionally, if AmeriCorps VISTA concludes that the reasons for applicants having poor risk assessment are not 

likely to be mitigated, those applications may not be selected.

In assessing risks, AmeriCorps VISTA may consider the following: 

Due Diligence: 

• Federal debt delinquency 

• Suspension and debarment 

• Information available through Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-designated repositories of 

government-wide eligibility qualification or financial integrity information, such as: 

o Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) 

o U.S. Treasury Bureau of Fiscal Services o System for Award Management (SAM) 

o “Do Not Pay” 

• Reports and findings from single audits performed under Uniform Administrative Guidance and findings 

of any other available audits or investigations 

• IRS Tax Form 990 

• Oversight.gov 

• Public Litigation Records

Operational and Financial Management:

• Financial stability 

• Operational and Financial Management Survey (OFMS) 

Past Performance, including:

Applicant’s record in managing previous AmeriCorps resources (if applicable), cooperative agreements, or 

procurement awards, including: 

• Timeliness of compliance with applicable reporting requirements 

• Accuracy of data reported

• Validity of performance measure data reported 

• Conformance to the terms and conditions of previous federal resource awards 

• Applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed 

on award recipients 

• Timely closeout of other awards 

• Meeting matching requirements 

• The extent to which any previously awarded amounts will be expended prior to future awards 

• National Service Criminal History Check (NSCHC) compliance. 

Other Programmatic Risks:

• Publicly available information, including information from the applicant organization's website 

• Amount of funding requested by the organization
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Technical Assistance

AmeriCorps will host Request for Concept Paper Webinars to answer questions about the resource 

opportunity and eGrants. AmeriCorps strongly encourages applicants to participate in these sessions. The 

schedule and call-in information for the webinars is on the AmeriCorps website: 

www.americorps.gov/vistarfcp. 

Please note that local AmeriCorps Region Offices may conduct additional webinars. To email staff handling 

programming in your state, email the two-letter state abbreviation followed by @cns.gov (e.g., MD@cns.gov or 

CA@cns.gov). 

For technical questions and problems with the eGrants system, call the AmeriCorps Hotline at (800) 942-2677. 

Potential applicants can also use this link: eGrants Questions. Be prepared to provide the application ID, 

organization’s name, and the name of the Notice to which the organization is applying. 

For resources regarding performance measurement, visit the AmeriCorps National Performance 

Measurement Core Curriculum.

AmeriCorps Terms and Conditions

All awards made under this Notice will be subject to the FY 2024 AmeriCorps General Terms and Conditions, 

and the FY 2024 Program-Specific Terms and Conditions for the particular program (when applicable). These 

Terms and Conditions contain detailed, mandatory compliance and reporting requirements. Current versions of 

the AmeriCorps General and Program-Specific Terms and Conditions for each of its programs is available at 

Manage your grant | AmeriCorps.

XI. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• General Information about AmeriCorps VISTA

• Sponsoring a VISTA Project

• VISTA Project Sponsor Resource Page

• VISTA Campus (online training center for existing sponsors only, login required)