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AmeriCorps State and National FY 2014 Annual Plan

FY Appropriation: $335,430,000

Target Member Level: 73,168

Key Milestones:

 FY 2014 application deadline – January 22, 2014

 FY 2014 awards – May 2014

 FY 2015 NOFO release – Summer 2014

 Grantee Meeting – August/September 2014

Funding Priorities:

AmeriCorps State and National will seek to fund programs in the following six focus 

areas that use an evidence-based approach to creating community impact and 

solving community problems, as envisioned by the Edward M. Serve America Act. 

 Disaster Services, 

 Education, 

 Environmental Stewardship, 

 Healthy Futures, 

 Opportunity, and 

 Veterans and Military Families 

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act requires CNCS to select at least two of 

five statutorily defined focus areas in making competitive AmeriCorps State and 

National grants. For the 2014 AmeriCorps State and National competition, CNCS 

especially seeks to increase its investment in programs that serve veterans and 

military families or that engage veterans in service, education programs that 

improve academic outcomes for children and youth in the lowest performing 

schools, disaster services, economic opportunities for community and AmeriCorps 

members, and Governor and Mayor Initiatives to address a pressing challenge in a 

particular state. In addition, AmeriCorps State and National will seek opportunities 

to fund projects that support The President’s Task Force on Expanding National 

Service, through partnerships with other federal agencies and private sector 

partners.

National Performance Measures: Programs opting into the Priority Performance 

Measures will receive priority for funding. 

Accountability: AmeriCorps State and National will continue to place a high priority 

on accountability and will devote significant effort and resources to oversight and 

monitoring to assure compliance with all applicable rules and regulations. Special 

efforts will be made to help partners and grantees implement performance 
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measurement and to comply with all administrative and financial reporting 

requirements.

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: For FY 2014, AmeriCorps 

State and National will make available to its grantees all of the agency’s 16 priority 

measures and will continue to allow the use of the Complementary Program 

Measures adopted as part of its performance measure pilot initiative started in FY 

2010. 
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AmeriCorps VISTA FY 2014 Annual Plan 

FY 2014 Appropriation: $92,364,000

Target Member Level: 7,370 

Key Milestones: 

 Program Guidance to CNCS State Offices and Field – Fall 2013

 Release of new AmeriCorps VISTA performance measures module –

Winter 2013

 35 to 40 Pre-Service Orientations at which new members will be trained and 

assigned – November 2013, January, February, April, May, June, July and 

August 2014

Programming Priorities:

AmeriCorps VISTA was created with the purpose of reducing poverty and building 

economic opportunity. AmeriCorps VISTA members build the organizational and 

financial capacity of local programs that help low income Americans gain skills and 

resources they need to break the cycle of poverty.

AmeriCorps VISTA has identified the CNCS Strategic Plan focus areas, objectives, 

and performance measures that best correspond with the AmeriCorps VISTA antipoverty mission. This year, AmeriCorps VISTA will prioritize the expansion of

programming in support of National Guard members and their families and those 

programs that spur student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math 

(STEM) education

Ultimately, CNCS expects to invest no less than 80 percent of AmeriCorps VISTA 

resources toward building the capacity of programs and organizations work in the

following focus areas.

 Economic Opportunity (Housing*, Financial Education, Employment)

 Education (School Readiness*, Academic Engagement and Performance*, 

High School Graduation, and Post-secondary Education).

 Healthy Futures (Food security*, Health Access)

 Veterans and Military Families

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: AmeriCorps VISTA will seek 

projects that demonstrate the effectiveness of their proposed intervention in 

addressing community needs. In addition to measuring project performance in 

organizational and financial capacity building, AmeriCorps VISTA will additionally

measure the value of the member’s national service experience. Project sponsors 

are directed to align programming within the focus areas and priority areas listed 

above. 

*Agency priority measures
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AmeriCorps NCCC FY 2014 Annual Plan 

FY Appropriation: $30,000,000

Target Member Level: 1200

Key Milestones: Campus Start Dates

 Southwest Region and Pacific Region Traditional – October 2013

 Southern Region, North Central Region, and Atlantic Region Traditional –

February 2014

 Southwest Region, Pacific Region, Southern Region and Atlantic Region FEMA 

Corps – February 2014

 Southern and North Central Regions FEMA Corps - July 2014

Funding Priorities: 

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act authorizes the AmeriCorps National 

Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) to operate a national service program and other 

service programs that provide young people with leadership and team-building 

opportunities to meet national and community needs in the areas of: natural and 

other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and 

conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. 

In order to successfully carry out the legislative mandates of the program while 

increasing program effectiveness and efficiency, the AmeriCorps NCCC has outlined 

key objectives and targets it will strive to meet in 2014 and beyond. These 

objectives and targets reference the impact of our service, the opportunities and 

training provided to our members, and overall program operations. 

AmeriCorps NCCC Service Projects and Special Initiatives:

In 2014, AmeriCorps NCCC project outreach and implementation will reflect a 

continued focus on the service areas as outlined in the Serve America Act to include: 

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 expand project 

development into the areas of disaster preparation, mitigation and recovery. 

To allow for the increased engagement of AmeriCorps NCCC teams in the work of 

disaster response and recovery, AmeriCorps NCCC will continue its’ partnership

with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support the goal of an 

additional 1,600 AmeriCorps NCCC members, who will work solely in this service 

area their entire ten months of service. In 2014, Pacific, Southwest, and Atlantic 
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Regions will host their second class of AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA CORPS members 

and the Southern and North Central Regions will host their third class of members. 

AmeriCorps NCCC completed in 2012-2013 a full year survey with our program 

sponsors. This survey assessed the satisfaction of sponsors with the AmeriCorps 

NCCC team abilities to meet the organization and community needs. Overall 

satisfaction was very high with 94 percent of all responding sponsors (294) 

indicating that the AmeriCorps NCCC engagement with their organization met or 

exceeded project objectives. This will serve as the baseline as we move ahead. 

AmeriCorps NCCC Members:

The Serve America Act mandates that AmeriCorps NCCC engage participants from 

economically, geographically, and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Additionally, 

AmeriCorps NCCC was directed to conduct outreach to increase participation of 

disadvantaged youth to a target enrollment of 50 percent by the year 2012. In 2014, 

we anticipate reaching the 40 percent mark accompanied by an aggressive strategy 

for keeping us moving toward the very ambitious goal. Although the AmeriCorps 

NCCC performs a significant amount of service that directly benefits youth from 

disadvantaged circumstances (including mentoring and tutoring) the intent of this 

directive is to engage young Americans from disadvantaged circumstances as 

AmeriCorps NCCC members. In order to meet this goal, AmeriCorps NCCC will 

continue to implement measures as outlined in the AmeriCorps NCCC Annual 

Recruitment plan, including:

 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 and all National Days of Service as 

opportunities to introduce school-aged children to service and 

volunteering;

 Increase use of all social media outlets; and

 Expand the strategic use of the approximately 17,000 AmeriCorps NCCC 

alumni in recruitment efforts to increase the applicant pool for Corps 

Members and Team Leaders and aggressively promote national service.

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: 

AmeriCorps NCCC will contribute to seven of the 16 agency-wide priority 

performance measures. The measures we support align with our statutorily defined 

issue areas of: natural and other disasters, environmental stewardship and 

conservation, energy conservation, infrastructure improvement, and urban and 

rural development.
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Senior Corps: RSVP FY 2014 Annual Plan 

FY Appropriation: $ 48,903,000

Target Volunteer Level: 252,000

Key Milestones:

 FY 2013 continuation grants will be awarded non-competitively during 

quarters 2 and 3. 

 Funds associated with FY 2014 continuation and extension grants: 

$33,083,250

 Funds associated with the FY 2014 competitive grants: $13,540,565

 RSVP FY 2014 Competition. Award grants beginning in March 2014. 

Awards will be made for:

o Successful applicants for grants scheduled to be competed in FY 

2014

o Successful applicants for previously vacated geographic service 

areas that were part of the FY 2012 and FY2013 competitions.

o Extensions of the current FY 2013 grants for RSVP incumbents 

unsuccessful in the 2014 competition, in compliance with the 

authorizing legislation. 

o Estimated total number of competitive, continuation and 

extension grant awards in FY 2014: 641

Funding Priorities:

 Competitive and continuation grants fulfilling program priorities. 

 Funding to begin a RSVP longitudinal study, to evaluate potential health 

benefits of volunteering in the RSVP program, including the impact on 

volunteers who are unemployed or who were involuntarily retired and 

are seeking employment.

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: 

The majority of the new RSVP standard performance measures reflect CNCS 

agency-wide priority and supporting measures, augmented by a number of 

program specific measures. CNCS will continue to require that all new grantees 

adopt subsets of the agency’s priority performance measures to track and report 

their effectiveness and impact. CNCS anticipates that the concentration of 

programming in strategic focus areas, using priority performance measures, will 

be as follows:

 70 percent of activities must occur within the Agency-Wide Priority and 

Complementary Program Performance Measures. RSVP grantees will also 

be required to identify a “Primary” Focus area. RSVP grantees must commit 

to reporting a combination of Agency-Wide outputs and outcomes related 
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to the “Primary” Focus Area. The “Primary” Focus Area must account for at 

least 25 percent of the RSVP volunteers enrolled in the project. 

 30 percent of volunteers can be placed in community priority assignments 

that are outside the scope of the CNCS Strategic Plan.

Senior Corps began implementation of mandatory National Performance Measures 

in FY 2013. The competitive RSVP 2014 grants were required to adopt the RSVP 

National Performance Measures Requirements as part of the application process. 

Continuation grants, that were not competitive in FY 2013 and FY 2014, continued 

with the previously approved performance measures. 

As grants are scheduled for competition in fiscal years 2015 and 2016, they will be 

required to adopt the National Performance Measures.

The chart below tracks the timeframe of National Performance Measures 

implementation:

Fiscal 

Year

Percent of RSVP Portfolio to Compete and Adopt Performance 

Measures

2013 32 percent of all projects implement national measures

2014 28 percent of projects adopt national measures for the 1st time

60 percent of all projects implement national measures

2015 36 percent of projects adopt national measures for the 1st time

96 percent of all projects implement national measures

2016 4 percent of projects adopt national measures for the 1st time

100 percent of all projects implement national measures
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Senior Corps: Foster Grandparent Program FY 2014 Annual Plan 

FY Appropriation: $107,702,000

Target Volunteer Level: 29,000

Key Milestones: 

 FY 2014 renewal and continuation grants will be awarded noncompetitively during quarters 2, 3, and 4. Quarter 2 funding was 

incremental, due to the CR and the timing of the FY 2104 final 

appropriation.

 Possible additional grant and/or non-grant activities, to be determined 

based on availability of FY 2014 funds. 

 Estimated total number of grant awards in FY 2014: 313

Currently, all grants and Volunteer Service Years (VSYs) relinquished in any state 

are centralized for budget contingencies. Priority uses for centralized funding 

include: (1) seek replacement sponsors in geographic service areas vacated due to 

sponsor relinquishment, and (2) shift grant cycles of existing grants to the start of 

the 4th quarter (July 1 start date) to reduce funding requirements in the early 2nd

quarter (January) and to align with an optimal time for grants focused on education 

outcomes. 

Funding Priorities:

 Renewal and continuation grants fulfilling the statutory authority of FGP 

to place volunteers in assignments to serve children with special or 

exceptional needs.

 Funding to begin a longitudinal study of the potential health benefits for 

new Foster Grandparents. 

 Funding first phase of planned evaluation of the implementation of 

national performance measures in FGP, using a recommended data 

collection instrument survey that will be used to measure gains in school 

readiness. 

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: 

FGP performance measures are aligned with Strategic Plan Focus Areas, and the 

majority of FGP measures are subsets of agency-wide measures. For FGP, the focus 

is education, with a concentration on school readiness. The emphasis on education 

aligns with the Strategic Plan, as well as the purpose of the FGP program. Grantees 

will be required to concentrate 75 percent of their activities, as defined by VSYs in 

the education focus area. Twenty-five (25) percent of activities can be in program 

specific measures supporting child safety, welfare, and health.
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Senior Corps began implementation of mandatory National Performance Measures 

in FY 2013. All renewal grants, which are entering the first year of a new three-year 

grant, were required to adopt the FGP National Performance Measures 

Requirements. As FGP grants renew in FY 2014 and 2015, the applicants will then 

be required to adopt the measures.

The chart below tracks the timeframe of National Performance Measures 

implementation:

Fiscal 

Year

Percent of FGP Portfolio to Adopt Performance Measures

2013 37 percent of all projects implement national measures

2014 28 percent of projects adopt national measures for the 1st time

65 percent of all projects implement national measures

2015 35 percent of projects adopt national measures for the 1st time

100 percent of all projects implement national measures
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Senior Corps: Senior Companion Program FY 2014 Annual Plan 

FY Appropriation: $45,512,000

Target Volunteer Level: 14,150

Key Milestones: 

 FY 2014 renewal and continuation grants will be awarded noncompetitively during quarters 2, 3, and 4. Quarter 2 funding was

incremental, due to the CR and the timing of the FY 2104 final 

appropriation.

 Possible additional grant and/or non-grant activities, to be determined 

based on availability of FY 2014 funds. 

 Currently, all grants and Volunteer Service Years (VSYs) relinquished in 

any state are centralized for budget contingencies. Priority uses for

centralized funding include: (1) seek replacement sponsors in geographic 

service areas vacated due to sponsor relinquishment, and (2) shift grant 

cycles of existing grants to the start of the 4th quarter (July 1 start date) to 

reduce funding requirements in the early 2nd quarter (January).

 Estimated total number of renewal and continuation grant awards in FY 

2014: 177

Funding Priorities:

 Renewal and continuation grants to existing SCP sponsors that will place 

volunteers in assignments that meet the statutory purpose of the 

program to support for adults in need of additional assistance to remain 

independent for as long as possible.

 Funding to begin a longitudinal study of the potential health benefits for 

new Senior Companions. 

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: 

SCP performance measures are aligned with Strategic Plan Focus Areas, and the 

majority of SCP measures are subsets of agency-wide measures. For SCP, the focus is 

Healthy Futures – Independent Living. Additional program specific measures will 

capture the benefits to caregivers through respite. The emphasis on independent 

living aligns with the Strategic Plan, as well as the authorized purpose of the SCP 

program. Grantees will be required to concentrate 100 percent of their activities, as 

defined by VSYs in the Healthy Futures-Independent Living focus area. 

Senior Corps began implementation of mandatory National Performance Measures 

in FY 2013. All renewal grants, which are entering the first year of a new three-year 

grant, were required to adopt the FGP National Performance Measures 
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Requirements. As SCP grants renew in FY 2014 and 2015, the applicants will then be 

required to adopt the measures.

The chart below tracks the timeframe of National Performance Measures 

implementation:

Fiscal Year Percentage of SCP Portfolio to Adopt Performance Measures

FY 2013 32% of all projects implement national measures 

FY 2014 23% percent of projects adopt national measures for the 1st time

52% of all projects implement national measures 

FY 2015 45% percent of projects adopt national measures for the 1st time

100% of all projects implement national measures 
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Social Innovation Fund FY 2014 Annual Plan

FY Appropriation: $70,000,000

Key Milestones:1

 Notice of Funding Opportunity Release: Mid-February 2014 (tentative)

 Application deadline: Mid-April (tentative)

 Notification of funding decisions: Mid-August 2014 (tentative)

 Annual Grantee Convening: September 2014

Funding Priorities:

Focus Areas:

• Youth Development – Preparing America’s youth for success in school, 

active citizenship, productive work, and healthy and safe lives;

• Economic Opportunity – Increasing economic opportunities for 

economically disadvantaged individuals; and/or

• Healthy Futures – Promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing the risk 

factors that can lead to illness.

Collective Impact – SIF supports approaches to local challenges where a cross-sector 

coalition of local organizations identify a common set of challenges and evidencebased solutions, sets ambitious goals and works together to implement the solutions 

that must demonstrate their effectiveness.

Target Beneficiaries 

• Opportunity Youth: young people between the ages of 16 to 24 who are 

neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market, and 

• Traditionally underserved and underrepresented geographic areas and 

populations.

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: 

The SIF is in the process of adopting five agency-wide priority measures; four 

related to impact on beneficiaries, and one related to implementing stronger 

evaluations. SIF programs will also report on SIF-specific measures such as nonfederal cash resources raised and the total number of new beneficiaries served, as 

indicators of scaling.

 

1 NOFO-related dates are tentative because they are dependent on clearance by OMB and reclearance internally.
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Subtitle H FY 2014Annual Plan

(Volunteer Generation Fund, Call to Service – MLK and 9-11 Days of Service)

FY Appropriation: $6,900,000

Target Member/Volunteer Level: Not Applicable

Key Milestones: 

 9-11 Day of Service

o No new grant competition 

o Funds will be given to State Commissions to administer 9-11 and 20th 

anniversary activities in their state.

 MLK Day of Service 

o New grant competition

o Applications due Spring 2014

 Volunteer Generation Fund

o NOFA released May 2014.

o Applications due July 2014.

o Grants will be awarded competitively-September 2014.

Funding Priorities:

• 9-11 Day of Service: Commissions will plan and carry out direct service 

activities that honor those lost on September 11th, 2001 and those who rose in 

service as a result of that tragedy. Activities in the portfolio may be part of a 

continuum of year-round service and contribute to advancing overall 

programmatic impact and organizational capacity. 9-11 service activities may be 

aligned with the 20th anniversary activities planned for September 12, 2014.

• MLK Day of Service: Grantees must competitively subgrant a portion of the 

federal funds to eligible organizations to plan and carry out direct service 

activities on Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. Activities in their portfolio 

may be part of a continuum of year-round service and contribute to advancing 

overall programmatic impact and organizational capacity. 

• Volunteer Generation Fund: Grantees must provide evidence that subgrantees 

have enhanced their capacity to fulfill the following requirements:

o Engage local partner organizations that use volunteers in a 

collaborative process of planning and implementation for increasing the 

impact of volunteers in meeting critical needs 

o Provide relevant, competency-based volunteer roles and 

opportunities that attract and retain high caliber volunteers 
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o Develop the internal operational systems and financial management 

systems that will provide organizational sustainability

Program Performance Measures:

Goal 3: Maximize the value we add to grantees, partners and participants.

a. Number of community volunteers recruited and/or managed by CNCSsupported organizations or National Service Participants.

1. G3-3.1. Number of community volunteers recruited by CNCS-supported 

organizations or National Service Participants.

2. G3-3.2: Number of community volunteers managed by CNCS-supported 

organizations or National Service Participants.

3. G3-3.3: Number of organizations implementing three or more effective 

volunteer management practices as a result of capacity building services provided 

by CNCS-supported organizations or National Service Participants.
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State Commission Support Grants FY 2014 Annual Plan

FY Appropriation: $15,038,000

Target Member/Volunteer Level: Not Applicable

Key Milestones:

• FY 2014 partial awards – December 2013

• FY 2014 balance of award– April/May 2014

Funding Priorities: 

As required by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America 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, 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, oversight and monitoring of grants 

and programs.

In addition, Commission Administrative Grants will be used to cultivate highperforming organizations by strengthening their training and technical assistance, 

accountability, and grant oversight activities, as well as to support Administration 

initiatives such as The President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service and the 

Governors and Mayors Outreach. For instance, for the President’s Task Force on 

Expanding National Service initiatives such as School Turnaround AmeriCorps and 

STEM AmeriCorps, Commissions could be conducting multiple grant competitions 

throughout the year instead of one annual competition.

Performance Measure Adoption and Implementation: 

Performance measures are determined by each State Service Commission, based on 

their state service plan. Plans are reviewed, approved, and monitored by CNCS staff 

to ensure compliance and monitor progress.