Welcome to the Key AmeriCorps Terminology and Concepts presentation. This is the 

second in a series of webinars to familiarize you with important information that you 

need to know prior to completing your application for an AmeriCorps Grant.

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During this session we will briefly review what an AmeriCorps grant is. We will explain 

basic AmeriCorps grant terms and concepts, and we will review a few additional 

resources.

The session will conclude with a brief evaluation.

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AmeriCorps State and National is a network of local, state, and national service 

programs that connects thousands of Americans each year in intensive service to 

meet our country’s critical needs in education, health, the environment, economic 

opportunity, veterans, disaster services, as well as other unmet needs.

AmeriCorps Grants provide funding to high-quality programs that are developed by an 

applicant who designs a set of activities that demonstrate an evidence-based or 

evidence-informed approach to strengthening communities and solving community 

problems by engaging individuals in service as AmeriCorps members. 

These programs provide Americans, young and old, with opportunities to serve as 

AmeriCorps members in communities across the country. 

Since 1994, more than 820,000 men and women have provided service as AmeriCorps 

members. (need to confirm and/or update this number)

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Now we are going to review some basic terms and concepts that are important for 

you to know as you think about how your organization might use AmeriCorps to 

address problems in your community.

We described AmeriCorps Grants as providing funding to high-quality programs that 

are developed by an applicant who designs a set of activities that demonstrate an 

evidence-based or evidence-informed approach to strengthening communities and 

solving community problems.

When we say evidence-based approach or evidence basis, this refers to a program’s 

demonstration of why it is proposing a particular intervention to address the 

identified community problem. Evidence for the intervention, or member service 

activities, could be supported by one or more of the following: impact evaluations of 

the program or of similar programs; research studies supporting the chosen

intervention; or past performance measurement outcome data from the program.

The evidence basis is how you demonstrate that the member activity you have chosen 

is likely to effectively address the identified problem. You should not simply say that 

the intervention is likely to be successful, you should demonstrate why you think this is 

the case. 

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Now we will explain additional terms that you will hear or see as you learn more 

about AmeriCorps

An AmeriCorps Program is an organization that has received an AmeriCorps grant and 

operates a service program.

The Grantee is the direct recipient of the grant funds.

Single-State refers to an AmeriCorps Program operating solely within one state. This 

program receives an AmeriCorps grant from a State Service Commission.

Multi-State refers to an AmeriCorps Program operating in two or more states. This 

program receives an AmeriCorps grant directly from CNCS.

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Subgrantee is the local organizations which implement the grant activities on the local 

level. May also be called an operating site depending on the structure of an AmeriCorps 

program.

Operating site means the organization that manages the AmeriCorps program and 

places members into service locations. 

State subgrantees (programs) are operating sites. National grantees must identify at 

least one operating site to which they can assign service locations in the state where 

they are placing members. 

Service Location means the organization where a member actually provides his or her 

service in the community. Typical service locations are schools, food banks, health 

clinics, community parks, etc. The service location may be the same as the operating 

site, but only if the member actually serves at the operating site organization. A 

member may serve at multiple service locations although the program must select only 

one for the member’s primary assignment. 

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State Service Commissions are an important part of the State and National family. 

State Service Commissions provide CNCS funding to single state AmeriCorps programs 

operating within their states. Commissions make AmeriCorps awards through a 

competitive process at the national level or through a state-based formula grant 

competition.

During the grant application review process, State Service Commissions provide 

feedback to CNCS on the single-state AND the multi-state programs operating or 

proposing to operate in their state. AmeriCorps programs proposing to serve in 

multiple states must consult with the commissions in every state where they intend to 

place AmeriCorps members.

The link on this slide provides you with the contact information for each state service 

commission

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AmeriCorps programs are required to create performance measures to be tracked and 

reported on a bi-annual basis in the Grantee Progress Report. 

Measures should focus on tracking the primary service activity of the AmeriCorps 

program, allowing the program to describe its impact on the beneficiaries of the 

service. 

AmeriCorps performance measures consist of outputs (amount of service 

beneficiaries reached, projects completed or services delivered by a program) and 

outcomes (changes or benefits experienced by service beneficiaries, including 

changes in knowledge, attitude, behavior, or condition). 

Applicants must select from CNCS created National Performance Measures if their 

program design aligns with the outcomes; alternatively, they may create their own 

performances measures.

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As you think about how your organization might use AmeriCorps members, it is 

important to know what members cannot do. What they cannot do is engage in 

prohibited activities or recruit others to do so. The prohibited activities fall into broad 

categories that include:

Political activity

Advocacy

Religious activity

Benefiting for profit entities

Voter registration and abortion services

AC Members cannot participate in these activities directly nor can they recruit 

community volunteers to do these activities.

Please review the Introduction to AmeriCorps Member presentation as it provides 

much more information about the prohibited activities.

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An AmeriCorps Member is an individual enrolled for a specific term of service 

with an approved AmeriCorps program. There is a specific webinar that provides 

much more detail about AmeriCorps members.

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

member. AmeriCorps funds are contingent on the number of MSYs requested by 

the program.

There are five types of AmeriCorps member terms or slots: full time, half time, 

reduced half time, quarter time, and minimum time. The total MSYs a program 

requests depends on the number and type of slots/AmeriCorps member 

positions included in a particular program design.

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The final key concept that AmeriCorps grant applicants must understand is Cost per MSY. The 

cost per MSY is a calculation that CNCS uses to determine the overall cost of your 

program.

The funding amount of an AmeriCorps grant is directly related to the number of Member 

Service Years (MSY) an applicant requests. 

Cost/MSY is calculated by dividing the total funds being requested from AmeriCorps by the 

total MSY requested by the program.

The maximum cost per MSY varies depending on the specific type of AmeriCorps grant for 

which an organization applies. 

Cost per MSY is considered as a competitive factor during the grant application review 

process. Meaning all else being equal, an applicant proposing a lower cost per 

MSY may have a competitive advantage.

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To illustrate how to calculate Cost/MSY let’s talk through an example. If the NOFO 

states that the maximum cost per MSY is $13,300, this slide demonstrates how two 

programs can be at the maximum cost per MSY but have a different number of 

members serving a community. 

If you intend to request $266,000 and 20 full-time (FT) AmeriCorps members for your 

AmeriCorps program, then the cost per MSY = $13,300, this is because 20 FT members 

= 20 MSY.

If you use 40 half-time (HT) members and request $266,000 for the program, your cost 

per MSY would also = $13,300. This is because 40 HT = 20 MSY. 

Some people initially confuse cost per MSY with member living allowance. They are not 

the same. The member living allowance is an individual program budget expense. Cost 

per MSY is an overall program price calculation. You can learn more about the member 

living allowance in the AmeriCorps Members presentation.

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This concludes the Key AmeriCorps Terms and Concepts presentation. This is the 

second of five webinars to assist grant applicants in understanding how to apply for 

AmeriCorps funding. In addition to these webinars, please review the Notice of 

Funding Opportunity and other materials posted on our website to help you prepare 

to apply for an AmeriCorps grant.

In addition to the various online resources, the AmeriCorps Outreach team will host 

calls in the fall to assist applicants as you complete the application process. You can 

also sign up for periodic email updates by clicking on the “Get Email Updates” link at 

the top right-hand corner of the CNCS website.

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Thank you for your participation, please complete the session 

evaluation. 

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If you have questions please contact CNCS via internet or phone at these addresses. 

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