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2023 |

AmeriCorps Seniors

Fiscal Year 2024

Identifying Priority Areas in Your Community
Produced and published at US taxpayer expense.

Agenda • Important Dates & Contact 

Information

• Key Terms • Primary Focus Area and Funding 

Priorities

• Community Needs Assessment • Community Asset Mapping • Self-Assessment & Knowledge 

Check

• Applicant Training and 

Technical Assistance

• Q&A

Dec-23

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Poll #1

Question 1: 

Did you attend our last live event, 

AmeriCorps Seniors in Action: 

Mobilizing a Generation?

Question 2: 

Have you accessed the training and 

technical assistance resources and 

webinars on the funding opportunity 

webpage? 

Dec-23 3
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Poll #2

How confident do you feel in your current level 

of knowledge relating to identifying priority 

areas for the current funding opportunities?

5- Very Confident

4- Confident

3- Neutral/Not sure

2- Not confident

1- Not very confident

Dec-23 4
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Important Dates

Applications are 

due no later than 

Thursday, February 

1, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time.

Successful 

applicants will be 

notified by 

April 2024.

Successful 

applicants will be 

issued awards by 

June 2024.

Dec-23 5
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Contact Information

For questions related to this funding opportunity, contact 

FGPSCPReplacement@americorps.gov.

For details on this opportunity and to see other opportunities available 

through AmeriCorps, visit the AmeriCorps Funding Opportunities website.

Dec-23 6
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Key Terms

1. Focus Area: One of a set of six core priority issue areas identified in the Serve 

America Act where AmeriCorps focuses national service and measures its 

impact.

2. Geographic Service Area: The counties in which volunteer stations are 

located and services are provided.

3. Service Activity: The service performed by AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers 

that supports an identified community need and aligns with AmeriCorps 

Seniors funding priorities and focus areas.

4. Sponsor: A public agency or private non-profit organization, either secular or 

faith- based, that receives AmeriCorps Seniors program funding and is legally 

responsible for stewarding grant funds. Also referred to as grantees. 

5. Volunteer Station: A public agency, secular or faith-based private non-profit 

organization, or proprietary health care organization that accepts the 

responsibility for assignment and supervision of AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers. 

Dec-23 7
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Primary Focus Areas and 

Funding Priorities

Dec-23 8
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Current Funding Opportunity Primary Focus Areas

• Education

• Provide or facilitate access to 

services and resources that 

contribute to improved 

educational outcomes for 

economically disadvantaged 

people

Foster Grandparent Program

• Healthy Futures

• Provide support and resources to 

help older adults live 

independently and provide 

support and respite to caregivers 

of older adults

Senior Companion Program

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Primary Focus Areas and Funding Priorities

Dec-23
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Funding Priorities

Primary Focus Areas and Funding Priorities

• Organizations leading service in communities with concentrated poverty, rural 

communities, tribal communities, and those organizations serving historically 

underrepresented and underserved individuals, including but not limited to 

communities of color, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, people 

who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and religious minorities.

• Projects that propose to serve states listed in Appendix A: Priority States and 

Territories.

• Organizations that serve people with arrest and conviction records and provide 

meaningful reentry opportunities.

• Programs that support civic bridgebuilding projects (meaning projects that 

foster respect among diverse communities, strengthen relationships across lines 

of difference, forge a sense of common civic purpose, and seek to solve a 

community program and diminish polarization) and provide training in civic 

bridgebuilding skills and techniques to AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers.

Dec-23 10
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Appendix A: Priority States and Territories

*Applicants are not limited 

to this list of states and 

territories to apply for, but 

AmeriCorps Seniors is 

prioritizing projects that 

designate counties in these 

states and territories due to 

relinquishments.

*Applicants can apply for 

one or more counties.

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Primary Focus Areas and Funding Priorities

AS GU MP PR VI

U.S. Territories

Dec-23
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Foster Grandparent Program Funding Priorities

• Programs focused on early learning and those that prepare AmeriCorps 

Seniors volunteers to enter early learning careers.

• Efforts to help local communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 

Pandemic through focused education efforts to address learning loss.

Primary Focus Areas and Funding Priorities

Dec-23 12
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Senior Companion Program Funding Priorities

Projects that propose to raise public awareness about the challenges and needs of family 

caregivers and the role of older adult volunteers. Innovative service projects that can be 

executed by older adults will be given priority consideration. These projects can include 

those that: 

• Advance partnerships that promote greater engagement for older adult support for 

family caregivers. 

• Optimize well-being of family caregivers by strengthening services and supports, i.e., 

services to help caregivers manage their own health/emotions/physical stress, 

helping to find and secure other trustworthy/affordable services or supports, and 

those that prevent caregiver isolation. 

• Develop volunteer roles that integrate older adults as volunteers who serve as part of 

a care coordination for clients and ongoing support for family and other caregivers. 

• Develop interventions where elders can support caregivers in tribal communities. 

• Spur innovations that engage older adults in intergenerational activities that help 

increase access to information and services for caregivers. 

Primary Focus Areas and Funding Priorities

Dec-23 13
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Community Needs Assessment 

Versus Community Asset Mapping

Dec-23 14
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Community Needs Versus Assets

Needs

Focus on identifying and 

restoring what a 

community lacks

Problem oriented

Makes people consumers 

of services

Assets

Focus on building on what 

a community has

Possibility oriented

Identifies ways people 

can give of their talents

Dec-23 15
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Community Needs Assessment

Dec-23 16
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What is a Community? 

Community Needs Assessment

Communities are typically defined by a geographic area, but they 

can also be based on shared interests or characteristics such as 

religion, race, age, or occupation.

Dec-23 17
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A Community Needs Assessment is the intentional process that you 

can take to better understand your community, including how you 

can have the greatest impact. 

Community need can be looked at as the gap between what is 

and what should be.

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What is a Community Needs Assessment?

Community Needs Assessment

Dec-23
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Examples of Community Needs

Community Needs Assessment

Foster Grandparent Program 

• County has the state’s lowest 

percentile for poverty and 

academic performance. 

•Underserved population of 

youth at local juvenile 

detention facility

•Need for academic 

reinforcement and mentorship

Senior Companion Program

•Limited access to healthcare 

supports for older adults

•Increased number of older 

adults who are homebound 

due to lack of transportation

•15% increase of caregivers of 

homebound clients

•High level of stress navigating 

complex health care systems

Disclaimer: This is an example of a program and is not meant to direct an applicant’s proposal.

Dec-23 19
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Steps to Assess Community Needs

Community Needs Assessment

1. 

Identify 

the 

Problem

2. 

Define the 

Scope

3. 

Gather 

Data

4. 

Analyze 

Data

5. 

Develop a 

Plan

6. 

Implement 

the Plan

7. 

Evaluate 

the Plan

Happens during the 

application phase

Happens after the grant 

has been awarded

Dec-23
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Community Asset Mapping

Dec-23 21
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Community Asset Mapping

What is community asset 

mapping?

A systematic process of 

cataloging key services, 

benefits, and resources within 

the community (e.g., individuals, 

public and private 

organizational resources, public 

institutions and services, physical 

resources, and information 

organizations and influence). 

Why do you need a community 

asset map?

•Identify community assets and 

strengths.

•Ensure activities are relevant to 

community needs. 

•Obtain buy-in from the 

community. 

Dec-23 22
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Community Asset Map

Community Asset Mapping

What goes into a community 

asset map? 

Individuals

Organizations

Public 

Institutions 

and Services

Physical 

Resources

Informal 

Organizations 

and Influence

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• What assets and resources 

are already in place? 

• How can you build on what’s 

already working? 

Dec-23
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• Skills, talents, and 

experience of community 

members 

• Individual businesses 

• Home-based enterprises 

• Donations and financial 

sponsors

Individuals

Community Asset Mapping

Individuals

Organizations

Public 

Institutions 

and Services

Physical 

Resources

Informal 

Organizations 

and Influence

Dec-23 24
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Organizations

Community Asset Mapping

• Associations of businesses 

• Cultural organizations 

• Communications 

organizations 

• Faith-based organizations

• Institutions of higher 

education 

• Hospitals 

• Social services agencies

Individuals

Organizations

Public 

Institutions 

and Services

Physical 

Resources

Informal 

Organizations 

and Influence

Dec-23 25
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Public Institutions and Services

Community Asset Mapping

 Public schools 

 Police and fire 

departments 

 Libraries 

 Parks and recreation

 Community centers

Individuals

Organizations

Public 

Institutions 

and Services

Physical 

Resources

Informal 

Organizations 

and Influence

Dec-23 26
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Physical Resources

Community Asset Mapping

 Vacant land 

 Commercial and industrial 

structures 

 Housing 

 Energy and waste resources

 Billboards and community 

bulletin boards 

 Community meeting spaces

Individuals

Organizations

Public 

Institutions 

and Services

Physical 

Resources

Informal 

Organizations 

and Influence

Dec-23 27
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Individuals

Organizations

Public 

Institutions 

and Services

Physical 

Resources

Informal 

Organizations 

and Influence

Informal Organizations and Influence

Community Asset Mapping

 Neighborhood associations 

and other social groups 

 Community reputation 

 Community pride

 Sense of history

Dec-23 28
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Community Asset Mapping Template

Community Asset Mapping

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Disclaimer: This is an example and is not meant to direct an applicant’s proposal.

Community Asset Type

Community Assets Recruitment Retention Sustainability

• Community 

Center

• Identify and 

participate in 

community 

events

• Program and 

recruitment 

advertisement

• Training venue

• Recognition 

events

• Potential 

partnerships

• Marketing and 

funding 

opportunities

• Non-Federal 

sources (Match)

Dec-23
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Self-Assessment and 

Knowledge Check

Dec-23 30
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Self-Assessment

Do the identified needs, and the plan to address them, align with the focus 

and funding priority areas of our open funding opportunities?

What is your plan to address identified community needs and leverage 

community assets?

What assets in your community can you leverage to support your needs?

What needs have you identified within your community?

Dec-23 31
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Knowledge Check #1

Community Need or Asset?

Focuses on identifying and restoring 

what a community lacks Need

Focuses on building on what a 

community has Asset

Possibility oriented Asset

Problem oriented Need

Makes people consumers of services Need

Identifies ways people can give of 

their talents Asset

Dec-23
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What is the Primary 

Focus of the Foster 

Grandparent Program?

Knowledge Check #2

Healthy Futures

What is the Primary 

Focus of the Senior 

Companion Program?

• Applications are due 

by 5:00 p.m. ET on 

Thursday, February 1, 

2024.

• Successful applicants 

will be notified by April 

2024.

• Successful applicants 

will be issued award by 

June 2024. 

When are applications 

due?

33

Education

Dec-23
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Applicant Training and 

Technical Assistance

Dec-23 34
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Notice of Funding Opportunity Appendices

2023 35

Appendix Name Purpose

Appendix A: Priority 

States and Territories

Applicants are not limited to this list of states and territories to apply 

for, but AmeriCorps Seniors is prioritizing projects that designate 

Geographic Service Areas operating in these states and territories 

due to relinquishments. Applicants can apply for one or more 

counties in a state.

Appendix B: National 

Performance Measure 

Instructions

Guidance for performance measures selection, output and 

outcome pairings, and required information for Work Plan in 

eGrants.

Appendix C: Terms 

and Definitions

Terms and Definitions provides information for terms most used in 

AmeriCorps Seniors.

Appendix D: Grant 

Application Instruction

Grant Application Instructionssubmitting your application in eGrants. provides step by step guidance for 

Appendix E: Cost Per 

Volunteer Calculator

Resource to help applicants determine a minimum number of 

volunteer service years (VSY) for a funding request.

2023 35

Dec-23 35
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For more information, visit the AmeriCorps Funding Opportunity Page.

Additional Applicant Training and Technical Assistance

Live Events (Requires Registration) Pre-Recorded

AmeriCorps Seniors in Action: Mobilizing a 

Generation 

Introducing AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps Seniors, 

and Its Programs

Identifying Funding Priority Areas in Your 

Community 

AmeriCorps National Performance Measures 

Curriculum

Tour of the Notice of Funding Opportunity –

Selection Criteria Review 

Best Practices in Budget Development

National Performance Measures and Work 

Plans 

Submitting Your Application in eGrants

Office Hours: Budget Q&A AmeriCorps Due Diligence Review and 

Compliance Training

Office Hours: General and Performance 

Measurement Q&A 

Frequently Asked Questions (Document)

Dec-23 36
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Office Hours

• Budget Q&A, Wednesday, 

January 17, 2024, 1:30 p.m. ET

• General and Performance 

Measures Q&A, Thursday, 

January 18, 2024, 2:00 p.m. ET

• Pre-Submit Questions for 

webinar

Foster Grandparent Program

Office Hours

• Budget Q&A, Wednesday, 

January 17, 2024, 1:30 p.m. ET

• General and Performance 

Measures Q&A, Thursday, 

January 18, 2024, 3:30 p.m. ET

• Pre-Submit Questions for 

webinar

Senior Companion Program

Office Hours

Dec-23 37
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Poll #2

Having attended today’s webinar, how 

confident do you feel in your current level of 

knowledge relating to identifying priority areas 

for the current funding opportunities?

5- Much more confident

4- More confident

3- Neutral/Not sure

2- Less confident

1- Much less confident

Dec-23 38
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Thank you for your interest in 

AmeriCorps Seniors funding 

opportunities. 

Dec-23 39