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2021 Terms and Conditions for AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent (FGP) and 

Senior Companion Programs (SCP) 

These AmeriCorps 1 Grant Program- Specific Terms and Conditions as well as the 2021 

AmeriCorps General Terms and Conditions are binding on the recipient.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Changes from the 2020 FGP- and SCP Program Terms and 

Conditions

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II. Award Period and Incremental Funding 2 

III. Prohibition on Use of Funds 2

IV. Stipends 5

V. Failure to Maintain Volunteer Service Years 5

VI. External Evaluation and Data Collection 5

VII. Lobby Disclosure 5

VIII. Reporting Requirements 6

IX. Program Income 7

X. Budget and Programmatic Changes 7

XI. National Criminal History Checking Training 9 

I. CHANGES FROM THE 2020 FGP and SCP PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

- Replaced all references to CNCS with AmeriCorps. Removed all references to FFMC.

- Replaced all references to Grants Officers and Program Officers with Portfolio Manager.

- Deleted the following sections: Notice of Funding Opportunity, Award Acceptance, 

Recognition of Federal Funding; Encumbrance of Award Funds, Recognition Events, 

AmeriCorps Seniors Branding, and Audits and Attestation Requirements.

- Deleted the monitoring section as it exists in the General Terms and Conditions.

- Deleted the following sections: Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) – Jan-Jun and Jul- Dec 

and Apr-Sep and Oct- Mar; Federal Financial Reporting/Disbursements; and Annual 

Progress Report and merged all program and financial reporting information into on 

Section VIII. Reporting Requirements. 

- Section VII: updated lobbying disclosure requirements.

- Section VIII: provided specific dates for program reporting.

- Section VIII: changed the due date of the final FFR from 90 days to 120 days to align with 

new Uniform Guidance requirements.

- Section X: updated the Approval of Programmatic and Budget Changes section to reflect 

AmeriCorps responsibilities. 

1 AmeriCorps is the operating name for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
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- Section XI: updated the links for the required National Service Criminal History Check 

training.

II. 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 being provided to fund a recipient’s approved activities 

and budget. 

Unless otherwise specified, the award covers a three-year project period. In approving a 

multi-year project period, AmeriCorps generally makes an initial award for the first year of 

operation. Additional funding is contingent upon 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. 

III. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS 

As specified in 42 U.S.C. § 5043(c), as well as in 45 CFR §§ 2551.121 and 2552.121, while 

charging time to a Senior Companion or Foster Grandparent or Senior program, 

accumulating service, or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by 

the Senior Companion or Foster Grandparent Program or AmeriCorps, staff and 

volunteers may not engage in the following activities: 

A. Political activities. 

1. No part of any award shall be used to finance, directly or indirectly, any activity 

to influence the outcome of any election to public office, or any voter 

registration activity. No project shall be conducted in a manner involving the 

use of funds, the provision of services, or the employment or assignment of 

personnel in a matter supporting or resulting in the identification of such 

project with: 

a. Any partisan or nonpartisan political activity associated with a candidate, 

or contending faction or group, in an election; or 

b. Any activity to provide voters or prospective voters with transportation 

to the polls or similar assistance in connection with any such election; or 

c. Any voter registration activity, except that voter registration applications 

and nonpartisan voter registration information may be made available to 

the public at the premises of the sponsor. But, in making registration 

applications and nonpartisan voter registration information available, 
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employees of the sponsor shall not express preferences or seek to 

influence decisions concerning any candidate, political party, election 

issue, or voting decision. 

2. Notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. § 5043(c), and 45 C.F.R. §§ 2551.121(a)(3) and 

2552.121(a)(3), anti-lobbying language in AmeriCorps’s current appropriations 

legislation (like anti-lobbying language in AmeriCorps’s past appropriations 

legislation) prohibits recipients from using AmeriCorps funds to pay the salary 

or expenses of any grant or contract recipient, or agent acting for such 

recipient, related to any activity designed to influence the enactment of 

legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative action, or Executive order 

proposed or pending before the Congress or any State government, State 

legislature or local legislature or legislative body, other than for normal and 

recognized executive-legislative relationships or participation by an agency or 

officer of a State, local or tribal government in policymaking and administrative 

processes within the executive branch of that government. 

B. Non-displacement of employed workers. 

An AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer in the Senior Companion or Foster Grandparent 

Program shall not perform any service or duty or engage in any activity that would 

otherwise be performed by an employee of the sponsor, or that would supplant the 

hiring of, or result in the displacement of employees, or impair existing contracts 

for services. 

C. Compensation for service. 

A Senior Companion or Foster Grandparent Program agency or organization to 

which AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers are assigned, or which operates or 

supervises any Senior Companion or Foster Grandparent program, shall not 

request or receive any compensation from AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers or from 

beneficiaries for services of AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers. 

1. The regulations do not prohibit a sponsor from soliciting and accepting 

voluntary contributions from the community at large to meet its local support 

obligations under the grant or from entering into agreements with parties 

other than beneficiaries to support additional volunteers beyond those 

supported by the AmeriCorps grant; 

2. A volunteer station may contribute to the financial support of the Foster 

Grandparent or Senior Companion Program. However, this support shall not 

be a required precondition for a potential station to obtain Senior 

Companion or Foster Grandparent Program services; 
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3. If a volunteer station agrees to provide funds to support additional 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers, or pay for other volunteer support costs, the 

agreement shall be stated in a written Memorandum of Understanding. The 

sponsor shall withdraw services if the station's inability to provide monetary 

or in-kind support to the project under the Memorandum of Understanding 

diminishes or jeopardizes the project's financial capabilities to fulfill its 

obligations; 

4. Under no circumstances shall AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers receive fees for 

service from service recipients, their legal guardians, members of their family, 

or friends. 

D. Labor and anti-labor activity.

The sponsor shall not use grant funds directly or indirectly to finance labor or 

antilabor organizations or related activities. 

E. Fair labor standards.

A sponsor that employs laborers and mechanics for construction, alteration, or 

repair of facilities shall pay wages at prevailing rates as determined by the 

Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended, 40 U.S.C. 

276a. 

F. Religious activities.

Neither an AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer, nor a member of the project staff 

funded by AmeriCorps, shall give religious instruction, conduct worship services or 

engage in any form of proselytization as part of his or her duties. 

1. A sponsor or volunteer station may retain its independence and may continue 

to carry out its mission, including the definition, development, practice, and 

expression of its religious beliefs, provided that it does not use AmeriCorps 

funds to support any inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious 

instruction, or proselytization, as part of the programs or services funded. If 

an organization conducts such activities, the activities must be offered 

separately, in time or location, from the programs or services funded under 

this part. 

G. Nepotism.

Persons selected for project staff positions shall not be related by blood or 

marriage to other project staff, sponsor staff or officers, or members of the sponsor 
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Board of Directors, unless there is written concurrence from the community group 

established by the sponsor and upon prior notification and approval by 

AmeriCorps. 

IV. STIPENDS 

The recipient may not expend funds approved for payment of stipends for any other 

purpose without the prior written approval of AmeriCorps’ Portfolio Manager.

V. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN VOLUNTEER SERVICE YEARS

Failure of the Recipient to maintain Volunteer Service Year (VSY) program levels in 

accordance with the approved work plan and budget covered by the Notice of Grant 

Award may result in a reduction of funding for the succeeding year in accordance with 

AmeriCorps Seniors program policies.

VI. EXTERNAL EVALUATION AND DATA COLLECTION

The recipient must cooperate with AmeriCorps and its evaluators in all monitoring and 

evaluation efforts. As part of this effort, the recipient must collect and submit certain 

project data, as defined in the Progress Report Supplement (PRS), and must provide data 

as requested or needed to support external evaluations. 

VII. LOBBY DISCLOSURE

A. No Federal appropriated funds may be used by the recipient to pay to any person 

for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any federal 

agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an 

employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal 

grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative 

agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, or modification of any 

Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.

B. Any recipient who requests or receives a grant from AmeriCorps shall file with 

AmeriCorps a certification, set forth in 31 U.S.C. Section 1352 (“Limitation on use of 

appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracting and financial 

transactions”), which generally prohibits recipients of Federal grants and 

cooperative agreements from using Federal (appropriated) funds for lobbying the 

Executive or Legislative branches of the Federal Government in connection with a 
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specific grant or cooperative agreement. By signing and submitting an application, 

the application provides certification that the recipient understands and will comply 

with this statutory requirement and that the recipient has not made, and will not 

make, any payment prohibited under section VII.A. above.

C. For AmeriCorps Seniors grant awards in the foster Grandparent and Senior 

Companion Programs that exceed $100,000, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1352, the 

recipient is required to file with AmeriCorps a disclosure report, Standard Form LLL, 

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, in accordance with its instructions, at the end of 

any quarter, when the recipient has paid or agreed to pay, using non-appropriated 

funds (including any profits from any covered Federal action, any lobbying entity for 

influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a 

Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a 

Member of Congress in connection with a covered Federal action. If applicable, the 

report must be submitted to the grantee’s AmeriCorps Senior Portfolio Manager.

XVIII. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 

The recipient is responsible for timely submission of periodic financial and progress 

reports during the project period and a final financial report at the end of the period. 

A. Progress Reports. The recipient shall complete and submit a full progress report 

at the end of the budget period. The report is submitted through the appropriate 

electronic system no later than 30 days after the end of the budget period. 

B. Financial Reports. The recipient shall complete and submit financial reports in 

eGrants to report the status of all funds. The recipient must submit timely 

financial reports, reporting on a cumulative basis from the start of the grant over 

the performance period of the grant, in accordance with AmeriCorps guidelines. 

Recipients with budget periods starting in April or October submit according to 

the following schedule:

Due Date Reporting Period Covered 

April 30 October 1 - March 31 

October 30 April 1 – September 30 

Recipients with budget periods starting in January or July submit according to the 

following schedule:

 Due Date Reporting Period Covered 

July 30 January 1 – June 30 

January 30 July 1 – December 31 
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C. Final Financial Report. A recipient must submit, in lieu of the last semi-annual 

financial report, a final financial report. The final report is due no later than 120 

days after the end of the project period.

D. Reporting at the Dept. of Health and Human Services/Payment Management 

System (HHS/PMS). All recipients must submit the Federal Financial Report (FFR) 

Cash Transactions Report on a quarterly basis to the HHS/PMS per the Electronic 

Funds Transfer Agreement.

E. 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. 

IX. PROGRAM INCOME 

A. General. Income, including fees for service earned as a direct result of the grantfunded program activities during the grant 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, or with prior written 

approval from AmeriCorps, the requirements of 2 CFR § 200.307(e)(2) through a 

budget amendment be used to enhance the program (additive process). Recipients 

that have unexpended program income must report it on-line “o” of the Federal 

Financial Report (FFR). 

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 by participants 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.

X. 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):
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1. Changes in the scope, objectives or goals of the project, transfer of the 

project effort, or project timeline whether or not they involve budgetary 

changes;

2. Substantial changes in key personnel specified in the application;

3. The disengagement from the project for more than three months, or at 

least a 25 percent reduction in time devoted to the project by the 

approved Project Director.

Upon notification to the AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager, recipients may 

make programmatic changes due to, or in response to, an officiallydeclared 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. 
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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 grant. Portfolio Managers will 

execute written amendments and recipients should not assume approvals have 

been granted unless documentation from AmeriCorps’ Office of Grant 

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.

XI. NATIONAL SERVICE CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK TRAINING 

All recipients must complete AmeriCorps’ National Service Criminal History Check 

(NSCHC) training every year. The AmeriCorps designated e-course provides a thorough 

overview of the requirements and can be found at: 

https://www.nationalservice.gov/reqCHCtraining, unless otherwise notified by 

AmeriCorps. Each grant recipient must identify at minimum one staff person who has 

some responsibility for NSCHC compliance to fulfill this requirement on behalf of the 

grant recipient. The grant recipient must retain the certificate of completion and assign 

staff to retake the course annually prior to the expiration of the certificate. Grant 

recipients must save certificates of completion from each year as grant records.