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TO: 

FROM: 

SUBJECT: 

DATE: 

State Service Commissions and AmeriCorps National Grantees

Chester W. Spellman 

Director of AmeriCorps State and National 

2018.01: AmeriCorps State and National – Retention Policy Change 

May 8, 2018 

This communication addresses a change in expectations regarding member retention, consistent with 

information previously shared via the monthly AmeriCorps State and National Update 

Call. Effective May 1, 2018, AmeriCorps State and National has changed the threshold for member 

retention which requires explanation and/or corrective action. Grantees and subgrantees with 85% 

member retention, or higher, will no longer be required to provide additional information concerning 

member retention plans and strategies. Further, grantees and subgrantees with at least 85% member 

retention will be assessed as having met CNCS programmatic expectations. The decision to change 

the retention rate is to reduce administrative burden and provide a more realistic retention 

benchmark. This change in expectation will affect various AmeriCorps State and National 

processes. These process changes, and how and when they will be implemented, are explained 

below.

Grantee Progress Reports (for grants with member positions):

Year-end grantee progress report instructions will be amended to only require explanation and 

corrective action (for direct grantees and competitive commission subgrantees) for member retention 

rates below 85%. Grantees/Subgrantees with at least 85% retention will be assessed as having met 

CNCS expectations.

This change will be implemented with the end of year reports due October 31, 2018.

Grant Application Review Process (GARP) – Assessments of Past Performance:

Past performance assessments for recompeting grantees will now be based on whether the grantee, 

for the last complete program year, achieved at least 85% member retention.

Title: AmeriCorps State and National Retention Policy Change 

Date issued: May 8, 2018 

Date posted: February 28, 2020 

Unique identifier: ASN 009 

Topic: ASN Retention Policy 

Summary: This communication addresses a change in expectations regarding member retention.

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. 
NationalService.gov

This change will be implemented with the 2019 AmeriCorps State and National competitions.

Fixed Price Grants: Enrollment and retention rates currently have no impact on the computation of 

earned, to be paid, fixed price grant dollars; this will not change. EAP type fixed price grant funds 

will continue to be earned based on the count of successfully enrolled members and adjusted by 

eGrants Slot type MSY conversion factors to account for less than full time Slot type enrollments. Full 

cost fixed price grant funds will continue to be earned based on the hours served by each successfully

enrolled member, up to the total hours associated with each Slot type based on eGrants Slot type 

MSY conversion factors.

Additionally, AmeriCorps State and National is reviewing internal documents and procedures 

related to staff training and grantee monitoring and will make updates as necessary to reflect this 

new expectation. Finally, grantee technical assistance resources, including those supporting new 

grantee start-up, will be reviewed and edited to reflect this change.

We appreciate the work done by grantees and subgrantees related to member retention to ensure 

rates are as high as possible. Program Officers are available to continue to support these efforts as 

well as to answer any questions you may have specific to the changes outlined in this 

communication.