CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 1

Congressional 

Budget Justification

FISCAL YEAR 2016
2 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is the federal agency dedicated to community-driven civilian service 

for the purpose of improving lives, strengthening communities, and fortifying the civic health of our nation.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 3 

Table of Contents

Part I. Overview ................................................................................. 1

Part II. FY 2016 Budget Request and Performance Plan – PART II ......................................... 4

Part III. FY 2014 Accomplishments–PART III ........................................................... 8

Part IV. Bill Language and Analysis – PART IV ......................................................... 13

Part V. Organizational Structure – Part V............................................................ 17

Part VI. Budget Activities – PART VI ................................................................. 19

Budget Activity 1: AmeriCorps State and National. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Budget Activity 2: AmeriCorps VISTA.............................................................................. 24

Budget Activity 3: AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps ....................................................... 28

Budget Activity 4: State Service Commission Support Grants........................................................... 31

Budget Activity 5: National Service Trust .......................................................................... 34

Budget Activity 6: Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) ........................................................ 36

Budget Activity 7: Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) ................................................................. 39

Budget Activity 8: Senior Companion Program (SCP).................................................................. 42

Budget Activity 9: Social Innovation Fund .......................................................................... 45

Budget Activity 10: Volunteer Generation Fund ...................................................................... 49

Budget Activity 11: Innovation, Demonstration, and Other Activities...................................................... 52

Budget Activity 12: Evaluation .................................................................................. 55 

Budget Activity 13: Salaries and Expenses (S&E)..................................................................... 59

Disability Inclusion Strategy..................................................................................... 62

Part V. Office of Inspector General .............................................................................. 65

Part VI. Appendix................................................................................................ 68
4 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

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CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 5

Part I: Overview

Message from the CEO

For more than two decades, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has tapped our 

nation’s greatest resource—the American people—to get things done.

Our AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Social Innovation Fund programs tackle the nation’s most pressing 

challenges – educating students for the jobs of the 21st century, assisting veterans and military families, 

helping communities rebuild after disasters, increasing economic opportunity, preserving the environment, 

and promoting health and wellbeing. 

The Fiscal Year 2016 Budget will continue this smart approach of investing in national service to improve 

communities. Through targeted investments, CNCS will engage millions of Americans in service, expand 

economic opportunity, bolster civic and faith-based organizations, support evidence-based solutions, and 

drive community impact through increased competition and efficiency.

Expanding Partnerships 

National service is a model of public-private partnership. CNCS leverages hundreds of millions in additional 

resources from non-CNCS sources to expand opportunities to serve and strengthen community impact.

President Obama created the Task Force on Expanding National Service to expand the positive impact of national service including expanding 

opportunities to serve through partnerships with other federal agencies and the private sector. Through the Task Force, CNCS has leveraged new 

investments, launched new corps, and created thousands of new opportunities for Americans to serve. Building on this success, CNCS will continue to 

work with other organizations to create new service partnerships that meet critical challenges and create pathways to opportunity for those who serve. 

The Budget also provides key resources to strengthen the nation’s volunteer sector, support the vital work of governor-supported State Service 

Commissions, and build the capacity of organizations to recruit and retain volunteers to address critical community needs.

Economic Opportunity

The Budget will continue our focus on expanding economic opportunity by using national service and social innovation to strengthen education, 

support youth, help seniors live independently, connect returning veterans to employment, teach financial literacy, and more.

In addition, national service offers a ladder of opportunity for those who serve—by helping them graduate, gain career skills, pursue higher education, 

and find work. For both beneficiaries and participants, national service can help to expand individual opportunity, build family stability, and create 

more sustainable, resilient communities.

Evidence and Results

Guided by the Serve America Act and our Strategic Plan, CNCS will continue to target resources on a core set of critical problems, use performance 

measures to assess progress, conduct program evaluations, use evidence in decision-making, and share effective practices with the broader nonprofit 

sector. 

Through the Social Innovation Fund, CNCS expands the knowledge base of proven program models that can be replicated in communities across the 

country. The Social Innovation Fund will also leverage substantial private sector support for the growth of evidence-based programs that improve 

the lives of low-income individuals. The Pay for Success pilot seeks to leverage private funds to finance services, with government paying only after 

results occur. 
6 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Efficiency and Accountability

CNCS is committed to enhancing competition, increasing efficiency, and reducing burdens. These steps will help the agency and its network of 

grantees focus more optimally on meeting mission goals. CNCS will also continue to foster a culture of integrity, accountability, and transparency by 

fortifying its internal controls, oversight, and monitoring. 

National Service Works for America 

America has always been at its best when citizens work together, joined in common purpose. A sense of shared responsibility is woven into the fabric 

of our nation. 

For decades, successive Administrations of both parties have invested in national service as a smart way to tap the ingenuity and can-do spirit of the 

American people.

We look forward to building on this great foundation and creating more opportunities for Americans to make a difference in their communities.

In Service,

Wendy Spencer

Chief Executive Officer
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 1

Part I: Overview

OVERVIEW | PART I

Service and social innovation have always has been a vital part of the 

American character. From the earliest days of our nation, Americans have 

stepped forward to help their neighbors, working together in creative ways 

to solve problems and strengthen communities. 

As citizens, we recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights. 

One of the ways Americans express their citizenship is by serving their 

communities. National service, volunteerism, and social innovation show 

the best of the American spirit and ingenuity – people turning toward 

problems instead of away and working together to find community 

solutions. As President Obama said in the 2014 State of the Union, 

“Citizenship demands a sense of common cause; participation in the hard 

work of self-government; an obligation to serve in our communities.”

Since its creation 20 years ago, the Corporation for National and 

Community Service (CNCS) has led the nation’s efforts to tap into the 

energy of citizens to solve problems in their communities. Working hand 

in hand with thousands of local partners, CNCS improves lives, expands 

economic opportunity, bolsters civic and faith-based organizations, 

fosters innovation, and engages millions of Americans in service. 

CNCS focuses its resources on the most pressing challenges facing our 

nation: 

• Educating students for the jobs of the 21st century 

• Supporting individuals, families, and neighborhoods on the road to 

economic recovery

• Addressing the needs of military families and a new generation of 

veterans returning from war 

• Helping communities rebuild after natural disasters 

• Promoting health and wellbeing

• Preserving the nation’s parks and public lands 

Through its national service programs, like AmeriCorps and Senior 

Corps, CNCS engages more than five million Americans in service and 

volunteerism each year at more than 60,000 locations across the country, 

from large cities to small towns to rural areas. 

In addition to CNCS’s national service programs, the CNCS Social 

Innovation Fund (SIF) improves the lives of people in low-income 

communities by mobilizing public and private resources to replicate and 

scale promising and evidence-based solutions in three priority areas of 

need: economic opportunity, youth development, and healthy futures. 

At a time when public, private, and nonprofit organizations are struggling 

to meet the nation’s most pressing challenges, and when tough choices 

are being made at every level to maximize limited resources, the SIF 

represents a new way of doing business for the federal government. 

Partnerships 

National service is a public-private partnership that recognizes no one 

sector can meet our challenges alone, and that we make progress best 

by working together. Nearly everything CNCS does is accomplished by 

working with and through others – including nonprofit and faith-based 

organizations, schools and higher education institutions, government at all 

levels, businesses, and ultimately individual citizens. 

As the nation’s largest grantmaker for community transformation through 

service, volunteering, and social innovation, CNCS supports thousands 

of organizations, including schools, food banks, homeless shelters, 

health clinics, youth centers, veteran’s service facilities, hospitals, and 

other organizations. CNCS’s programs help these organizations expand 

their reach and impact through their direct service and by recruiting and 

managing volunteers. Each year, the modest federal investment by CNCS 

leverages more than $800 million in additional resources from non-CNCS 

sources to strengthen community impact.

In addition to collaborating with nonprofit organizations across the 

country, CNCS also works with federal, state, and local government to 

coordinate efforts, engage citizens, and carry out programming to meet 

important community needs. Congress created national service as a 

shared federal-state partnership, providing a central role for governors in 

designing and implementing national service through governor-supported 

State Service Commissions. CNCS also works closely with mayors and 

city officials across the country, supporting organizations that achieve 

measurable results where the need is greatest.

On the federal level, CNCS in recent years has developed innovative 

partnerships with other agencies to meet critical challenges and expand 

opportunities for those who serve. FEMA Corps, a unit of the AmeriCorps 
2 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), strengthens disaster capacity, 

prepares young people for emergency management careers, and saves 

significant taxpayer dollars. School Turnaround AmeriCorps, a partnership 

between the U.S. Department of Education and AmeriCorps, brings 

hundreds of new AmeriCorps members into some of the nation’s lowestperforming schools to boost student academic achievement, attendance, 

high school graduation rates, and college and career readiness. 

Building on the success of these partnerships, President Obama in 2013 

created the President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service (Task 

Force), co-chaired by the White House’s Domestic Policy Council and 

CNCS. Among other activities, the Task Force was charged with developing 

interagency and public-private partnerships to expand national service 

opportunities to meet national priorities. Through recent partnerships, 

up to $35 million in additional resources have been committed to 

national priorities, which combined with CNCS contributions will create 

approximately 4,500 new opportunities for everyday Americans to serve.

CNCS has worked with a number of federal and private sector partners 

to launch new AmeriCorps service opportunities that address critical 

challenges, including: 

• justice AmeriCorps, a partnership between CNCS and the Department 

of Justice, is engaging approximately 100 lawyers and paralegals 

annually as AmeriCorps members to provide legal services to 

unaccompanied immigrant children. 

• ServiceWorks is a three-year project to help low-income youth develop 

the skills they need to prepare for college and careers. Through this 

collaboration between AmeriCorps, Points of Light, and the Citi 

Foundation, 225 AmeriCorps members will engage youth ages 16-24 

in a volunteer response effort in 10 cities.

• Through Youth Opportunity AmeriCorps, CNCS and the Department 

of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention are 

investing up to $10 million over three years to enroll disconnected 

youth in national service programs.

• The Financial Opportunity Corps, a partnership with Bank of America 

and Points of Light, engages AmeriCorps VISTA in bringing financial 

coaching to 10 communities around the nation. 

• The U.S. Forest Service and AmeriCorps have joined in a new 

21st Century Conservation Service Corps partnership to engage 

approximately 300 AmeriCorps members and other youth in gaining 

valuable career skills and experience while restoring the nation’s 

forests and grasslands.

In addition to implementing these initiatives, CNCS is continuing to work 

with other federal agencies and the private sector to develop other service 

corps to meet the nation’s most important challenges while providing 

pathways to opportunity for those who serve. 

Economic Opportunity

In all its programs, CNCS seeks to expand economic opportunity – helping 

disconnected youth, new Americans, veterans, military families, seniors, 

people with disabilities, and others acquire the skills, education, and 

training they need for productive employment. 

CNCS programs expand economic opportunity in two ways. First, national 

service and the SIF grantees support the beneficiaries of our programs by 

expanding individual opportunity, building family stability, and creating 

more sustainable, resilient communities. When programs help seniors 

live independently in their homes, or provide tutoring to help students 

graduate, or work alongside a low-income family to build a new home, they 

are driving economic independence. 

Second, national service is a pathway to education and employment for 

those who serve. AmeriCorps provides national service participants with 

valuable skills, leadership abilities, and experience to help jump-start 

their careers. In recognition of the skill building that AmeriCorps provides 

its participants, in September 2014 President Obama launched Employers 

of National Service, an initiative to connect national service alumni to 

jobs that take advantage of the skills they have developed through their 

service. In addition to gaining valuable experience to help them find 

employment, AmeriCorps alumni have earned an estimated $2.87 billion in 

educational awards over the last 20 years to help them pay for college or 

pay back student loans.

CNCS research reinforces the positive connection between volunteering 

and employment. As shown in its seminal study, Volunteering as a 

Pathway to Employment, CNCS found that volunteers have a 27 percent 

higher likelihood of finding a job after being out of work than nonvolunteers. This link was stable across socioeconomic variables such 

as gender, age, ethnicity, geographical area, or job market conditions. 

Volunteering can increase a person’s social connections, professional 

contacts, skills, and experience – all factors that are positively related 

to finding work. Thus the millions of volunteers engaged through CNCS 

programs each year not only help their communities, they may improve 

their own employment future.

By helping more Americans graduate, pursue higher education, and find 

work, national service may provide immediate benefits to the community 

and significant long-term benefits to service recipients and those who 

serve.

Evidence and Results

CNCS has made it a priority to develop a knowledge and evidence base 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 3

Part I: Overview

to support the agency’s mission, programs, and strategic goals through 

rigorous program evaluation and research initiatives. CNCS’s emphasis on 

evaluation is aligned with the Administration’s guidance on the importance 

of using evidence and rigorous evaluation in budget, management, and 

policy decisions. CNCS believes that implementing a robust research and 

evaluation agenda is critical to our ability to achieve and communicate 

the value that national service and social innovation bring to communities 

across the country. 

CNCS will continue to strengthen performance reporting by its grantees, 

conduct research and evaluation on all of the agency’s programs, 

support grantees and sponsors in conducting evaluations and using 

data to strengthen their impact, and disseminate effective practices to 

the broader nonprofit sector. For example, the SIF mobilizes public and 

private resources to test and grow solutions that have evidence of impact. 

Through rigorous evaluation, the SIF contributes to the knowledge base of 

proven program models that can be replicated in communities across the 

country, including other CNCS-funded programs.

Efficiency and Accountability

CNCS is committed to increasing efficiency in its program and financial 

operations, streamlining processes and reducing burdens, and supporting 

grantees and project sponsors in achieving their objectives. Among 

other activities, CNCS is working to increase efficiency by enhancing the 

agency’s accounting and financial management systems, streamlining 

grant applications, making grants processes more nimble and userfriendly, developing more efficient grant monitoring tools, and aligning 

CNCS toward mission goals. 

CNCS also has a deep and ongoing commitment to ensuring the highest 

levels of accountability in the agency’s financial and program operations. 

CNCS is fostering a culture of integrity, accountability, and transparency 

by fortifying its internal controls, oversight, and monitoring. CNCS 

established a new Office of Accountability and Oversight and implemented 

an Integrity Framework. This framework is comprised of a set of 

disciplined practices to help ensure CNCS’s organizational effectiveness, 

cohesion, and longevity. 
4 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

BUDGET REQUEST AND PERFORMANCE PLAN | PART II

FY 2016 Budget Request and Performance Plan 

The FY 2016 Budget request of $1.18 billion will support CNCS and its 

thousands of state and local partners in activities to improve lives, 

strengthen communities, foster civic engagement, and engage millions of 

Americans in national service and volunteerism. 

CNCS harnesses America’s most powerful resource – the energy and 

talents of its citizens – to solve problems and strengthen communities. 

By supporting local organizations and leveraging outside resources, CNCS 

provides critical services to individuals and communities and puts more 

Americans on the pathway to economic and educational opportunity.

The Budget request will support CNCS efforts to develop partnerships, 

strengthen competition, align resources, and leverage investments. The 

FY 2016 Budget will help CNCS and the network it supports to meet 

community needs with higher levels of impact, accountability, and 

efficiency. 

The CNCS FY 2016 Budget request will:

• Support a record high of approximately 90,150 Americans serving 

through AmeriCorps in programs addressing the critical challenges 

identified in the Serve America Act: disaster services, economic 

opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, healthy 

futures, and veterans and military families. AmeriCorps members 

solve problems and provide vital support to communities, helping 

thousands of nonprofit and faith-based organizations expand their 

reach and impact on pressing local problems. AmeriCorps seeks 

to expand economic opportunity for those who serve by providing 

valuable skills, experiences, and support for pursuing higher 

education. 

• Continue the goals of the President’s Task Force on Expanding 

National Service by partnering with federal agencies, the private 

sector, State Service Commissions, higher education institutions, 

and nonprofits to expand national service opportunities and tackle 

national priorities. Building on the success of FEMA Corps and School 

Turnaround AmeriCorps, CNCS will implement new partnerships 

including justice AmeriCorps, Youth Opportunity AmeriCorps, USDA 

Forest Service AmeriCorps, ServiceWorks, and others. CNCS will 

continue to seek investments from the corporate and philanthropic 

communities and other federal agencies to expand opportunities for 

Americans to serve.

• Continue to invest in the growth of evidence-based programs that 

improve the lives of low-income individuals by increasing the use of 

evidence-based approaches in AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and 

through the Social Innovation Fund and its Pay for Success initiative. 

These investments spur fresh social sector investment for results. 

• Create opportunities for nearly 270,000 older Americans to serve in 

Senior Corps programs as Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, 

and RSVP volunteers. The Budget also advances the adoption of 

evidence-based models that demonstrate effectiveness, introduces 

competition into the Foster Grandparent Program and Senior 

Companion Program, and provides opportunities for grantees in these 

programs to apply for additional AmeriCorps funding to support their 

service activities.

• Strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for national service and 

volunteering by increasing investments in 53 governor-supported 

State Service Commissions, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and 

national days of service, including the MLK Day of Service and the 

September 11th Day of Service and Remembrance. 

The FY 2016 Budget supports critical investments in programs and 

activities that will continue to address the social and economic challenges 

facing our communities. Specifically, this Budget proposes the following: 

AmeriCorps State and National: The request of $425.1 million for 

AmeriCorps State and National, an increase of $89.6 million over the 

FY 2015 enacted level, will support approximately 81,200 AmeriCorps 

members who will provide direct service to communities across the country. 

This represents an increase of approximately 12,500 AmeriCorps members 

above the FY 2015 projected level. With this funding, AmeriCorps State and 

National will continue to invest in evidence-informed and evidence-based 

community solutions, providing a critical source of human capital to meet 

pressing community needs across the country and a pathway to economic 

and educational opportunities for Americans who serve. 

In particular, within this request CNCS plans to support three new 

initiatives: 

• Opportunity Youth. The Budget enables 13,000 disconnected youth 

to serve as AmeriCorps members during the summer, giving them an 

opportunity to help their communities while exploring potential career 

paths, developing skills, and earn an education award they can use for 

college.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 5

Part VI: Budget Activities

• Resilience Corps. The Budget includes 200 AmeriCorps positions for 

a Resilience Corps pilot program. CNCS will partner with the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop and implement 

disaster preparedness training for AmeriCorps members, and the 

members will assist communities in planning for and addressing the 

impacts of climate change.

• Encore Initiative. The Budget includes more than 4,000 member 

positions for seniors. In addition to engaging retired Americans as 

AmeriCorps members to help solve community service challenges, 

Encore will provide an opportunity for current evidence-based Senior 

Corps Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program 

grantees to expand their programs through AmeriCorps funding.

AmeriCorps VISTA: The request of $96.9 million will support an estimated 

7,700 full-time and summer AmeriCorps VISTA members focused on 

capacity building for anti-poverty projects. AmeriCorps VISTA will 

continue to promote evidence-informed activities, and direct resources to 

projects that demonstrate promise in pre-K readiness and K-12 success. 

Additionally, AmeriCorps VISTA projects will focus on helping the needy 

obtain safe and affordable housing, improving Americans’ access to food 

and healthcare, and supporting veterans and their families. 

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps NCCC):

The request of $30.5 million for AmeriCorps NCCC will support an 

estimated 1,200 members in direct, team-based national service. 

AmeriCorps NCCC members gain skills, opportunity, and leadership 

abilities while meeting pressing community needs in the areas of disaster 

response, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and 

conservation, urban and rural development, and energy conservation.

National Service Trust: The request of $237.1 million, in addition to 

anticipated carryover, will fund Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for 

approximately 90,150 eligible AmeriCorps members who complete their 

terms of service. The FY 2016 maximum award for full-time service is 

$5,805.1

Governor-Supported State Service Commissions: The request of $17 

million, an increase of nearly $1 million over the FY 2015 enacted level, 

will fund governor-supported State Service Commissions in performing 

their critical oversight and strategic functions. State Commissions 

administer approximately two-thirds of AmeriCorps grant funds and play 

a key role in identifying local needs, monitoring subgrantees, and leading 

citizen service efforts in their states. 

Senior Corps: The request of $202.1 million for Senior Corps (RSVP, 

Foster Grandparent Program, and Senior Companion Program) will support 

an estimated 270,000 Americans, age 55 and older. By introducing 

competition into these programs, providing robust support to help 

grantees implement evidence-based models, and providing a path for 

Senior Corps programs that use evidence-based models to deliver their 

mentoring, supportive services, and other activities to expand through 

AmeriCorps, the 2016 Budget enhances the capacity for Senior Corps 

volunteers to meet critical needs in their communities. Senior Corps 

volunteers improve educational outcomes for at-risk and special needs 

youth, connect veterans and military families to needed services, respond 

to disasters, and help low-income seniors stay in their homes and avoid 

costly institutional care.

Social Innovation Fund: The Budget invests $70 million in the Social 

Innovation Fund to test promising new approaches to major challenges, 

leverage private and philanthropic capital to meet these needs, and 

expand evidence-based programs that demonstrate measurable 

outcomes. The 2016 Budget continues to propose that up to 20 percent 

of funds be available for Pay for Success projects. Pay for Success models 

leverage philanthropic and private dollars to fund services up front, with 

government paying only after results occur.

Volunteer Generation Fund: The request of $5 million, an increase of $1.2 

million above the FY 2015 enacted level, will help nonprofit and voluntary 

organizations across the country broaden their volunteer base, more 

effectively recruit and retain volunteers, expand opportunity for those who 

serve, and increase their impact on community challenges. CNCS will focus 

investments on volunteer management practices that increase volunteer 

recruitment and retention, key steps to increasing the stability of nonprofit 

operations and helping organizations increase their impact.

Innovation, Demonstration, and Other: The request of $3.6 million will 

support Call to Service initiatives to engage more Americans in service 

including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and the September 

11th Day of Service and Remembrance. Funding will also support 

dissemination of effective practices and training to CNCS grantees to 

strengthen financial and grants management to increase accountability 

and impact. 

Evaluation: The request of $5 million supports the design and execution 

of research and evaluation studies and will facilitate the use of evidence 

and evaluation by CNCS and national service organizations. This funding 

level supports research to increase the evidence and knowledge base for 

CNCS programs. These efforts will strengthen CNCS’s efforts to promote a 

culture of evidence and evaluation within the agency and among grantees 

by facilitating evidence-based and evidence-informed grantmaking, and 

lead to increasingly relevant technical assistance.

1

 The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award level may be adjusted for increases in the FY 2016 Federal Pell Grant to which it is tied.
6 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Salaries and Expenses: The request of $86.2 million supports 

Information Technology operations, modernization, and staffing levels 

needed to ensure efficient agency operations and program delivery. The 

additional funding will bolster operations to support the national service 

growth envisioned in this Budget. 

Office of Inspector General: The request of $6 million will support 

Office of Inspector General activities to conduct audits, evaluations, and 

investigations to enhance the management and overall performance of 

CNCS and its grantees and promote economy and efficiency.

TABLE 1. CNCS FY 2016 Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY14 FY15 FY16 Difference % Difference 

Enacted Enacted President’s (FY15 vs. (FY15 vs. 

Budget Account Level Level Budget FY16) FY16)

Operating Expenses $756,849 $758,349 $855,208 $96,859 13%

AmeriCorps State and National $335,430 $335,430 $425,105 $89,675 27%

AmeriCorps VISTA $92,364 $92,364 $96,885 $4,521 5%

AmeriCorps NCCC $30,000 $30,000 $30,500 $500 2%

State Service Commission Support $15,038 $16,038 $17,000 $962 6%

Senior Corps $202,117 $202,117 $202,117 - -

Social Innovation Fund $70,000 $70,000 $70,000 - -

Volunteer Generation Fund $3,800 $3,800 $5,000 $1,200 31%

Innovation, Demonstration, and Other $3,100 $3,600 $3,601 $1 .03%

Evaluation $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 - -

Subtitle J, Training and Technical Assistance - - - - -

Disability Inclusion Grants - - - - -

National Service Trust $207,368 $209,618 $237,077 $27,459 13%

Salaries and Expenses $80,737 $81,737 $86,176 $4,439 5%

Office of the Inspector General $5,000 $5,250 $6,000 $750 14%

TOTAL $1,049,954 $1,054,954 $1,184,461 $129,507 12%
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 7

Part VI: Budget Activities

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8 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

FY 2014 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | PART III

In FY 2014, CNCS continued to provide targeted, critical support through 

its national network of State Service Commissions, grantees, and 

partners, to deliver services to communities throughout the country. 

Accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2014 are described in further detail in 

the program chapters. A partial sample of these accomplishments is listed 

below, grouped by goals set out in the agency’s Strategic Plan:

Goal 1: Increase the impact of national service on local 

needs in communities served by CNCS-supported programs

• Engaged more than 73,600 AmeriCorps members and approximately 

269,764 Senior Corps volunteers in results-driven service to 

strengthen education, support veterans and military families, help 

communities recover from disasters, expand economic opportunity, 

preserve the environment, provide health services, and more. 

• Created new public-private and interagency partnerships through the 

President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service to engage more 

Americans in meeting national priorities and expanding educational 

and economic opportunity for those who serve.

• Awarded the fifth year of funding for the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) 

to experienced grant-makers with strong track records of success in 

expanding the impact of high-performing organizations and improving 

the lives of people in low-income communities. During FY 2014, the 

SIF funded seven new grantee intermediaries, provided continuation 

funding to existing grantees, awarded $12 million in inaugural Pay 

for Success grants to eight organizations, provided oversight and 

guidance on evaluation, and disseminated best practices and lessons 

learned with the broader nonprofit sector. 

• Provided critical support to Americans affected by natural and 

man-made disasters, including direct assistance to homeowners in 

the cleanup and gutting of their homes, volunteer coordination, and 

documentation match that may be used for the state’s cost share 

for FEMA grants. In 2014, AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps 

volunteers responded to floods in Southeast Michigan and Clarksville, 

MO, the Oso, Washington mudslide, the Bay Area earthquake, and 

more. CNCS continued to deploy FEMA Corps members to respond to 

disasters and support disaster survivors. 

• Continued to implement and expand STEM AmeriCorps, a multiyear initiative to engage AmeriCorps members in mobilizing STEM 

professionals to inspire young people to excel in science, technology, 

engineering, and math and build the pipeline for future STEM careers. 

CNCS placed 256 AmeriCorps VISTA members in six southern states 

to connect 20,600 at-risk students to STEM opportunities. In addition, 

CNCS launched a new partnership with US2020 and Citizen Schools 

to support 25 AmeriCorps VISTAs in seven cities to recruit STEM 

professionals to serve as mentors, and placed additional AmeriCorps 

VISTA members serving with the Maker Education Initiative to five 

new underserved communities.

• Launched $24 million in new AmeriCorps partnerships as part of the 

Administration’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative. This included 

strong contributions from the private sector and federal agencies to 

connect young people to mentoring, support networks, and job skills 

to help them reach their full potential. Youth Opportunity AmeriCorps, 

a partnership with the Department of Justice, will connect 

disconnected youth with service opportunities that will lead to more 

education and job readiness; a partnership with AT&T and MENTOR 

will enable AmeriCorps members to help recruit mentors and receive 

mentoring-related services themselves. 

• Developed Operation AmeriCorps, a new program to help tribal 

and local leaders address their community’s most pressing local 

challenges. In this new program, which was initiated in the summer 

of 2014, tribal and local leaders will identify a high-priority local 

challenge that AmeriCorps members can address in a relatively short 

period of time. Unlike other CNCS programs, applicants may request 

AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps VISTA, and AmeriCorps 

NCCC resources in a single application.

• Expanded support for Native American communities by awarding 

17 tribal AmeriCorps grants totaling $3 million to support 255 

AmeriCorps members serving in tribal communities – the largest 

number of grants and AmeriCorps members supported through tribal 

grants in the past decade.

• Launched new partnerships to support community solutions. These 

include the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) initiative to 

improve the economy and quality of life in rural Eastern Kentucky and 

the AmeriCorps Urban Public Safety Corps to reduce crime and blight 

in Detroit.

• Supported the expansion of the Foster Grandparent Program to every 

first and second grade school in Syracuse, New York to improve 

student education achievement. The Syracuse School District 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 9

Part VI: Budget Activities

invested $350,000 in this expansion, which was supplemented by 

additional funds and technical assistance from CNCS.

Goal 2: Strengthen national service so that participants 

engaged in CNCS-supported programs consistently find 

opportunity, satisfaction, and meaning

• Launched Employers of National Service, an initiative to recognize 

the valuable skills and experience gained by AmeriCorps and Peace 

Corps alumni and provide additional opportunities for them to apply 

their skills in the workplace. Employers of National Service connects 

national service alumni with leading employers to create recruitment, 

hiring, and advancement opportunities. More than 150 companies, 

nonprofits, and public agencies have signed on as Employers of 

National Service since President Obama launched the initiative in 

September 2014 including Disney, Comcast, CSX, Miami-Dade County 

Public Schools, and the cities of Philadelphia and Nashville.

• Recognized the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps and the impact of the 

more than 900,000 Americans who have served in AmeriCorps over 

the past two decades. Four presidents participated in this nationwide 

recognition. President Obama hosted a ceremony at the White House 

with President Bill Clinton; President George H.W. Bush participated 

in an AmeriCorps pledge ceremony at his home in Kennebunkport, 

Maine; and President George W. Bush and Laura Bush taped a tribute 

video that was played at ceremonies across the country. Numerous 

governors, mayors, and other elected officials and community leaders 

joined the 95 events that took place from coast to coast.

• Continued national Call to Service initiatives which engaged hundreds 

of thousands of Americans in projects on the Dr. Martin Luther King 

Jr. Day of Service and the September 11th National Day of Service 

and Remembrance. Many projects focused on supporting veterans, 

soldiers, and military families. 

• Worked with the President’s Task Force on Expanding National 

Service and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to promote 

national service as a talent pipeline for federal agencies. As a 

result of the Task Force’s work, the Office of Personnel Management 

issued guidance to all federal agencies encouraging them to recruit 

AmeriCorps alumni for open positions in their agencies.

• Established a new position to support Disability Inclusion to 

strengthen and expand opportunities to serve for persons with 

disabilities and coordinate this work across CNCS’s programs. To 

fill this new role, CNCS hired a highly qualified Strategic Advisor for 

Disability and Inclusion.

• Enhanced disability inclusion efforts by signing an agreement with 

the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy to 

strengthen coordination and information sharing. This agreement 

will promote the engagement of people with disabilities in national 

service as a pathway to develop skills and experience for gainful 

employment.

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

participants

• Through the funding of AmeriCorps programs across the nation, 

established an infrastructure that recruited and managed more than 

four million community volunteers through AmeriCorps to multiply 

the impact of national service participants and strengthen nonprofit 

and faith-based organizations across the country. AmeriCorps 

VISTA members raised more than $160 million in cash and in-kind 

resources in support of anti-poverty programs. 

• Launched the inaugural Social Innovation Fund Pay for Success 

grant competition, making available $12 million in grants to help 

cities, states, and nonprofits develop Pay for Success projects where 

governments pay service providers only when there are demonstrable 

results. The Pay for Success models leverage philanthropic and 

private dollars to fund services up front, with government paying only 

after results occur.

• Expanded the use of competition to increase quality and impact, 

including a new competition for justice AmeriCorps and continued 

implementation of competition for regional training events, School 

Turnaround AmeriCorps, and RSVP. 

• Strengthened relationships with governors, mayors, and other local 

elected officials across the country. These officials are important 

partners in identifying local needs and ensuring national service 

resources are effectively meeting those needs. On April 1, 2014, 

1,760 mayors from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, 

and Puerto Rico participated in the second annual Mayors Day of 

Recognition for National Service. Together, these mayors represent 

more than 110 million citizens or one-third of all Americans. On 

June 23, 2014, the United States Conference of Mayors unanimously 

passed a resolution recognizing national service as “a critical and 

effective solution to community challenges facing mayors across the 

country.” CNCS has also worked closely with many governors and 

lieutenant governors on strategies to promote national service and 

volunteerism to address critical challenges in their states. 

• Released a rigorous third-party evaluation of Minnesota Reading 

Corps. The evaluation found that elementary students tutored by 

AmeriCorps members achieved significantly higher literacy levels than 

students without such tutors, and that the impacts were statistically 

significant even among students at higher risk of academic failure. 

Additionally, a quasi-experimental outcome evaluation of the 

Minnesota Reading Corps Pre-Kindergarten program completed in FY 
10 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

2014 shows strong positive impacts on 4- and 5-year-old students 

in five areas of literacy skills in both public school settings and Head 

Start programs. 

• Completed an analysis of a cross-sectional evaluation of Foster 

Grandparent Program (FGP) and Senior Companion Program (SCP) 

volunteers as compared to similar volunteers not engaged in national 

service. The evaluation showed that national service participants 

tended to be African-American and Latino older adults as compared 

to a comparison sample of volunteers outside of national service, 

demonstrating that FGP and SCP engage a diverse group of 

Americans 55 and older in volunteering and civic engagement.

• Strengthened volunteer recruitment and management practices in 18 

states through the Volunteer Generation Fund.

• Supported five regional training events led by governor-supported 

State Service Commissions that engaged more than 1,000 staff from 

AmeriCorps and Senior Corps grantees, State Service Commissions, 

and other partners. These trainings focused on performance 

measures, compliance with grant requirements, evaluation strategies, 

best practices, and used a peer-to-peer approach that leveraged the 

knowledge and skills of the field to advance the mission of national 

service.

• Hosted a third Senior Corps Virtual Conference to share performance 

measurement tools, tips, and methods with Senior Corps grantees. 

Successfully introduced National Performance Measures in the Foster 

Grandparent, RSVP, and Senior Companion Programs. 

Goal 4: Fortify management operations and sustain a 

capable, responsive, and accountable organization

• Continued to implement an Integrity Framework for internal controls 

to further develop a culture of heightened accountability among staff 

at the agency and its network of governor-supported State Service 

Commissions and grantees.

• Expanded partnerships between CNCS and other federal agencies 

to increase opportunities for service in AmeriCorps and address the 

agency’s national priorities. 

• Implemented a number of enhancements to the agency’s accounting 

and financial management systems to improve operational efficiency, 

including the reconciliation of CNCS accounts with Treasury’s new 

government-wide Treasury Account Symbol system.

• Maintained the agency’s unmodified audit opinion for the 15th 

consecutive year. 

• Began to plan and implement a number of Information Technology 

enhancements that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency 

of CNCS grantmaking in alignment with the Administration’s goal 

of delivering better, faster, and smarter services to citizens and 

businesses. 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 11

Part VI: Budget Activities

TABLE 2. FY 2014 CNCS Priority Goals, Measures, and Contributing Programs 

Goal Focus Area Measure ID & Name ACSN VISTA NCCC SC SIF

Goal 1 - 

Increase the impact 

of national service 

on local needs in 

communities served 

by CNCS-supported 

programs

Disaster Number of individuals that received assistance from • • •

Services CNCS-supported programs in disaster preparedness, 

mitigation, response, and/or recovery.

Economic Percent of economically disadvantaged people that • * • *

Opportunity received housing-related assistance from CNCSsupported members, participants and volunteers who 

showed improvement in their housing situation.

Education Percent of children that demonstrated gains in school • * • *

readiness.

Education Percent of students served by or serving in CNCS- • * • *

supported programs that demonstrated improved 

academic performance (including the percent meeting 

state proficiency levels in literacy and/or math, or whose 

scores on state standardized tests improved).

Education Percent of students served by CNCS-supported programs, • * • *

or engaged in CNCS-supported service-learning, that 

demonstrated improved academic engagement.

Environmental Number of at-risk acres (land and/or water) improved by • • •

Stewardship CNCS-supported members, participants and volunteers.

Healthy Percent of homebound OR older adults and individuals • •

Futures with disabilities that received CNCS-supported services 

who reported having increased social ties/perceived 

social support.

Healthy Number of individuals that gained access to food • * • *

Futures resources provided with the assistance of CNCSsupported members, participants or volunteers.

Veterans Number of each of the four categories of service • * • •

and Military recipients (veterans, veterans' family members, family 

Families members of active duty military, and military service 

members) that received CNCS-supported assistance.

Goal 2 - 

Strengthen national 

service so that 

participants engaged 

in CNCS-supported 

programs consistently 

find opportunity, 

satisfaction, and 

meaning

Veterans Number of veterans and military family members • • • •

and Military engaged in providing services through CNCS-supported 

Families programs.

Member Percent of service participants engaged in CNCS- • • • •

Experience supported programs who report gaining skills they 

can apply to future educational, professional or civic 

endeavors.
12 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

TABLE 2. FY 2014 CNCS Priority Goals, Measures, and Contributing Programs (continued) 

Goal Focus Area Measure ID & Name ACSN VISTA NCCC SC SIF

Goal 3 - 

Maximize the value 

we add to grantees, 

partners and 

participants

Capacity Percent of organizations that implement evaluations that •

Building demonstrate stronger evidence of program effectiveness 

than prior to receiving CNCS national service participants 

or funding.

Capacity Number of community volunteers recruited and/or • • • •

Building managed by CNCS-supported organizations or National 

Service Participants.

Goal 4 - Fortify 

management 

operations and 

sustain a capable, 

responsive, and 

accountable 

organization

IT Complete modernization of IT infrastructure. CNCS Office of the COO

Financial Ensure that no material internal control or compliance CNCS Office of the COO

Management issues are identified in annual financial statement audit.

Grants Award and close grants and contracts within prescribed CNCS Office of the COO

Management timeframes.

* Related projects and/or grants align - but do not necessarily contribute - to respective priority measures.

For measures reflected in the table above, many CNCS grantees and 

projects began collecting data in FY 2013. At the end of FY 2014, the 

agency began to analyze this information to determine where resources 

are having the biggest impact. The agency will also be able to make an 

initial assessment of the rate at which grantees are adopting performance 

measures, and what challenges exist. This will inform the agency’s 

training and technical assistance efforts in following years to ensure 

grantees are effective and efficient.

FY 2014 – FY 2018 CNCS Strategic Plan Update 

CNCS is currently updating its FY 2014 - FY 2018 Strategic Plan, which 

the agency expects to release in late 2015. This revised plan continues 

CNCS’s focus on growing national service, leveraging evaluation to 

drive community impact and social innovation, and expanding economic 

opportunity for those who serve and the beneficiaries of service. While 

working toward these goals, CNCS will also renew its commitment to 

strengthening and aligning its operations to support innovative community 

solutions and national service growth. 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 13

Part IV: Bill Language and Analysis

BILL LANGUAGE AND ANALYSIS | PART IV

Operating Expenses

(including transfer of funds)

For necessary expenses for the Corporation for National and Community 

Service (referred to in this title as “CNCS”) to carry out the Domestic 

Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (referred to in this title as “1973 Act”) and 

the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (referred to in this title 

as “1990 Act”), [$758,349,000] $855,208,000, notwithstanding sections 

198B(b)(3), 198S(g), 501(a)(6), 501(a)(4)(C), and 501(a)(4)(F) of the 1990 

Act: Provided, That of the amounts provided underthis heading: (1) up 

to 1 percent of program grant funds may be used to defray the costs of 

conducting grant application reviews, including the use of outside peer 

reviewers and electronic management of the grants cycle; (2) $70,000,000 

shall be available for expenses [authorized under section 501(a)(4)(E)] 

to carry out section 198K of the 1990 Act; (3) [$16,038,000] $17,000,000

shall be available to provide assistance to State commissions on national 

and community service, under section 126(a) of the 1990 Act and 

notwithstanding section 501(a)(5)(B) of the 1990 Act; (4) [$30,000,000] 

$30,500,000 shall be available to carry out subtitle E of the 1990 Act; and 

(5) [$3,800,000] $5,000,000 shall be available for expenses authorized 

under section 501(a)(4)(F) of the 1990 Act, which, notwithstanding the 

provisions of section 198P shall be awarded by CNCS on a competitive 

basis: Provided further, That for the purposes of carrying out the 1990 

Act, satisfying the requirements in section 122(c)(1)(D) may include a 

determination of need by the local community: Provided further, That not 

to exceed 20 percent of funds made available to carry out section [501(a)

(4)(E)] 198K of the 1990 Act may be used for Social Innovation Fund Pilot 

Program-related performance-based awards for Pay for Success projects 

and shall remain available through September 30, [2016] 2017: Provided 

further, That, with respect to the previous proviso, any funds obligated 

for such projects shall remain available for disbursement until expended, 

notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 1552(a): Provided further, That any funds 

deobligated from projects under section [501(a)(4)(E)] 198K of the 1990 

Act shall immediately be available for activities authorized under section 

198K of such Act. (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and 

Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015.)

NATIONAL SERVICE TRUST

For payment to the National Service Trust established under subtitle 

D of title I of the 1990 Act, [$209,618,000] $237,077,000, to remain 

available until expended: Provided, That CNCS may transfer additional 

funds from the amount provided within “Operating Expenses” allocated 

to grants under subtitle C of title I of the 1990 Act to the National Service 

Trust upon determination that such transfer is necessary to support the 

activities of national service participants and after notice is transmitted 

to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 

the Senate: Provided further, That amounts appropriated for or transferred 

to the National Service Trust may be invested under section 145(b) of the 

1990 Act without regard to the requirement to apportion funds under 31 

U.S.C. 1513(b). (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and 

Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015.)

Salaries and Expenses

For necessary expenses of administration as provided under section 501(a)

(5) of the 1990 Act and under section 504(a) of the 1973 Act, including 

payment of salaries, authorized travel, hire of passenger motor vehicles, 

the rental of conference rooms in the District of Columbia, the employment 

of experts and consultants authorized under 5 U.S.C. 3109, and not 

to exceed $2,500 for official reception and representation expenses, 

[$81,737,000] $86,176,000. (Departments of Labor, Health and Human 

Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015.)

Administrative Provisions

SEC. 401. CNCS shall make any significant changes to program 

requirements, service delivery or policy only through public notice and 

comment rulemaking. For fiscal year [2015] 2016, during any grant 

selection process, an officer or employee of CNCS shall not knowingly 

disclose any covered grant selection information regarding such selection, 

directly or indirectly, to any person other than an officer or employee of 

CNCS that is authorized by CNCS to receive such information.

SEC. 402. AmeriCorps programs receiving grants under the National Service 

Trust program shall meet an overall minimum share requirement of 24 

percent for the first 3 years that they receive AmeriCorps funding, and 

thereafter shall meet the overall minimum share requirement as provided 

in section 2521.60 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, without regard 

to the operating costs match requirement in section 121(e) or the member 

support Federal share limitations in section 140 of the 1990 Act, and 

subject to partial waiver consistent with section 2521.70 of title 45, Code of 

Federal Regulations.
14 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

SEC. 403. Donations made to CNCS under section 196 of the 1990 Act for 

the purposes of financing programs and operations under titles I and II of 

the 1973 Act or subtitle B, C, D, or E of title I of the 1990 Act shall be used 

to supplement and not supplant current programs and operations.

SEC. 404. In addition to the requirements in section 146(a) of the 1990 Act, 

use of an educational award for the purpose described in section 148(a)(4) 

shall be limited to individuals who are veterans as defined under section 

101 of the Act.

SEC. 405. For the purpose of carrying out section 189D of the 1990 Act:

 (1) Entities described in paragraph (a) of such section shall be 

considered “qualified entities” under section 3 of the National 

Child Protection Act of 1993 (“NCPA”); and

 (2) Individuals described in such section shall be considered 

“volunteers” under section 3 of NCPA; and

 (3) State Commissions on National and Community Service 

established pursuant to section 178 of the 1990 Act, are 

authorized to receive criminal history record information, 

consistent with Public Law 92–544.

SEC. 406. (a) Section 201 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 

U.S.C. 5001) is amended—

 (1) in subsection (e)(1)(A), by striking, “, with an option” and all that 

follows through “(g)”, and inserting “not to exceed” following 

“for a period”;

 (2) in subsection (e)(2)(B), by striking clause (iv), inserting at the end 

of clause (iii) “and”, and by redesignating clause (v) as clause (iv);

 (3) b y striking subsection (i) and redesignating subsection (j) as 

subsection (i); (b) Section 227(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service 

Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5027(a)) is amended by striking paragraph 

(2) and, in paragraph (1), by striking “(1)” and “paragraph (2) 

and”; and (c) Section 412(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service 

Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5052) is amended by striking paragraphs 

(2) and (3), by inserting at the end of paragraph (1) “and”, and by 

redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (2).

SEC. 407. Section 101 of the 1990 Act is amended in paragraph (30)(B) by 

inserting “or approved national service position” after “assistance”.

SEC. 408. Section 148 of the 1990 Act is amended by striking subsection (f)

(2)(A)(i) and redesignating subsection “(A)(ii)” as “(A)”.

SEC. 409. Section 198K(e) of the 1990 Act is amended by inserting “3 to” 

following “make such grants for periods of” and inserting “3 to” following 

“renew the grants for additional periods of”.

SEC. 410. Notwithstanding sections 137(a) (3) and (4) of the 1990 Act, 

national service programs carried out under section 121 of the Act may 

select disadvantaged youth who are age 14 or older at the time the 

individual begins the term of service to serve in less than full time positions 

for disadvantaged youths during the months of May through September. 

For purposes of section 146(d) of the Act, any disadvantaged youth who is 

under age 17 at the time the individual begins the term of service shall be 

treated as an individual eligible to receive a summer of service educational 

award under section 146(d)(1). (Departments of Labor, Health and Human 

Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015.)

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General in carrying out 

the Inspector General Act of 1978, [$5,250,000] $6,000,000. (Departments 

of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act, 2015.)
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 15

Part IV: Bill Language and Analysis

TABLE 3. Appropriations Language Analysis 

Language Provision/Change Explanation

Administrative Provisions

1. Senior Corps Competition.

Add: 

Section 201 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5001) is amended—

(1) in subsection (e)(1)(A), by striking, “, with an option” and all that follows through “(g)”, 

and inserting “not to exceed” following “for a period”; 

(2) in subsection (e)(2)(B), by striking clause (iv), inserting at the end of clause (iii) “and”, and 

by redesignating clause (v) as clause (iv); 

(3) by striking subsection (i) and redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (i); 

(b) Section 227(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5027(a)) is 

amended by striking paragraph (2) and, in paragraph (1), by striking “(1)” and “paragraph (2) 

and”; and 

(c) Section 412(a) of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5052) is amended 

by striking paragraphs (2) and (3), by inserting at the end of paragraph (1) “and”, and by 

redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (2). 

This language allows CNCS to conduct Senior Corps 

grant competitions. While Senior Corps grants were 

competitive when first awarded, certain provisions 

of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 allow 

continuous, non-competitive renewal of program 

grants. Competitive grantmaking increases the 

impact of federal appropriations by awarding grants 

only to those that are challenged to be high-quality.

2. Refined Definition of Participant 

Add: 

Section 101 is amended in paragraph (30)(B) by inserting “or approved national service 

position” after “assistance”.

This language makes the definition of “participant” 

consistent in all parts of the 1990 Act.

3. Education Award Transfer

Add: 

Section 148 of the Act is amended by striking subsection (f)(2)(A)(i) and redesignating 

subsection “(A)(ii)” as “(A)”.

This language extends the opportunity to transfer 

a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award earned by 

individuals 55 and older through AmeriCorps State 

and National to those who earned the Award through 

AmeriCorps VISTA and other programs.

4. SIF

Add: 

Section 198K(e) of the 1990 Act is amended by inserting “3 to” following “make such grants

for periods of” and inserting “3 to” following “renew the grants for additional periods of”.

This language allows CNCS to award grants for 3 to 

5 years, as opposed to awarding only 5 year grants. 

This flexibility allows the funding of strong grantees 

that may be able to achieve project goals in a shorter 

period of time or that only need federal capital for the 

first few years. 
16 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

TABLE 3. Appropriations Language Analysis (continued)

Language Provision/Change Explanation

5. Youth Summer Programming

Add: 

Notwithstanding sections 137(a) (3) and (4) of the 1990 Act, national

service programs carried out under section 121 of the Act may select disadvantaged youth 

who are age 14 or older at the time the individual begins the term of service to serve in 

less than full-time positions for disadvantaged youths during the months of May through 

September. For purposes of section 146(d) of the Act, any disadvantaged

youth who is under age 17 at the time the individual begins the term of service shall be 

treated as an individual eligible to receive a summer of service educational award under 

section 146(d)(1).

This language provides the opportunity for 

disadvantaged youth to serve in AmeriCorps during the 

summer months. 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 17

Part V: Organizational Structure

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE | PART V

FIGURE 1. CNCS Field Offices 

FIGURE 2. CNCS Organizational Chart 

AmeriCorps State 

and National

W. Basl

AmeriCorps NCCC

J. Phillips

AmeriCorps VISTA

P. Monteiro

Senior Corps

E. Tan

Office of Field Liasion

M. Berning

Social Innovation 

Fund

M. Bradley (Acting)

Chief Executive Officer

Wendy Spencer

Inspector General

Deborah Jeffrey

* Denotes staff that also have a reporting line to the CEO.

General Counsel

A. Williams (Acting)

Chief Operating Officer

J. Page

Human Capital

A. Wasilisin

External Affairs

T. Miller

Accountability & Oversight

K. Gillis (Detail)

Procurement

R. Gaither

Government Relations

K. Allman

Information Technology*

T. Hanley (Acting)

Chief Financial Officer*

C. Ejiasa

Chief of Staff

A. Mishra

Research & Evaluation

S. Plank

Chief of Program Operations

K. Mansaray
18 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

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CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 19

Part VI: Budget Activities

BUDGET ACTIVITIES | PART VI

BUDGET ACTIVITY 1:

AmeriCorps State and National

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title I, Subtitle C)

FY 2016 Performance Plan 

Over more than two decades, AmeriCorps State and National has engaged 

hundreds of thousands of members in intense impact-oriented service 

in every state and territory. These AmeriCorps members have dedicated 

millions of hours of service in communities across the nation:

• Tutoring children who are struggling to succeed academically

• Responding to large-scale natural disasters, rebuilding trails, and 

combating invasive species

• Building homes for low-income families

• Creating community gardens and teaching good nutrition, and 

• Helping returning veterans and their families reintegrate into civilian 

life 

CNCS is increasing the allowable cost per member to account for 

statutorily-required increases in the member living allowance. 

Additionally, similar to the general inflation experienced by all Federal 

programs, the increase in the cost per member is needed because 

each year the cost to run an AmeriCorps program increases, including 

the mandatory expenses that CNCS requires such as criminal history 

checks and evaluation and data collection. CNCS believes that 

increasing the cost per MSY is important to maintaining quality 

programming while also meeting these statutory requirements. 

For FYs 2015 and 2016, the Cost per Member Service Year (MSY) 

includes no-cost member slots (such as professional corps) that will 

receive the education awards and loan forbearance benefits but no 

programmatic funding (except in unique instances where programs can 

demonstrate limited resources and require additional program dollars 

to operate).

TABLE 4. AmeriCorps State and National Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY15 FY16 Increase/ 

FY14 Enacted President’s Decrease 

Budget Account Enacted Levels Level Budget (FY15-FY16)

Formula Grants to States $114,071 $115,729 $146,592 $30,863

Competitive Grants $202,614  $202,308 $258,378 $56,070

Set-asides for U.S. Territories $3,231 $3,278 $4,152 $874

Set-asides for Indian Tribes $3,231 $3,278 $4,152 $874

Education Award Program $4,696 $3,250 $2,000 ($1,250)

Childcare $4,231 $4,232 $5,576 $1,344

Grantmaking Support $3,354 $3,354 $4,251 $897

Total Budget Authority* $335,430 $335,430 $425,105 $89,675 

Total State and National Members (est.) 64,674  68,658 81,200  12,542

*

 Budget account items may not sum to total budget authority due to rounding.
20 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The request of $425.1 million for AmeriCorps State and National, an 

increase of $89.6 million over the FY 2015 enacted level, will support 

approximately 81,200 AmeriCorps members who will provide direct 

service to communities across the country. This represents an increase of 

approximately 12,500 AmeriCorps members above the FY 2015 projected 

level. With this funding, AmeriCorps State and National will continue to 

invest in evidence-informed and evidence-based community solutions, 

providing a critical source of human capital to meet pressing community 

needs across the country and a pathway to economic and educational 

opportunities for Americans who serve. 

In particular, within this request CNCS plans to support three new 

initiatives: 

• Opportunity Youth. The Budget enables 13,000 disconnected youth 

to serve as AmeriCorps members during the summer, giving them an 

opportunity to help their communities while exploring potential career 

paths, developing skills, and earn an education award they can use 

for college.

• Resilience Corps. The Budget includes 200 AmeriCorps positions for 

a Resilience Corps pilot program. CNCS will partner with the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop and implement 

disaster preparedness training for AmeriCorps members, and the 

members will assist communities in planning for and addressing the 

impacts of climate change.

• Encore Initiative. The Budget includes more than 4,000 member 

positions for seniors. In addition to engaging retired Americans as 

AmeriCorps members to help solve community service challenges, 

Encore will provide an opportunity for current evidence-based Senior 

Corps Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program 

grantees to expand their programs through AmeriCorps funding. By 

encouraging more retired Americans to apply their lifetime of skills 

and experiences through AmeriCorps, CNCS moves toward the Serve 

America Act goal of having seniors account for 10 percent of 

AmeriCorps members.

CNCS is increasing the allowable cost per member to account for 

statutorily-required increases in the member living allowance. Additionally, 

similar to the general inflation experienced by all Federal programs, the 

increase in the cost per member is needed because each year the cost 

to run an AmeriCorps program increases. This increase includes the 

mandatory expenses that CNCS requires such as criminal history checks 

and evaluation and data collection. CNCS believes that increasing the 

cost per MSY is important to maintaining quality programming while also 

meeting these statutory requirements.

Partnerships

AmeriCorps State and National will continue to answer the 

Administration’s call for agencies to leverage results-driven partnerships. 

Through the President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service, 

CNCS has created new partnerships that provide an opportunity for 

more Americans to participate in national service. These innovative 

partnerships include School Turnaround AmeriCorps (with the Department 

of Education); 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (with the U.S. 

Forest Service); and justice AmeriCorps and Opportunity Youth Corps 

(with the Department of Justice). From helping children improve academic 

gains and commitment to school, to providing legal assistance for 

unaccompanied minors, CNCS’s partnerships help address the nation’s 

most pressing social challenges.

The partnerships have resulted in real progress in local communities 

across the country. AmeriCorps looks forward to continuing and building 

new partnerships such as the Springfield College School Turnaround 

Initiative, which will place 48 AmeriCorps members in nine designated 

turnaround schools in Massachusetts. AmeriCorps members serve 

as academic coaches, academic support specialists, and school 

counselors supporting School Turnaround Plans to address academic and 

nonacademic risk factors that affect student achievement and dropout 

and graduation rates. Members provide students with regular feedback 

and support; teach problem-solving and coping skills; provide one-onone/small-group instruction or counseling; collaborate with teachers and 

counselors; and build strong, trusting relationships with students. 

Evidence and Results 

AmeriCorps State and National will continue to promote effective and 

efficient solutions to social challenges by using a grantmaking process 

that selects the strongest service models, taking into account the level 

of evidence for each intervention. In the FY 2015 Notice of Funding 

Opportunity, for the second year, applicants were required to submit logic 

models and provide evidence that their proposed intervention will lead 

to the outcomes identified in their theory of change. Applicants were 

required to describe studies and evaluations that provide evidence that 

the proposed intervention is effective for the proposed population and 

community challenge. They were also required to describe where this 

evidence places them in the tiered evidence levels. 

Applicants classifying their evidence as moderate or strong must submit 

up to two studies, evaluation reports, briefs, or peer-reviewed articles. For 

each report cited, they must include the date of the report, a description 

that shows its relevancy to the proposed program model, the methodology 

used in the study, and the strength of the findings (e.g. confidence level). 

For current grantees, their evaluation report is considered as part of the 

evidence base of the program. 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 21

Part VI: Budget Activities

Application reviewers evaluate applicants’ evidence level by assessing: 

1) How closely the program model evaluated in the studies matches the 

one proposed by the applicant;

2) The methodological quality of the studies presented (e.g., statistical 

power, internal and/or external validity, sample size, etc.);

3) The recency of the studies, and 

4) The strength of the findings, with preference given to findings that 

demonstrate with confidence levels a large and persistent positive 

effect on participants.

AmeriCorps State and National will also continue its training and 

technical assistance to grantees focused on evaluation and performance 

measures through webinars and online classes. CNCS believes that this 

process helps to support all AmeriCorps State and National grantees in 

implementing the most effective practices possible, while also using data 

to continuously improve their programs

Economic Opportunity

In partnership with Governor-supported State Service Commissions and 

national nonprofits, AmeriCorps State and National expands economic 

opportunities through a majority of its investments. For example, CNCS 

is developing a summer Opportunity Youth initiative that will provide 

13,000 summer positions to help connect disadvantaged young people to 

opportunities to address critical needs through service. Youth will engage 

in experiential learning that introduces them to service, career exploration, 

and skill building, all while earning a living allowance and an education 

award that they can use to help pay for college. AmeriCorps members will 

focus on activities like rebuilding their communities and helping to restore 

trust through service in parks – urban and rural, creating safe places to 

congregate, and addressing the academic summer slide along with other 

pressing community needs 

AmeriCorps’ role in reducing the college loan indebtedness, a pressing 

national issue, through the National Service Trust is another area in which 

it hopes to increase economic opportunity. In FY 2014, individuals who 

successfully completed their term of service in AmeriCorps qualified to 

receive nearly $220 million, which was used to reduce college loan debt or 

cover the costs of future education. 

Efficiency 

AmeriCorps State and National has further streamlined its Notice of 

Funding Opportunity and its grant making process to be more nimble, 

user-friendly, and responsive to trends identified at the state level. The 

NOFO underwent two major changes – increasing the use of a plain 

language revision and shortening the overall length by 61 percent. The 

application required submission of logic models that allowed both the 

applicant and the reviewers to better understand an applicant’s theory of 

change and the federal government’s potential investment. 

Changes were also made to the grant negotiation phase to better target 

federal funding to the programs who need it most, which in some cases 

continues to lower the cost of some AmeriCorps programs to the federal 

government which allows CNCS to support more members overall. 

These changes also allow a wider variety of non-profits able to operate 

AmeriCorps programs by make applying for AmeriCorps a viable option, 

including for small non-profits and those operating in rural communities. 

The changes also enable Governor-supported State Service Commissions, 

in their role as grantmakers, to engage more non-profits in their states.

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

Partnerships

justice AmeriCorps 

In collaboration with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office of 

Immigration Review (EOIR), CNCS launched this initiative as part of 

the 2014-15 program year to improve the adjudication of immigration 

court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings. One 

hundred Attorneys and paralegals will serve as AmeriCorps members and 

provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children under the 

age of 16. These children must meet the following conditions in 19 cities: 

they are not in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement or the 

Department of Homeland Security, they have received a Notice to Appear 

in removal proceedings before the EOIR, and they have not had their cases 

consolidated with removal proceedings against a parent or legal guardian.

Evidence and Results

During FY 2014, AmeriCorps State and National continued to support its 

grantees’ increased attention to, understanding of, and implementation of 

evaluation. The FY 2014 grant competition required applicants to submit 

logic models and discuss the proposed intervention evidence base, as 

well as how the intervention will lead to the outcome identified in the 

applicant’s theory of change. Applicants were scored against a four-tiered 

evidence level scale: pre-preliminary, preliminary, moderate, and strong. 

AmeriCorps State and National collaborated with CNCS’s Office of 

Research and Evaluation to help build the evaluation capacity of the 

program’s grantees in the following ways:

• School Turnaround AmeriCorps: Conducted ongoing research to study 

the effects that AmeriCorps members providing direct service in 

schools have on the success of turnaround models and to understand 

the mechanisms by which this happens
22 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

• Evaluation Bundling: Conducted a multi-site quasi-experimental 

program evaluation that seeks to draw causal conclusions about 

the overall impact of a selection of Youth OpportunityAmeriCorps 

interventions

• Minnesota Reading Corps: Conducted a rigorous randomized 

controlled trial of the program

• Direct technical assistance to grantees: Provided one-on-one 

consultation with grantees to refine their logic model. This led to 

greater understanding of their impact, and the development of 

stronger evaluation plans and implementation. The consultations 

also helped CNCS identify potential service interventions to take 

to scale

A more detailed narrative on evaluation in the context of AmeriCorps State 

and National can be found in the Evaluation section.

Economic Opportunity

AmeriCorps State and National grantees helped expand economic 

opportunity in the nation’s communities through a range of interventions 

that strengthened not only individual economic opportunity but also 

community economic opportunity. 

In Florida, AmeriCorps Goodwill Goodworks provided employment services 

(barrier assessment and job skills training) to 1,372 economically 

disadvantaged individuals resulting in 796 of those individuals securing 

employment. In Maryland, Civic Works strengthened Baltimore’s 

communities through education, skills development, and community 

service. The program recruited Baltimore residents and provided them 

with opportunities to serve Baltimore-area residents while improving 

their own futures. Civic Works’ Service Corps engaged 128 AmeriCorps 

members, who leveraged an additional 1,000 volunteers to educate 

students, make housing more affordable, and help low-income 

communities access and learn about healthy food in Baltimore City. In 

2014, Civic Works AmeriCorps members made 867 houses safer and 

more affordable, repaired 233 houses for older adults, and retrofitted 

632 houses to make them more energy efficient. A total of 753 families 

reported that they were better able to afford monthly housing costs. 

The University of Virginia VA College Advising Corps (VCAC) is a public 

service program to address the widening gap in college access for low 

income, first generation, and underrepresented students. VCAC’s mission 

is to increase the number of these students entering and completing 

higher education. VCAC is a joint venture of UVA, College Advising Corps, 

and AmeriCorps. During the life of the program, VCAC has conducted 

131,564 one-on-one appointments with students; 20,472 classroom 

visits and workshops; 9,982 meetings with parents; 3,937 campus tours; 

assisted 7,503 on SAT preparation; completed 8,818 FAFSAs; and enrolled 

over 10,000 students in post-secondary institutions. The program became 

the model for the national College Advising Corps, now present in 14 

states and 423 high schools. 

In 2014, AmeriCorps members helped to bring $6,984,885 in institutional 

aid and $1,756,472 in scholarships to students throughout Virginia. This 

program has experienced increases in college matriculation in the vast 

majority of our partner high schools, with results ranging from 2 to 14 

percent between 2008-2012 graduates. This amounts to thousands of 

students who have continued on to post-secondary education.

Other Focus Area Accomplishments

Education

Education is the single largest priority area for AmeriCorps State and 

National grantees. During FY 2013, the most recent year for which data 

is available, 53 percent of all current AmeriCorps State and National 

grantees were focused on education. AmeriCorps State and National 

grantees are providing education services in the neighborhoods of one in 

10 public schools (10,010 out of 103,483 total public schools). AmeriCorps 

State and National grantees are serving students from one out of four 

persistently low achieving schools. 

In Utah, the Read. Graduate. Succeed. program is a governor/mayor 

initiative that has three components: 1) As part of the Read Today 

program, AmeriCorps members recruit, train, and coordinate volunteers to 

individually tutor students in elementary schools who have been identified 

as needing extra help by their classroom teachers and principals. For the 

2014 academic year, more than 8,000 individuals volunteered at their 

local schools and gave approximately 173,000 hours of service. More 

than 6,000 students improved their academic performance in literacy. 2) 

The Destination Graduation component places AmeriCorps members in 

high schools to help increase high school graduation rates and support 

students’ efforts to engage in post-secondary education. 3) AmeriCorps 

members serving through Mentoring for Success focus on improving 

attendance. Of the 1,300 students mentored, the average attendance 

increased 92 percent.

In West Virginia, Energy Express is an eight week summer reading and 

nutrition program located in low- income and rural communities to slow 

or stop the “summer slide.” In 2014, 500 summer AmeriCorps members 

served 3,000 students entering first through six grades at 74 sites in 

37 counties. The program provided students with 20,028 books and 

139,520 meals. The children experienced significant increases in letterword recognition, reading fluency, passage comprehension, and broad 

reading. Overall, 63 percent of the students who completed the program 

maintained or increased their reading achievement scores.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 23

Part VI: Budget Activities

Environmental Stewardship

In Montana, the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) continues to serve 

as a cost-effective program that makes a significant impact on Montanaspecific community needs. 245 MCC members worked to create or improve 

650 miles of trails to help preserve the state’s 30 million acres of state 

and federal lands. MCC AmeriCorps members improved 54,881 acres 

of parks and public and tribal lands. Some of their largest projects are 

removing invasive species. Without the assistance of MCC members, 

hundreds of miles of trail would be left unmaintained, thousands of 

acres of habitat would not receive critical protection, and parks would 

not receive needed restoration. Additionally, MCC AmeriCorps members 

recruited or managed 1,438 volunteers and completed eight projects 

in partnership with tribal entities. MCC AmeriCorps members also 

collaborate with the state’s seven Indian Reservations to weatherize 

homes and educate homeowners and renters on energy efficient practices.

Disaster Support

Fifteen AmeriCorps State and National grantees support AmeriCorps 

Disaster Response Teams that provide a combined total of 3,000 specially 

trained AmeriCorps members ready to deploy to disaster-stricken areas. 

AmeriCorps members provided direct assistance to homeowners in the 

cleanup of their homes, volunteer coordination in the cleanup efforts, and 

documentation for soft matches that may be used for the state’s cost 

share for FEMA grants. 

In response to the August 2014 Southeast Michigan floods, CNCS 

deployed 100 AmeriCorps members and staff from nine different 

AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team programs. Over the course of 70 

days, AmeriCorps members served 17,058 hours, assessed 424 homes, 

mucked/gutted 351 homes, and cleared over 6,382 cubic yards of debris. 

While there was a concerted response from many organizations, in many 

locations, AmeriCorps members were the only resources available to some 

low-income residents. 

On Saturday March 22, a major mudslide occurred near Oso, Washington 

when a portion of a hillside collapsed. AmeriCorps State and National 

through the Washington Conservation Corps deployed nine crews 

consisting of 76 total members serving over 12,000 hours. AmeriCorps 

crews established the first responders base camp in Darrington. This 

required the construction of yurts to serve as a base to manage logistics, 

food services, laundry, waste disposal, and sleeping quarters. Within 

just a few days, response organizations filled this camp. It swelled to a 

population of more than 500. In total, the WCC served 13,700 meals to 

responders and collected and distributed 6,350 pounds of donations. 

TABLE 5. AmeriCorps State and National Vital Statistics

FY12  Actual FY13 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Target FY16 Target

Appropriation (in thousands) $344,348 $326,336 $335,430 $335,430 $425,105 

Number of member slots awarded (or estimated) 67,400 63,400 64,674 68,658 81,200

Cost per MSY* $7,549 $7,772 $7,668 $7,813* $8,273* 

* For FYs 2015 and 2016, the Cost per MSY includes no-cost member slots (such as professional corps) that will receive the education awards and loan forbearance benefits but no programmatic 

funding (except in unique instances where programs can demonstrate limited resources and require additional program dollars to operate). 
24 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

BUDGET ACTIVITY 2:

AmeriCorps VISTA

(Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Title I, Part A)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

AmeriCorps VISTA was created to help reduce poverty and build economic 

opportunity throughout the country. Established and authorized in 1964 

as Volunteers in Service to America, the program became part of the 

AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. AmeriCorps VISTA primarily 

supports efforts to alleviate poverty by engaging individuals ages 18 and 

older in a year of full-time service. These AmeriCorps VISTA members build 

the organizational, administrative, and financial capacity of programs 

that help low-income Americans gain the skills and resources they need 

to break the cycle of poverty. AmeriCorps VISTA members are assigned 

to nonprofit community organizations and public agencies through an 

application process managed locally by CNCS State Offices.

Partnerships

Mentoring, Opportunity Youth, and Workforce Development Initiatives 

To support the My Brother’s Keeper initiative (MBK), AmeriCorps VISTA 

will help young adults gain the education they need to become employed 

in today’s workforce and will help them find entry-level jobs. Support will 

include the following pipeline-to-jobs endeavors:

• Promoting collaborative efforts to connect various programs focused 

on youth mentoring

• Coordinating programs focused on selected MBK Task Force focus 

areas: 

 – Entering school ready to learn with a focus on closing the word 

gap, ensuring access to high quality early care and education, and 

expanding health and developmental screenings

 – Promoting reading at grade level by the third grade through joint 

book reading and in-home literacy programs, and increasing the 

capacity of successful reading proficiency programs

 – Facilitating college access by improving access to college advising 

and support tools and offering Free Application for Federal Student 

Aid support to targeted populations

 – Creating workforce development projects that support programs 

focused on increasing entry-level job, mentorship, and 

apprenticeship options

Refugee Resettlement

In FY 2016, AmeriCorps VISTA will work to assist refugees resettling by:

• Connecting targeted populations with programs focused on English 

as a Second Language and computer literacy

• Providing training in interview skills, resume writing, mentoring 

TABLE 6. AmeriCorps VISTA Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

Budget Account

FY14 Enacted 

Level

FY15 Enacted 

Level

FY16 President’s 

Budget

Increase/Decrease 

(FY15-FY16)

Subsistence Allowance $54,382 $54,867 $58,345 $3,478 

Post-Service Stipend $1,668 $1,668 $1,716 $48 

Healthcare $10,868 $10,896 $11,326 $430 

Childcare $1,328 $1,328 $1,372 $45 

Workers Compensation $936 $940 $950 $10 

Travel, Relocation, and Settling In $3,113 $3,113 $3,203 $90 

Supervision and Transportation $5,236 $5,114 $5,262 $148 

Grantmaking Support $670 $443 $181 ($262)

Training $11,907 $11,825 $12,292 $467 

Evaluation, Administration, etc. $870 $784 $784 $0 

Recruitment and Outreach $1,385 $1,385 $1,453 $68 

Total Budget Authority* $92,364 $92,364 $96,885 $4,521 

Total AmeriCorps VISTA Members 7,782 7,782 7,700  (12)

*

 Total budget authority may not equal sum of total budget accounts due to rounding.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 25

Part VI: Budget Activities

programs, as well as other professional development opportunities 

for youth and adults

• Expanding access to social services including health care, food 

access, and transportation

• Countering trafficking in persons via awareness and prevention 

campaigns and support systems for victims of trafficking

STEM AmeriCorps 

In FY 2016, AmeriCorps VISTA will help to expand STEM education by 

supporting additional partnerships, such as those with US 2020 and the 

California State University system. These partnerships engage students, 

faculty/staff, and community partners in long-term solutions for bolstering 

the number of underrepresented students who pursue and obtain STEMrelated degrees.

Evidence and Results

In alignment with the Administration’s goal of using data more effectively, 

AmeriCorps VISTA will launch a pilot program aimed at building the 

research and evaluation capacity of nonprofit sponsors serving lowincome communities. The goal is twofold: (1) to build the local sponsors’ 

capacity in this critical area, and (2) ultimately inform evaluations of the 

AmeriCorps VISTA program nationally. 

In addition, AmeriCorps VISTA will focus on performance metrics, 

identifying inefficiencies, and tracking outcomes based on investments 

made by the sponsor during the fiscal year for meaningful evaluation.

Economic Opportunity

Promise Zones

AmeriCorps VISTA is supporting the Promise Zone Initiative, a part of the 

President’s plan to create economic opportunity for distressed families 

through broad support for the geographic area in which they live. 

The first five Promise Zones are located in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los 

Angeles, Southeastern Kentucky, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. 

Each location received a broad package of support to relieve poverty, 

including five AmeriCorps VISTA members each. Among other tasks, the 

AmeriCorps VISTA members will help to build the capacity of the Promise 

Zones to work with federal agencies, coordinate key stakeholders and 

create the community’s project evaluation. Examples of AmeriCorps VISTA 

activities in the Promise Zones include:

• Enrolling more children into pre-K, boosting interest in math and 

science in high school, and enhancing public safety in San Antonio

• Attracting private investments and new business, expanding home 

ownership, and increasing the quality of pre-kindergarten programs 

in Philadelphia

• Focusing on access to affordable housing and help more people 

obtain the training they need to get jobs in Los Angeles

• Assisting the Promise Zone to attract new business and creating jobs 

in new industries, expanding technical training, and helping more 

kids access higher education in Kentucky

• Improving educational outcomes by partnering with school districts 

throughout the region to share data for continuous program 

improvement and bolstering early literacy and parent support 

programs in the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma

In developing these initiatives, AmeriCorps VISTA will continue to 

coordinate with other federal and local agencies through the ongoing 

work of the President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service and by 

supporting the Administration’s Promise Zone and Strong Cities Strong 

Communities initiatives. In addition, through pilot programs in partnership 

with NeighborWorks America and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 

AmeriCorps VISTA will explore ways to use its resources to help nonprofits 

expand their evaluation and data-driven management capacity. CNCS 

will also continue to expand programming to support low-income veterans 

and military families and to increase convenient and intergenerational 

solutions to help families access food year round.

AmeriCorps VISTA will also contribute to the Operation AmeriCorps 

initiative by building organizations’ capacity to provide the unemployed 

with help finding a job, assist in feeding the hungry, and develop the 

means by which projects can provide financial literacy training.

Efficiency

Planned enhancements to the My AmeriCorps Portal to fully automate 

member transactions, track online pre-service terms and conditions 

training, and automate the travel voucher process, are expected to 

increase member support while reducing processing time and staff 

workload. 

Strengthening Member Development and Support 

Based on AmeriCorps VISTA’s assessment, structured learning 

opportunities that provide personalized feedback and guidance have the 

greatest effect on members’ development and successful completion of 

their assignment. The greatest returns on investment are in the coaching 

and supervision from the sponsor and the VISTA Pre-Service Orientation 

for members. In FY 2016, AmeriCorps VISTA will develop more resources, 

building on the existing online course for site supervisors, with new 

materials for member support and coaching to better prepare sponsors 

and supervisors to support AmeriCorps VISTA members.

50th Anniversary of AmeriCorps VISTA 

Building on the partnerships developed through the 50th Anniversary 
26 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

of AmeriCorps VISTA, the renewed engagement of our alumni, and the 

ideas and support garnered through the anniversary events, AmeriCorps 

VISTA continues to refine its future recruitment efforts. While celebrating 

50 years, AmeriCorps VISTA has surveyed recruitment practices among 

sponsors and grantees, analyzed recruitment potential, and tested 

messages, images, and taglines. FY 2016 offers the opportunity to 

apply that knowledge by exploring new approaches to engaging future 

AmeriCorps VISTA members and leaders with these new tools. 

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

Partnerships

Building on its long history of public-private partnerships, AmeriCorps 

VISTA created and expanded collaborations with federal agencies, 

nonprofits, and the private sector in FY 2014. During FY 2014, 

approximately 20 percent of all AmeriCorps VISTA living allowances for 

members were supported through cost-share agreements funded by the 

local communities served. This cost-share program enabled CNCS to 

support nearly 1,600 additional AmeriCorps VISTA members in FY 2014. 

Other examples of public-private partnerships, which enabled AmeriCorps 

VISTA to support 200-300 additional AmeriCorps VISTA members besides 

those funded through the traditional cost share framework, are described 

below.

ServiceWorks

Supported by the Citi Foundation, AmeriCorps and Points of Light, 

ServiceWorks is a groundbreaking, national program that uses volunteer 

service as a strategy to help 18,000 low-income youth and young adults 

in 10 cities develop the skills they need to prepare for college and careers. 

The program, which will deploy 225 AmeriCorps VISTA members over three 

years, will engage youth ages 16–24 in service and build a large-scale 

volunteer response to the crisis of low college and career attainment.

Financial Opportunity Corps

During FY 2014, in partnership with Bank of America and the Points of 

Light Institute, AmeriCorps VISTA launched the Financial Opportunity 

Corps to support low and moderate-income households. This initiative 

placed 20 AmeriCorps VISTA members at local nonprofit, public, and 

faith-based organizations throughout the country. The AmeriCorps VISTA 

members build local capacity at their sites by launching and supporting 

proven financial coaching programs to help low- and moderate-income 

households achieve financial stability. 

Additional Partnership Highlights (CNCS funding 

only)

Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR)

This initiative was launched by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D) and 

Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY) to help meet the challenges in eastern 

Kentucky related to unemployment and poverty, and help the region 

develop and put into action new locally-oriented strategies to attack 

persistent challenges. Through this investment of more than $1.05 million, 

more than 50 AmeriCorps VISTA members will provide more than 100,000 

volunteer hours over the next year to eastern Kentucky families and 

individuals in the areas of job creation and retention, youth engagement, 

education success, and health and human services. These AmeriCorps 

VISTA members recruit and manage volunteers, raise funds, and build 

the capacity of 16 local nonprofit and education organizations that 

tackle poverty and expand opportunity to 50 counties in rural Kentucky’s 

Appalachian region.

One Star: Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation 

The foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life of Houstonians 

across all age groups through the power of literacy. AmeriCorps VISTA 

supports this project by building and sustaining volunteer management 

technology in addition to leveraging tools that increase awareness and use 

of literacy data and information.

In FY 2014, AmeriCorps VISTA placed 7,782 AmeriCorps VISTA members 

(including 5,838 full-time and 1,944 Summer Associates), in more than 

4,000 communities and organizations across the country. The capacitybuilding activities performed by the AmeriCorps VISTA members varied 

depending on the local needs, but some activities were common among 

many sponsors. 

For example, 81 percent of all sponsors assigned one or more of their 

AmeriCorps VISTA members to resource development, and these members 

raised more than $160 million in cash and in-kind resources in support of 

anti-poverty programs. Similarly, 88 percent of sponsoring organizations 

assigned one or more of their AmeriCorps VISTA members to build their 

capacity to recruit and manage community volunteers. These AmeriCorps 

VISTA members meaningfully engaged an estimated 1.4 million community 

volunteers in serving their communities. 

FY 2014 was an important year for AmeriCorps VISTA as the program 

continued developing performance measurement tools to measure 

the impact of AmeriCorps VISTA projects. Staff completed technical 

requirements for a new project application and reporting system, which 

will assist applicants in developing project plans that incorporate CNCS 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 27 

Part VI: Budget Activities

national performance measures, capture data to demonstrate progress, 

and increase accountability. These new systems will be fully implemented 

for FY 2015 and will improve resource allocation decisions and outcome 

measurement. 

Economic Opportunity

Economic Opportunity remains a critical AmeriCorps VISTA focus area, 

encompassing nearly a third of the new projects developed in FY 2014. 

Faith-based and community organizations used AmeriCorps VISTA 

resources to create or expand projects that help people find employment, 

move into safe and affordable housing, and become financially 

independent. An Alliance of Arizona AmeriCorps VISTA members serving 

with United Way of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff helped strengthen the 

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program to increase the United 

Way’s ability to assist low-income taxpayers throughout northern Arizona. 

With VISTA’s assistance, the United Way was able to enlist more than 200 

volunteers to help over 5,000 families and individuals to receive free tax 

services and claim over $2 million in Earned Income Tax Credits. 

Veterans and Military Families

AmeriCorps VISTA continued to expand programming to support new 

projects that assist low-income veterans and military families, as well 

as enhance existing projects to better serve low-income veterans. The 

AmeriCorps VISTA program encourages all projects, particularly those 

that serve veterans and military families, to recruit veterans to serve as 

AmeriCorps VISTA members. AmeriCorps VISTA members assigned to the 

Oregon National Guard Service Member and Family Support Directorate 

focused on the needs of 8,600 military service members and more than 

19,000 family members in the areas of health, nutrition, and employment.

Training and Development Initiatives

The AmeriCorps VISTA Campus—the online learning website containing 

and coordinating self-directed tutorials, research materials, facilitatorled courses, webinars, forums, and social media links—was upgraded 

in FY 2015 to better connect supervisors to their AmeriCorps VISTA 

members. Developments on the AmeriCorps VISTA Campus include 

upgraded pre-service materials to ensure terms of service, benefits 

of service, and expectations of roles and conduct throughout service 

are made available to as many types of learners as possible. The 

enhancements included a performance measures application – 

supported on mobile devices and desktop computers – to capture real 

time data and reports. The demand for accredited AmeriCorps VISTA 

Campus courses continues to outpace available space. In FY 2014, 1,469 

registrants completed the 13 weeks of study. 

Many of AmeriCorps VISTA’s training opportunities are delivered via 

the online Campus. However, face-to-face events are also essential to 

members’ success. CNCS assessed and refined its Pre-service Orientation 

in FY 2013 and FY 2014. Some of those refinements include providing full 

access to skills development courses and focusing on communication 

strategies, professional behavior in the workplace, and poverty theories of 

change that are related to service assignment descriptions. CNCS will use 

best practices from this effort to inform training improvements across the 

agency’s portfolio. 

In addition to orientation improvements, AmeriCorps VISTA continued to 

promote its Professional Development Plan, which permits AmeriCorps 

VISTA leadership staff to mandate or recommend materials to support 

AmeriCorps VISTA members. AmeriCorps VISTA members who participate 

on Campus can earn badges redeemable for university credit.2

 The 

American Council on Education (ACE) currently accredits two Campus 

courses for a total of six credits in undergraduate disciplines. A third 

course is in development for accreditation in Non-Profit Management. 

AmeriCorps VISTA’s partnership with Roger Williams University also offers 

a member the opportunity to earn 90 credits toward an undergraduate 

degree in nonprofit management upon presentation of a fully successful 

portfolio. 

TABLE 7. AmeriCorps VISTA Vital Statistics

FY12 Actual FY13 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Target FY16 Request

Appropriation (in thousands) $94,820 $89,861 $92,364 $92,364 $96,885 

Number of New Members Enrolled 7,300 7,211 7,782 7,782 7,700

Number of Member Service Years (MSYs) 5,600 5,591 5,559 5,550 5,720

Cost per MSY $16,932 $16,072 $16,615 $16,642 $16,938 

2

 Badges must be presented in an AmeriCorps VISTA member’s service portfolio and are currently accepted for credit at Roger Williams University.
28 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

BUDGET ACTIVITY 3:

AmeriCorps National Civilian 

Community Corps 

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title I, Subtitle E)

FY 2016 Performance Plan 

AmeriCorps NCCC is a residential, team-based program that provides 

opportunities for young Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 to 

address pressing national and community needs in all 50 states through 

10 months of full-time, intensive national service. The service, training, 

and certification provided by AmeriCorps NCCC increase employment 

skills, leadership abilities, and economic opportunity for young adults – 

particularly those from disadvantaged circumstances.

Partnerships

FEMA Corps

Building on AmeriCorps NCCC disaster work and a 19-year history 

of working together on disaster response and recovery efforts, the 

Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA) and CNCS launched an innovative partnership in 2012 

to further strengthen the nation’s ability to respond to and recover 

from disasters while expanding professional disaster management 

opportunities for young people. For FY 2016, CNCS anticipates continuing 

its partnership with FEMA to address critical needs with a renewed 

Inter-Agency Agreement. CNCS anticipates enrolling approximately 1,000 

FEMACorps members in FY 2016.

Pacific Region Partnership with John Muir Charter School

Another example of an AmeriCorps NCCC partnership includes the John 

Muir Charter School in Sacramento, CA. AmeriCorps NCCC places a Muir 

teacher with a team made up of members from the program’s Pacific 

Region Campus who are seeking a high school diploma or GED. The 

teacher supports the members in their scholastic work and prepares them 

for testing. Once achieved, corps members would graduate with a GED or 

high school diploma and be eligible to use their Segal Education Award. 

AmeriCorps NCCC anticipates expanding this partnership opportunity to 

serve members in all five campuses.

Evidence and Results 

In keeping with the program’s focus, AmeriCorps NCCC will continue to 

prioritize resources and track results in the following areas:

• Suppression and prevention of wildfires

• Assistance to homeless people, at-risk youth, and veterans

• Environmental education

• Volunteer recruitment

• Energy conservation

• Tax preparation support

Economic Opportunity

AmeriCorps NCCC will continue its work expanding economic opportunities 

of those in need, such as providing assistance to homeless and at-risk 

youth. Service activities may include: mentoring, tutoring, and working 

with the Veterans Administration to provide food, clothing, and shelter to 

the homeless.

Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances

AmeriCorps NCCC continues to expand participation by recruiting a 

diverse member community to serve across the country, as approximately 

40 percent of AmeriCorps NCCC members are from disadvantaged 

circumstances. Since focusing on the goal of the Serve America 

Act to recruit and place youth from disadvantaged circumstances 

into AmeriCorps NCCC, the program has enhanced its outreach and 

recruitment efforts to appeal to a broader demographic of organizations 

and potential members. CNCS anticipates continuing to aggressively 

engage members of different backgrounds in FY 2016.

TABLE 8. NCCC Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

Budget Account

FY14 

Enacted Level

FY15 

Enacted Level

FY16 

President’s Budget

Increase/Decrease 

(FY15-FY16)

Program Support $13,145 $12,055 $12,055 0

Program Operations $16,855 $17,945 $18,445 $500

Total Budget Authority $30,000 $30,000 $30,500 $500 

Total Annualized Members1 1,011 1,011 1,011 0

1

 See Operation AmeriCorps presented earlier in this Budget.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 29

Part VI: Budget Activities

Operation AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps NCCC will contribute to the Operation AmeriCorps initiative 

by offering its flexible, campus-based model and more than 20 years 

of experience providing service solutions.3 Service options will include 

providing disaster response and relief, helping to improve community 

infrastructure, and urban and rural development.

FY 2014 Accomplishments 

(In Addition to Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

In FY 2014, AmeriCorps NCCC enrolled approximately 1,000 members 

and recruited or managed an additional 24,000 volunteers in efforts to 

improve communities throughout the country. The program continued 

to serve in the focus areas identified in the Serve America Act and 

in CNCS’s Strategic Plan: natural and other disasters, infrastructure 

improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, urban and 

rural development, and energy conservation. 

In support of CNCS’s work in these strategic focus areas, NCCC teams 

spent 36 percent of total project hours on urban and rural development, 

30 percent on environmental stewardship and conservation, 24 percent 

on nationwide disaster services, 8 percent on infrastructure improvement, 

and 2 percent on energy conservation projects. 

In FY 2014, AmeriCorps NCCC members:

• Suppressed or contained wildfires on 35,331 acres, removed 1,179 

acres of brush or undergrowth to prevent fires, and performed 

prescribed burns on more than 17,662 acres to prevent further 

wildfire spreading

• Assisted 17,809 homeless people, 24,247 at-risk youth, and 5,917 

veterans

• Taught 11,579 people in environmental classes/workshops

• Planted 41,261 new trees

• Recruited and coordinated 24,212 volunteers

• Constructed 281 houses, weatherized 69 homes and outfitted 137 

homes with energy-efficient modifications

• Returned approximately $13 million tax dollars to American 

communities through tax preparation services

AmeriCorps NCCC traditional members participated in disaster response 

and recovery efforts in 27 states in FY 2014, including continued recovery 

efforts in the aftermath of the Colorado floods and in the Atlantic states 

affected by Hurricane Sandy. In addition, AmeriCorps NCCC teams 

provided support following tornadoes in Tupelo, Mississippi, as well as 

unaccompanied minors humanitarian efforts in Texas and Arizona. The 

program supported disaster response efforts in partnership with FEMA, 

the American Red Cross, governor-supported Commissions, and local 

municipalities throughout the United States. 

In addition to capturing the previously discussed performance information, 

AmeriCorps NCCC conducts project sponsor surveys, which provide 

outcome evidence on the community impact of the AmeriCorps NCCC 

program model. The FY 2013 results show two primary outcomes of 

AmeriCorps NCCC projects. First, AmeriCorps NCCC service enhanced 

the capacity of the sponsoring organization to meet community needs. 

Second, collaborating with AmeriCorps NCCC expanded or enhanced the 

sponsoring organization’s community impact. Furthermore, 95 percent 

of the sponsors enhanced their ability to provide services, including 

increasing the number of people they could serve and the amount of 

service they could provide. 

Supporting Disaster Survivors

In FY 2014, FEMA Corps teams provided vital services to survivors of 

the Washington mudslides and Alaskan floods. Support services to 

the Washington mudslide survivors included providing 2,810 meals to 

TABLE 9. FY 2014 NCCC Project Accomplishments1

Issue Area Team Service Hours Completed2 Percentage of Total Team Service Hours

Natural and Other Disasters 274,880 24%

Infrastructure Improvement 85,182 8%

Environmental Stewardship and Conservation 337,865 30%

Energy Conservation 23,625 2%

Urban and Rural Development 415,482 36%

Total 1,137,0442 100%

1

 All data submitted as of 12/22/2014.

2

 These hours do not include those devoted to training or the 80 hours of individual service each NCCC member must complete with a community sponsor of their own choosing. 
30 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

survivors, supporting eight disaster services facilities, and registering 112 

people at shelters with the National Emergency Management Information 

System. In Alaska, FEMA Corps members assisted with sheltering and 

feeding survivors. 

Disaster survivors also continue to benefit from innovative practices FEMA 

Corps helped to pilot, such as Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams. These 

groups go door-to-door with tablet computers in areas struck by disasters, 

registering residents who are in need of assistance. This greatly reduces 

burden on survivors when seeking access to government support by 

allowing them to submit information without having to travel to a central 

facility. The Administration has highlighted this effort as a great example 

of government delivering services better, faster, and more efficiently – a 

core element of President Obama’s Management Agenda.

Since the program’s inception, FEMA Corps teams have operated laundry 

services, received, inventoried and/or distributed 82 tons of food, and 

supported 722 disaster service facilities. In addition, FEMA Corps has 

served in 119 cities across 38 states, completing more than 7,422 damage 

or needs assessments, answering more than 35,612 registration or 

helpline calls, and conducting more than 79,878 case reviews for disaster 

survivors.

Member Development and Impact

AmeriCorps NCCC is a strong contributor to the agency’s strategic 

goal of providing professional, educational, and life benefits to service 

participants. The most recent performance measures survey for the 

AmeriCorps NCCC Program found that 90 percent of members report that 

the AmeriCorps NCCC training and experience helped them to improve in 

sensitivity and respect for differences. In addition, 84 percent of members 

report that the training and experience strengthened their commitment to 

community service. The survey also found 86 percent of respondents are 

likely to motivate others to strengthen their commitment to community 

service in the next year. Lastly, 79 percent intend to volunteer more 

frequently. 

TABLE 10. AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Vital Statistics

FY12 Actual FY13 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Target FY16 Target

Appropriations (in thousands) $31,882 $30,214 $30,000 $30,000 $30,500 

Number of Member Service Years 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200

Annualized Enrollment 1,011 1,011 1,011 1,011 1,011

Cost Per MSY $27,909 $29,885 $29,674 $29,674 $30,168 

Cost Per MSY in Constant 2009 Dollars $27,252 $27,503 $26,800 $26,248 $26,136 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 31

Part VI: Budget Activities

BUDGET ACTIVITY 4:

State Service Commission 

Support Grants 

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title I, sections 

126(a) and 178)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

When Congress created CNCS in 1993, it envisioned national service as a 

shared federal-state partnership, providing a central role for governors in 

designing and implementing national service through governor-supported 

State Service Commissions (Commissions). Commissions perform vital 

functions and are invaluable partners to CNCS. More than 1,000 private 

citizens serve as governor-appointed commissioners, leading and guiding 

national service efforts in their states by identifying local needs, directing 

federal and state resources, ensuring oversight and accountability, 

tracking performance measures and community impact, and leading 

citizen service efforts in their states and territories. 

Today, the nation’s 53 Commissions monitor approximately two-thirds of 

CNCS’s AmeriCorps State and National grant funds. Commissions provide 

outreach to prospective AmeriCorps grantees, conduct grant competitions, 

provide training and technical assistance to local AmeriCorps grantees, 

and build the capacity of faith-based and community organizations 

seeking to operate AmeriCorps programs. They are uniquely well-suited to 

this work because they know and understand state and local needs. 

Commissions establish state-wide goals for national service and volunteer 

action and actively pursue them in collaboration with other CNCS 

programs, volunteer centers, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters 

(VOAD), and other partners. Their activities include hosting statewide 

volunteer conferences, coordinating state volunteer training and matching 

systems, and developing volunteer centers. Commissions support key 

governor initiatives, such as decreasing high school dropout rates, 

increasing mentoring efforts, supporting people with disabilities, helping 

veterans make the transition to civilian life, and coordinating volunteers in 

response to disasters. In addition to the training and technical assistance 

activities, they have frontline responsibility for ensuring grantees comply 

with all federal rules and regulations and oversee and monitor their 

subgrantees.

Commission Support grants are an example of leveraging federal 

resources to meet locally identified needs. These grants have a 1:1 match 

requirement. For every federal dollar provided, states must match a 

dollar of state or private funds. Given tight state budgets, this continued 

state funding is an indication that governors value the critical role of 

Commissions in assessing and addressing local needs.

Commissions will support CNCS’s mission to improve lives and strengthen 

communities through service by focusing on the following priority 

objectives in FY 2016.

Partnerships

Through partnerships with the private sector and state and local 

governments, Commissions will advance the Administration’s goal to 

develop results-driven partnerships that expand service opportunities 

and meet state and local needs. For example, the Iowa Commission will 

implement recommendations from the Governor’s Council on National 

Service to increase service opportunities through public and private 

partnerships. The California Commission established the California 

Volunteers Service Enterprise Initiative which is building a network 

of training centers to prepare organizations throughout the state to 

integrate volunteers into their work and organizational infrastructure. 

This method of integration allows them to reduce their costs and increase 

efficiency. The initiative is a partnership with volunteer centers, the 

Taproot Foundation, and private corporations such as Boeing, Chevron, 

Deloitte, Gap, and Hewlett Packard. The initiative draws on the expertise 

of the partners to increase effectiveness and efficiency in nonprofit 

organizations.

Economic Opportunity

AmeriCorps programs supported by Commissions will advance economic 

opportunity through several avenues, including the recruitment of 

TABLE 11. State Commission Support Grants Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY16 President’s Increase/Decrease 

Budget Account FY14 Enacted Level FY15 Enacted Level Budget (FY15-FY16)

State Service Commission $15,038 $16,038 $17,000 $962 

Support Grants

Total Budget Authority $15,038 $16,038 $17,000 $962 
32 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

opportunity youth to serve as AmeriCorps members and addressing their 

education and job training needs. For example, Serve Wisconsin supports 

five economic opportunity programs in six counties that are enhancing 

youth self-sufficiency through construction of affordable housing, 

completion of high school, and development of independent living skills. 

Evidence and Results

The requested funding level will increase Commission capacity to 

implement performance-based culture. Commissions will use the 

funds to support training for applicants and grantees on performance 

measures, monitor their subgrantees to ensure program impact in local 

communities, and evaluate their programs. In addition, in FY 2014, 

Commissions were required to establish and track performance measures 

for their Commission activities. The Commissions need support and 

capacity to track and report the results of their own activity as well as 

subgrantee impact. 

For example, the Texas Commission, OneStar Foundation, maintains a 

strong focus on developing evidence-based AmeriCorps programs that 

demonstrate direct impact on the communities they serve. OneStar 

conducts webinars and bi-monthly coaching calls and provides selfassessment tools and an evaluation plan review checklist to ensure 

that commission-funded programs have a strong understanding of 

performance measurement and evidence-based requirements results. As 

part of these efforts, OneStar commissioned a rigorous, scientificallybased independent evaluation of its AmeriCorps programs.

Efficiency

Commissions, along with CNCS, will explore more efficient approaches 

to ensure accountability among AmeriCorps programs. CNCS will 

continue its partnership with Commissions to deliver training to more 

CNCS programs at lower cost through a series of regional conferences. 

The training conferences, planned and conducted by Commissions 

and CNCS staff, train program staff on AmeriCorps and federal grant 

requirements. The trainings also feature both CNCS and Commission 

procedures for oversight and monitoring as well as tracking and reporting 

on performance measures. For example, the Pennsylvania commission, 

PennSERVE, developed an innovative desk monitoring review process that 

could be replicated by other Commissions. These efficiencies included 

avoiding the need for some more costly on-site reviews, making onsite 

monitoring more targeted and efficient, and allowing the Commission to 

monitor programs earlier in the year. 

FY 2014 ACCOMPLISHMENTS (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

Commissions are responsible for conducting a variety of activities in their 

states to ensure accountability and maintain a strong network of service 

delivery. These activities include training, performance reviews, site 

visits, risk assessments, and other oversight activities. In addition, those 

Commissions with AmeriCorps National Direct operating sites in their 

states support and connect those sites to the AmeriCorps network in the 

state.

As a result of revisions CNCS made to the application requirements for 

their grants, Commissions are providing more extensive information to 

CNCS about their goals and performance measures for their support 

grants. CNCS requires Commissions to report their plans and activities 

in three major areas: AmeriCorps Grant Outreach and Selection, Program 

Compliance and Performance, and Collaboration and Sustainability. 

In addition, Commissions must select and report on specific capacitybuilding performance measures. This allows CNCS to aggregate and track 

both outputs and outcomes across the State Commission network. 

State Commissions have supported the development of programs for the 

governor and Mayor Initiative within AmeriCorps. Through this initiative, 

governors partner with mayors to develop AmeriCorps programs to tackle 

pressing challenges in their states. Since this initiative launched in 

2013, 11 states have launched governor and Mayor Initiative programs, 

engaging approximately 675 AmeriCorps members in addressing a range 

of issues including dropout prevention, childhood literacy, job readiness, 

environmental stewardship, human trafficking, and economic opportunity. 

As one example, the Michigan Community Service Commission supports 

the AmeriCorps Urban Safety Corps in Detroit. This program engages 

36 AmeriCorps members in increasing public safety by boarding up 

vacant properties, establishing neighborhood block clubs, installing home 

safety equipment, and engaging thousands of volunteers. The program, 

a partnership between Wayne State University and the Detroit Police 

Department, combines the crime targeting capabilities of CompStat with 

the community organizing capabilities of AmeriCorps members to reduce 

crime in the Midtown, Jefferson East, and other neighborhoods.

Partnerships

As the centers for national service and volunteer activity in their 

states, Commissions have a long history of developing partnerships 

that strengthen service and expand volunteer opportunities. Through 

interagency and public-private partnerships, Commissions advance the 

Administration’s goal to expand service opportunities and increase the 

impact of citizens in solving problems. 

In FY 2014, Iowa’s Commission on Volunteer Service worked with Gov. 

Terry Branstad to launch the Governor’s Council on National Service in 

Iowa. This new Council convened prominent leaders from the private 

sector, higher education, local government, and state government to 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 33

Part VI: Budget Activities

develop recommendations and a plan for Iowa to expand national service 

positions through new sources of funding. The Council and the Governor 

have announced multiple new efforts to grow national service in Iowa. 

For example, Iowa’s Green Corps is expanding through new private and 

local efforts as well as a new funding model for private and municipal 

utilities and rural electric cooperatives to support Iowa’s goals in energy 

conservation and renewable energy. Other new partnerships are being 

developed in the areas of early literacy, STEM, rural fire and EMS, 

mentoring, and water quality. 

The Texas Commission, the OneStar Foundation, partnered with the Bush 

School of Government and Public Service at Texas A & M University to 

identify the best mechanisms to build the capacity of the nonprofit sector 

to address community problems. This has resulted in the Commission 

developing other governmental and private sector partnerships to increase 

collaboration among nonprofit agencies across the state, and to increase 

effectiveness in addressing immediate economic recovery needs and 

other social services challenges. Texas has now expanded this type of 

partnership with 10 universities
34 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

BUDGET ACTIVITY 5: 

National Service Trust

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title 1, Subtitle D)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

The National Service Trust (the Trust) was established by the National 

and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 to provide funds for Segal 

AmeriCorps Education Awards for eligible AmeriCorps members, including 

VISTA and NCCC, who successfully complete their terms of service. 

Funding for the Trust comes from appropriations, interest earned, and 

proceeds from the sale or redemption of Trust investments. The Awards 

can be used to: 

• Repay qualified student loans 

• Pay education expenses at a qualified institution of higher education 

(or GI Bill institution for eligible members) 

• Repay eligible interest expenses

The Budget request will support approximately 90,150 new AmeriCorps 

member enrollments in the Trust, in line with the following principles3: 

• An estimated average Trust cost per member service year (MSY) of 

$4,268

• Full-time members comprise approximately 45 percent of the 

portfolio

• No increase to the National Service Trust Reserve. As established 

by the Strengthen AmeriCorps Program Act, a portion of the funds 

in the Trust are held in reserve and are for use only in the event 

that the estimates used to calculate obligations differ from actual 

results. The reserve currently totals $46.7 million for the General 

Fund and $3.5 million for the Recovery Act Fund. To date, no reserve 

funds have been used. CNCS will continue to monitor the factors 

used to estimate Trust funding and make adjustments in the future if 

necessary.

Economic Opportunity

More than 90,150 new members will benefit from the opportunity to 

earn an education award that will help pay for student loans, education 

expenses, or eligible interest. This will reduce awardees’ debt burden and 

free up their capital to help pay rent, purchase homes, or go on to obtain 

further skills. In other words, they will be better positioned to achieve 

economic success.

Efficiency

CNCS monitors and adjusts several factors to ensure the effective and 

efficient administration of Trust dollars. The agency used assumptions 

noted with each of the following factors to calculate the Trust budget 

request for FY 2016: 

Member Service Years (MSY). AmeriCorps State and National, 

AmeriCorps VISTA, and NCCC members will comprise approximately 

55,551 MSYs. An additional 1,342 AmeriCorps VISTA members are 

projected to choose a cash stipend in lieu of an education award, and 

therefore do not affect funding in the Trust. 

Enrollment Rate. Consistent with the Strengthen AmeriCorps Program 

Act legislative history, the calculation of Trust funding assumes that all 

members will be enrolled in the Trust, allowing for refillable slots. Over 

the past five years, enrollment rates have averaged about 98 percent of 

available slots.

Earning Rate. Based on the Strengthen AmeriCorps Program Act 

legislation, the FY 2016 calculation assumes that about 84 percent of fulltime members enrolled in the Trust will complete their service and earn an 

award, which is consistent with the Trust model. This typically ranges from 

77 to 86 percent depending on term type.

Full Value of the Award. This calculation assumes that members earning 

an award will earn the full value based on their earning category (e.g., 

full-time, part-time, and reduced part-time). Historically, CNCS has found 

that about 4 percent of members exit programs early and receive a slightly 

reduced award. 

TABLE 12. National Service Trust Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY16 President’s Increase/Decrease 

Budget Account FY14 Enacted Level FY15 Enacted Level Budget (FY15-FY16)

National Service Trust $207,368 $209,618 $237,077 $16,808 

Total Budget Authority $207,368 $209,618 $237,077 $16,808 

3

 Includes approximately 8,600 no cost slots.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 35

Part VI: Budget Activities

Usage Rate. Based on Trust model projections, for FY 2016, CNCS is 

projecting 88 percent of the awards earned will be used, which includes a 

factor of 100 percent for members over age 55. Under the Serve America 

Act, education awards earned by members over age 55 can be transferred 

to an eligible beneficiary. CNCS is projecting that all transferable awards 

will eventually be used.

Net Present Value. Two years can elapse between the time that CNCS 

receives an appropriation for the Trust, a grant is awarded, and a 

member is enrolled and completes his or her service term. In addition, 

members have seven years from the completion of their service to use 

their award. Consequently, over nine years can elapse between the initial 

appropriation to the Trust and when an education award is used. Members 

who perform multiple terms of service, or are unavoidably prevented from 

using their education award can also receive an extension of the time the 

education award can be used. CNCS takes this time frame into account 

by discounting the education award to its net present value. The discount 

factors used in the calculation are based on historical usage patterns, 

Office of Management and Budget projected interest rates, and the 

weighted average maturity of CNCS’s Trust portfolio.

Reserve Account. This request does not include additional funding for the 

National Service Trust Reserve, which currently stands at $50.2 million 

and is adequate to cover unanticipated costs.

By statute, the value of the education award is linked to the maximum 

level for Pell Grants each year. For FY 2016, the estimated value of the 

education award for a full-time member who completes his or her term of 

service is $5,805. 

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition To 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. Since CNCS’s inception in FY 1993, 

AmeriCorps members have earned more than $2.87 billion in education 

awards and used over $2.02 billion of that $2.87 billion to fund their 

education and repay student loans. In addition, CNCS made $82.19 

million in interest forbearance payments, covering the interest costs of 

outstanding student loans for AmeriCorps members during their terms of 

service.4

4

 FY 2014 data will be available and included in this analysis after October 1, 2014.
36 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

BUDGET ACTIVITY 6: 

Retired and Senior Volunteer 

Program (RSVP)

(Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Title II)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

RSVP will engage the skills, talents, and experience of approximately 

232,384 volunteers age 55 and older, participating in approximately 627 

federally-funded projects, to meet a wide range of community needs. 

Volunteers serve in community organizations to help them deliver critical 

services and fulfill their missions. Using skills they have developed over 

a lifetime, RSVP volunteers are making an impact by helping seniors 

live independently in their homes, tutoring and mentoring at-risk 

youth, expanding economic opportunity for veterans and their families, 

and helping communities recover from disasters. While serving their 

community, RSVP volunteers also improve their own lives by staying active 

and civically engaged, which leads to physical and mental health benefits. 

Partnerships

Senior Corps RSVP has answered the Administration’s call for agencies 

to further leverage results-driven relationships within and outside of the 

government by developing an extensive network of partners, including 

Area Agencies on Aging, Community Service Block Grants, Volunteer 

Centers, United Ways, social services agencies, faith-based organizations, 

and many others.

Older Americans, who have time, experience, and expertise, are in an 

excellent position to support communities through volunteering. CNCS 

and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) at the Department 

of Health and Human Services, have entered into a Memorandum of 

Understanding to use volunteer service activities to bolster the ability 

of older adults and persons with disabilities to support communities in 

need throughout the United States. ACL and CNCS will leverage federal 

investments to achieve community integration for all older adults, 

specifically individuals with disabilities, and to support the expansion of 

evidence-based fall prevention and health promotion programs. CNCS is 

also participating in development of the civic engagement track of the 

2015 White House Conference on Aging.

Evidence and Evaluation

In 2013, the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) published its Report 

to Congress: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Evaluation of 

Community-based Wellness and Prevention Programs under Section 4202 

(b) of the Affordable Care Act. CMS reported that, “These analyses found 

some promising evidence suggesting that four nationally disseminated 

programs: (EnhanceFitness (EF), Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program 

(AFEP) & Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi Program (AFTCP), and Matter 

of Balance (MOB)) may have driven down total healthcare costs for 

participating beneficiaries.” These promising evidence-based models rely 

on activities that are well suited to RSVP grantees and volunteers. CNCS 

is supporting the expansion of these models in the RSVP network, and will 

continue to elevate evidence-based programming as a critical component 

of RSVP grant activities. 

As part of CNCS’s effort to understand and increase the results of its 

programs in alignment with the Administration’s call to do what works, 

Senior Corps RSVP has successfully implemented agency performance 

measures across its portfolio. RSVP grantees that are renewing and 

continuing their grants in FY 2016 will also be required to link federal 

funding to the number of volunteers engaged in national performance 

measures. 

TABLE 13. RSVP Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

Budget Account

FY14 Enacted 

Level

 FY15 Enacted 

Level

FY16 President’s 

Budget

Increase/Decrease 

(FY15-FY16)

Grants to Projects 

 Continuing Grants, Extensions, Supplemental 

(one time funds)

$33,851 $29,337 $32,220 $2,883

 Administrative Renewals $13,841 $13,841

 New Grants $13,262 $17,798 $1,074 ($16,724)

Subtotal, grants $47,113 $47,135 $47,135 $0 

Grant making and Business Support $1,790 $1,768 $1,768 $0 

Total Budget Authority $48,903 $48,903 $48,903 $0 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 37

Part VI: Budget Activities

In FY 2016, the Senior Corps application process will include validated 

selection criteria that contain information on past performance. In 

accordance with the provisions of the Serve America Act, CNCS will begin 

assessing RSVP grants that were competitively awarded, and will either 

administratively renew successful grants or terminate unsuccessful 

grantees. CNCS will continue to require all administratively renewed 

grants to demonstrate full compliance with CNCS national performance 

measure goals. 

CNCS will also be investing in evaluations of both the potential benefits 

and impact of volunteering to better align future grant funds to 

Administration and congressional priorities. CNCS is planning research to 

explore the potential health benefits of volunteering in RSVP that will be 

based in part on the results of the 2014 RSVP Volunteer Survey described 

below. In addition, in FY 2013, AARP Experience Corps was competitively 

awarded the RSVP grant in Chicago, Illinois to implement an evidencebased intergenerational volunteer model that also engages AmeriCorps 

members. Based on the results of a feasibility study scheduled to be 

funded in FY 2015, CNCS plans to conduct an impact evaluation of the 

AARP Experience Corps model. 

In addition to promoting partnerships and working to strengthen results, 

with the requested funding CNCS will:

• Award new three-year RSVP grants 

• Award second and third year continuation funds to grantees that 

competed in FY 2014 and FY 2015; these continuation grants will link 

federal funding to performance

Efficiency

Senior Corps grantees are required to conduct criminal history checks as 

specified by CNCS regulations for grant funded staff in RSVP projects. The 

rules governing compliance with criminal history checks specify multiple 

elements, and have specific requirements based on the enrollment or 

hire date of either a volunteer or a staff person. To help Senior Corps 

grantees confirm full compliance, Senior Corps is developing a dynamic 

tool that will, based on input from the user, verify the current status of 

each individual staff person subject to the criminal history checks, and 

flag areas where additional steps must be taken to fully comply with 

regulations. This tool will allow grantees to easily assess their compliance 

with a complex statutory requirement, providing for more efficient 

oversight and monitoring. The tool is scheduled to be available February 

2015. 

Non-Grant Activities

Funding for non-grant activities will support CNCS Information Technology 

(IT) Modernization, outreach activities and materials, including Senior 

Corps Week. In addition, Senior Corps will develop a training and technical 

assistance plan to prepare all Senior Corps grantees for competition, 

including providing technical assistance for current grantees as they 

prepare to apply for AmeriCorps funding. 

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Additional to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

RSVP supported CNCS’s mission to improve lives and strengthen 

communities through service by focusing on the following priority 

objectives in FY 2014: 

In FY 2014, RSVP volunteers delivered more than 40.4 million hours of 

service in their communities. Across the network of federally funded 

grantees, 232,384 unduplicated budgeted volunteers served in community 

organizations (volunteer stations) nationwide to deliver essential services 

through local organizations that deliver meals to the homes of isolated 

older adults, or schools where volunteers tutor at-risk youth. 

In FY 2014, CNCS released the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the 

FY 2015 RSVP competition. The results of this competition will be 

announced in the second quarter of FY 2015 and will represent the 

successful competitive renewal of the entire RSVP grant portfolio as 

required by the 2009 Kennedy Serve America Act. This third competition 

also marks the adoption of CNCS’s national performance measures 

by all 617 RSVP grants has focused the RSVP grantees on increasing 

community impact. Working through such networks as Area Agencies on 

Aging, Community Action Agencies, Volunteer Centers, United Ways, social 

services agencies, faith-based organizations, and many others, RSVP 

volunteers: 

• Served 329,400 veterans in activities such as transportation and 

employment service referrals

• Mentored nearly 78,000 children

• Provided independent living services to 797,000 adults, primarily frail 

seniors

• Provided respite services to 20,300 family or informal caregivers

• Engaged 20,100 veterans who served as RSVP volunteers

• Leveraged an additional 18,500 volunteers to support RSVP activities 

such as delivering meals to those in need and tutoring at-risk children

In FY 2014, states and local communities contributed more than $39.4 

million in non-federal support, including cash and in-kind to RSVP 

projects. This additional funding, including the $4.4 million in state 

appropriated dollars, demonstrates the value of the essential services that 

RSVP volunteers provide in their communities. 
38 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Evidence and Evaluation

In the summer of 2014 RSVP initiated a cross-sectional evaluation to 

describe how RSVP volunteers are engaged under the newly adopted 

national performance measures. This evaluation also compares RSVP 

volunteers to community volunteers and describes how RSVP volunteers 

were engaged in service under the FY 2013 work plans.

RSVP in Action: Program Examples

Disaster

RSVP of Central Oklahoma – Moore, Oklahoma

In the year following the 2013 tornado, more than 90 volunteers from 

RSVP of Central Oklahoma have contributed 4,515 hours to nine nonprofit 

and state organizations working in the recovery effort. Senior Corps 

RSVP volunteers answered disaster hotlines, performed follow-up calls to 

families affected by the disaster, served food and provided companionship 

at day shelters, provided survivors with rides to medical appointments, 

and collected and distributed donated goods to disaster survivors. 

During the coming year, volunteers with the RSVP of Central Oklahoma 

will continue to participate in disaster recovery projects, and will prepare 

and distribute disaster-ready kits to families and elderly persons in 

Oklahoma’s tornado-prone communities. Believing that public/private 

partnerships strengthen community impact, the Shell Company of the 

Americas contributed $50,000 to support the vital disaster recovery and 

preparedness services being provided by the RSVP of Central Oklahoma. 

In her blog, a senior official at Shell explains, “At Shell we believe that 

there is no community issue that a group of dedicated individuals can’t 

solve. When people employ teamwork and creativity, good things happen. 

That is why we support national service – a public-private partnership 

that engages citizens in solving problems.”

Education 

Chicago RSVP, AARP Experience Corps – Chicago, Illinois

AARP Experience Corps is a proven evidence-based tutoring program that 

guides children in kindergarten through third grade on the path to reading 

proficiently and confidently. In the fall of 2013, AARP launched its Experience 

Corps program using RSVP volunteers in 14 Chicago public schools, recruiting 

170 RSVP volunteers who served over 12,700 hours to help 1,230 students 

in 92 classrooms. On a standardized assessment, 82.5 percent of these 

students demonstrated improvement with the support of the RSVP volunteer. 

The students served were nearly evenly divided between boys and girls. Of 

those students served, 73 percent were African-American, 5 percent were 

Hispanic, and 75 percent received free or reduced fee lunches. 

Veterans Support 

Queens Veterans Court – Queens, New York

As part of treatment and rehabilitation, the Queens Veterans Court 

engages RSVP volunteers who are also veterans to mentor veterans with 

low-level misdemeanors who find themselves in court due to behavior, 

mental health, and substance abuse issues related to their military 

service. Because the mentors are themselves veterans, they more easily 

relate to the issues the veteran may be having. The mentors help the 

veterans get their lives back on track and out of the justice system. Last 

year, RSVP volunteers mentored 50 veterans to help keep them from 

situations that would put them in more serious judicial proceedings. 

Independent Living

Volunteer Macon RSVP – Macon, Georgia

The RSVP, sponsored by Volunteer Macon, has been instrumental in 

ensuring that elderly residents are not prematurely institutionalized, 

isolated, and companionless. Over the past year, 36 RSVP volunteers 

served 12,599 hours. They assisted 108 homebound elderly residents in 

Bibb County, Georgia. RSVP volunteers supported and assisted elderly 

residents with transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, 

assistance at senior or community centers, and assistance with obtaining 

social services such as energy assistance and commodities. They also 

provided respite to caregivers. 

In collaboration with Family Care Solutions of Macon, the Macon Police 

and Fire Departments, and the American Red Cross, RSVP volunteers 

received training on caregiver support, community support services, and 

other activities. In addition to CNCS funding, RSVP Volunteer Macon has 

received financial support from the Peyton Anderson Foundation ($20,000, 

2010-2012) and Hatcher Foundation ($25,000, 2013-2014). The support 

from the Peyton Anderson Foundation and Hatcher Foundation has allowed 

Volunteer Macon RSVP to also provide assistance and friendship to 

individuals who need acute care. 

TABLE 14. RSVP Vital Statistics

Program Items FY13 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Target FY16 Target

Number of federally funded CNCS awards/grantees 656 615 627 627

Average federal award/grant $71,683 $76,358 $75,175 $75,175 

Number of RSVP Volunteers 295,475 232,384 232,384 232,384
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 39

Part VI: Budget Activities

BUDGET ACTIVITY 7: 

Foster Grandparent Program 

(FGP)

(Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Title II)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

The Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) is an intergenerational program 

first established in 1965. The Budget request of $107.7 million will connect 

approximately 25,190 volunteers age 55 and over with opportunities to 

provide one-on-one mentoring, nurturing, and support to children with 

special or exceptional needs, or who are at an academic, social, or financial 

disadvantage. Foster Grandparents help young children with special or 

exceptional needs gain skills and confidence to succeed in school, tutor 

children in literacy, and assist children in the child welfare system. By 

introducing competition into FGP, providing robust support to help grantees 

implement evidence-based models, and providing a path for evidencebased programs to expand through AmeriCorps, the 2016 Budget enhances 

the capacity for FGP volunteers to meet critical needs in their communities. 

Partnerships

In FY 2016, CNCS anticipates FGP continuing to support federal 

management of unaccompanied minors through targeted grant activities. 

Additionally, CNCS will leverage cross-agency support for My Brother’s 

Keeper using targeted FGP mentoring activities through a Foster 

Grandparent Program competition in FY 2015 focusing on existing federally 

recognized tribes, including Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. 

Evidence and Evaluation

In FY 2014, Senior Corps completed analysis of a cross-sectional 

evaluation of FGP volunteers as compared to similar volunteers not 

engaged in National Service. This evaluation shows that FGP volunteers 

tended to be African-American and Latino older adults as compared to a 

comparison sample of non-FGP volunteers. This demonstrates that FGP 

engages a diverse group of Americans 55 and older in volunteering and 

civic engagement. 

This analysis also showed that FGP volunteers reported better health 

than a comparison sample of non-FGP volunteers. Future research will 

be required to further explore this finding. CNCS will be completing a 

longitudinal quasi-experimental evaluation of the potential health benefits 

of volunteering in Foster Grandparent Program with the final data being 

collected in FY 2017. 

CNCS is funding case-studies of two AmeriCorps models that are being 

implemented with support of the Foster Grandparent Program: Jumpstart 

and Reading Partners. The goal of these case-studies is to understand 

the barriers to adoption of evidence-based national service models. 

The results of these case-studies will support technical assistance for 

FGP grants on both the adoption of evidence-based models and the 

requirements of AmeriCorps State and National funding opportunities. 

CNCS is also conducting a feasibility study on a possible impact 

evaluation of the Jumpstart Community Corps model that addresses 

school readiness through a FGP grant in Los Angeles, CA. 

Based on the results of this feasibility study CNCS will also conduct an 

impact evaluation of the Jumpstart Foster Grandparent Program, which 

empowers AmeriCorps members and Foster Grandparents to help improve 

school readiness and literacy skills. 

As part of CNCS’s effort to increase the impact of its programs in alignment 

with the Administration’s call to do what works, the Foster Grandparent 

Program has successfully implemented agency performance measures 

across its portfolio. In 2015 and 2016 CNCS will provide technical 

assistance to grantees on evidence-based program models. Future FGP 

funding opportunities will also allow applicants to request additional funding 

to support the administrative costs of evidence-based programing.

TABLE 15. Foster Grandparent Program Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

Budget Account

FY14 Enacted 

Levels

 FY15 Enacted 

Levels

FY16 President’s 

Budget

Increase/Decrease 

(FY15-FY16)

Grants to Projects 

 Renewal/ Continuing Grants $105,804 $101,090 $106,150 $5,060

 New Volunteer Service Years - new grants & augmentations $5,060 ($5,060)

Subtotal, grants $105,804 $106,150 $106,150 $0 

Grant making and Business Support $1,898 $1,552 $1,552 $0 

Total Budget Authority $107,702 $107,702 $107,702 $0 
40 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

In FY 2016, the Senior Corps application process will use validated 

selection criteria that include information on past performance. CNCS 

is proposing changes to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act to introduce 

competition to the Foster Grandparent Program to ensure federal funds 

support the most competitive applicants in each community. In addition, 

as CNCS does not currently have the authority to compete grants in the 

Foster Grandparent Program, CNCS will introduce additional rigor in the 

administrative renewal process in FY 2016 to require that successfully 

renewed grants demonstrate full compliance with CNCS national 

performance measure goals and to prepare grantees for the possibility of 

competition as proposed by this budget. 

Efficiency

Senior Corps grantees are required to conduct criminal history checks as 

specified by CNCS regulations for grant funded staff and for volunteers 

serving in the FGP programs. The rules governing compliance with criminal 

history checks specify multiple elements, and have specific requirements 

based on the enrollment or hire date of either a volunteer or a staff person. 

To help Senior Corps grantees confirm full compliance, Senior Corps is 

developing a dynamic tool that will, based on input from the user, verify 

the current status of each individual staff person subject to the criminal 

history checks, and, flag areas where additional steps must be taken to 

fully comply with regulations. This tool will allow grantees to easily assess 

their compliance with a complex statutory requirement, providing for more 

efficient oversight and monitoring. The tool is scheduled to be available 

February 2015. 

Non-Grant Activities

Funding for non-grant activities will support CNCS IT Modernization and 

technology, outreach activities and materials, including Senior Corps 

Week. In addition, Senior Corps will work with AmeriCorps State and 

National to provide to prepare all Senior Corps grantees for competition, 

including providing technical assistance for current grantees as they 

prepare to apply for AmeriCorps funding. 

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Additional to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

Foster Grandparent Program FY 2014 accomplishments included:

• 25,190 Foster Grandparent Program volunteers, more than 760 of 

whom were veterans

• A network of 309 grants, funded by both CNCS and non-federal 

funds

• 23 million hours of service in their communities

• 189,100 children served

• 108,200 children mentored, 2,700 of whom were children of military 

families

Senior Corps Foster Grandparent Program has answered the 

Administration’s call for agencies to leverage results-driven relationships 

within and outside of the federal government. The expansion of the PEACE, 

Inc. Foster Grandparent Program to every first and second grade school 

in Syracuse, New York is an example of support from State legislatures 

and local school boards. The Syracuse School District invested $350,000 

in this expansion, which was supplemented by additional funds from 

CNCS. In total, 167 Foster Grandparents will serve in the 2015-2016 

school year. In FY 2015, Senior Corps will evaluate partnerships between 

Senior Corps Foster Grandparent Program grantees and models funded 

through AmeriCorps grants. CNCS is also providing technical assistance 

and training to support the adoption of national service best practices in 

Syracuse. CNCS is evaluating the expansion to be able to support other 

communities as part of the Presidential Task Force on Expanding National 

Service.

In FY 2014, states and local communities contributed more than $30.5 

million in non-federal support, including cash and in-kind, to FGP projects. 

The non-CNCS funding often supports both project operations and allows 

FGP projects to expand their scope of service by increasing the number 

of Volunteer Service Years (VSYs) available to serve the children. This 

additional funding, including the $6.3 million in state appropriated dollars, 

demonstrates the value of the essential services that Foster Grandparent 

volunteers provide in their communities. 

Foster Grandparent Program in Action: Examples 

of Evidence-Based Programing

In FY 2014 Jumpstart, as a FGP grantee in Los Angeles CA, implemented 

its Community Corps model using Foster Grandparent Program volunteers. 

The Jumpstart program is founded on an evidence-based curriculum, 

drawing on research in early childhood education. Jumpstart’s Community 

Corps stresses the development of language, literacy, social and 

initiative skills in an intergenerational model. Under the Jumpstart/Foster 

Grandparent Community Corps design, the Foster Grandparents receive 

an average of 100 hours of pre-service training to serve 15-40 hours per 

week over the course of a school year in teams in pre-school classrooms 

to implement the education literacy curriculum. In Los Angeles, 62 

Foster Grandparents tutored 251 preschool-age children in low-income 

neighborhoods during the 2013-2014 school year. Of the 229 children who 

completed the Jumpstart program (at least 120 days of participation), 

95.7 percent demonstrated gains in language and literacy skills while 68.1 

percent demonstrated gains of one developmental level or more.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 41

Part VI: Budget Activities

Foster Grandparent Volunteers from FGP grantees in Baltimore, MD, 

Denver, CO, Charleston, SC and Dallas, TX served as tutors in the Reading 

Partners Program, another evidence-based national service model. CNCS 

evaluations of FGP involvement in these models will serve as a roadmap 

for future adoption of evidence-based models. 

Agreement between CNCS and Administration for 

Community Living

Older Americans, who have time, experience, and expertise, are in an 

excellent position to support communities in a variety of volunteer 

activities. CNCS and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) have 

entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to use volunteer services 

activities to bolster the ability of older adults and persons with disabilities 

to support communities in need throughout the United States. ACL and 

CNCS will leverage federal investments to achieve community integration 

for all older adults, specifically individuals with disabilities.

TABLE 15. Foster Grandparent Program Vital Statistics

Program Items FY13 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Target FY16 Target

Number of federally funded CNCS awards/grantees 315 309 319 319

Average federal award/grant $333,362 $342,408 $332,759 $332,759 

Number of Federally funded Volunteer Service Years 23,300 22,540 23,235 23,235

Direct Number of Foster Grandparent Volunteers* 28,250 25,190 25,190 25,190

*

 The Direct Number of Foster Grandparent Volunteers includes both CNCS funded and non-CNCS funded. Of this total, in 2014, 1,186 Foster Grandparent Volunteers were non-CNCS funded.
42 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

BUDGET ACTIVITY 8: 

Senior Companion Program 

(SCP)

(Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Title II)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

The Budget request of $45.5 million for the Senior Companion Program 

will engage approximately 12,190 volunteers, ages 55 and over, in 

providing in-home support to adults who have difficulty with daily living 

tasks. By introducing competition into SCP, providing robust support to 

help grantees implement evidence-based models, and providing a path 

for evidence-based programs to expand through AmeriCorps, the 2016 

Budget enhances the capacity for SCP volunteers to meet critical needs 

in their communities.

Partnerships 

In FY 2016, CNCS anticipates continuing to support the Department of 

Health and Human Services Elder Justice initiative through a targeted 

SCP competition focusing on existing federally recognized tribes, including 

Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. This competition will invest 

national service resources to empower community members age 55 and 

older to serve vulnerable older adults in tribal areas. CNCS will also seek 

to support partnerships between SCP grantees and Accountable Care 

Organizations in order to integrate national service into coordinated 

models of care. CNCS will also explore the possible application of 

evidence-based models such as the Chronic Disease Self-Management 

Program in the SCP setting through supplemental funding. 

Evidence and Evaluation

CNCS has started a longitudinal quasi experimental evaluation of the 

potential health benefits of volunteering in SCP with the final data 

being collected in FY 2017. CNCS is also conducting a two-year study of 

caregivers served by SCP clients. This before-after analysis of caregiver 

stress among newly enrolled recipients of Senior Companion Program will 

provide SCP programs a better understanding of the needs of caregivers 

and how the program can better serve clients. Additionally, in 2015 and 

2016 CNCS will provide technical assistance to grantees on evidencebased program models. 

Efficiency

Senior Corps grantees are required to conduct criminal history checks as 

specified by CNCS regulations for grant funded staff and for volunteers 

serving in the SCP programs. The rules governing compliance with 

criminal history checks specify multiple elements, and have specific 

requirements based on the enrollment or hire date of either a volunteer 

or a staff person. To help Senior Corps grantees confirm full compliance, 

Senior Corps is developing a dynamic tool that will, based on input from 

the user, verify the current status of each individual staff person subject 

to the criminal history checks, and flag areas where additional steps must 

be taken to fully comply with regulations. This tool will allow grantees 

to easily assess their compliance with a complex statutory requirement, 

providing for more efficient oversight and monitoring. The tool is 

scheduled to be available February 2015. 

Non-Grant Activities

Funding for non-grant activities will support CNCS Information 

Technology Modernization and outreach activities and materials, 

including Senior Corps Week. In addition, Senior Corps will develop 

a training and technical assistance plan to prepare all Senior Corps 

grantees for competition, including working with AmeriCorps State and 

National to provide technical assistance for current grantees as they 

prepare to apply for AmeriCorps funding. 

TABLE 16. Senior Companion Program Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

Budget Account

FY14 

Enacted Level

FY15 

Enacted Level

FY16 President’s 

Budget

Increase/Decrease 

(FY15-FY16)

Grants to Projects 

 Renewal/ Continuing Grants $44,444 $43,361 $44,368 $1,007

 New VSYs-new grants & augmentations $1,007 ($1,007)

Subtotal, grants $44,444 $44,368 $44,368 $0 

Grant making and Business Support $1,068 $1,144 $1,144 $0 

Total Budget Authority $45,512 $45,512 $45,512 $0 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 43

Part VI: Budget Activities

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

The SCP grantees work with states to expand services through Medicaid 

Home and Community-based (HCBS) Waivers. In FY 2014, nine states 

elected to incorporate SCP services into their Medicaid-funded home and 

community-based services, providing more than $820,000 to support 440 

Senior Companions, who in turn provided in-home support to nearly 1,100 

Medicaid-eligible clients. Medicaid HCBS waivers are designed to allow 

states greater flexibility to meet the needs of community-dwelling persons 

with long-term care needs. The goal of the waivers is to substitute home 

and community services for nursing home and other institutional care. 

In addition to the examples above, SCP has answered the Administration’s 

call for agencies to further leverage results-driven relationships within 

and outside of the government by developing an extensive network of 

partners, including: Area Agencies on Aging, Community Action Agencies, 

Volunteer Centers, United Ways, social services agencies, faith-based 

organizations, and many others. 

In FY 2014, 12,190 Senior Companion volunteers delivered 10.5 million 

hours of service to more than 43,000 frail, older adults and others 

with physical or other limitations, of which 3,100 were veterans. Of the 

Senior Companions serving, 600 were veterans. They transported clients 

to medical appointments, helped shop for food and basic necessities, 

provided companionship to offset isolation, and offered respite to 6,650 

family members and informal caregivers. 

In FY 2014, states and local communities contributed more than $22.2 

million in non-federal support, including cash and in-kind, to SCP projects. 

The non-CNCS funding often supports both project operations and allows 

SCP projects to expand their scope of service by increasing the number 

of Volunteer Service Years (VSYs) available to serve the clients and their 

caregivers. This additional funding, including the $6.4 million in state 

appropriated dollars, demonstrates the value of the essential services that 

Senior Companion volunteers provide in their communities. 

In FY 2014, Senior Corps completed an analysis of a cross-sectional 

evaluation of SCP volunteers as compared to similar volunteers not 

engaged in National Service. The evaluation showed that SCP volunteers 

tended to be African-American and Latino older adults as compared to 

a comparison sample of non-SCP volunteers. These results demonstrate 

that SCP engages a diverse group of Americans age 55 and older in 

volunteering. Future research will be required to further explore this 

finding. CNCS is also seeking changes to the Domestic Volunteer Service 

Act that would introduce competition to the Senior Companion Program 

to ensure federal funds support the most competitive applicants in each 

community 

Senior Companion Program in Action: Program Examples in 

Independent Living Support

Audubon Area Community Services Senior Companion Program – 

Owensboro, Kentucky 

The Senior Companion program sponsored by Audubon Area Community 

Services Inc. in Owensboro, Kentucky provides in-home service to chronic, 

long-term care clients. Working in partnership with nine volunteer 

stations, Senior Companions received four hours of in-service training 

monthly on aging issues including, but not limited to, hospice, cancer, 

dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s Disease.

Last year alone, 73 Senior Companions provided 72,669 hours of in-home 

care assistance to 305 frail elderly clients. Senior Companions worked 

one-on-one with clients to build and maintain independent living skills. 

To track the program impact, data was collected from Client Care Plans. 

Reports indicated that 79 percent of Senior Companion clients receiving 

weekly assistance maintained or improved their activities of daily living, 

as indicated on the Independent Living Skills surveys completed by 

volunteer stations. Ultimately, 91 percent of Senior Companion clients 

were able to remain living in their own home.

Lane County Senior Companion Program – Lane County, Oregon

The Senior Companion Program of Lane County, sponsored by Lane 

Community College, improves the quality of life by providing supportive 

services and companionship to elderly, disabled, and isolated adults. 

Approximately 70 Senior Companions work each month to provide 

companion and supportive services to over 500 seniors and disabled 

adults in Junction City, Florence, Veneta, Eugene, Springfield, Oakridge, 

Creswell, and Cottage Grove. 

Over the past year, 76 volunteers in 19 volunteer stations served 

198 clients for a total of 53,197 hours. Four of the Senior Companion 

volunteers who were Veterans served 12 Veteran clients at an independent 

living apartment complex for Veterans. Fully, 70 percent of the volunteer 

stations contribute financially to support the volunteers and the program.

Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs – Cranston, Rhode Island 

The Senior Companion Program brings volunteers age 55 and over with 

adults in their community who have difficulty with the simple tasks 

of day-to-day living. Senior Companions become part of a team of 

caregivers. They alert doctors and family members to potential health 

problems and provide short periods of relief to primary caregivers such 

as family members. Without the help of Senior Companions, many older 

adults would not be able to continue living at home and would need more 

expensive, less personal care.
44 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Companions help on a personal level by assisting with shopping and light 

chores, interacting with doctors, or just making a friendly visit. During the 

last program year, 68 Senior Companion volunteers serve 652 clients for a 

total of 94,232 volunteer hours.

Knox County Senior Companion Program – Knoxville, Tennessee

The Senior Companion Program sponsored by Knox County Community 

Action Committee in Knoxville, Tennessee, partnered with Project Live, 

a case management program for low-income seniors, to train and 

engage 49 Senior Companion volunteers to serve and support 208 frail 

and homebound seniors. Senior Companion volunteers provided meals, 

medication reminders, assistance to maintain a safe environment, 

light housekeeping, and companionship to support clients remaining 

in their homes and avoiding premature institutionalization. Volunteers 

assisted one to three clients for four to 15 hours a week. Data collected 

through the Tennessee Independent Living Re-assessment survey and 

by case manager supervisors showed that 95 percent of the at-risk frail 

and vulnerable clients were able to remain in their homes and avoided 

premature institutionalization after at least six months of service.

The program also partnered with seven different volunteer stations 

to train and engage 44 Senior Companion volunteers who provided 

companion services to support clients while providing respite to 120 

caregivers. Volunteers assisted one to three clients for four to 15 hours 

a week. Data collected through the SCP Respite Performance Measure 

Survey found that 93 percent of caregivers reported that the respite 

provided by the volunteers allowed them to attend to their own healthcare 

needs and get rest, with 93 percent reporting increased social ties due to 

the respite. Additionally, 96 percent of caregivers report that the respite 

provided by Senior Companion volunteers allow the person they care for to 

remain at home. 

In summary, as part of CNCS’s effort to understand and increase the 

impact of its programs in alignment with the Administration’s call to do 

what works, the SCP has successfully implemented agency performance 

measures across its portfolio. In FY 2016, the Senior Corps application 

process will include validated selection criteria that include information 

on past performance. While CNCS does not currently have the authority 

to compete grants in the SCP, CNCS will introduce additional rigor in the 

administrative renewal process in FY 2016 to require that successfully 

renewed grants demonstrate full compliance with CNCS national 

performance measure goals and to prepare grantees for the future 

competition, as proposed by this Budget. 

Beginning in FY 2014, CNCS began planning a comprehensive review of 

the first agency-wide performance data reported by SCP grantees and 

anticipates providing some related preliminary analysis in FY 2016, 

TABLE 17. Senior Companion Program Vital Statistics

Program Items FY13 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Target FY16 Target

Number of federally funded CNCS awards/grantees 183 178 182 182

Average federal award/grant $249,108 $249,685 $243,780 $243,780 

Number of Federally funded Volunteer Service Years 9,315 9,330 9,495 9,495

Direct Number of Foster Grandparent Volunteers* 13,770 12,190 12,190 12,190

* The Direct Number of Senior Companion Volunteers includes both CNCS funded and non-CNCS funded. Of this total, in 2014, 2,226 Senior Companion Volunteers were non-CNCS funded.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 45

Part VI: Budget Activities

BUDGET ACTIVITY 9: 

Social Innovation Fund

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title I, Subtitle H)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

The Budget invests $70 million in the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to test 

promising new approaches to major challenges, leverage private and 

philanthropic capital to meet these needs, and expand evidence-based 

programs that demonstrate measurable outcomes. SIF seeks to improve 

the lives of people in low-income communities by investing in three priority 

areas of need: economic opportunity, youth development, and healthy 

futures. At a time when public, private, and nonprofit organizations are 

struggling to meet the nation’s most pressing challenges, and when tough 

choices are being made at every level to maximize limited resources, the 

SIF represents a new way of doing business for the federal government. 

Through rigorous evaluation, the SIF contributes to the knowledge base of 

proven program models that can be replicated in communities across the 

country, including by other CNCS-funded programs. 

The Budget continues to propose that up to 20 percent of funds be 

available for Pay for Success projects. Pay for Success models leverage 

philanthropic and private dollars to fund services up front, with 

government paying only after results occur. Since the PFS model is a tool 

to enable implementation of evidence-based interventions, and since the 

core SIF program supports rigorous evaluation to build evidence about 

which interventions work, core SIF program grantees with validated 

models may enjoy opportunities to scale and replicate in connection with 

the SIF PFS grant program.

The Budget maintains FY 2015 funding levels. The continuation of this 

level of funding is vital as the SIF reaches maturity and seeks to expand 

its reach to meet and exceed its founding goals. 

The SIF will increase its emphasis on investing in evidence-informed 

and evidence-based innovations across a continuum: supporting 

greater scale at the higher levels of evidence and testing promising 

earlier-stage programs with preliminary levels of evidence and plans to 

move to higher levels. 

Up to 5 percent ($3.5 million) of SIF grant funds will be set aside to 

support research, technical assistance, and knowledge-related activities 

required by the Serve America Act. Up to 1 percent ($700,000) will fund 

CNCS’s grant review process. 

Evidence and Results

All programs funded by the SIF must be able to demonstrate a preliminary 

level of effectiveness before they are funded and then take part in a 

rigorous evaluation to strengthen their base of evidence and to document 

and assess whether their approach works more effectively, costs less, or 

leads to better results for our country’s communities. The SIF provides 

both technical assistance and funding for the required evaluation of all 

selected programs. These evaluations will provide robust information 

about which programs and models generate strong results for individuals 

and communities and how they can be replicated successfully. The SIF is 

also committed to improving the effectiveness of nonprofits, grantmakers, 

and government agencies by rigorously documenting evidence and sharing 

best practices and lessons learned. 

Economic Opportunity

The SIF programming is focused on improving outcomes in low-income 

communities. Along with its intermediary partners, the SIF has identified 

and invested in hundreds of innovative, high-performing non-profit 

organizations that are proving, improving, and scaling results-based 

interventions and transforming the economic well-being of thousands of 

Americans in low-income communities. Through this work, the SIF creates: 

• Improved access to services and benefits aimed at contributing 

to enhanced financial stability through, for example, the Local 

TABLE 18. Social Innovation Fund Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY14 FY15 FY16 Increase/Decrease 

Budget Account Enacted Level Enacted Level President’s Budget (FY15-FY16)

Social Innovation Fund $70,000 $70,000 $70,000 $0 

Total Budget Authority $70,000 $70,000 $70,000 $0 
46 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Initiatives Support Corporation’s, Financial Opportunity Centers)

• Improved access to safe, healthy, and affordable housing through, 

for example, Capital Impact Partners

• Improved employability leading to an increase in stable, meaningful 

employment through, for example, Jobs for the Future/ National Fund 

for Workforce Solutions.

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

FY 2014 was the SIF’s fifth year of operation. During FY 2014, a 40 

percent increase in the SIF budget allowed the SIF to select seven new 

grantee intermediaries totaling $33.7 million, provide $18.1 million in 

continuation funding to existing grantees, and welcome its inaugural 

class of Pay for Success grantees totaling $12 million. The additional 

funding also provided $2 million to support The Disconnected Youth 

Performance Partnership Pilot. The increase in the budget also enabled 

CNCS to provide oversight and guidance to ensure sub-grant evaluation 

plans were well designed and implemented as the first class of eleven 

grantees began to wind-down their five-year grant terms. A few released 

early findings. Finally, with FY 2014 funding, the SIF was able to share 

stories of successes and lessons learned from the model and the grantees 

themselves. 

In FY 2014, the SIF continued to operate under the following guiding 

principles: 

• Build a solid programmatic and operational foundation to support 

growth and development of promising, innovative program models 

and compelling outcomes.

• Strengthen the application of rigorous evidence and evaluation in 

critical program phases. 

• Develop key knowledge initiatives, sharing what the SIF learns about 

what works in tackling our nation’s toughest challenges for the 

benefit of other federal agencies and the nonprofit sector

In addition the SIF launched PFS pilot with the following guiding principal:

• Support the growth and understanding of the PFS sector as a vehicle 

to facilitate implementation of evidence-based interventions. 

Progress in SIF Priority Areas of Need 

2014 marked the final year of funding for the inaugural cohort of eleven 

grantees. Grantee projects are up and running, have yielded a 1-to-2.2 

cash match rate and are on-track to meet long-term goals for scaling 

solutions, already reaching more than 300,000 Americans. 

In addition, some grantees have released early evaluation results, 

demonstrating remarkable progress and evidence:

• SaveUSA. An MDRC report on SaveUSA, a program funded by the SIF 

partnership between the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and 

the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity, demonstrates that lowincome families can save money and that this program helps turn 

low-income non-savers into savers.

 SaveUSA replicates a program called $aveNYC that was piloted 

in New York City between 2008 and 2011. During 2009 and 2010, 

$aveNYC’s primary years of operation, the program enrolled an 

average of 1,255 tax filers per year. Over 90 percent of those 

enrollees deposited tax refund dollars in their $aveNYC savings 

account and nearly three-quarters of enrollees (or 80 percent of 

depositors) maintained their deposits for about a year and received 

the savings match. 

 The SaveUSA program funded by the SIF operated during the tax 

seasons of 2011 through 2013. It builds on the free tax-preparation 

services provided by participating Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 

(VITA) organizations in four cities: New York City, Tulsa, Newark, 

and San Antonio. The 17 VITA sites across the four states offering 

SaveUSA collectively completed tax returns for well over 30,000 filers 

during the 2011 tax return preparation season.

• College Advising Corps. Findings from the evaluation of College 

Advising Corps, a grantee of New Profit Inc.’s Pathways Fund, 

indicate that program participants were more likely to take 

college admissions exams (ACT/SAT), apply to college, and receive 

acceptance than those who did not participate. 

 The College Advising Corps aims to increase the number of lowincome, first generation, and underrepresented students entering 

and completing higher education. The program recruits and trains 

recent college graduates to serve as full-time college advisors in 

underserved high schools where they help students with the college 

admissions process. In many cases these advisors are AmeriCorps 

members. The program demonstrates an 8-12 percent increase in 

college matriculation rates in the schools that it serves. 

 College Advising Corps has served 23,513 high school seniors to date 

through Pathways-funded schools, and is projected to serve a total 

of 69,409 high school seniors through the 5-year Pathways Initiative. 

The Advising Corps will serve students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; 

Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; 

Providence, Rhode Island; San Francisco, California; and St. Louis, 

Missouri.

• Job s for the Future (JFF) & National Fund for Workforce 

Solutions (NFWS). JFF released the results of its quasi-experimental 

study of its Ohio-based programs, which showed positive impacts 

in employment attainment and retention in the healthcare and 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 47

Part VI: Budget Activities

manufacturing industries. For example, in the manufacturing 

employment program, unemployed participants were about 

30 percent more likely to find and retain employment than the 

comparison group. These figures were even higher for healthcare 

with those unemployed participants being 43 to 65 percent more 

likely to find and retain healthcare employment than those in the 

comparison group. 

 Partnering with JFF, the NFWS is expanding its targeted training and 

technical assistance to at least 23,000 low-income individuals over 

three years while also addressing the critical skill needs of more than 

1,000 employers. The leveraged SIF funds will dramatically increase 

economic opportunities for disadvantaged workers and job seekers 

through investments in regional workforce collaboratives that partner 

with employers to identify jobs and career pathways in high-growth 

industries. Their subgrantees have served a total of 32,835 job 

seekers and incumbent workers, exceeding their original three year 

target of 23,000 individuals.

• The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Social Innovation Fund. The 

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Social Innovation Fund is a partnership 

of 15 local grantmakers led by the United Way of Greater Cincinnati 

and the Strive Partnership. The program is addressing the needs of 

low-income children and youth from cradle to career in the Greater 

Cincinnati-area through investments in early education, mentoring 

and literacy programs, college access, career pathways, and other 

innovations. The program supports eight community organizations 

and collaboratives as they work to improve community conditions 

for children and young adults focused on five key outcomes: 

Kindergarten Readiness, Fourth Grade Reading, High School 

Graduation and College Preparedness, Postsecondary Enrollment and 

Completion, and Sustained Employment.

 Findings from a study of first generation low-income college students 

in the United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s UC Degrees program 

indicate that participants showed increased GPAs and earned more 

credit hours compared to the comparison group non-participants. 

The average GPA for students studied was .305 points higher than 

that of the comparison group, and these students accumulated 

6.68 more earned credit hours after their freshmen year versus the 

comparison group. Both differences were statistically significant. In 

this program Gen-1 students receive a variety of services, including 

social emotional support, student academic support, community 

building activities, and career development activities. 

 During the first year of services, the SIF-supported organizations 

expanded their programs to serve more than 2,500 additional 

children and young adults engaged in intensive continuous quality 

improvement training and coaching and designed and implemented 

rigorous evaluation plans.

Pay for Success

In FY 2014, CNCS awarded $12 million in inaugural PFS grants to eight 

organizations out of 45 applicants. The guiding principal of the pilot 

program is to better understand if and where Pay for Success can be an 

effective tool to facilitate implementation of evidence-based interventions. 

The program seeks to do so primarily by increasing the number of high 

quality PFS transactions with rigorous evidence standards across issue 

areas and geographies.

These eight innovative grantees received CNCS funding to help state 

and local governments and eligible nonprofits assess the feasibility of 

potential PFS initiatives and structure PFS deals. 

The awardees represent a geographically diverse group, including several 

grantees with national footprints and one program exclusively serving the 

Intermountain West. Their organizational focus areas include: 

• Supportive housing assistance to homeless individuals, youth and 

families and disabled residents of health care institutions who prefer 

to live in the community

• Asthma prevention through the identification and mitigation of homebased environmental health hazards

• Support for youth who are at increased risk of entering into the child 

welfare or juvenile justice systems

A complete listing of PFS awardees, their focus areas, and related funding 

levels are presented in this Budget’s appendix.

Evaluation Detail

As of the end of the first quarter of 2014, SIF had invested over $5.96 

million towards the design and implementation of 73 approved program 

evaluations. This evaluation program is managed by SIF and monitored 

by independent evaluation experts who check each SIF evaluation study 

for rigor and quality. Evaluation plans have been approved for all current 

grantees. In total, 87 interventions are funded and will be evaluated, 

including 10 in Economic Opportunity, 14 in Healthy Futures, and 63 in 

Youth Development. Of those evaluations, 81 percent are experimental or 

quasi-experimental.

All programs funded by the SIF must demonstrate at least a preliminary 

evidence of effectiveness. Once funded, programs must conduct a 

rigorous evaluation by partnering with an independent evaluation 

team that will help build the evidence supporting its effectiveness and 

potentially move it to a higher level of evidence.
48 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The SIF provides grantmakers and their subgrantees with access to a 

team of evaluation experts. These experts work with each grantmaker 

under the oversight and guidance of CNCS staff to review and provide 

feedback on their evaluation design strategies to ensure that these 

designs meet the program’s evidence goals in a highly rigorous fashion 

and lead to the development and implementation of quality evaluations.

Knowledge Initiative 

The SIF Knowledge Initiative delivers on the SIF’s commitment to capture 

and share lessons learned and best practices so that growth of evidencebased solutions can be achieved both in the SIF portfolio and beyond. 

To date, the SIF has released knowledge products that document the 

program’s work to date, as well as resources and tools to promote rigorous 

program evaluation. 

In late 2014 the SIF released a public version of its evaluation planning 

guidance which had been created for SIF grantees. The document is 

a detailed, step-by-step planning guide for organizations that wish 

to implement rigorous evaluations that strive to be in alignment with 

standards set by the SIF and other federal agencies that emphasize 

evidence and impact of program effectiveness. In the near future, the 

Knowledge Initiative will also be releasing reports on the following: 

• Serving Opportunity Youth

• Preparing organizations for impact evaluations

• Establishing an innovation fund

These will be supplemented in the next fiscal year by products that focus 

on our new grantees including lessons learned around collective impact 

and PFS. 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 49

Part VI: Budget Activities

BUDGET ACTIVITY 10: 

Volunteer Generation Fund 

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title I, Subtitle H)

FY 2016 Performance Plan

The Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) will support CNCS’s mission to 

improve lives and strengthen communities by strengthening volunteer 

management practices across the county. The request of $5 million, 

an increase of $1.2 million above the FY 2015 enacted level, will help 

nonprofit and voluntary organizations broaden their volunteer base, more 

effectively recruit and retain volunteers, expand opportunity for those who 

serve, and increase their impact on community challenges.

In awarding the $5 million in VGF competitive grants to governorsupported State Service Commissions, CNCS will focus investments on 

volunteer management practices that increase volunteer recruitment and 

retention. Volunteer retention is important to ensuring new volunteers are 

productively engaged and increasing the stability of nonprofit operations, 

allowing organizations to focus on driving greater impact. 

Effective strategies to retain volunteers include skill-building and skillmatching. Skill-building includes practices that ensure volunteers learn 

new skills that expand opportunities for employment, especially among 

the unemployed, veterans, and disadvantaged youth. This approach is 

in line with CNCS research released in 2013 that provides a compelling 

empirical case establishing an association between volunteering and 

employment. The study, “Volunteering as a Pathway to Employment: Does 

Volunteering Increase Odds of Finding a Job for the Out of Work?” found 

that unemployed individuals who volunteer over the next year have a 27 

percent greater chance of being employed at the end of the year than 

non-volunteers. Skill-matching matches volunteers with opportunities that 

complement their skills in order to make the best use of their time and 

talents. This focus on skill-building and matching may help strengthen the 

association between volunteering and employment. 

CNCS will use the VGF to support initiatives that recruit, train, and 

deploy volunteers as a strategy to address clearly identified needs. Some 

examples might include Administration priorities such as STEM programs 

and projects that support Opportunity Youth. In addition, VGF funding 

could support efforts to leverage volunteers to help governors and mayors 

address state and local challenges, from working to reduce homelessness 

to assisting those without employment find jobs. 

The VGF will support CNCS mission and goals by focusing on priority 

objectives in FY 2016 including:

Partnerships

The VGF will continue to support partnership efforts between State Service 

Commissions and nonprofits, faith-based and community organizations, 

and public agencies to engage more volunteers more effectively in solving 

problems. State Commissions use VGF funding to create or strengthen 

partnerships that help nonprofits strengthen volunteer management 

practices, expand outreach and recruitment, and improve systems and 

training for volunteers. As one example, OneStar Foundation, the Texas 

State Service Commission, uses its VGF funding to strengthen the 

state’s ability to harness unaffiliated, spontaneous, and other community 

volunteers in times of disaster. Through a partnership with the Texas 

Division of Emergency Management, Texas Voluntary Organizations Active 

in Disaster, the Texas Association of Volunteer Centers, the University 

of Texas at Austin, and other groups, OneStar uses its VGF funding to 

help organizations implement best practices for volunteer recruitment 

and management, build strategic partnerships with local governments 

and emergency management officials, and develop high-quality disaster 

volunteers and assignments to help Texas generate and retain an 

unprecedented number of volunteers available in times of disaster.

Evidence and Results

In FY 2016, the VGF will continue to support nonprofit and community 

organizations in implementing research-based volunteer management 

curriculum and in using data to strengthen volunteer recruitment. For 

example, volunteer centers supported by Volunteer Mississippi’s VGF 

funding began collecting data on volunteer retention and demographics, 

volunteer activity by 12 different cause categories, and volunteer 

management training effectiveness. This focus was part of a larger 

capacity-building effort supported by the VGF to strengthen the 

TABLE 19. Volunteer Generation Fund Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY14 FY15 FY16 Increase/Decrease 

Budget Account Enacted Level Enacted Level President’s Budget (FY15-FY16)

Volunteer Generation Fund $3,800 $3,800 $5,000 $1,200 

Total Budget Authority $3,800 $3,800 $5,000 $1,200 
50 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Mississippi Volunteer Center Network. The network increased from six 

to eight volunteer centers accounting for more than 60,000 volunteer 

engagements serving more than 400,000 hours. Nonprofit partnerships 

increased to more than 600, with nearly 900 staff and volunteer 

participants attending capacity-building trainings. 

Economic Opportunity 

Building on the findings of the groundbreaking CNCS research on 

volunteering as a pathway to employment, the VGF will support efforts 

to build skills for volunteers, an approach that might lead to expanded 

employment opportunities. The Department of Labor issued policy 

guidance in 2012 which recognized that volunteering can help unemployed 

individuals develop and maintain skills, expand professional networks, and 

enhance their resumes and encouraged states to promote volunteering 

by individuals receiving unemployment benefits. CNCS will encourage 

collaboration between State Commissions and state workforce agencies 

to highlight the benefits of volunteering for those seeking employment and 

will use VGF funding to strengthen volunteer management practices which 

support the acquisition of skills by volunteers. 

Efficiencies 

The VGF will continue to play a key role in supporting state and local 

efforts to help nonprofits make more effective and efficient use of 

volunteers through the service enterprise model. A service enterprise 

is an organization that fundamentally leverages volunteers and their 

skills to successfully deliver on the mission of the organization. The 

CaliforniaVolunteers Service Enterprise Initiative, developed by VGF 

support, is train-the-trainer model to increase the effectiveness and 

impact of nonprofit organizations through the strategic engagement 

of volunteers. Over three years of the VGF grant, volunteer centers in 

California have worked with 234 nonprofits to complete the service 

enterprise training. More than 85 percent of these organizations indicated 

in post-surveys that they are more effectively engaging competency/

skills-based volunteers, resulting in improved internal operational and 

financial systems to enhance organizational sustainability. In partnership 

with CaliforniaVolunteers, Points of Light, and others, nonprofits around 

the country are now accessing training to become certified as service 

enterprises. This effort will change the way in which organizations view 

and engage volunteers to support their organizational missions.

Recognizing his exemplary life of public service and leadership in 

volunteerism, the FY 2016 request proposes to rename the program the 

George H. W. Bush Volunteer Generation Fund. 

President Bush has led an extraordinary life of public service, having 

served as a decorated World War II Navy pilot, ambassador to China and 

the United Nations, CIA director, and vice president before becoming the 

nation’s 41st president. While in office, he emphasized the importance of 

volunteerism and signed the 1990 National Service Act. The name change 

honors the legacy of an extraordinary public servant who has been such 

an inspiration to the nation’s volunteers, both in and out of office.

By focusing on recruitment and retention, and investing in organization 

using best practices for skill building and skill matching, CNCS will use 

the VGF to strengthen volunteer management practices in nonprofits 

across the country, helping them increase their impact on community 

challenges.

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

During FY 2014, VGF grantees that received awards in FY 2013 reported 

results and CNCS made new awards to grantees that will continue to 

focus on the agency’s priorities.5 All VGF grants support CNCS’s mission 

to improve lives and strengthen communities through growing and 

strengthening national service. 

In FY 2014, 17 governor-supported Commissions that received their 

CNCS grant awards in the previous year supported volunteer connector 

organizations, trained nonprofits in volunteer management, and increased 

the number of new and continuing volunteers in their states, especially 

skilled volunteers. Governor-supported Commissions provided direct 

support to numerous nonprofits and volunteer connector organizations in 

urban and rural communities in their states, and reported on performance 

measures related to volunteer recruitment and management. 

For example, VGF grantees:

• Expanded access to volunteer opportunities by expanding geographic 

reach of volunteer centers in underserved communities 

• Improved systems and training for coordinating disaster and 

emergency volunteers to meet immediate and long-term needs

• Implemented a research-based volunteer management curriculum 

for nonprofit organizations

• Enhanced nonprofit organizational capacity to manage and engage 

volunteers in meaningful service through training and technical 

assistance

• Recruited volunteers from among specialized populations including 

college students, youth, and corporate volunteers 

5

 FY 2013 VGF grants were awarded in the 4th quarter of the fiscal year and were funded for one year. Therefore, results from these grants occurred in FY 2014 and represent the most current VGF 

accomplishments.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 51

Part VI: Budget Activities

• Built capacity to manage volunteers in times of disaster

In addition, in late FY 2014, CNCS awarded new grants to 17 governorsupported Commissions to develop and support community-based 

organizations to recruit, manage and support volunteers, including 

four governor-supported Commissions new to the VGF. All grantees 

will subgrant to locally based non-profits and volunteer centers, 

including rural and underserved communities in Mississippi, Louisiana, 

Michigan, and Maryland. Priority areas represented include education, 

disaster response, and building capacity of volunteer recruitment 

and retention. Several grantees will build capacity in their states by 

implementing the Service Enterprise Model, developed under the VGF 

grant by CaliforniaVolunteers. Priority initiatives are represented through 

recruitment of STEM volunteers, and by focusing on mentoring, and 

training and assistance to youth serving-agency volunteer programs. 
52 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

BUDGET ACTIVITY 11: 

Innovation, Demonstration, and 

Other Activities 

National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title I, Subtitle H

FY 2016 Performance Plan

Subtitle H Innovation, Demonstration, and Other Activities funding provide 

resources for CNCS to strengthen the nation’s volunteer sector, bring more 

Americans into service, encourage social innovation, strengthen existing 

national service programs, and support and encourage new forms of 

national service and civic participation. This budget activity includes the 

Call to Service initiatives to engage more Americans in service to meet 

pressing community needs including the Martin Luther King, Jr. National 

Day of Service (MLK Day) and the September 11th National Day of Service 

and Remembrance. The activities in Subtitle H promote national service 

and volunteering, identify and incubate innovative program models, 

disseminate effective practices, and strengthen the reach and impact of 

national service programs and voluntary organizations across the country.

Partnerships

Call to Service

In FY 2016, CNCS will lead the nation’s two principal Days of Service, 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the September 11th National Day of Service 

and Remembrance. Consistent with previous years, CNCS will align these 

Days of Service with the agency’s strategic priorities, including economic 

opportunity, education, and veterans and military families. 

Support for Innovative Service and Other Assistance 

These funds will focus on supporting national service expansion and 

compliant and effective performance among new and ongoing projects. 

CNCS will continue to support the effective impact of AmeriCorps and 

Senior Corps by expanding to new audiences, reaching more than 3,400 

grantees and projects with critical training on core competencies. Content 

will reflect new requirements, compliance, best practices in program and 

financial management, and to support the expansion of national service 

and related programs. This ensures the ongoing availability of materials 

beyond training events. 

In FY 2016, CNCS will again support competitive grants for Regional 

Training Conferences. This cost effective strategy trains over 1,000 project 

directors in AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, reaching frontline staff with 

the critical training topics including performance measures, compliance, 

financial and grants management, and criminal history checks. 

Subtitle H Funds will support digital resources through hosting and 

maintenance of CNCS’s training infrastructure. These funds will support 

the content, capacity, and enhanced interactive elements needed for new 

partnerships and for inclusion of people with disabilities.

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

Call to Service

In FY 2014, Call to Service activities including national days of service, 

partnerships, and convenings that engaged hundreds of thousands of 

Americans in service, expanded to new communities, demonstrated 

impact, and recognized the efforts of those who serve. 

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service was a significant 

moment for national service. Specific examples of MLK Day success 

include the following:

• Through HOPE Worldwide, 21 sub grantees recruited and managed 

5,942 volunteers in 19 states and reached 96,533 households with 

critical fire prevention safety and disaster preparedness tips and 

held direct conversations with 11,744 residents. Fire prevention 

and disaster education activities included door-to-door canvassing 

outreach, community fairs in vulnerable neighborhoods and housing 

developments, presentations at schools and presentations at fire 

stations. Volunteers also assisted fire departments with installation 

of fire detectors, inspections of smoke detectors, and checked and 

TABLE 20. Innovation, Demonstration, and Assistance Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY14 FY15 FY16 Increase/Decrease 

Budget Account Enacted Level Enacted Level President’s Request (FY15-FY16)

Innovation, Demonstration and Other Activities $3,100 $3,600 $3,601 $1 

Total Budget Authority $3,100 $3,600 $3,601 $1 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 53

Part VI: Budget Activities

replaced batteries in smoke detectors.

• Youth Service America awarded 24 sub grants to organizations that 

spearheaded 502 MLK Day of Service projects in 20 states. At one 

of these sites, in Topeka, Kansas, Living the Dream, Inc., held more 

than 10 different projects. The annual Student Service Scholarship 

Banquet brought more than 700 people together to donate time, 

money, and food items to the community. The drum line competition 

brought people together to provide much needed baby items 

for needy families in the city. Incarcerated youth were given the 

opportunity to serve by working alongside volunteers to create cards 

and stories to be sent to military service members and patients at 

the Veterans hospitals in Kansas.

September 11th National Day of Service

Like MLK Day, the September 11th National Day of Service and 

Remembrance brought together neighbors in all 50 states and the District 

of Columbia to build affordable housing for veterans and military families, 

educate citizens on disaster preparedness, organize food drives, and more.

CNCS led the annual event, working with MyGoodDeed, Community 

Organizations Active in Disasters, Inc., Montana Campus Compact, Points 

of Light, and hundreds of nonprofit groups, faith-based organizations, and 

schools and businesses nationwide. In many locations, AmeriCorps and 

Senior Corps members organized and participated in service projects. 

In Washington, President Obama served at a CNCS-funded site where 

he joined AmeriCorps members, MyGoodDeed, parents, KaBOOM!, and 

community leaders in building a playground at a Washington, D.C. school. 

The CNCS CEO participated in the President’s project and also joined six 

cabinet secretaries and other agency leaders who commemorated the day 

by volunteering. 

• In Florida, Community Organizations Active in Disasters, Inc., used 

its grant to continue to help residents recover from devastating 

spring floods. Through the end of September, 1,764 families received 

casework or case management support.

20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps members also took center stage as the national service 

community marked the program’s 20th anniversary on September 12. 

President Obama hosted a ceremony at the White House with President 

Bill Clinton and hundreds of AmeriCorps members to recognize the 

900,000 Americans who have served through AmeriCorps over the last 

two decades. 

Four presidents participated in this nationwide celebration. President 

George H.W. Bush marked the occasion by participating in an AmeriCorps 

pledge ceremony at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine. President 

George W. Bush and Laura Bush taped a tribute video that was played at 

ceremonies across the country. Altogether, the AmeriCorps community, 

led by the governor-appointed State Service Commissions, marked the 

anniversary on September 12 with 95 events in every state and territory. 

Employers of National Service

In addition to this public engagement, President Obama commemorated 

the anniversary with a series of new commitments to improve pathways 

to employment for AmeriCorps alumni, encourage community service by 

young people, and expand national service opportunities. Chief among 

the President’s announcement was a new Employers of National Service 

initiative. 

This initiative recognizes the valuable skills gained by the 900,000 

Americans who have participated in AmeriCorps since 1994 and the 

215,000 who have participated in the Peace Corps. Employers of 

National Service builds a talent pipeline which connects AmeriCorps 

and Peace Corps alumni with leading employers from the private, public, 

and nonprofit sectors to create recruitment, hiring, and advancement 

opportunities. 

President Obama said, “If you’re an employer who wants to hire 

talented, dedicated, patriotic, skilled, tireless, energetic workers, look to 

AmeriCorps, look to the Peace Corps... Citizens who perform national 

service are special. You want them on your team.” 

Since the President’s announcement, more than 150 corporations, nonprofits, local, state, and federal government employers have signed on 

to this opportunity. The list includes Disney, Comcast, NBC Universal, 

CSX, American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, United Way Worldwide, 

the cities of Nashville and Philadelphia, and the U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

Stars of Service

In addition to Employers of National Service, the President established 

the Stars of Service. The President’s Service Star Award recognizes youth 

leaders, whom CNCS will encourage to consider applying their skills 

through AmeriCorps. The governor-appointed State Service Commissions 

will ask each governor to submit the name of a Star of Service recipient 

between the ages of 12 and 18 for recognition from the White House in 

2015. Stars of Service also honor the commitment of young people from 

diverse communities, rural and urban, across the nation. 
54 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Mentoring

As part of its focus on engaging Americans in service and volunteering, 

CNCS served as the presenting sponsor of the National Mentoring Summit, 

organized by MENTOR. This summit brought together 500 nonprofit, 

business, and government leaders to enhance the quality and impact of 

the mentoring programs, chart the future of mentoring, and focus the 

power of mentoring on measurable outcomes. The Mentoring Summit 

provided CNCS with an opportunity to highlight the agency’s leading role 

in advancing one of the President’s priorities, the My Brother’s Keeper Task 

Force. 

This forum allowed the agency to demonstrate how national service 

programs can help recruit mentors and engage the private-sector in 

our work. CNCS focused on partnerships such as Youth Opportunity 

AmeriCorps with the Justice Department and Aspire Mentoring Corps, a 

partnership with AT&T and MENTOR that will engage AmeriCorps members 

in providing mentoring activities to thousands of at-risk youth. This 

expansion builds on the President’s call for public-private partnership to 

expand national service opportunities. 

President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

Working with the Department of Education, CNCS recognized an estimated 

766 schools for exemplary community service in the 2014 President’s 

Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. 

The 2014 Presidential Award winners were California State University, 

Dominguez Hills in Carson, California; Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa; 

University of Nebraska-Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska; and Wheelock College 

in Boston, Massachusetts. The institutions were recognized for their 

achievements in general community service, interfaith community service, 

economic opportunity, or education. One of the winners, the University of 

Nebraska-Omaha, has increased the number of service-learning courses 

offered in all six academic colleges and at every level, from first year 

general education through graduate seminars. Today, 42 percent of the 

student body participates in service learning and volunteer projects. In the 

last 14 years, academic service-learning has grown from seven courses 

with 100 students, to more than 160 courses with more than 2,600 

students each year.

Support for Innovative Service and Other Assistance 

In FY 2014, CNCS support focused on enhancing the grantee and project 

performance through innovative training models and digital infrastructure 

support focused on compliance, accountability, and management. The 

annual Senior Corps Virtual Conference provided training to more than 

1,800 unique registrants. Sessions included coursework on financial and 

grants management, criminal history checks, and compliance monitoring 

systems. 

AmeriCorps State and National grantees participated in their annual 

symposium of 350 leaders of state service commissions, multi-state 

programs, programs operating in a territory without a commission, tribal 

programs, and tribal planning grantees. Participants include program 

and financial staff of AmeriCorps State and National programs. Special 

sessions target leaders who are new to their positions in AmeriCorps. 

Training topics focus on financial, grant management, and compliance 

requirements. 

In 2014, CNCS introduced competitive grants for Regional Trainings 

Conferences. The events were held in five locations, and reached over 

1,000 participants, more than triple the total number trained in the 

previous years. This innovative series extended training opportunities to 

many frontline staff, who have not previously received direct training in 

critical topics including financial and grants management, performance 

measures, and compliance including criminal history checks. Participants 

included AmeriCorps and Senior Corps project staff, and State 

Commission leaders. 

To support one of the many partnerships developed through the Task 

Force, Innovation and Demonstration funds also supported a pre-service 

convening for justice AmeriCorps grantees and members. This training 

was a joint effort between CNCS and its partner, the Department of 

Justice. Sessions were designed to ensure understanding of performance 

requirements for effective startup of this new program. All training 

developed for these programs is available on demand to all stakeholders, 

through the CNCS digital infrastructure. Funds support hosting, 

maintenance and improvements, and content updates in a user-friendly 

format via CNCS’s website. 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 55

Part VI: Budget Activities

BUDGET ACTIVITY 12: 

Evaluation

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Title I, section 179)

FY 2016 Performance Plan 

As part of CNCS’s effort to understand and increase the impact of its 

programs in alignment with the Administration’s call to do what works, 

CNCS uses its evaluation budget to fund research and help coordinate 

cross-agency activities. The CNCS Office of Research and Evaluation 

will implement studies to increase the evidence and knowledge base 

for its national service programs, including those programs launched 

in coordination with the President’s Task Force on Expanding National 

Service. These efforts will allow CNCS to promote a culture of evaluation 

and evidence within the agency and among grantees by facilitating 

evidence-based and evidence-informed grantmaking, and by providing 

relevant technical assistance. 

The mission of the CNCS Office of Research and Evaluation is to:

• Build the evidence base for CNCS national service programs. CNCS 

will identify, generate, and disseminate evidence of the impact of 

national service and social innovation in the six priority areas defined 

in the Serve America Act.

• Facilitate the use of evidence and evaluation within CNCS and among 

its grantees. The Office of Research and Evaluation will work with 

its CNCS colleagues to use high-quality performance and evaluation 

data in budget, management, and policy decisions

To achieve this mission, the Office of Research and Evaluation focuses on 

the following priorities:

• Conducting research and evaluation on CNCS national service 

programs 

• Supporting CNCS and its partners (State Commissions, grantees, 

and sponsor organizations) through evaluation capacity-building 

activities and resources

• Facilitating evidence-based and evidence-informed grantmaking

In FY 2016, CNCS requests $5 million, equal to the FY 2015 enacted level, 

for evaluation and research activities. This Budget would allow CNCS to 

continue a number of critical evaluation projects in FY 2016, initiate new 

research and evaluation studies informed by an agency wide learning 

agenda, continue to build evaluation capacity among its grantees, and 

increase the agency’s ability to collect quality program data with the 

potential for use in low-cost experiments.

Ongoing Research and Evaluation Projects 

The Office of Research and Evaluation’s ongoing projects are intended to 

provide systematic and scientific assessments of CNCS-funded programs. 

Toward this end, a central area of investment is conducting evaluations 

of the implementation and impact of programs and models. The focus of 

evaluations includes the impact of national service and social innovation 

programs on individuals (members and program participants) and also on 

organizations and communities. 

In order to continuously improve capacity to generate a knowledge and 

build the evidence base in support of the agency’s mission and programs, 

CNCS not only engages in direct evaluations, but also provides technical 

assistance to grantees, is developing an easily accessible online repository 

for national service and SIF-related research and evaluation, and invests 

in other capacity-building tools. This array of tools supports grantees 

and other parties beyond CNCS as well as the agency’s immediate staff. 

Finally, CNCS is also committed to collecting and reporting valid and 

reliable descriptive data on volunteering and civic engagement in the 

United States, as these data provide important information on civic health 

in the United States.

Social Innovation Fund National Assessment

The National Assessment of the SIF, a three-year assessment initiated in 

FY 2014, is designed to examine how participation in the SIF has affected 

the policies and practices of intermediaries, federal funders, and others 

in the grant making and nonprofit world. Evaluation activities associated 

with this National Assessment are paid for with funds from the Social 

Innovation Fund (Budget Activity 9). Because the Office of Research and 

Evaluation contributes significant person-power, support, and coordination 

TABLE 21. Evaluation Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY16 President’s Increase/Decrease 

Budget Account FY14 Enacted Level FY15 Enacted Level Budget (FY15-FY16)

Evaluation $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $0 

Total Budget Authority $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $0 
56 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

to the work, we describe the purposes and contributions to evidence here.

The National Assessment of the SIF will help CNCS and other interested 

stakeholders assess change over the initiative’s five-year lifecycle and 

answer key questions implicit in the initiative’s theory of change. The 

National Assessment relies on quantitative and qualitative methods with a 

core quasi-experimental design. Methods include:

• Review of databases and documents on the SIF and the work of the 

intermediaries

• A quasi-experimental evaluation design that uses longitudinal 

surveys of intermediaries and a comparison group of other grant 

makers to examine differences in experiences and outcomes between 

the SIF intermediaries and other grant makers 

• In-depth interviews and focus groups throughout the assessment, 

including:

 – Early conversations with stakeholders to inform the assessment 

approach

 – Interviews with SIF stakeholders to obtain their perspectives 

on how the SIF has influenced the work of the intermediaries. 

Stakeholders to be interviewed include intermediary board chairs, 

other funders of the intermediaries, policy makers, evaluation 

partners, experts in the field, and the SIF sub-grantees and other 

organizations funded by the intermediary but not participating in 

the SIF

• Case studies to explore topics or themes in more depth

Pay for Success Evaluation

In addition to the SIF National Assessment activities described above, the 

Office of Research and Evaluation will collaborate with the SIF leadership 

in competing and awarding a contract for the evaluation of the PFS grants 

competition. The Office of Research and Evaluation will oversee the 

evaluation design and completion of work as developed by the contractor, 

and assist in synthesizing and communicating the findings for this 

initiative that focuses on the concept of partnering with philanthropic and 

private sector investors and ultimately paying service providers after they 

have demonstrated success, not based on the promise of success.

National Evaluation of School Turnaround AmeriCorps Initiative

CNCS and the Department of Education partnered to create School 

Turnaround AmeriCorps in FY 2014. This collaboration was designed to 

increase educational attainment, high school graduation, and college 

readiness for students in our nation’s persistently lowest-achieving 

schools. Informed by the FY 2014 planning and design year, the national 

evaluation of the School Turnaround AmeriCorps initiative is scheduled 

to begin in FY 2015 and end in FY 2016. The evaluation will assess the 

effects that AmeriCorps members who provide direct services in schools 

make on the success of turnaround models (through a quasi-experimental 

impact evaluation) and seek to understand the mechanisms by which 

this happens (through a implementation evaluation). The national 

evaluation will increase the evidence and knowledge base associated 

with this initiative. Results of the evaluation will be used to strengthen 

programming and document the effects of School Turnaround AmeriCorps 

and the contributions of AmeriCorps members.

Utilizing Administrative Data for Research and Evaluation Purposes

In FY 2016, the Office of Research and Evaluation will continue efforts to 

utilize reliable administrative data sources to augment program-specific 

and primary data collection. For example, for particular analytic projects 

CNCS will continue its ongoing initiative to merge national service data 

with records from the Social Security Administration and the National 

Student Clearinghouse. 

Innovative Approaches to Tracking Trends and Progress in National Service, 

Volunteering, and Civic Engagement

For more than a decade, CNCS has sponsored supplements to the Current 

Population Survey (CPS) on Volunteering and Civic Life in America. The 

data and trends derived from these nationally representative samples 

have been of great value and investments in CPS supplements will 

continue to be part of the CNCS Research and Evaluation investment 

portfolio. To assist CNCS in a broad review of the best and most efficient 

ways of collecting data on these themes, the agency commissioned a 

report from National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which has provided 

invaluable feedback. Based on the NAS study, CNCS is evaluating the best 

ways to collect volunteering and civic health data.

Grantee Support

A portion of the FY 2016 budget request will be directed to provide 

technical assistance and access to research and evaluation resources to 

grantees, in order to build infrastructure and capacity around the use of 

evidence and evaluation in program operations and improvement. These 

efforts will contribute to the agency wide priority to develop a knowledge 

and evidence base to support the agency’s mission and programs, as well 

at the Administration’s guidance on increasing capacity to use evidence 

and rigorous evaluation in budget and management decisions. 

Evaluation Capacity Building
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 57

Part VI: Budget Activities

The Office of Research and Evaluation will continue to support the use of 

evidence and evaluation among CNCS grantees through the provision of 

training and technical assistance. Building on progress achieved in FY’s 

2014 and 2015, CNCS’s Office of Research and Evaluation will continue 

to examine the use of evaluation bundling as a strategy to offer access 

to evaluation design support and possible financial evaluation support 

from CNCS, especially for small or geographically isolated grantees, in 

ways that traditional technical assistance strategies and single program 

evaluations do not provide.

National Service Repository/Evidence Exchange

The Research and Evaluation office will continue to play a leadership 

role in developing a new online repository for all national service and 

SIF-related research and evaluation studies. This online repository will be 

funded through the agency’s salaries and expenses account and, with the 

working title the “Evidence Exchange,” will build on existing structures at 

the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services. 

CNCS proposes a phased approach to the design and launch of its 

repository with FY 2015 representing a pilot phase to follow the FY 2014 

planning phase. A FY 2016 public release is planned. This resource will be 

a valuable asset to current and prospective grantees regarding evidencebased and evidence-informed programs and practices.

Program Support

A portion of the FY 2016 Budget request will also be directed to helping 

AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps VISTA, 

Senior Corps, and the Social Innovation Fund collect and utilize valid 

and reliable data in support of organizational learning and continuous 

improvement of program operations. This utilization of resources serves 

the continuing development of agency-wide and program-specific learning 

agendas. Data-driven consultations with program leadership and staff 

allow for an ongoing assessment of what the agency presently knows 

about its operations and effectiveness, and its most pressing areas in 

need of learning. One central part of this learning agenda is developing 

a shared understanding of tiers of evidence and whether or not causal 

attribution and generalizability that can appropriately be attached to 

discussions of programs’ outcomes.

Improving Administrative Data Quality

The Office of Research and Evaluation will work with programs to improve 

the quality of CNCS administrative data. Office staff will work with 

programs and the Office of Management and Budget to revise agency 

information collection processes (e.g., member entrance and application 

forms, member exit survey). Improvements in data processes will be 

a cost-effective way to support the agency’s commitment to rigorous 

research and evaluation.

Partnerships

Research and evaluation activities across federal agencies are underway 

for several cross-agency partnerships formed as part of the Presidential 

Task Force on Expanding National Service; including School Turnaround 

AmeriCorps (CNCS with Department of Education) and justice AmeriCorps 

(CNCS with Department of Justice).

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

Outcome Evaluations of the Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC) PreKindergarten and K-3 Program

While a randomized controlled trial impact evaluation of the MRC K-3 

Program was completed in FY 2013, CNCS continued to disseminate the 

important results during FY 2014. Additionally, a quasi-experimental 

outcome evaluation of the MRC Pre-Kindergarten Program (a distinct 

model, customized to that stage of child development) was sponsored by 

CNCS and completed in FY 2014. 

The results of the Pre-Kindergarten evaluation show strong positive 

impacts on 4- and 5-year-old students, as well as positive, significant 

findings for 3-year-old Pre-K students. AmeriCorps tutors with MRC 

helped 4-and 5-year-old students meet or exceed spring targets for 

kindergarten readiness in all five assessed areas – recognizing letter 

sounds, rhyming words, letter names, picture names, and alliterations. 

By school year’s end, 4- and 5-year-old students in MRC classrooms 

outperformed students in comparison classrooms in these five assessed 

areas. The MRC program was effective across a range of settings – both 

in public schools and Head Start Centers – and for all students regardless 

of gender, race/ethnicity, or dual language learner status. Additionally, 

3-year-old Pre-K students in MRC classrooms significantly outperformed 

students in comparison classrooms in two of four assessed areas. 

The MRC evaluations reflect what can be achieved through more than a 

decade of methodical, evidence-driven development of a set of teaching 

tools and strategies. Second, the evaluations highlight modes of tutoring 

and educational partnership where national service members are making 

major contributions to improving individual and community outcomes. 

The demonstrated success of the MRC has led to replication efforts in 

other states across the nation, consistent with the goal of identifying and 

expanding effective programs.

Senior Corps Evaluation
58 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

In partnership with Senior Corps, the Office of Research and Evaluation 

oversaw Senior Corps evaluation activities during FY 2014. One project 

completed in FY 2014 analyzed surveys collected from over 30,000 Foster 

Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program volunteers to 

understand the demographic composition of these Senior Corps volunteers 

and to explore self-rated health status. CNCS found higher self-ratings of 

health for Senior Corps volunteers than for a matched comparison group 

of other self-described volunteers from an independent national sample 

(from the Health and Retirement Study).

New Projects

In FY 2014 the Office of Research and Evaluation also successfully 

competed and awarded contracts to third-party researchers for research 

and evaluation projects to be completed during FY 2015, furthering 

CNCS’s mission. These include development of an AmeriCorps Alumni 

Survey, to complement what is learned from the AmeriCorps Exit Survey; 

and a preliminary social network analysis research design, to provide an 

in-depth look at the relationships a small set of AmeriCorps grantees have 

with other organizations in the service networks in their communities. 

Grantee Support

AmeriCorps Grantee Evaluation Training and Technical Assistance

In FY 2014, the Office of Research and Evaluation worked closely with 

AmeriCorps State and National and its grantees to build their evaluation 

capacity. The Office of Research and Evaluation provided one-on-one 

technical assistance for large grantees (those receiving more than 

$500,000 from CNCS per year that are required to conduct an external 

impact evaluation). Additionally, the Office of Research and Evaluation 

developed a core curriculum on evaluation principles and methods for all 

grantees, program officers, and other stakeholders. 

Beginning in summer 2014, the Office of Research and Evaluation also 

provided limited feedback on evaluation plans to small grantees (those 

receiving less than $500,000 in grant money from CNCS per year). Finally, 

in collaboration with AmeriCorps State and National leadership, the Office 

of Research and Evaluation developed guidance on Alternative Evaluation 

Approaches, while also taking the lead on reviewing related grantee 

requests and determining whether CNCS approves grantee requests for 

Alternative Evaluation Approaches.

AmeriCorps State and National Evaluation Bundling Project 

The purpose of this project is to conduct a multi-site quasi-experimental 

program evaluation that seeks to draw causal conclusions about 

the overall impact of a selection of AmeriCorps’ Opportunity Youth 

interventions. Over the course of three project phases, this evaluation is 

intended to generate rigorous impact evidence speaking to the efficacy 

of national service interventions on key outcomes for Opportunity Youth, 

including employment, educational attainment, both high school/GED and 

post-secondary, and connection to community. This project will also build 

small grantees’ evaluation capacity in a way that promotes continuous 

learning, program improvement, and investment in evaluation that may 

be sustained after completion of the evaluation. In FY 2014, the Office of 

Research and Evaluation competed and awarded a contract for this work 

to begin. Planning, recruitment, and instrument development has occurred 

during 2014 and early 2015. Data collection, analysis, and reporting will 

follow.

FY 2014 Grant Application and Review Process 

Review 

The Office of Research and Evaluation provides technical and 

methodological support to CNCS programs for the Grant Application and 

Review Process. In particular, the Office of Research and Evaluation 

provides analysis and consulting on validation of the standards or 

criteria formally employed in proposal review. The Office of Research and 

Evaluation also develops instruments and procedures for scoring and 

inter-rater reliability of external reviewers. These efforts are consistent 

with the priority to have CNCS, as well as its grantees, operate in a 

rigorous, evidence-based manner that facilitates a culture of learning and 

continuous improvement.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 59

Part VI: Budget Activities

BUDGET ACTIVITY 13: 

Salaries and Expenses (S&E) 

(National and Community Service Act of 1990, Section 501(a)(5); 

Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Section 504(a))

FY 2016 Performance Plan

CNCS’s Salaries and Expenses budget activity provides resources for the 

administration of all CNCS programs. Administrative activities include: 

• Program development

• Grant award oversight and monitoring 

• Grants and contract management 

• Financial management 

• Budget formulation, execution, and oversight 

• Development of regulations and policy

• Information Technology (IT) system development and support

• Enterprise risk management

Staffing

CNCS’s request supports 459 Full-Time Equivalents (FTE). During FY 2014, 

in anticipation of increased workload resulting from new partnerships and 

growing mission work, CNCS launched a comprehensive staffing review 

to assess personnel distribution across the organization. Meeting the 

need for human capital that the review revealed will enable CNCS to align 

itself to changing demands without compromising mission effectiveness. 

The request also includes a 1.3 percent pay raise and $2.3 million for 

a headquarters move and GSA mandated space consolidation. Costs 

associated with the move include, but are not limited to, office space 

design, build out costs, security system installation, IT cable installation, 

and moving equipment. 

Accountability

CNCS will continue to effectively monitor its investments in nonprofits 

and state and local governments. The agency will also better integrate its 

oversight responsibilities such as ensuring the accuracy and reliability of 

performance measures, ensuring compliance with legal requirements, and 

monitoring of grantee spending (including systematic assessments under 

the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA). As a result, 

TABLE 22. Salaries and Expenses Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

Object Class

FY14 

Enacted Level

FY15 

Enacted Level

FY16 

President’s 

Budget

Increase/

Decrease 

FY15-FY16

11.1 - Full-time permanent $39,650 $39,941 $40,200 $259

11.3 - Other than full-time permanent $1,300 $1,080 $1,080 $0

11.5 - Other personnel compensation $650 $535 $575 $40

12.1 - Civilian personnel benefits $12,200 $12,200 $12,200 $0

Total personnel compensation $53,800 $53,756 $54,055 $299

21.0 - Travel and transportation of persons $1,100 $1,299 $1,000 ($299)

23.1 - Rental payments to GSA $7,500 $7,501 $8,000 $499

23.3 - Communications, utilities, and misc. charges $1,500 $1,700 $1,500 ($200)

25.2 - Other Services* $16,237 $22,546 $21,171 ($1,375)

26.0 - Supplies and Materials $600 $455 $450 ($5)

Total, Salary and Expenses $80,737 $81,737 $86,176 $4,439 

Full Time Equivalent 460 460 459 (1)

* The S&E IT investment for FY 2016 is approximately $18 million. The funding in this table represents the S&E portion of CNCS’s IT costs. It does not reflect the IT costs covered by 

program funds. In addition, the total S&E budget includes a $2.3 million one-time cost for a CNCS’s headquarters move and space consolidation required by GSA. 
60 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

CNCS will manage risk more effectively and become more efficient as 

resources are applied strategically to mitigate the highest priority risks. 

Information Technology 

The FY 2016 IT Budget request will fund the continued operations and 

maintenance of existing IT services, including: 

• Maintenance of both the legacy and next generation grants/member 

management system platforms 

• New investments in IT security 

• IT modernization projects

• Implementation of an agency-wide electronic records management 

system

This request will also support several transformative initiatives that will 

enable CNCS to: 

• More effectively use evidence and evaluation in policy making 

• Deliver greater impact through performance/management 

• Support expansion of National Service through partnerships 

• Deliver 21st Century government services

These efforts are in alignment with the President’s Management Agenda 

focus on providing smarter IT delivery.

Maintenance of Legacy and Next Generation 

Platforms

Continued IT operations and maintenance funding will enable CNCS to 

sustain ongoing IT assets and services. 

New Investments in IT Security

These funds will support software and/or hardware to ensure protection 

of systems and data. These funds will also offset the costs associated 

with maintaining both the next generation and legacy grants and 

member management systems as they operate in parallel during the IT 

Modernization transition.

IT Modernization Projects

Phase 3 of CNCS’s 3-Year IT Modernization Roadmap completes the 

CNCS IT Modernization Program. While FY 2015 funding will support the 

modernization of staff-facing applications, Phase 3 projects will focus on 

transitioning externally-facing applications to the new, highly configurable 

next generation platform which will:

• Improve overall system usability for grantees, members, and 

institutions

• Enable CNCS to quickly and cost effectively modify the public facing 

aspects of the system to respond to emerging business needs

• Allow OIT to decommission the legacy grants/member management 

system and realize the efficiencies associated with maintaining a 

common, modern systems platform

National Service Repository/Evidence Exchange. This request will 

support the technical infrastructure for an online repository containing 

national service and SIF research and evaluation studies. This online 

repository, with the working title “Evidence Exchange,” will build on 

existing structures at the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health 

and Human Services. CNCS proposes a phased approach to the design 

and launch of its repository with FY 2015 representing a pilot phase to 

follow the FY 2014 planning phase. A FY 2016 public release is planned. 

This resource will be a valuable asset to current and prospective grantees 

regarding research-based programs and practices.

FY 2014 Management Performance And 

Accomplishments

As the nation’s largest federal grantmaker devoted exclusively to 

supporting national and community service projects, CNCS provides 

approximately $750 million in results-focused funding to organizations 

across the nation that improve lives and strengthen communities. 

CNCS has adopted the key indicators below to help gauge the agency’s 

effectiveness and efficiency in managing grants. These metrics serve as 

a supplement to the Goal 1 and 2 priority measures listed earlier in this 

Budget, which focus on grant results.

In FY 2014, CNCS undertook a number of critical initiatives across the 

agency to improve overall operations, performance, and accountability. 

Within the last year, CNCS completed the following management 

initiatives:

Accountability 

CNCS continued to foster a culture of integrity, accountability and 

transparency by fortifying its internal controls, oversight, and monitoring. 

With these principles in mind, CNCS’s Office of Accountability and 

Oversight continued to implement an Enterprise Risk Management 

Approach, a set of disciplined practices to help ensure the agency’s 

organizational effectiveness, cohesion, and longevity. Building upon its 

redesigned processes for assessing the design and effectiveness of 

operations, compliance with laws and regulations, reporting reliability, and 

system conformance, CNCS established clear roles and responsibilities for 

management officials to assess risks and focus CNCS’s efforts to ensure 

the integrity of its operations. 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 61

Part VI: Budget Activities

TABLE 23. CNCS Strategic Goal 4: Fortify management operations and sustain a capable, responsive and accountable organization

Award and close grants and contracts within prescribed timeframes

FY11 Actual FY12 Actual FY13 Actual FY14 Target FY14 Actual

Award all grants before the budget period start date. 92% 95% 95% 95% 95%

Post grant competition award and review data to the internet 

within 90 days of completion of the award process.

100% 100% 100% 100% Available 

Feb. 2015

Complete all grant monitoring activities identified in the 

annual monitoring plan and follow up with grantees where 

necessary.

88% 89% 89% 85% 85%

Close all grants within 180 days of the performance period end 

date.

39% 61% 64% 64% 65%

Accounting and Financial Management Services

In FY 2014, CNCS used the Department of the Treasury’s Invoice 

Processing Platform to process a majority of all vendor invoices increasing 

operational efficiency. Also in FY 2014, CNCS established an interface 

with Treasury’s Collection Information Repository (CIR), which allows for 

all collection transactions cleared through Treasury to be automatically 

posted to CNCS’s administrative accounting system (Momentum). This 

interface reduces errors and increases efficiency of CNCS accounting 

operations. CNCS moved toward more consistent and complete financial 

data by reconciling its accounts with the Government-wide Treasury 

Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance System. 

Also in FY 2014, CNCS automated the production of invoices and 

account statements for the AmeriCorps VISTA Cost Share sponsors. The 

automated invoicing cycle was accelerated from monthly to bi-weekly 

to increase the receivable turnover ratio. Finally, CNCS implemented 

a Pay Now functionality that makes it easier for the customer to pay 

the invoices electronically. Coupled with the automated interface with 

Treasury CIR, payment information is now made available to AmeriCorps 

VISTA Cost Share sponsors within three days of payment. As a result of 

these improvements, CNCS has observed a significant rise in electronic 

payments versus payments by check. Additionally, account receivable 

balances have been reduced. These initiatives have provided a greater 

level of transparency along with increased sponsor confidence and 

satisfaction in the Cost Share program.

Finally, more timely, traceable and accurate collection processing in 

the Office of Accounting and Financial Management Services has been 

achieved using fewer human resources. A higher rate of electronic 

collections has already been achieved in the Cost Share program. The 

success here has allowed the agency to pursue more aggressive electronic 

commerce initiatives that will further reduce paper and manual processing.

Human Capital 

In 2014, in response to fiscal restraints and the goal of improving 

engagement, effectiveness, and efficiency in program offices, the Office of 

Human Capital conducted an analysis to determine the optimal operating 

structure for CNCS offices. Approximately 11 offices were analyzed to 

review staffing, work processes, and core functions. Positions were 

eliminated, reclassified, or had duties modified. This activity affected 

many of CNCS’s program offices. The analysis will continue into 2015.

In an effort to improve automation of core human resources functions, 

the Office of Human Capital transitioned the agency’s automated 

timekeeping system to the National Finance Center. This transition 

updated an existing time keeping system to allow employees access and 

to grant both employees and supervisors greater transparency of time and 

attendance records. In addition, the Office of Human Capital implemented 

an automated performance management system to allow greater use of 

web-based performance management tools, thereby improving the quality 

and timeliness of employee feedback and appraisals.

Information Technology 

CNCS’s recent IT investments have modernized IT services to support the 

mission needs. Additional work is needed and a refocus in FY 2014 began 

on the CNCS enterprise Information Assurance program to enable secure 

and effective IT management.

The efforts of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) in FY 2014 

continued execution of its IT strategy through initiatives and projects 

emphasizing:

• Expanding IT capabilities

• Modernizing systems to meet evolving business needs 

• Maximizing return on IT investment
62 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Disability Inclusion Strategy

FY 2016 Budget Summary

Disability inclusion is a priority for CNCS. In alignment with its authorizing 

legislation, CNCS seeks to expand opportunities for the meaningful and 

successful inclusion of people with disabilities in national service. The 

agency’s disability inclusion strategy supports the objectives of Goal 

2 in the CNCS strategic plan, strengthening national service so that 

participants engaged in CNCS-supported programs consistently find 

satisfaction, meaning, and opportunity.

CNCS’s disability inclusion strategy mitigates the real and perceived 

barriers to full inclusion of people with disabilities in national service 

programs. In addition, this strategy helps participants to:

• Engage in a high-quality service experience

• Find meaning in their service experience that leads to continued 

service in their communities

• Discover professional, educational, or civic opportunities through 

their service experience 

• Gain health benefits associated with service, particularly for 

veterans and participants over the age of 55

In FY 2016, CNCS plans to use 2 percent of statutorily required accounts 

(C, D, E, and H) to support people with disabilities serving in CNCS 

programs. Pursuant to the Serve America Act, the primary objective of 

CNCS’s disability inclusion strategy will be to enroll and support members 

with disabilities serving in CNCS programs. To this end, CNCS will:

• Leverage member exit form data to improve outreach efforts in 2016 

and ensure that all segments of the diverse disability community are 

able to engage in national service if they are interested. The data 

will also be used to set further goals for disability engagement and 

outreach. Where there are identified populations within the disability 

community which have not been engaged, CNCS will establish and 

strengthen relationships with membership-based organizations of 

people with disabilities who have the specific disability which is 

under- or un-represented. 

• Establish and implement the Pledge for Change, a campaign for 

grantees/sponsors and governor-supported Commissions to commit 

to participating in disability engagement efforts and inclusive 

national service, which will kick off during the 25th anniversary 

year for Americans with Disabilities Act in 2015. The purpose of this 

campaign is to raise consciousness and shift the focus for managers 

within the national service to take action and recruit more service 

members with disabilities. 

• Expand the agency’s work with the Office of Disability Employment 

Policy to include: consultation to strengthen our online resources 

for Grantees/Partners (including creating content), enhancing 

coordination between the workforce development system and the 

network of national service programs, and increasing the number of 

people with disabilities engaged in national service.

• Assist with facilitating the initial relationship building between the 

State Commissions and the state-based Vocational Rehabilitation 

Agencies that are interested to establish a pipeline of clients 

with disabilities who can seamlessly transition from vocational 

rehabilitation into state AmeriCorps programs. 

• Further develop key partnerships to facilitate outreach that benefits 

disability recruitment goals. For example, working with coalitions and 

national organizations like the Association of Higher Education and 

Disability and Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities 

(attended by college guidance counselors) are two ways CNCS will 

reach out to those connected to college students with disabilities. 

FY 2014 Accomplishments (In Addition to 

Accomplishments Listed in Part III)

For FY 2014, as authorized by the Serve America Act, CNCS used program 

dollars to fund its disability activities.

In FY 2014, to support the goal of inclusion of people with disabilities 

in service, CNCS signed a MOU with the Office of Labor’s Disability 

Employment Policy. The purpose of this MOU is to further the coordination 

of policy activities, disseminate effective practices, and share 

informational resources and technical efforts between the two agencies. 

It builds on and formalizes existing collaborative efforts to amplify 

mutual interests and engage people with disabilities in national service 

where they gain the skills and experience that prepare them for gainful 

employment. For Disability Employment Awareness Month in 2014, the 

Office for Disability Employment policy and CNCS released a public 

awareness campaign to show the types of careers service members with 

disabilities have engaged in following their national service. 

CNCS also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Health 

and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (ACL). Under 

this MOU, ACL and CNCS will jointly recruit, engage, and support s greater 

number of older Americans and people with disabilities in national service 

and maximize the ability of older adults to live independently. The primary 

goals of this collaboration are: 

• Supporting inclusive, accessible service sites and programs

• Building integrated National Service Learning Community networks

• Increasing the impact of volunteering by and for older adults and 

persons with disabilities 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 63

Part VI: Budget Activities

• Strengthening volunteer service, so that participants find 

satisfaction, meaning and opportunity 

• Maximizing the value added to grantees, partners and participants 

through research, technical assistance, evaluation and program 

oversight 

• Heightening the visibility of volunteering and the ACL/CNCS 

partnership

The process for obtaining funding for reasonable accommodations 

for service members with disabilities was strengthened. AmeriCorps 

grantees are now able to submit requests for reimbursement after 

they have verified that their service member has a qualifying disability 

according to the Americans with Disabilities Act and after the manager 

and service member worked together to determine the proper reasonable 

accommodation. 

The cooperative agreement with the National Service Inclusion Project 

came to its conclusion and all evergreen website content (webinars, 

ecourses, tips) was transferred to a CNCS-operated disability resource 

webpage. This webpage is also the home of five new e-courses developed 

to assist grantees and partners who are supervising service members 

with disabilities to recruit, accommodate, retain, and better understand 

some of the unique issues associated with disability identity. This 

new webpage will also include updated additional resources regarding 

disability issues for grantees and partners. 

In 2014, CNCS was successful in adding a more detailed question about 

disability status to the AmeriCorps member exit form. While answering 

this question is voluntary for members, the data collected will assist 

CNCS in understanding the approximate number of people with disabilities 

exiting AmeriCorps programs. This benchmark will assist with recruitment 

efforts by providing additional information about populations CNCS is 

effectively recruiting and those populations where there is an opportunity 

to expand collaborations, as well as justification for expansion into those 

targeted populations. 
64 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

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CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 65

Part V: Office of Inspector General

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL | PART VII

Program Summary/Mission

Protecting the taxpayers’ billion dollar investment in national service 

is the mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s 

(CNCS’s) Office of Inspector General (OIG). As the nation’s largest 

service and volunteer grant-making organization, CNCS faces numerous 

challenges in achieving its mission. These challenges include managing 

a portfolio of 2300 grants throughout the United States, many of them to 

small nonprofit organizations; measuring the performance of these grants 

to ensure that Americans receive a strong return on their investment; and 

achieving results with outdated information systems and a cumbersome 

legacy infrastructure. The OIG plays a critical role in strengthening CNCS 

by conducting audits and reviews to identify wasteful spending and 

mismanagement, investigating fraud and other wrongdoing and taking 

other steps to prevent and detect fraud, waste and inefficiencies in CNCS 

programs and operations. 

FY 2016 Budget Request Summary

For FY 2016, the OIG requests an operating budget of $6 million. These 

resources are necessary to provide meaningful oversight of CNCS’s 

programs and operations, including the activities of grantees.

With the funds requested, the OIG will protect our national service 

programs by:

• Conducting audits and reviews of high-risk CNCS activities, 

focusing on systemic, operational and programmatic vulnerabilities 

and highlighting areas in need of better risk management;

• Auditing selected high-risk grantees, to identify problematic 

practices, recommend improvements and determine costs that 

should be recovered; 

• Working an active caseload of civil, criminal and administrative 

matters; 

• Maintaining a robust hotline operation, to receive and process 

allegations of fraud, waste and mismanagement by CNCS, grantees 

or contractors;

• Contracting with an independent public accountant to perform the 

statutorily required audit of CNCS’s financial statements;

• Overseeing and monitoring CNCS’s information technology (IT) 

security and modernization activities, including compliance with the 

TABLE 24. OIG Budget Summary (dollars in thousands)

FY14 Enacted FY15 Enacted FY16 Present’s Increase/Decrease 

Budget Activities Levels Levels Budget (2015-2016)

Audit $2,033 $2,042 $2,973 $931

Investigation $713 $1,033 $963 ($70)

Support $1,623 $1,383 $1,477 $94

Information Technology $574 $706 $538 ($168)

Training $57 $71 $33 ($38)

CIGIE $0 $15 $16 $1

Total Operations and Budget Authority 5,000 5,250 6,000 750

Total Budget Authority $5,000 $5,250 $6,000

Reimbursable Authority** $250 $250 $250

Total Available for Obligation $5,250 $5,500 $6,250

**Reimbursable Authority authorized in FY 2011
66 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), an area of 

particular urgency;

• Maintaining a Whistleblower Ombudsman to educate staff 

about prohibitions on retaliation and the rights and remedies of 

whistleblowers who have been subjected to retaliation, and to 

conduct investigations of alleged retaliation;

• Making recommendations concerning proposed revisions of CNCS 

policies, procedures and regulations, focusing on strengthening 

internal controls to prevent and detect waste, fraud and abuse;

• Recommending suspensions and debarments to protect the integrity 

of CNCS programs;

• Upholding the quality standards of the Inspector General community 

by devoting $33,500 to the training necessary for investigators and 

auditors to maintain their professional credentials. 

Audit Section

For FY 2016, the OIG Audit Section requires $2,979,797. Approximately 30 

percent of this sum will be devoted to three statutorily required audits/

evaluations, which are performed under OIG supervision by independent 

firms: (1) the Financial Statement Audit (including the audit of the 

National Service Trust); (2) the Federal Information Security Management 

Act evaluation (FISMA); and (3) the review of the Corporation’s compliance 

with the Improper Payments and Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA). 

Each of these audits has uncovered serious problems in the recent past, 

which have yet to be fully resolved. The remaining statutory evaluations 

– risk assessments of CNCS purchase card and travel card programs 

and review of CNCS compliance with the Digital Accountability and 

Transparency Act (DATA Act) – are expected to be undertaken by the 

OIG audit staff. For maximum impact, the OIG will continue to target its 

audits and evaluations on significant agency programs, processes and 

operational units. Audit work to date has discovered serious lapses in 

these areas. 

One recent audit report found serious deficiencies in the agency’s 

procurement practices, ranging from poorly conceived consulting 

projects that CNCS paid for but never used, to unauthorized financial 

commitments by program staff, to paying millions of dollars for labor 

invoices without any substantiation of the charges.6

 Another exposed 

CNCS’s history of insufficient efforts to quantify and reduce improper 

payments to grantees.7

 Still another found serious vulnerabilities in 

CNCS oversight of its $240 million portfolio of fixed amount grants.8 Our 

17 recommendations included suggesting that the Corporation adopt 

a risk-based approach to monitoring, specific internal controls and 

other measures. Currently in progress is an evaluation of the program 

effectiveness of the National Civilian Community Corps. With sufficient 

funding, the OIG hopes to perform two such evaluations in FY 2016.

The OIG will likewise continue to audit grantees that are at high risk of 

mishandling Federal dollars. Two recent audits of Senior Corps grantees 

found pervasive financial mismanagement occurring over multiple years, 

resulting in overcharges of $895,000 in one case9 and $2.25 million in 

the other.10 We expect to undertake similar audits in FY 2016. We also 

expect to conduct audits of multiple state commissions, the vehicle that 

distributes about half of the funds dedicated to the Corporation’s largest 

program, AmeriCorps State and National.

Four other circumstances make audit and evaluation activities a 

particular priority for FY 2016. First, improving the Corporation’s risk 

management remains a priority. Inadequate risk assessment, monitoring 

and mitigation – the lack of a comprehensive risk management strategy 

– permit mismanagement by grantees and CNCS, impair the operation of 

CNCS programs and are costing the taxpayers money. In particular, the 

Corporation’s internal control program and grant monitoring capability 

require sustained attention. Recent changes to Federal grant management 

requirements envision a more rigorous process, and we believe that 

systemic improvements to grant monitoring are both possible and 

necessary. Similarly, improving the Corporation’s procedures for reducing 

and recapturing improper payments will remain another key initiative in 

FY 2016.

Second, our audit of the Corporation’s FY2014 Financial Statements 

uncovered two significant deficiencies in the Corporation’s internal 

control11 over financial reporting – inadequacies in its Integrity Assurance 

Program and its information technology controls – and one instance of 

non-compliance with the Federal Information Security & Management Act 

requirements. 

Third, the financial accountability and regulatory compliance of Senior 

Corps grantees has emerged as a challenge. Many longstanding grantees 

appear to be operating with outdated financial management systems that 

6 Audit of Blanket Purchase Agreements for Professional Consulting Services, OIG Audit Report 14-09, available at www.cncsoig.gov/news-entry/14-09-0. 

7

 Letter dated April 11, 2014 from Stuart Axenfeld, AIGA, to Honorable Sylvia M. Burwell, OMB Budget Director, regarding deficiencies in CNCS compliance with the Improper Payments Reduction and 

Elimination Act (IPERA), available at www.cncsoig.gov/news-entry/ipera. 

8 Inadequate Internal Controls Preventing the Corporation from Mitigating Significant Risks Inherent in the Fixed Amount Grants Program, OIG Audit Report 13-07, available at www.cncsoig.gov/newsentry/13-07 

9 Audit of Atlantic Human Resources, OIG Audit Reports 13-05a and 13-05b. This grantee ultimately filed for protection in bankruptcy.

10 Audit of Family Services of Central Massachusetts, OIG Audit Report 14-05, pending management decision and resolution.

11 Audit of the Corporation for National and Community Services Fiscal Year 2014 Financial Statements, OIG Audit Reports 15-01, available at www.cncsoig.gov/news/audit-reports
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 67

Part V: Office of Inspector General

are no longer sufficient to meet Federal requirements. Evaluating their 

capabilities and suggesting cost-effective improvements will safeguard 

Federal funds. 

Fourth, the OIG’s FY 2014 Federal Information Security Management 

Act (FISMA) evaluation12 concluded that the information security and 

privacy program at the Corporation does not meet minimum standards. 

These programs need substantial improvement across the board, with 

weaknesses uncovered in 11 of the 12 areas tested. With Information 

Technology a critical part for the Corporation’s grant management 

process, continued evaluation along with recommendations for 

improvement remains a priority for the OIG. 

Investigation Section

The OIG Investigation Section requires funding of $962,830 to maintain 

our investigative capabilities. The section focuses on allegations of 

fraud involving potentially significant losses of agency funds or other 

substantial criminal or administrative misconduct. Our investigative 

staff, all of whom are based in Washington, D.C., travel throughout the 

country to pursue investigations and coordinate with Federal, state, and 

local prosecutors. While in the field, investigators take the opportunity to 

conduct Fraud Awareness Briefings, outreach efforts that educate agency 

and grantee staff about proper grant administration, to avoid or minimize 

losses from fraud. This Section also operates the Hotline through which 

OIG receives reports of fraud and potential misconduct. 

For FY 2013 and FY 2014, the Investigation Section conducted 71 

investigative actions, handled 244 Hotline contacts and recovered more 

than $961,991 and identified more than $1,449,364 in savings to the 

Federal government based on changes in grantee behavior as a result of 

our investigative efforts. During this same period the Corporation debarred 

8 individuals based on Investigations’ efforts and recommendations. 

For FY 2015, OIG has identified more than $4 million in recoveries13

based on an OIG investigation of Maricopa County Community College 

District (MCCCD), Phoenix, AZ. MCCCD on December 12, 2014, agreed to 

pay $4.08 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims 

in connection with their Americorps national and state grants. MCCCD 

employees did not properly account for hours served by AmeriCorps 

members, failed to obtain and keep required member records and falsely 

certified required academic/training hours and educational awards, 

causing an improper obligation of federal program funds. 

An Investigative Analyst (IA) supports investigations with research, 

manages the OIG’s Hotline and also provides research assistance to the 

Audit Section. The IA conducts data-mining, and assembles background 

and historical information regarding entities and individuals. 

Support Section 

The OIG Support Section requires $1,493,390 to sustain the immediate 

office of the Inspector General (the Inspector General, Deputy Inspector 

General (who also serves as Whistleblower Ombudsman), and counsel), 

and to fund OIG common expenses, such as budgeting, accounting and 

financial administration, materials and supplies, physical security, and 

the like. This amount also includes $33,000 for OIG training necessary to 

maintain professional standards and certifications, as well as $16,000 to 

support the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

Information Technology

For FY 2016, the Information Technology Section (ITS) funding needs are 

$537,982. ITS provides timely, dynamic and available information to its 

internal and external customers, supported by a technology infrastructure 

that makes possible for anyone to access our public reports on any type 

of device, from anywhere in the world, any time of the day. Internally, ITS 

ensures that auditors and investigators have the technology to manage 

their work papers and products collaboratively, expeditiously, accurately 

and securely, even from remote locations. ITS has made telework second 

nature to OIG staff and has enabled them to communicate seamlessly 

with the office even when on location with grantees. In addition, the 

expertise of our Chief Technology Officer augments our substantive review 

of the agency’s information technology challenges and identifies security 

and compliance issues in agency systems. 

Strategic Goals and Performance Measures

The OIG is charged with providing timely and independent information 

to the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and Congress regarding 

the effectiveness and efficiency of CNCS programs and operations. Its 

ultimate objective is to improve the Corporation’s ability to meet its 

responsibilities, including as a fiduciary of public funds, and achieve 

its mission. Thus, the OIG’s FY 2016 audit and investigative plans are 

designed to assist CNCS in meeting its strategic goals, reducing program 

vulnerabilities, strengthening program integrity in the delivery of benefits 

to program participants, and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness 

with which CNCS manages and exercises its stewardship of grant funds. 

The OIG’s Strategic Plan and Performance Measures can be found at 

http://www.cncsoig.gov/latest-strategic-plan.

12 Federal Information Security Management Act, Fiscal Year 2014, evaluation of the Corporation for National & Community Service 15-03, available at www.cncsoig.gov/news-entry 15-03

13 Maricopa County Community College District agrees to pay $4 million for alleged false claims related to award of AmeriCorps Education Awards, December 12, 2014, available at www.cncsoig.gov/

news.
68 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDICES | PART VI

APPENDIX A. Corporation for National and Community Service Appropriations History, 1994-2016 

(dollars in thousands)

Activity FY94 Enacted FY95 Enacted FY96 Enacted FY97 Enacted FY98 Enacted

Total, Operating Expenses $543,503 $651,587 $566,844 $586,499 $653,975

National Service Trust $98,751 $115,070 $56,000 $59,000 $70,000

AmeriCorps State and National $155,500 $219,000 $215,000 $215,000 $227,000

AmeriCorps VISTA $42,724 $47,700 $41,235 $41,235 $65,235

AmeriCorps NCCC $10,000 $18,000 $18,000 $18,000 $18,000

National Senior Service Corps $130,278 $135,764 $128,341 $144,764 $163,240

RSVP $34,388 $35,708 $34,949 $35,708 $40,279

Foster Grandparent Program $66,117 $67,812 $62,237 $77,812 $87,593

Senior Companion Program $29,773 $31,244 $31,155 $31,244 $35,368

Senior Demonstration Program $0 $1,000 $0 $0 $0

Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance1 $31,900 $30,000 $29,850 $30,000 $30,000

Innovation, Demonstration and Other

Social Innovation Fund

Volunteer Generation Fund

Non-Profit Capacity Building Fund

Evaluation $4,600 $5,500 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000

Learn and Serve America $40,000 $46,000 $43,000 $43,000 $43,000

State Commissions Support Grants2 $24,750 $28,723 $24,918 $25,000 $27,000

Partnership Grants $5,000 $5,830 $5,500 $5,500 $5,500

Special Volunteer Programs

Disability Placement Funds $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Training and Technical Assistance3 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Salaries and Expense Account $31,151 $31,160 $28,541 $27,850 $28,129

Office of the Inspector General $944 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $3,000

TOTAL, CNCS4 $575,598 $684,747 $597,385 $616,349 $685,104

1

 Pursuant to P.L. 110-28 $1.360 million was transferred from Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance to the Salaries and Expense Account in FY 2007. 

2

 NCSA administrative expenses are included in the State Commission Support Grants Program line item prior to FY 2004

3

 Training and Technical Assistance dollars were provided in a separate appropriation beginning in FY 2010. 

4

 Total budget authority may not equal sum of budget accounts due to rounding.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 69

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX A. Corporation for National and Community Service Appropriations History, 1994-2016 

(dollars in thousands) (continued)

Activity FY99 Enacted FY00 Enacted FY01 Enacted FY02 Enacted FY03 Enacted

Total, Operating Expenses $682,266 $696,545 $729,112 $698,501 $745,755

National Service Trust $70,000 $70,000 $69,846 $0 $99,350

AmeriCorps State and National $237,000 $233,395 $230,492 $240,492 $173,863

AmeriCorps VISTA $73,000 $80,574 $83,074 $85,255 $93,674

AmeriCorps NCCC $18,000 $17,892 $20,954 $24,896 $24,838

National Senior Service Corps $173,910 $182,818 $188,547 $206,379 $215,934

RSVP $43,001 $46,117 $48,884 $54,884 $58,501

Foster Grandparent Program $93,256 $95,988 $98,868 $106,700 $110,775

Senior Companion Program $36,573 $39,219 $40,395 $44,395 $46,260

Senior Demonstration Program $1,080 $1,494 $400 $400 $398

Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance1 $28,500 $28,500 $28,437 $28,488 $35,269

Innovation, Demonstration and Other

Social Innovation Fund

Volunteer Generation Fund

Non-Profit Capacity Building Fund

Evaluation $5,000 $5,000 $4,989 $5,000 $2,981

Learn and Serve America $43,000 $43,000 $42,905 $43,000 $42,721

State Commissions Support Grants2 $28,356 $27,895 $30,932 $30,991 $32,289

Partnership Grants $5,500 $7,471 $28,936 $29,000 $14,901

Special Volunteer Programs $5,000 $9,935

Disability Placement Funds $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Training and Technical Assistance3 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Salaries and Expense Account $29,129 $31,129 $32,229 $32,213 $34,346

Office of the Inspector General $3,000 $3,985 $4,989 $4,994 $5,961

TOTAL, CNCS4 $714,395 $731,659 766,330 735,708 786,062

1

 Pursuant to P.L. 110-28 $1.360 million was transferred from Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance to the Salaries and Expense Account in FY 2007. 

2

 NCSA administrative expenses are included in the State Commission Support Grants Program line item prior to FY 2004.

3

 Training and Technical Assistance dollars were provided in a separate appropriation beginning in FY 2010. 

4

 Total budget authority may not equal sum of budget accounts due to rounding.
70 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX A. Corporation for National and Community Service Appropriations History, 1994-2016 

(dollars in thousands) (continued)

Activity FY04 Enacted FY05 Enacted FY06 Enacted FY07 Enacted FY08 Enacted

Total, Operating Expenses $867,833 $856,574 $837,936 $805,760 $782,744

National Service Trust $129,233 $142,848 $138,600 $117,720 $122,539

AmeriCorps State and National $312,147 $287,680 $264,825 $264,825 $256,805

AmeriCorps VISTA $93,731 $94,240 $95,464 $95,468 $93,800

AmeriCorps NCCC $24,853 $25,296 $36,730 $26,789 $23,782

National Senior Service Corps $214,264 $215,857 $217,586 $217,586 $213,785

RSVP $58,156 $58,528 $59,685 $59,685 $58,642

Foster Grandparent Program $110,121 $111,424 $110,937 $110,937 $108,999

Senior Companion Program $45,987 $45,905 $46,964 $46,964 $46,144

Senior Demonstration Program $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance1 $11,159 $13,227 $16,280 $29,771 $18,893

Innovation, Demonstration and Other

Social Innovation Fund

Volunteer Generation Fund

Non-Profit Capacity Building Fund

Evaluation $2,982 $3,522 $3,960 $3,960 $3,891

Learn and Serve America $42,746 $42,656 $37,125 $37,125 $37,459

State Commissions Support Grants2 $11,929 $11,904 $12,516 $12,516 $11,790

Partnership Grants $14,913 $14,384 $14,850 $0 $0

Special Volunteer Programs $9,876 $4,960

Disability Placement Funds $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Training and Technical Assistance3 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Salaries and Expense Account $61,321 $64,480 $66,083 $70,324 $67,759

Office of the Inspector General $6,213 $5,952 $5,940 $4,963 $5,828

TOTAL, CNCS4 $935,367 $927,006 $909,959 $881,047 $856,331

1

 Pursuant to P.L. 110-28 $1.360 million was transferred from Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance to the Salaries and Expense Account in FY 2007. 

2

 NCSA administrative expenses are included in the State Commission Support Grants Program line item prior to FY 2004.

3

 Training and Technical Assistance dollars were provided in a separate appropriation beginning in FY 2010. 

4

 Total budget authority may not equal sum of budget accounts due to rounding.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 71

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX A. Corporation for National and Community Service Appropriations History, 1994-2016 

(dollars in thousands) (continued)

Activity FY09 Enacted FY10 Enacted FY11 Enacted FY12 Enacted FY13 Enacted

Total, Operating Expenses $811,639 $857,021 $780,809 $750,252 $711,009

National Service Trust $131,075 $197,000 $199,260 $211,797 $200,719

AmeriCorps State and National $271,196 $372,547 $349,300 $344,348 $326,336

AmeriCorps VISTA $96,050 $99,074 $98,876 $94,820 $89,861

AmeriCorps NCCC $27,500 $29,000 $28,942 $31,882 $30,214

National Senior Service Corps $213,785 $220,900 $207,883 $207,490 $196,637

RSVP $58,642 $63,000 $50,299 $50,204 $47,578

Foster Grandparent Program $108,999 $110,996 $110,774 $110,565 $104,781

Senior Companion Program $46,144 $46,904 $46,810 $46,722 $44,278

Senior Demonstration Program $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance1 $18,893 $60,500 $60,379 $53,280 $50,493

Innovation, Demonstration and Other $5,500 $5,489 $4,481 $4,246

Social Innovation Fund $50,000 $49,900 $44,815 $42,471

Volunteer Generation Fund $4,000 $3,992 $3,984 $3,776

Non-Profit Capacity Building Fund $1,000 $998 $0 $0

Evaluation $3,891 $6,000 $5,988 $2,994 $2,838

Learn and Serve America $37,459 $39,500 $0 $0 $0

State Commissions Support Grants2 $11,790 $17,000 $16,966 $13,441 $12,738

Partnership Grants $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Special Volunteer Programs $0 $0

Disability Placement Funds $0 $5,000 $4,990 $0 $0

Training and Technical Assistance3 $0 $7,500 $7,485 $1,996 $1,892

Salaries and Expense Account $71,715 $88,000 $87,824 $82,843 $78,510

Office of the Inspector General $6,512 $7,700 $7,684 $3,992 $3,784

TOTAL, CNCS4 $889,866 $1,149,721 $1,075,577 $1,048,884 $994,022

1

 Pursuant to P.L. 110-28 $1.360 million was transferred from Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance to the Salaries and Expense Account in FY 2007. 

2

 NCSA administrative expenses are included in the State Commission Support Grants Program line item prior to FY 2004.

3

 Training and Technical Assistance dollars were provided in a separate appropriation beginning in FY 2010. 

4

 Total budget authority may not equal sum of budget accounts due to rounding.
72 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX A. Corporation for National and Community Service Appropriations History, 1994-2016 

(dollars in thousands) (continued)

FY16 President’s 

Activity FY14 Enacted FY15 Enacted Budget

Total, Operating Expenses $756,849 $758,349 $855,208

National Service Trust $207,368 $209,618 $237,077

AmeriCorps State and National $335,430 $335,430 $425,105

AmeriCorps VISTA $92,364 $92,364 $96,885

AmeriCorps NCCC $30,000 $30,000 $30,500

National Senior Service Corps $202,117 $202,117 $202,117

RSVP $48,903 $48,903 $48,903

Foster Grandparent Program $107,702 $107,702 $107,702

Senior Companion Program $45,512 $45,512 $45,512

Senior Demonstration Program $0 $0 $0

Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance1 $76,900 $77,400 $78,601

Innovation, Demonstration and Other $3,100 $3,600 $3,601

Social Innovation Fund $70,000 $70,000 $70,000

Volunteer Generation Fund $3,800 $3,800 $5,000

Non-Profit Capacity Building Fund $0 $0 $0

Evaluation $5,000 $5,000 $5,000

Learn and Serve America $0 $0 $0

State Commissions Support Grants2 $15,038 $16,038 $17,000

Partnership Grants $0 $0 $0

Special Volunteer Programs $0 $0 $0

Disability Placement Funds $0 $0 $0

Training and Technical Assistance3 $0 $0 $0

Salaries and Expense Account $80,737 $81,737 $86,176

Office of the Inspector General $5,000 $5,250 $6,000

TOTAL, CORPORATION4 $1,049,954 $1,054,954 $1,184,461

1

 NCSA administrative expenses are included in the State Commission Admin. Grants Program line item prior to FY 2004. 

2

 Pursuant to P.L. 110-28 $1.360 million was transferred from Innovation, Demonstration and Assistance to the Salaries and Expense Account in FY 2007. 

3

 Training and Technical Assistance dollars were provided in a separate appropriation beginning in FY 2010. 

4

 Total budget authority may not equal sum of budget accounts due to rounding.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 73

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX B. Summary of CNCS Programs and Budget

The following exhibit provides information about CNCS programs and other activities.

Program/Activity Description

Major Programs

AmeriCorps State 

and National

With funds channeled through States, Territories, Tribes, and community-based organizations, 

AmeriCorps grants enable communities to recruit, train, and place AmeriCorps members to meet 

critical local needs in the areas of disaster services, economic opportunity, education, environmental 

stewardship, healthy futures, and veterans and military families, as directed by the Edward M. Kennedy 

Serve America Act of 2009.

AmeriCorps VISTA AmeriCorps VISTA is an anti-poverty program that provides opportunities for individuals 18 years or older 

with a full year of service in low-income communities. VISTA members support the efforts of nonprofits 

and communities to build and enhance sustainable anti-poverty programs.

AmeriCorps NCCC AmeriCorps NCCC is a 10-month residential national service program for people ages 18–24. AmeriCorps 

NCCC members will be deployed to respond to natural disasters and engage in urban and rural 

development projects across the nation.

State Commission Support Grants These population-based formula grants support the operation of State Service Commissions that 

administer approximately two-thirds of AmeriCorps State and National grant funds. Commissions are 

responsible for monitoring sub-grantees and ensuring that they comply with federal requirements and 

performance expectations. These grants must be matched by the Commissions.

National Service Trust Funds educational awards to eligible national service program participants.

Senior Corps-RSVP Grants awarded to eligible sponsors to develop and manage flexible non-stipend opportunities for 

volunteers age 55 and over to help improve their lives while delivering a wide range of community 

services to nonprofits and public agencies.

Senior Corps-FGP Grants awarded to community organizations for stipended service for volunteers age 55 and over to 

support children and youth with special or exceptional needs. Volunteers meeting income eligibility 

requirements receive an hourly cash stipend.

Senior Corps-SCP Grants awarded to community organizations for stipended service for volunteers age 55 and over to help 

individuals, primarily frail seniors, to remain independent in their homes. Volunteers meeting income 

eligibility requirements receive an hourly cash stipend.

Social Innovation Fund Grants awarded to intermediaries to help mobilize public and private resources to grow innovative, 

community-driven solutions that have evidence of compelling impact such as supporting organizations 

that provide training to the unemployed and loans to those in need of housing support.

Volunteer Generation Fund Grants awarded to support voluntary organizations and state service commissions that help grow 

volunteerism, increase volunteers’ career skills, and expand opportunity for the unemployed, veterans, 

and disadvantaged youth.

Innovation, Demonstration, and Other 

Activities

Grants to support important field-building activities including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, 

and the ongoing United We Serve initiative (the President’s Call to Service).

Evaluation This activity supports the design and implementation of research and evaluation studies and will 

facilitate the use of evidence and evaluation by CNCS and national service organizations.

Salaries and Expenses Funds for administering and managing CNCS programs.
74 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

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CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 75

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX C. Summary of Program Benefits for Participants

Program Eligibility Stipend

AmeriCorps State 

and National

In general, an AmeriCorps State and National member must (1) be at least 17 years old 

at the commencement of service, or have been an out-of-school youth at least 16 years 

of year age at the commencement of service, participating in a youth corps program; 

(2) s/he must have a high school diploma (or its equivalent) or agree to obtain a high 

school diploma or its equivalent prior or using the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award; 

and (3) s/he must be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident alien of the 

United States.

Minimum living allowance of $12,100 

for full-time members in Program 

Year 2014. A minimum living 

allowance is not required for less 

than full-time members or Education 

Award Program members. 

AmeriCorps VISTA An AmeriCorps VISTA member must (1) be 18 Years of age or older, and (2) s/he must 

be a citizen, national, or legal resident of the United States.

Yes. Members receive the following 

living allowance: $973/month to 

$1650/month (based on regional 

cost of living and tied to the poverty 

rate.).

AmeriCorps NCCC An AmeriCorps NCCC member must (1) be between the ages of 18 and 24 years old, 

and (2) s/he must be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident alien of the 

United States. 

Yes. Eligible members receive the 

living allowance ($400/month for 10 

months), lodging, and meals. Team 

leaders earn $1,136/month during 11 

months of service.

RSVP To be an RSVP volunteer, an individual must (1) be 55 years of age or older; (2) s/he 

must agree to serve without compensation, and (3) s/he must reside in or nearby the 

community served by RSVP.

No. 

Foster 

Grandparent 

Program

To be a Foster GrandParent volunteer, an individual must (1) be 55 years of age or 

older. (2) S/he must be determined by a physical examination to be capable, with or 

without reasonable accommodation, of serving children with exceptional or special 

needs without detriment to either himself or herself or children served. (3) In order to 

receive a stipend, individual must have an income that is within the income eligibility 

guidelines (within 200 percent of poverty).

Yes, if income guidelines are met 

(200 percent of poverty), then 

program volunteers receive $2.65/

hour tax free.

Senior Companion 

Program

To be a Senior Companion, an individual must (1) be 55 years of age or older. (2) S/

he must be determined by a physical examination to be capable, with or without 

reasonable accommodation, of serving without detriment to either himself or herself or 

adults served. (3) In order to receive a stipend, individual must have an income that is 

within the income eligibility guidelines (within 200 percent of poverty).

Yes, if income guidelines are met 

(200 percent of poverty), then 

program volunteers receive $2.65/

hour tax free.
76 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX C. Summary of Program Benefits for Participants (continued)

Segal AmeriCorps 

Program Term of Service Healthcare Childcare Education Award

AmeriCorps State 

and National

An AmeriCorps member serves for 

at least one of the following terms: 

full-time (minimum of 1700 hours up 

to 12 months), half-time (minimum of 

900 hours for up to 12 or 24 months), 

reduced half-time (minimum of 675 

hours for up to 12 months), quartertime (minimum of 450 hours for up 12 

months), minimum time (minimum of 

300 hours up to 12 months).

Full-time members must receive 

healthcare benefits except for 

members in the Education Award 

Program. Less than full-time 

members may not receive healthcare 

with CNCS funds.

Only members are 

eligible to receive 

child care. Rate 

is established by 

state Child Care 

Development Grants.

Yes.

AmeriCorps VISTA Full-time for one year. Yes (CNCS administered health plan). Yes. Maximum 

$400/month per 

child.

Yes or may select 

an end of service 

stipend accrued at 

the rate of $125/

month.

AmeriCorps NCCC An AmeriCorps NCCC member serves 

full-time in a team-based residential 

program for 10 months.

Yes. CNCS administered health plan. Yes. Maximum 

$400/month per 

child.

Yes.

RSVP Open enrollment-no set schedule. Can 

serve as few or as many hours as the 

volunteer chooses (volunteer hours 

varies).

No. No. No.

Foster 

Grandparent 

Program

Open enrollment service schedule 

between 15 and 40 hours per week. 

No (Note: Each Foster Grandparent 

receives a physical examination 

annually with the cost covered by the 

project/grantee).

No. No.

Senior Companion 

Program

Open enrollment service schedule 

between 15 and 40 hours per week. 

No (Note: Each Senior Companion 

receives a physical examination 

annually with the cost covered by the 

project/grantee).

No. No.

 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 77

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX D. AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and SIF Grant Match Requirements

At a Glance

AmeriCorps State and National 

For grants made from FY 2015 Appropriations, AmeriCorps State and National grantees must meet the minimum match requirements below based on 

the number of years they have been operating their AmeriCorps programs.

Required match levels are based on the grant award. For example, a program that receives a grant of $250,000 is required to match 24 percent 

($60,000) in the first year, cash and/or in-kind.

Minimum grantee match requirement

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10

24% 24% 24% 26% 30% 34% 38% 42% 46% 50%

Programs in severely economically distressed communities or rural areas may be allowed to follow alternative match requirements, as per the 

following schedule: 

Alternative match requirements

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10

24% 24% 24% 24% 24% 24% 29% 31% 33% 35%

Programs that can demonstrate an inability to raise either the minimum grantee requirements or the alternative grant requirements, shown above, 

may apply to CNCS for a full or partial waiver.

AmeriCorps VISTA 

Certain project sponsors (not grantees) share in the project costs with AmeriCorps VISTA by providing VISTA members’ subsistence allowance. 

Cost-sharing among projects is encouraged but not required by AmeriCorps VISTA. Additionally, AmeriCorps VISTA has a limited number of projects 

receiving operating grants; VISTA does not require a non-federal match from these projects.

RSVP 

RSVP grantees must match:

10 percent of the total cost of the project for the first year

20 percent of the total cost of the project for the second year

30 percent of the total cost of the project for the third, and subsequent years.

Foster Grandparent Program 

Each Foster Grandparent Program must match at least 10 percent of the total cost of the project for all years. 

Senior Companion Program 

Each Senior Companion Program must match at least 10 percent of the total cost of the project for all years. 

Social Innovation Fund

Traditional SIF intermediary grantees are required to match their CNCS grant dollar for dollar, in cash from non-federal sources. Traditional 

SIF intermediary subgrantees are required to provide the same match — dollar for dollar in cash — for every dollar they receive from 

intermediaries. 

SIF PFS intermediary grantees are required to match their CNCS grant, dollar for dollar, in cash or in-kind from non-federal sources. 
78 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX E. AmeriCorps Members by Program Type: FY 1996–2016

Program

Actual 

1996 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

1997 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

1998 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

1999 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2000 

Awarded Pct

Education Award Program N/A 15,280 31.3% 10,508 20.8% 12,464 22.4% 16,436 25.1%

National Direct 8,239 28.8% 6,601 13.5% 7,446 14.7% 7,020 12.6% 6,958 10.6%

State Formula and Competitive 14,625 51.1% 19,701 40.4% 21,181 41.9% 22,123 39.7% 28,088 42.9%

Territories 93 0.3% 246 0.5% 59 0.1% 215 0.4% 252 0.4%

Tribes 97 0.3% 202 0.4% 135 0.3% 242 0.4% 425 0.6%

Other State and National 586 2.0% 1,212 2.5% 4,286 8.5% 5,796 10.4% 5,387 8.2%

VISTA Ed Awards 2,506 8.8% 3,150 6.5% 4,256 8.4% 4,653 8.4% 4,960 7.6%

VISTA Stipends 1,548 5.4% 1,442 3.0% 1,895 3.7% 1,959 3.5% 1,902 2.9%

NCCC 926 3.2% 964 2.0% 820 1.6% 1,195 2.1% 994 1.5%

Total 28,620 48,798 50,586 55,667 65,402

Program

Actual 

2001 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2002 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2003 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2004 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2005 

Awarded Pct

Education Award Program 20,651 28.4% 23,859 34.4% 6,899 21.6% 28,975 38.9% 25,024 34.2%

National Direct 7,287 10.0% 7,225 10.4% 3,517 11.0% 9,751 13.1% 10,221 14.0%

Professional Corps N/A N/A N/A - 1,545 2.1%

State Formula and Competitive 33,278 45.7% 29,548 42.7% 13,740 42.9% 28,436 38.2% 28,658 39.1%

Territories 128 0.2% 142 0.2% - 149 0.2% 26 0.0%

Tribes 212 0.3% 314 0.5% 86 0.3% 185 0.2% 162 0.2%

Other State and National 2,200 3.0% 752 1.1% 652 2.0% - -

VISTA Ed Awards 5,801 8.0% 4,270 6.2% 3,086 9.6% 4,061 5.4% 4,475 6.1%

VISTA Stipends 2,128 2.9% 1,920 2.8% 2,711 8.5% 1,782 2.4% 1,962 2.7%

NCCC 1,156 1.6% 1,250 1.8% 1,300 4.1% 1,184 1.6% 1,147 1.6%

Total 72,841 69,280 31,991 74,523 73,220
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 79

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX E. AmeriCorps Members by Program Type: FY 1996–2016 (continued)

Program

Actual 

2006 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2007 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2008 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2009* 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2010** 

Awarded Pct

Education Award Program 23,112 29.8% 23,303 31.7% 22,111 29.6% 20,856 23.5% 20,521 (22.9%)

National Direct 11,332 14.6% 12,568 17.1% 13,810 18.5% 16,942 19.1% N/A

Professional Corps 1,331 1.7% 2,426 3.3% 1,645 2.2% 1,637 1.8% N/A

State Formula and Competitive 33,605 45.0% 27,047 36.8% 28,431 38.1% 36,183 40.8% N/A

Competitive Grants (new for 2010) N/A N/A N/A N/A 36,858 41.1%

State Formula Only (new for 2010) N/A N/A N/A N/A 22,198 24.5%

Territories 116 0.1% 123 0.2% 60 0.1% 60 0.1% 236 0.3%

Tribes 158 0.2% 80 0.1% 72 0.1% 91 0.1% 191 0.2%

Other State and National - - - - -

VISTA Ed Awards 4,797 6.2% 5,162 7.0% 4,871 6.5% 7,901 8.9% 6,537 7.3%

VISTA Stipends 2,057 2.6% 1,690 2.3% 2,533 3.4% 3,882 4.4% 2,100 2.3%

NCCC 1,126 1.5% 1,184 1.6% 1,102 1.5% 1,068 1.2% 1,200 1.3%

Total 77,634 73,583 74,635 88,620 89,631

Program

Actual 

2011 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2012 

Awards Pct

Actual 

2013 

Awards** Pct

Projected 

2014 

Awards Pct

Projected 

2015 

Awards Pct

Education Award Program 16,906 20.5% 13,073 15.9% 11,186 15.6% 9,069 14.2% 7,734 10.6%

National Direct N/A N/A N/A N/A

Competitive Grants (new for 2010) 35,459 43.0% 32,571 39.5% 33,863 47.2% 33,846 53.1% 38,633 52.9%

State Formula Only (new for 2010) 21,082 25.6% 21,350 25.9% 17,927 25.0% 11,948 18.7% 17,178 23.5%

Territories 286 0.3% 224 0.3% 224 0.3% 18 0.0% 258 0.4%

Tribes 204 0.2% 164 0.2% 178 0.2% 0.0% 245 0.3%

Other State and National -

VISTA Ed Awards 5,507 6.7% 6,751 8.2% 6,011 8.4% 6,160 9.7% 6,500 8.9%

VISTA Stipends 1,797 2.2% 1,414 1.7% 1,200 1.7% 1,540 2.4% 1,300 1.8%

NCCC 1,200 1.5% 1,200 1.5% 1,200 1.7% 1,200 1.9% 1,200 1.6%

Total 82,441 76,747 71,789 63,781 73,048

* CNCS proposes to reorganize Senior Corps in FY 2015 by integrating the Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program models into AmeriCorps. As a result, in FY 2015, CNCS plans to 

support 21,232 AmeriCorps Foster Grandparent Program and 8,769 AmeriCorps Senior Companion Program quarter-time members. 

** Award counts are based on CNCS’s FY 2013 sequestered funding level.
80 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX E. AmeriCorps Members by Program Type: FY 1996–2016 (continued)

Program Projected 2016 Awards*** Pct

Education Award Program 7,235 9.9%

National Direct 

State Formula and Competitive 

Competitive Grants (new for 2010) 41,403 56.7%

State Formula Only (new for 2010) 23,271 31.9%

Territories 382 0.5%

Tribes 292 0.4%

Other State and National 

VISTA Ed Awards 6,450 8.8%

VISTA Stipends 1,250 1.7%

NCCC 1,200 1.6%

Total 81,483

***CNCS is also proposing to fund approximately 8,600 no cost slots
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 81

Part VI: Appendix

APPENDIX F. AmeriCorps Members by Service Term: FY 1996–2016

Program

Actual 

1996 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

1997 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

1998 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

1999 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2000 

Awarded Pct

Full-time 19,607 68.5% 25,809 52.9% 27,401 54.2% 27,671 49.7% 29,944 46.0%

Full-time S/N 14,627 51.1% 20,253 41.5% 20,430 40.4% 19,864 35.7% 22,088 34.0%

Part-time 8,131 28.4% 16,858 34.5% 14,588 28.8% 15,545 27.9% 16,049 24.7%

Reduced Part-time 882 3.1% 6,131 12.6% 8,597 17.0% 12,451 22.4% 19,049 29.3%

Total 28,620 48,798 50,586 55,667 65,042

Program

Actual 

2001 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2002 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2003 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2004 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2005 

Awarded Pct

Full-time 34,450 47.3% 33,860 48.9% 18,470 57.7% 33,359 44.8% 32,459 44.3%

Full-time S/N 25,365 34.8% 26,420 38.1% 11,373 35.6% 26,332 35.3% 24,875 34.0%

Part-time 16,413 22.5% 14,366 20.7% 6,890 21.5% 15,262 20.5% 11,896 16.2%

Reduced Part-time 21,978 30.2% 21,054 30.4% 6,631 20.7% 25,902 34.8% 28,865 39.4%

Total 72,841 69,280 31,991 74,523 73,220

Program

Actual 

2006 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2007 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2008 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2009* 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2010** 

Awarded Pct

Full-time 35,203 45.3% 33,937 46.1% 36,561 49.0% 44,599 50.3% 39,715 44.3%

Full-time S/N 27,223 35.1% 27,059 36.8% 28,822 38.6% 32,941 37.2% 32,151 35.9%

Part-time 12,839 16.5% 10,126 13.8% 9,971 13.4% 11,113 12.5% 11,581 12.9%

Reduced Part-time 29,592 38.1% 29,520 40.1% 28,103 37.7% 32,908 37.1% 38,335 42.8%

Total 77,634 73,583 74,635 88,620 89,631

* Fiscal Year 2009 data includes additional AmeriCorps State and National and VISTA members funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). 

** FY 2010 includes additional VISTA members funded under ARRA.
82 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

APPENDIX F. AmeriCorps Members by Service Term: FY 1996–2016

Program

Actual 

2011 

Awarded Pct

Actual 

2012 

Awards Pct

Actual 

2013 

Award  Pct

Projected 

2014 

Awards Pct

Projected 

2015 

Awards Pct

Full-time 38,043 46.1% 38,294 49.9% 38,271 53.3% 36,862 57.8% 39,915 54.6%

Full-time S/N 31,357 38.0% 31,136 40.6% 31,376 43.7% 0.0% 32,815 44.9%

Part-time 9,785 11.9% 10,563 13.8% 7,315 10.2% 7,882 12.4% 9,941 13.6%

Reduced Part-time 34,613 42.0% 27,890 36.3% 3,264 4.5% 2,620 4.1% 3,051 4.2%

Quarter-Time** * 8,751 12.2% 7,356 11.5% 8,204 11.2%

Minimum-Time 14,188 19.8% 9,061 14.2% 11,937 16.3%

Total 82,441 76,747 71,789 63,781 73,048

Program

Projected 2016 

Awards*** Pct

Full-time 34,495 47.2%

Full-time S/N 27,445 37.6%

Part-time 13,770 18.9%

Reduced Part-time 2,230 3.1%

Quarter-Time*** 19,618 26.9%

Minimum-Time 11,370 15.6%

Total 81,483

*** CNCS proposes to reorganize Senior Corps in FY 2015 by integrating the Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program models into AmeriCorps, resulting in 30,001 quarter-time 

members. 

****Award counts are based on CNCS’s FY 2013 sequestered funding level.
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 83

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX G. AmeriCorps Grants over $500,000

The list below shows all AmeriCorps programs that received a grant of more than $500,000 in FY 2014 under the AmeriCorps State, National, 

and Fixed Amount grant programs. The match levels shown are based on grantee budgets. Organizations that appear more than once are local 

affiliates of national organizations that are funded through state commissions instead of the national organization. For example, City Year, Inc. is a 

National Direct grantee. There are also other City Year affiliates that receive funding through state commissions. In the case of state programs, the 

commissions are the grantees, but do not operate any programs directly. Therefore, for state programs, we list the subgrantees - the organizations 

that actually operate the programs. For National Direct programs, the grantee organization is listed. 

Under Fixed Amount grants, organizations receive specific amounts per full-time member. Members who complete their service hours receive an 

education award. The amount provided by CNCS is substantially less than the cost of operating the AmeriCorps program and the organization bears 

all other operational and member support costs, including the living allowance. Therefore, no match is required and the Grantee Share is zero. In all 

other cases, the Grantee Share is the sum of all non-CNCS funds.

Program Type State Grantee Name

CNCS 

Share

Grantee 

Share

Total 

Budget

% Grantee 

Match

National Direct MA YouthBuild USA, Inc $9,920,460 $9,920,460 $19,840,920 33.33%

National Direct MA City Year, Inc. $8,281,000 $8,281,000 $16,562,000 50.00%

State Competitive MN ServeMinnesota Action Network $7,943,000 $7,943,035 $15,886,035 50.00%

Fixed Amount WA WA State Employment Security Department $7,371,000 $0 $7,371,000 0.00%

Fixed Amount MD National Association of Community Health $6,513,090 $0 $6,513,090 0.00%

Centers

Fixed Amount WI Public Allies, Inc. $6,370,000 $0 $6,370,000 0.00%

State Competitive MN ServeMinnesota Action Network $4,075,500 $4,076,166 $8,151,666 50.00%

Fixed Amount GA Habitat for Humanity International $3,890,250 $0 $3,890,250 0.00%

Fixed Amount MD Notre Dame Mission Volunteers Program, Inc. $3,879,463 $4,741,312 $8,620,775 55.00%

Fixed Amount NY Teach For America $3,756,000 $0 $3,756,000 0.00%

National Direct DC The Corps Network $3,280,023 $4,587,765 $7,867,788 58.31%

National Direct MA Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc. $3,114,794 $3,129,999 $6,244,793 50.12%

Fixed Amount MA Citizen Schools, Inc. $3,000,000 $0 $3,000,000 0.00%

State Competitive PA City Year, Inc. $2,932,500 $2,932,500 $5,865,000 50.00%

State Competitive MA City Year, Inc. $2,860,200 $2,860,200 $5,720,400 50.00%

State Competitive NY City Year, Inc. $2,774,950 $2,774,950 $5,549,900 50.00%

State Competitive CA City Year, Inc. $2,500,000 $2,500,000 $5,000,000 50.00%

State Competitive IL City Year, Inc. $2,331,200 $2,331,200 $4,662,400 50.00%

State Competitive MN ServeMinnesota Action Network $2,143,750 $1,445,478 $3,589,228 40.27%

National Direct MD University of Maryland Center on Aging $1,878,409 $1,878,992 $3,757,401 50.01%

State Competitive MT Montana Conservation Corps, Inc. $1,872,000 $3,539,943 $5,411,943 65.41%

Fixed Amount WA WA State Employment Security Department $1,860,000 $0 $1,860,000 0.00%

National Direct LA St. Bernard Project $1,841,000 $1,174,000 $3,015,000 38.94%

Fixed Amount WA WA State Department of Ecology $1,823,920 $0 $1,823,920 0.00%
84 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX G. AmeriCorps Grants over $500,000

Program Type State Grantee Name

CNCS Grantee Total % Grantee 

Share Share Budget Match

National Direct DC Experience Corps dba AARP Experience Corps $1,664,173 $1,798,950 $3,463,123 51.95%

State Competitive NY Harlem Children's Zone $1,651,000 $2,429,619 $4,080,619 59.54%

Fixed Amount DC American National Red Cross DC $1,586,000 $0 $1,586,000 0.00%

National Direct CA Playworks Education Energized $1,497,600 $3,407,219 $4,904,819 69.47%

National Direct OR Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest $1,490,562 $1,330,245 $2,820,807 47.16%

State Competitive DC City Year, Inc. $1,482,000 $1,482,000 $2,964,000 50.00%

State Competitive TX City Year, Inc. $1,476,300 $1,476,300 $2,952,600 50.00%

State Competitive PA Keystone SMILES Community Learning Center $1,463,450 $1,836,021 $3,299,471 55.65%

National Direct DC Equal Justice Works $1,444,815 $1,104,308 $2,549,123 43.32%

National Direct NY Local Initiatives Support Corporation $1,428,006 $2,220,666 $3,648,672 60.86%

Fixed Amount CO Colorado Youth Corps Association $1,394,489 $0 $1,394,489 0.00%

State Competitive NY The Service Collaborative of WNY, Inc. $1,368,762 $1,589,309 $2,958,071 53.73%

State Competitive LA City Year, Inc. $1,362,500 $1,362,500 $2,725,000 50.00%

State Formula TX UT Austin Charles A. Dana Center $1,356,600 $1,996,943 $3,353,543 59.55%

Fixed Amount NY FoodCorps, Inc. $1,310,400 $0 $1,310,400 0.00%

Fixed Amount CA Napa County Office of Education $1,300,000 $0 $1,300,000 0.00%

Fixed Amount NY New York City Office of the Mayor $1,296,750 $0 $1,296,750 0.00%

State Competitive UT Ogden CIty School District $1,286,480 $1,533,555 $2,820,035 54.38%

State Competitive HI Kupu $1,270,025 $1,242,108 $2,512,133 49.44%

State Formula KY Barren County School Board $1,234,955 $1,020,959 $2,255,914 45.26%

Fixed Amount MN Minnesota Alliance With Youth $1,230,250 $1,230,250 $2,460,500 50.00%

State Formula PA Allegheny County Department of Human $1,215,081 $1,215,081 $2,430,162 50.00%

Services

National Direct MA City Year, Inc. $1,198,821 $1,198,821 $2,397,642 50.00%

State Competitive WV West Virginia University Research Corp. $1,198,587 $1,198,587 $2,397,174 50.00%

National Direct DC Equal Justice Works $1,172,879 $1,778,688 $2,951,567 60.26%

State Competitive CA Bay Area Community Resources / BAYAC $1,170,000 $2,220,770 $3,390,770 65.49%

AmeriCorps

State Competitive CA Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc. $1,168,322 $1,188,446 $2,356,768 50.43%

State Formula TX CitySquare $1,153,652 $985,916 $2,139,568 46.08%

Fixed Amount MN Minnesota Alliance With Youth $1,078,155 $1,078,155 $2,156,310 50.00%

State Competitive CA California Children and Families Foundation $1,077,522 $1,482,989 $2,560,511 57.92%

State Competitive MS Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning $1,069,948 $1,069,982 $2,139,930 50.00%
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 85

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX G. AmeriCorps Grants over $500,000 (continued)

Program Type State Grantee Name

CNCS 

Share

Grantee 

Share

Total 

Budget

% Grantee 

Match

Fixed Amount PA Health Federation of Philadelphia $1,065,900 $0 $1,065,900 0.00%

Fixed Amount DC The Corps Network $1,060,166 $0 $1,060,166 0.00%

State Formula TX AVANCE, Inc. - El Paso Chapter $1,048,058 $895,511 $1,943,569 46.08%

State Formula PA Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8: Pennsylvania $1,042,731 $1,042,731 $2,085,462 50.00%

Mountain Service Corps

National Direct NY Up2Us, Inc. $1,005,189 $1,288,370 $2,293,559 56.17%

State Competitive MA Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc. $1,004,795 $1,004,985 $2,009,780 50.00%

National Direct GA Points of Light Foundation $992,014 $992,142 $1,984,156 50.00%

State Competitive CA Child Abuse Prevention Council, Inc. $979,889 $1,762,753 $2,742,642 64.27%

State Formula CA Playworks Education Energized $968,171 $2,234,610 $3,202,781 69.77%

Fixed Amount TX Teach For America $950,000 $0 $950,000 0.00%

State Competitive MA City of Boston $947,549 $786,788 $1,734,337 45.37%

State Competitive TX College Forward $931,178 $793,230 $1,724,408 46.00%

State Competitive WV United Way of Central West Virginia $930,998 $930,999 $1,861,997 50.00%

State Formula CA Administrative Office of the Courts $904,942 $982,388 $1,887,330 52.05%

State Formula MN ServeMinnesota Action Network $900,000 $317,632 $1,217,632 26.09%

State Competitive OH College Now Greater Cleveland $896,000 $549,229 $1,445,229 38.00%

Fixed Amount DC National Council of La Raza $871,831 $839,638 $1,711,469 49.06%

State Formula FL City Year, Inc. $862,695 $854,000 $1,716,695 49.75%

State Competitive PA Managing Director's Office $859,180 $1,034,004 $1,893,184 54.62%

Fixed Amount CA Reading Partners $846,545 $0 $846,545 0.00%

State Competitive MI City Year, Inc. $843,664 $843,664 $1,687,328 50.00%

State Competitive CA Reading Partners $827,901 $2,781,556 $3,609,457 77.06%

State Formula OH Educational Service Center of Central Ohio $797,937 $479,999 $1,277,936 37.56%

Fixed Amount MN College Possible $792,000 $0 $792,000 0.00%

State Competitive NY Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc. $789,168 $815,457 $1,604,625 50.82%

State Competitive FL City Year, Inc. $776,530 $776,528 $1,553,058 50.00%

State Formula CA Napa County Office of Education $767,989 $801,623 $1,569,612 51.07%

State Competitive IN Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County Indiana, Inc $754,051 $562,887 $1,316,938 42.74%

Fixed Amount DC Rebuilding Together, Inc $731,244 $0 $731,244 0.00%

State Competitive ME LearningWorks $727,075 $311,407 $1,038,482 29.99%

State Competitive TX CIS of Central Texas $711,032 $743,115 $1,454,147 51.10%
86 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX G. AmeriCorps Grants over $500,000 (continued)

Program Type State Grantee Name

CNCS 

Share

Grantee 

Share

Total 

Budget

% Grantee 

Match

Fixed Amount DC AIDS United $702,000 $0 $702,000 0.00%

Tribal CA Hoopa Valley Tribe $701,984 $474,776 $1,176,760 40.35%

State Competitive OR American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter $701,907 $778,616 $1,480,523 52.59%

Fixed Amount WA Washington Campus Compact $672,000 $0 $672,000 0.00%

Fixed Amount CO Mile High United Way $668,212 $0 $668,212 0.00%

State Competitive FL City Year, Inc. $665,000 $665,000 $1,330,000 50.00%

Fixed Amount WA Washington State Department of Veterans $650,000 $0 $650,000 0.00%

Affairs

State Formula NV Great Basin Institute $645,384 $1,278,215 $1,923,599 66.45%

State Formula WI Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation $638,400 $367,203 $1,005,603 36.52%

State Competitive CA Local Government Commission $638,267 $1,343,000 $1,981,267 67.78%

State Formula MI Hope Network West Michigan, Inc $637,400 $203,216 $840,616 24.17%

Fixed Amount IL Public Allies, Inc. $637,000 $0 $637,000 0.00%

National Direct KY Berea College $633,509 $204,557 $838,066 24.41%

National Direct CO Conservation Legacy $629,955 $2,974,983 $3,604,938 82.53%

Fixed Amount OK City Year, Inc. $625,000 $0 $625,000 0.00%

State Competitive OH City Year, Inc. $625,000 $625,000 $1,250,000 50.00%

State Competitive IA Des Moines Independent Community School 

District

$610,034 $409,532 $1,019,566 40.17%

State Competitive CA Prevent Child Abuse California $603,310 $743,845 $1,347,155 55.22%

State Formula MN ServeMinnesota Action Network $600,000 $189,470 $789,470 24.00%

State Competitive KY Homeless And Housing Coalition of Kentucky $598,482 $653,970 $1,252,452 52.22%

State Formula CA Safe Passages $595,349 $553,822 $1,149,171 48.19%

State Competitive NM Rocky Mountain Youth Corps $593,671 $854,621 $1,448,292 59.01%

State Formula CA Kern County Superintendent of Schools $591,885 $701,292 $1,293,177 54.23%

State Formula TN Clinch-Powell RC&D Council $578,657 $579,350 $1,158,007 50.03%

State Formula MA Phoenix Charter Academy $578,159 $554,446 $1,132,605 48.95%

Fixed Amount WI Public Allies, Inc. $555,750 $0 $555,750 0.00%

State Competitive NY Monroe Community College $551,203 $557,488 $1,108,691 50.28%

State Competitive NH City Year, Inc. $550,621 $550,621 $1,101,242 50.00%

State Competitive TX Project Transformation $550,550 $1,097,502 $1,648,052 66.59%

National Direct NH Student Conservation Association, Inc. $549,531 $2,187,829 $2,737,360 79.92%

Fixed Amount KY Operation UNITE $543,400 $0 $543,400 0.00%
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 87

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX G. AmeriCorps Grants over $500,000 (continued)

Program Type State Grantee Name

CNCS 

Share

Grantee 

Share

Total 

Budget

% Grantee 

Match

Fixed Amount MA New Sector Alliance, Inc. $541,510 $0 $541,510 0.00%

State Formula FL Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition $540,695 $376,706 $917,401 41.06%

State Competitive NC East Carolina School of Education $537,017 $170,486 $707,503 24.10%

State Formula OK Red River Community Corps, Inc. $535,698 $604,863 $1,140,561 53.03%

State Competitive IA Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources $532,155 $623,488 $1,155,643 53.95%

State Formula AL YWCA Central Alabama $532,000 $274,409 $806,409 34.03%

Fixed Amount WA Mt. Adams Institute $531,050 $0 $531,050 0.00%

State Competitive MA Northeastern University $530,529 $706,561 $1,237,090 57.11%

State Competitive MO Curators of the University of Missouri $524,000 $959,033 $1,483,033 64.67%

Fixed Amount CA Napa County Office of Education $520,000 $0 $520,000 0.00%

State Competitive UT Utah Conservation Corps $515,210 $966,169 $1,481,379 65.22%

State Formula NV United Way of Southern Nevada $510,650 $466,762 $977,412 47.75%

State Formula CA Napa County Office of Education $505,000 $348,640 $853,640 40.84%

Fixed Amount TX Literacy Coalition of Central Texas $503,508 $339,100 $842,608 40.24%
88 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX H: AmeriCorps Formula Grant Allocation

State FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16

Alabama $1,208,480 $1,223,964 $2,096,427 $1,975,058 $1,960,901 $1,965,431 $1,961,914 $1,931,239 $2,432,459 

Alaska $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Arizona $1,655,251 $1,706,598 $2,684,552 $2,541,103 $2,436,878 $2,455,656 $2,450,877 $2,425,016 $3,062,828 

Arkansas $740,256 $749,672 $1,529,436 $1,446,096 $1,432,504 $1,435,092 $1,432,942 $1,415,031 $1,773,454 

California $9,545,212 $9,650,323 $12,148,399 $11,434,561 $11,280,355 $11,372,022 $11,344,281 $11,157,031 $14,210,344 

Colorado $1,269,497 $1,296,835 $2,194,924 $2,081,365 $2,049,892 $2,068,944 $2,065,161 $2,050,943 $2,585,276 

Connecticut $914,565 $919,240 $1,725,420 $1,625,390 $1,614,627 $1,616,663 $1,614,044 $1,590,384 $1,997,315 

Delaware $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

District of Columbia $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Florida $4,765,982 $4,812,036 $6,406,461 $6,030,290 $6,000,132 $6,070,069 $6,055,982 $5,984,987 $7,607,579 

Georgia $2,492,439 $2,542,955 $3,692,285 $3,480,668 $3,381,231 $3,408,986 $3,401,753 $3,351,909 $4,246,123 

Hawaii $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Idaho $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $1,299,778 

Illinois $3,356,211 $3,387,256 $4,652,573 $4,363,343 $4,246,624 $4,245,828 $4,236,439 $4,147,825 $5,262,211 

Indiana $1,656,958 $1,674,203 $2,630,739 $2,473,848 $2,446,631 $2,451,148 $2,446,380 $2,409,670 $3,043,236 

Iowa $780,274 $788,309 $1,566,338 $1,478,904 $1,467,734 $1,470,504 $1,468,262 $1,451,121 $1,819,528 

Kansas $724,901 $735,690 $1,507,400 $1,426,002 $1,413,592 $1,417,189 $1,415,084 $1,397,015 $1,750,455 

Kentucky $1,107,584 $1,120,874 $1,973,447 $1,861,609 $1,838,098 $1,840,383 $1,837,188 $1,810,493 $2,278,312 

Louisiana $1,121,093 $1,158,038 $2,028,911 $1,916,845 $1,896,322 $1,903,097 $1,899,742 $1,873,885 $2,359,239 

Maine $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Maryland $1,467,129 $1,479,080 $2,405,211 $2,268,004 $2,251,500 $2,266,305 $2,262,014 $2,232,835 $2,817,484 

Massachusetts $1,684,237 $1,706,017 $2,683,869 $2,527,919 $2,466,640 $2,481,959 $2,477,112 $2,443,248 $3,086,103 

Michigan $2,630,074 $2,626,360 $3,736,079 $3,487,319 $3,398,510 $3,398,627 $3,391,420 $3,325,320 $4,212,179 

Minnesota $1,357,265 $1,370,594 $2,270,179 $2,138,098 $2,114,516 $2,123,187 $2,119,264 $2,092,809 $2,638,723 

Mississippi $762,188 $771,523 $1,548,929 $1,460,700 $1,443,989 $1,445,228 $1,443,051 $1,423,798 $1,784,647 

Missouri $1,535,042 $1,552,069 $2,495,001 $2,347,800 $2,303,184 $2,305,219 $2,300,828 $2,264,605 $2,858,042 

Montana $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Nebraska $500,000 $500,000 $1,188,844 $1,126,535 $1,122,130 $1,125,421 $1,124,068 $1,114,602 $1,389,918 

Nevada $669,903 $682,664 $1,452,654 $1,371,819 $1,371,679 $1,381,234 $1,379,222 $1,368,422 $1,713,952 

New Hampshire $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

New Jersey $2,268,171 $2,279,600 $3,342,767 $3,138,900 $3,099,557 $3,110,146 $3,103,682 $3,050,937 $3,861,894 

New Mexico $514,408 $520,985 $1,255,243 $1,191,311 $1,190,018 $1,190,552 $1,189,032 $1,174,302 $1,466,133 

New York $5,039,253 $5,117,103 $6,719,208 $6,291,855 $6,115,645 $6,141,623 $6,127,352 $6,012,051 $7,642,129 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 89

Part VI: Budget Activities

APPENDIX H: AmeriCorps Formula Grant Allocation (continued)

State FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16

North Carolina $2,366,125 $2,421,310 $3,552,559 $3,349,993 $3,786,689 $3,151,159 $3,249,973 $3,312,221 $4,195,456 

North Dakota $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $670,356 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Ohio $2,994,378 $3,015,582 $4,226,295 $3,952,744 $4,504,827 $3,625,946 $3,713,540 $3,786,677 $4,801,160 

Oklahoma $944,597 $956,288 $1,778,016 $1,682,813 $1,895,196 $1,578,230 $1,636,133 $1,660,472 $2,086,791 

Oregon $978,580 $995,066 $1,821,215 $1,720,924 $1,941,241 $1,600,625 $1,657,525 $1,682,366 $2,114,741 

Pennsylvania $3,246,599 $3,268,248 $4,557,316 $4,272,742 $4,857,664 $3,948,972 $4,037,248 $4,117,990 $5,224,121 

Puerto Rico $1,359,316 $1,038,117 $1,865,355 $1,702,427 $1,988,291 $1,539,091 $1,572,768 $1,595,619 $2,003,997 

Rhode Island $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $670,356 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

South Carolina $1,150,994 $1,176,154 $2,050,467 $1,936,479 $2,185,602 $1,819,022 $1,884,841 $1,915,022 $2,411,756 

South Dakota $225,995 $219,882 $628,908 $600,000 $670,356 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Tennessee $1,607,716 $1,631,695 $2,591,202 $2,442,686 $2,761,974 $2,278,010 $2,347,975 $2,389,035 $3,016,894 

Texas $6,242,197 $6,386,955 $8,352,573 $7,930,333 $8,903,046 $7,471,332 $7,716,833 $7,884,008 $10,031,918 

Utah $690,780 $718,438 $1,496,749 $1,422,988 $1,595,392 $1,324,025 $1,380,583 $1,398,919 $1,752,886 

Vermont $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $670,356 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

Virginia $2,013,873 $2,039,745 $3,085,600 $2,911,928 $3,288,955 $2,736,231 $2,822,758 $2,874,970 $3,637,251 

Washington $1,689,112 $1,719,474 $2,705,875 $2,561,330 $2,884,204 $2,394,781 $2,475,906 $2,519,971 $3,184,050 

West Virginia $500,000 $500,000 $1,196,061 $1,130,733 $1,274,887 $1,059,133 $1,098,967 $1,110,688 $1,384,922 

Wisconsin $1,462,767 $1,477,601 $2,391,278 $2,248,015 $2,548,874 $2,084,656 $2,145,283 $2,181,581 $2,752,052 

Wyoming $500,000 $500,000 $628,908 $600,000 $670,356 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $732,965 

TOTAL $83,239,403 $83,936,545 $125,781,666 $118,551,479 $134,071,246 $110,704,105 $113,789,000 $115,729,020 $146,592,913
90 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

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CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 91

Part VI: Appendix

APPENDIX I: Social Innovation Fund Intermediaries

Impact 

Area Grantees

Average Awarded 

Grant Description

Initial 

Award FY

Economic Development

Jobs for the 

Future, Inc. 

$3.2 million Jobs for the Future, Inc and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions 

(NFWS) will expand their targeted training and technical assistance to 

low-income individuals while also addressing the critical skill needs of 

employers. The funds will dramatically increase economic opportunities for 

disadvantaged workers and job seekers through investments in regional 

workforce collaboratives that partner with employers to identify jobs and 

career pathways in high-growth industries.

FY10 

Local Initiatives 

Support 

Corporation 

$4.2 million The Local Initiatives Support Corporation will grow Financial Opportunity 

Centers – a workforce development and asset-building model that boosts 

earnings, reduces expenses and coaches low-income families on how to 

make better financial decisions. The Centers are a core component of the 

organization’s strategy to build sustainable communities.

FY10 

Mayor’s Fund to 

Advance New York 

City 

$5.7 million The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and the NYC Center for Economic 

Opportunity (CEO) will replicate effective anti-poverty programs originally 

piloted by the Center in eight urban areas. By advancing the education, 

employment and financial savings of low-income adults and families, the 

programs will combat poverty across a diverse cross-section of America.

FY10 

REDF $1.5 million Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) will create job opportunities for 

thousands of Californians with multiple barriers to employment – including 

dislocated youth, individuals who have been homeless or incarcerated, and 

those with severe mental illness – in sustainable nonprofit social enterprises 

in low-income communities throughout the state. The project includes testing 

to determine the potential of these enterprises as scalable employment 

FY10 

NCB Capital 

Impact

$1 million NCBCI’s Stewardship Capacity Fund (SCF) will scale and replicate “shared 

equity homeownership (SEH) programs to build the capacity of local 

organizations to more effectively manage public investment in affordable 

homeownership for low-income families.

FY11

Healthy Futures

Foundation for a 

Healthy Kentucky 

$1 million The Foundation for a Health Kentucky will improve access to needed health 

services, reduce health risks and disparities, and promote health equity 

in low-income communities in Kentucky. Subgrantees will focus on testing 

innovative strategies to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, curb 

smoking and other unhealthy habits, and, increase access to health services 

in underserved communities. 

FY10
92 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

APPENDIX I: Social Innovation Fund Intermediaries (continued)

Impact 

Area Grantees

Average Awarded 

Grant Description

Initial 

Award FY

Healthy Futures (Continued)

Missouri 

Foundation for 

Health

$1 million The Missouri Foundation for Health is investing in sub-grantees working 

in low-income communities across the state to reduce risk factors and 

the prevalence of two preventable causes of chronic disease and death: 

tobacco use and obesity. The project draws on an integrated community 

change model blending two transformative models of prevention on obesity 

and tobacco control.

FY10

AIDS United $2 million The National AIDS Fund will support innovative strategies that increase 

access to care and improve health outcomes for low-income individuals 

living with HIV/AIDS. The project will employ rigorous evaluation, informing 

the implementation of the White House National HIV/AIDS Strategy and 

offering lessons that reduce barriers to care for a broad range of people living 

with HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases. 

FY10 

US Soccer 

Federation 

Foundation

$1 million The US Soccer Federation Foundation (USSFF) will support the expansion 

and replication of Soccer for Success (SfS), a no-cost, after-school, 

sports-based youth development program whose goal is to improve 

health by mitigating and reducing obesity through physical activity and 

nutrition education.

FY11

The John 

A. Hartford 

Foundation

$1 million The John A. Hartford Foundation will fund organizations to disseminate its 

IMPACT model of depression treatment through community health clinics 

in low-income rural areas in Wyoming, Washington, Alaska, Montana, 

and Idaho. By reducing costs for health expenditures and caregiving and 

increasing employment income of those affected by depression, they aim to 

increase economic well-being for individuals served.

FY12

Corporation 

for Supportive 

Housing

$1.2 million Corporation for Supportive Housing will expand and replicate supportive 

housing models that combine health, housing and social services to 

improve the health and housing outcomes from homeless individuals 

with complex health needs who frequently interact with multiple public 

crisis systems.

FY11

Youth Development 

New Profit, Inc. $5 million New Profit, Inc. collaborate with innovative youth-focused nonprofit 

organizations with existing evidence to yield significant improvements in 

helping young people navigate the increasingly complex path from high 

school to college and productive employment. The project will expand the 

reach of these nonprofits to improve the lives of young people in low-income 

communities throughout the country. 

FY10 
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 93

Part VI: Appendix

APPENDIX I: Social Innovation Fund Intermediaries (continued)

Impact 

Area Grantees

Average Awarded 

Grant Description

Initial 

Award FY

Youth Development (Continued)

The Edna 

McConnell Clark 

Foundation

$10 million The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation is combining large grants, strategic 

business planning, rigorous evaluation and capital aggregation to increase 

the scale and impact of youth development organizations in communities of 

need across the United States. Their subgrantees are focusing on improving 

the educational skills and workforce readiness of economically disadvantaged 

young people as well as helping them to avoid high-risk behavior. 

FY10

Venture 

Philanthropy 

Partners

$2 million Venture Philanthropy Partners will create a powerful network of effective 

nonprofit organizations in the Washington D.C. National Capital Region 

supporting an integrated approach to addressing the education and 

employment needs of low-income and vulnerable youth ages 14-24. 

FY10

Twin Cities Strive 

in Partnership 

with Greater Twin 

Cities United Way

$1 million Twin Cities Strive in partnership with Greater Twin Cities United Way, will focus on 

improving kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading proficiency, ninth-grade 

readiness for upper-level math, four-year high school graduation, and postsecondary enrollment among low-income students in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area.

FY12

United Way of 

Greater Cincinnati 

$1 million United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the Strive Partnership and other funders, will 

address the needs of low-income children and youth from “cradle to career” in 

the Greater Cincinnati area though investments in early education, mentoring 

and literacy programs, college access, career pathways and other innovations. 

FY10 

GreenLight Fund $1 million GreenLight Fund will target low-income children and youth to close the 

achievement and opportunity gap in Boston, Philadelphia, and the San 

Francisco Bay Area, selecting two subgrantees in each of the sites.

FY12

United Way for 

Southeastern 

Michigan

$2 million United Way for Southeastern Michigan will build on the expertise of its 

partnering organizations and facilitate the development of a portfolio of 

replicable early childhood learning communities in needy communities in 

greater Detroit and surrounding areas.

FY11

Mile High United 

Way

$1.8 million Mile High United Way (MHUW) will fund subgrantee programs that leverage 

community volunteers to collectively address third grade literacy rates in rural 

and urban areas across the state of Colorado. Building upon a strong state 

movement for reform and with strong bipartisan support from Colorado’s 

Governor, Lieutenant Governor and state legislature, Mile High United Way is 

poised to introduce key transformations in Colorado’s education system.

FY11

Capital Area 

United Way

$1 million Capital Area United Way (CAUW) will replicate and/or expand early childhood 

development programs to increase school readiness among children in lowincome and rural parishes within the Greater Baton Rouge area. CAUW will 

measure children’s school readiness by examining indicators of improved 

birth outcomes; parental engagement, support, and education to meet the 

needs of their young children (including financial education); access to 

quality child care and preschool; and how children’s physical health, safety, 

and social-emotional needs are met.

FY12
94 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

The Corporation for National and Community Service

APPENDIX I: Social Innovation Fund Intermediaries (continued)

Pay for Success (PFS)

Impact 

Area Grantees

Average Awarded 

Grant Description

Initial 

Award FY

Healthy Futures; Economic Opportunity

Corporation 

for Supportive 

Housing

$250,000 This project will provide technical assistance to government and nonprofit 

organizations, building their capacity to pursue Pay for Success (PFS) 

pilots that improve outcomes and reduce costs for high-cost vulnerable 

populations, namely homeless individuals, youth and families, and disabled 

residents of health care institutions who prefer to live in the community.

FY14

Healthy Futures

Green and 

Healthy Homes 

Initiative/Calvert 

Foundation

$337,099 This program will assess the feasibility of five cities or counties constructing 

asthma-related PFS projects and provide technical assistance to healthcare 

organizations (including integrated delivery networks, academic medical 

centers, and Medicaid managed care organizations) and nonprofit service 

providers. One health care entity, acting as a private payor, and one service 

provider will be selected per site, for a total of 10 project sub-recipients. 

FY14 

Youth Development

Institute for Child 

Success

$391,206 This program will provide technical assistance to help jurisdictions use 

PFS financing to improve outcomes for children and families. In 2014, ICS 

organized the first national conference on PFS for early childhood with the 

business organization ReadyNation. In 2015, ReadyNation, ICS and Pritzker 

Children’s Initiative are planning to host a second annual conference in 

Chicago, where participants are chosen through an open competition. 

FY14

National Council 

on Crime and 

Delinquency

$431,980 This project will assist three state or local governments or nonprofit 

organizations to determine the feasibility of using PFS to promote 

interventions addressing positive youth development, with a focus on 1) 

juvenile justice or child welfare system-involved youth or youth at risk of 

entering or crossing over into these systems, and 2) addressing high rates 

of racial disparity in these systems. 

FY14

Multiple (e.g., Healthy Futures, Economic Opportunity; Youth Development)

Harvard Kennedy 

School Social 

Impact Bond Lab

$644,057 “This project will run two national competitions, in the fall of 2014 and 

the fall of 2015, to select a total of 10 Government Partners who will 

receive full-time technical assistance from the Social Impact Bond (SIB) 

Lab over the course of 15 months to assist with a PFS project. The SIB 

Lab will select for those innovative or path-breaking projects that most 

advance the PFS model in Social Innovation Fund focus areas. 

The SIB Lab will also continue to produce publications that capture and 

distill the key lessons learned from providing technical assistance and 

building capacity so that awareness of the PFS model can spread and so 

that others in the field can benefit; and

FY14
CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 95

Part VI: Appendix

APPENDIX I: Social Innovation Fund Intermediaries (continued)

Pay for Success (PFS)

Impact 

Area Grantees

Average Awarded 

Grant Description

Initial 

Award FY

Multiple (e.g., Healthy Futures, Economic Opportunity; Youth Development) (continued)

Nonprofit Finance 

Fund

$1,800,000 NFF’s proposed program will provide $2.88 million in grant funding over 

two years to an estimated 12 sub-recipients (anticipated as state, county, 

or local governments, and nonprofit providers with identified transaction 

coordinators ) to structure high-quality PFS transactions. Sub-recipients 

will be expected to structure and close PFS transactions within two years of 

receiving support and therefore the program anticipates eight transactions 

funded through the program will get to contract within a three-year period.

FY14

Third Sector 

Capital Partners, 

Inc.

$636,720 This project will create a laboratory for testing promising PFS mechanisms 

and infrastructures, providing assistance to approximately 10 government 

Sub-Recipients (across two cohorts), selected because they have engaged 

decision makers from multiple levels of government, have energized local 

philanthropic support and/or have demonstrated a high degree of PFS 

readiness. Additionally, TSCP will build capacity to convert the lessons 

learned in our cohorts and other individual PFS projects into scalable PFS 

blueprints that will be transferred to a much wider audience by engaging 

deeply with the leadership organizations for state and local government, as 

well as for funders.

FY14 

University of Utah 

Policy Innovation 

Lab

$1,150,000 The Policy Innovation Lab will facilitate PFS deals across the Western 

United States with an initial focus on the intermountain west. The Lab 

anticipates working primarily with service providers and the surrounding 

community therein. Following the selection of a service provider, further 

technical assistance and support -- including back office, staff capacity 

building, impact measurement and reporting, governance, and general 

business support -- will be provided throughout the process to ensure 

successful development into PFS ready organizations.

FY14
96 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 

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CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification 97

Part VI: Budget Activities
98 CNCS FY 2016 Congressional Budget Justification