[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 123 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39370-39372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16044]


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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE


Availability of Funds To Provide Grants to Organizations That 
Support Service Days or Events That Include Persons With Disabilities

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service (the 
Corporation) announces the availability of approximately $1 million to 
support outreach to increase the participation of persons with 
disabilities in national service projects. The Corporation will use 
these funds to eligible applicants who will in turn sub-grant to local 
organizations to plan and carry out outreach for service opportunities 
for individuals with disabilities in conjunction with one or more 
service days or events (e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Youth 
Service Day, Make a Difference Day, National Volunteer Week) within the 
next year. These service opportunities must include persons with 
disabilities to increase

[[Page 39371]]

their participation in national service. We expect to award up to two 
grants in amounts ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000.

DATES: All proposals must arrive at the Corporation no later than 5 
p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on August 15, 2000. We anticipate 
announcing the selections no later than September 11, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Proposals must be submitted to the Corporation at the 
following address: Corporation for National and Community Service, 
Attn: Nancy Talbot, 1201 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, or to obtain 
an application, contact Thea Kachoris at (202) 606-5000, ext. 562, TDD 
(202) 565-2799. This notice may be requested in an alternative format.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    The Corporation was established in 1993 to engage Americans of all 
ages and backgrounds in service to their communities. The Corporation's 
national service programs provide opportunities for participants to 
serve full-time and part-time, with or without stipend, as individuals 
or as part of a team. AmeriCorps*State, National, VISTA, and National 
Civilian Community Corps programs engage thousands of Americans on a 
full, or part-time basis, at over 1,000 locations to help communities 
meet their toughest challenges. Learn and Serve America integrates 
service into the academic life or experiences of over one million youth 
from kindergarten through higher education in all 50 states. The 
National Senior Service Corps utilizes the skills, talents and 
experience of over 500,000 older Americans to help make communities 
stronger, safer, healthier, and smarter.
    AmeriCorps*State and AmeriCorps*National programs that involve over 
40,000 Americans each year in result-driven community service, are 
grant programs managed by: (1) State commissions that select and 
oversee programs operated by local organizations; (2) national non-
profit organizations that act as parent organizations for operating 
sites across the country; (3) Indian tribes; or (4) U.S. Territories. 
In addition, the Corporation supports the AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers 
in Service to America) and AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community 
Corps) programs. More than 6,000 AmeriCorps*VISTA members develop 
grassroots programs, mobilize resources and build capacity for service 
across the nation. AmeriCorps*NCCC provides the opportunity for 
approximately 1,000 individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 to 
participate each year in ten-month residential programs located mainly 
on inactive military bases. Learn and Serve America grants provide 
service-learning opportunities for youth through grants to state 
education agencies, community-based organizations, and higher education 
institutions and organizations, and Indian Tribes and Territories. The 
National Senior Service Corps operates through grants to nearly 1,300 
local organizations for the Retired and Senior Volunteer (RSVP), Foster 
Grandparent (FGP) and Senior Companion (SCP) programs to provide 
service to their communities. For additional information on the 
national service programs supported by the Corporation, go to http://www.nationalservice.org.
    The Corporation is committed to increasing the participation of 
persons with disabilities in national service. We recently sponsored a 
national conference that brought together disability organizations and 
national service programs to better understand opportunities and 
avenues for collaboration. We are continuing our commitment by 
providing these funds, authorized under section 129(d)(5)(C) of the 
National and Community Service Act of 1990, to support outreach to 
persons with disabilities to increase their participation in national 
service activities. We expect to issue an additional announcement in 
July for a larger number of grants to support on-going outreach 
efforts.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants for this funding are nonprofit organizations 
with experience in promoting or administering national days of service 
or service events. The nonprofit organization must have experience in 
making grants to or entering into partnerships with local nonprofit 
organizations or agencies in more than one state.
    Eligible sub-grantees are nonprofit organizations and public 
agencies, including, but not limited to: volunteer centers, 
institutions of higher education, local education agencies, educational 
institutions, disability-related organizations, and local or state 
governments. An organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)0(4), that engages in 
lobbying activities, is not eligible to be a grantee or subgrantee.
    Based on the requirements for applicants and the number of grants 
to be awarded under this notice, the Corporation expects fewer than ten 
applications to be submitted.

C. Statutory Authority

    Section 129(d)(5)(C) of the National and Community Service Act 
authorizes the Corporation to make grants to pay for the Federal share 
of (1) Providing information about national service activities to 
persons with disabilities and (2) enabling such persons to participate.

D. Purpose of Funds

    This is an outreach effort to encourage individuals with a 
disability to participate in national service days of service or 
events. Our goal is to use this strategy to increase the number of 
persons with disabilities who are familiar with service and may choose 
to participate in a national service program or project as a result of 
their participation in a service day event. The Corporation will use 
these funds to make grants to organizations who will in turn subgrant 
to eligible organizations. These sub-grantees will plan and carry out 
service opportunities in conjunction with one or more national service 
days or events within the 2000-2001 program year (e.g., Martin Luther 
King, Jr. Day, Youth Service Day, Make a Difference Day, National 
Volunteer Week) and intend to include persons with and without 
disabilities in carrying out the project. For more information about 
these days and events, contact Rhonda Taylor at (202) 606-5000, ext. 
282.
    We expect to award up to two grants in amounts ranging from 
$100,000 to $1,000,000 to cover a project period of one year. Grantees 
must designate specific sub-grants within six months of our grant 
award.

E. Matching Funds Requirement

    The Federal share of the cost of carrying out activities under 
these grants may not exceed 75 percent. A grantee may comply with this 
requirement through cash or in-kind resources. Cash match may be in the 
form of State funds, local funds, or Federal funds (other than funds 
made available under the national service laws).

F. Scope of Activities To Be Supported by Outreach Sub-Grants

    The purpose of these funds is to support service projects to engage 
persons with disabilities and increase their participation in national 
service. Efforts to recruit persons with disabilities to participate in 
the service days will be supported by this grant.

[[Page 39372]]

Therefore, we expect that a significant portion of the community 
service activities supported by the sub-grant will be conducted by 
persons with disabilities. In addition, we encourage activities where 
persons with disabilities and others are working side-by-side. 
Applicants must propose clearly-defined and specific activities to 
reach organizations that will apply as sub-grantees.
    The direct service to be done on and in connection with the service 
days may include, but is not limited to, the following types of 
activities: tutoring children or adults, feeding the hungry, packing 
lunches, delivering meals, stocking a food or clothing pantry, 
repairing a school and adding to its resources, translating books and 
documents into other languages, recording books for the visually 
impaired, restoring a public space, organizing a blood drive, 
registering bone marrow and organ donors, renovating low-income or 
senior housing, building a playground, removing graffiti and painting a 
mural, building or repairing homes for families in need, arranging safe 
spaces for children who are out of school and whose parents are 
working, collecting oral histories of elders, running health fairs, and 
gleaning and distributing fruits and vegetables.
    Although celebrations, parades, and recognition ceremonies may be a 
part of the activities planned on the day of service, for the purposes 
of this grant those activities may not be supported.
    Grants will be subject to the National and Community Service Act 
and to applicable Corporation regulations, including those published in 
45 C.F.R. Parts 2540-2543.

G. Application Requirements

    To be considered for funding, eligible applicants should submit the 
following:
    1. An Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424).
    2. Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (SF 424A).
    3. A Budget Narrative that provides a description of the budget 
form. It may be easier to complete the budget narrative first, using 
the line items on the SF 424A as a guide. The budget narrative should 
be in the same order as the budget form with requested Corporation 
funds clearly defined. For each of the line items contained on the 
budget form, provide a full explanation in the budget narrative that 
explains the item, its purpose, and shows how you calculated the cost.
    4. Assurances--Non-Construction Programs (SF 424B).
    5. A Program Narrative (no more than 20 pages) that includes:
    a. The organization's background and capacity to provide sound 
programmatic and fiscal oversight to sub-grantees, including experience 
in administering federal grants.
    b. Outreach plan to solicit sub-grantees.
    c. Process to select sub-grantees and selection criteria. This 
should include the process you will use to ensure the organizational 
capacity of sub-grantees including experience of sub-grantee(s) in 
administering federal grants, the track record of sub-grantees in 
organizing service projects, and the ability of sub-grantees to reach 
and engage persons with disabilities.
    d. Description of how you will assure sub-grantee compliance with 
requirements.
    e. Description of resources available to manage this grant and how 
you will assess this in selecting sub-grantees.
    f. Timeline that covers major activities of the application.
    Applicants must submit one (1) Unbound, original proposal and two 
(2) copies to the following address: Corporation for National and 
Community Service, Attn: Nancy Talbot, 1201 New York Avenue NW, 
Washington, D.C. 20525. We will not accept any proposals submitted by 
facsimile. All applicants are encouraged to submit voluntarily an 
additional four (4) copies of the application to expedite the review 
process.
    Copies of the SF 424, SF 424A, and SF 424 B can be obtained at the 
following website: http://fillform.gsa.gov/. For a printed copy of any 
of these materials, please contact Thea Kachoris at (202) 606-5000, 
ext. 562.

H. Selection Process and Criteria

    In awarding these grants, the Corporation will consider program 
design, organizational capacity, and budget and cost effectiveness. 
Applicants must propose clearly-defined and specific activities to 
reach organizations that will apply as sub-grantees.
    The Corporation will make all final decisions concerning awards and 
may require revisions to the original grant proposal in order to 
achieve the objectives under this Notice.

CFDA No. 94.007

    Dated: June 20, 2000.
Gary Kowalczyk,
Coordinator, National Service Programs, Corporation for National and 
Community Service.
[FR Doc. 00-16044 Filed 6-23-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-U