CONFERENCE SPENDING REPORT FOR WEB POSTING 

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) 

Report on FY 2014 Conference Activities 

January 29, 2016

As part of the government-wide effort to expend resources more efficiently and effectively, 

the President signed Executive Order 13589 “Promoting Efficient Spending” – encouraging 

agencies to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. To further promote and ensure 

accountability and oversight in spending, OMB issued Memorandum-12-12, “Promoting 

Efficient Spending to Support Agency Operations” in May 2012. The memorandum directs 

Federal agencies to publish a report on conference activities in excess of $100,000 for the 

previous fiscal year on their website each year by January 31. 

In FY 2015, CNCS conducted three conference activities in excess of $100,000: 

Tribal Applicant Training – AmeriCorps and Senior Corps 

Date and Location: April 8-10, 2015, Washington, DC 

Purpose: CNCS continued to implement strategies in 2015 to increase applications for the 

statutory tribal set-aside funds for AmeriCorps State and National, and to support a new 

Senior Corps competition open only to tribes. Our outreach included hosting (at no cost to 

the participants) this training for interested applicants that focused on applying for and 

managing tribal AmeriCorps and Senior Corps funds. This convening, in part, was 

instrumental in producing the highest ever number of applications for funding, awards to 

grantees, and number of members serving in tribal communities. 

Number of Participants: 54

Food and Beverage: $0

Audio Visual: $9,154 

Materials: $1,359 

Logistics and Support: $39,968 

Sponsored Travel (invited speakers and guests): $64,500 

Employee Travel: $0

Contractor Travel: $0

Total Cost to US Government: $114,981 

Methodology Used to determine which Costs Relate to the Conference: These are the final 

reported costs for the event. 

Description of the Contracting Procedures Used: A call against a Blanket Purchase 

Agreement was awarded on a competitive basis using standard procurement operating 

procedures. A review was conducted by the Office of Procurement Services to evaluate the 

costs before the award was made. 

AmeriCorps State and National Symposium 

Date and Location: September 15-18, 2015 (included 2 pre-conference and 5 postconference events), Arlington, VA 

Purpose: The AmeriCorps State and National Symposium is the annual meeting for 

AmeriCorps State and National direct program and commission grantees. The meeting 

included sessions on research and evaluation, the Office of Inspector General, financial 
management, disaster response, veterans and military families, and inclusion for people 

with disabilities. 

Number of Participants: 461 (of this total, 47 CNCS staff attended as presenters and 39 

CNCS staff attended as participants) 

Food and Beverage: $23,818 

Audio Visual: $46,959 

Materials: $29,746 

Logistics and Support: $77,308 

Sponsored Travel (invited speakers and guests): $17,437 

Employee Travel: $0

Contractor Travel: $0

Total Cost: $195,268 

Methodology Used to determine which Costs Relate to the Conference: These are the final 

reported costs for the event. 

Description of the Contracting Procedures Used: A call against a Blanket Purchase 

Agreement was awarded on a competitive basis using standard procurement operating 

procedures. A review was conducted by the Office of Procurement Services to evaluate the 

costs before the award was made. 

Social Innovation Fund (SIF) Convening 

Date and Location: September 15-17, 2015, Washington, DC 

Purpose: The SIF Grantee Convening is the annual meeting for SIF Classic and Pay for 

Success grantees. Each grantee was able to bring one or two subgrantee representatives. 

The meeting included sessions on communication, sustainability and evaluation. We also 

conducted a one-day orientation for the new 2015 SIF Classic Grantees and new staff on 

existing SIF Classic and Pay for Success grantees. 

Number of Attendees: 275, including 33 CNCS staff 

Food and Beverage: $18,828.52 

Audio Visual: $79,873.79 including general AV, live streaming, still photography, 

videography, video editing, closed captioning, internet, and mobile app development 

Materials: $10,379.52 

Logistics and Support: $71,935 

Sponsored Travel (invited speakers and guests): $401.22 

Employee Travel: $0.00 

Contractor Travel: $3,927.00 

Registration Fees Collected: $14,450.00. This amount was subtracted from the Total Cost, 

below. 

Total Cost: $170,895 

Methodology Used to determine which Costs Relate to the Conference: These are the final 

reported costs for the event.

Description of the Contracting Procedures Used: A call against a Blanket Purchase 

Agreement was awarded on a competitive basis using standard procurement operating 

procedures. A review was conducted by the Office of Procurement Services to evaluate the 

costs before the award was made.