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Washington, D.C. 20525

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CNCS Fiscal Year 2020

Annual Plan for 

Grantmaking
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Contents

AmeriCorps State and National FY 2020 Annual Plan......................................................................................................................3

AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) FY 2020 Annual Plan .............................................................................5

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) FY 2020 Annual Plan.......................................................................6

Senior Corps: Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) FY 2020 Annual Plan...........................................................................8

Senior Corps: Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) FY 2020 Annual Plan ....................................................................................10

Senior Corps: Senior Companion Program (SCP) FY 2020 Annual Plan .....................................................................................11

Subtitle H FY 2020 Annual Plan (Volunteer Generation Fund, Call to Service – MLK and September 11th Days of Service)

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................12

State Commission Support Grants & Commission Investment Funds FY 2020 Annual Plan....................................................14
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AmeriCorps State and National FY 2020 Annual Plan

Purpose of Plan: The Annual Plan authorizes each of the CNCS programs and authorized staff from other CNCS 

units to make grants and/or enroll (or authorize grantees to enroll) eligible individuals as AmeriCorps 

members. National Service Position authorizations in the plan are issued to each AmeriCorps program as 

Member Service Years (MSYs). 

For the AmeriCorps VISTA and AmeriCorps NCCC programs, an MSY authorizes the program to enroll a 

single individual as an AmeriCorps member. An AmeriCorps VISTA MSY is equal to 12 months of full-time 

service (or approximately five Summer Associate terms). For AmeriCorps State and National, an MSY 

authorizes the enrollment of a single full-time member or a combination of part-time, reduced part-time, or 

minimum time members that will equal 1700 hours of service.

Funding Allocation: $416,510,000 (after reservation of funds under sec. 501(a)(6) of the NCSA)1

Target MSY Level: 67,304

Key Milestones

• FY 2020 Application Deadline: January 8, 2020

• FY 2020 Awards: May 1, 2020

• FY 2021 NOFO Release: Summer 2020

• Annual AmeriCorps State and National Symposium: August/September 2020

Funding Priorities

Consistent with the Serve America Act, AmeriCorps State and National will seek to fund programs in the 

following six focus areas that use an evidence-based approach to create community impact and solve 

community problems:

• Disaster Services

• Education

• Environmental Stewardship

• Healthy Futures

• Economic Opportunity

• Veterans and Military Families.

Congress requires CNCS to select at least two focus areas per year for AmeriCorps State and National Grants. 

For the 2020 AmeriCorps State and National competition, CNCS seeks to prioritize investment of national 

service resources in the following six priority areas: 

 

1 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking are based upon the amounts approved in the October 11, 

2019 CNCS FY 2020 Spend and Procurement Forecast Plan. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment 

of final appropriations for FY 2020. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the amount of funding 

ultimately available for grants. 
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• Economic Opportunity. In order to qualify for this priority, the applicant’s program must either

o Be assessed as having Moderate or Strong evidence by the reviewers or

o Increase economic opportunities for communities by preparing people for the workforce.

• Education. In order qualify for this priority, the applicant must be assessed as having Moderate or 

Strong evidence by the reviewers. 

• Healthy Futures. In order to qualify for this priority, the applicant must either

o Be assessed as having Moderate or Strong evidence by the reviewers, OR

o Reduce and/or prevent prescription drug and opioid abuse.

• Veterans and Military Families – In order to qualify for this priority, the applicant must be positively 

impacting the quality of life of veterans and improving military family strength.

• Rural Intermediaries – In order to qualify for this priority, the applicant must be an organization that 

demonstrates measurable impact and primarily serves rural communities with limited resources and 

organizational infrastructure. 

• Faith-Based Organizations.

Examples of prior CNCS funded programs which have shown evidence-based effectiveness in the areas of 

Economic Opportunity, Education and Healthy Futures are available on the CNCS Evidence Exchange. 

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps State and National continues to require competitive grantees to use the agency-wide performance

measures or applicant-determined performance measures. 
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AmeriCorps VISTA FY 2020 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $92,364,0002

Target Member Level: 8,000

Key Milestones 

• October 2019: Issue Program Guidance (which articulates AmeriCorps VISTA programming priorities) 

to CNCS Regional/Field Offices 

• October 2019 – September 2020: Hold Virtual Member Orientations and Virtual Supervisor 

Orientations throughout the year, along with 12 in-person In-Service Trainings/Convenings for VISTA 

members and supervisors 

Funding Priorities 

This year, AmeriCorps VISTA will prioritize rural community development, veterans, STEM, workforce 

development (e.g., apprenticeships), projects that help prevent and treat opioid/drug abuse, and access to 

broadband and digital literacy. 

Ultimately, CNCS expects to invest no less than 80 percent of AmeriCorps VISTA resources toward building 

the capacity of programs and organizations in the following focus areas:

• Economic Opportunity (Workforce Development, Employment, Career and Technical Education, 

Affordable Housing, Eviction Prevention, Bridging the Digital Divide) 

• Education (STEM, School Readiness, High School Graduation, Post-Secondary Success) 

• Healthy Futures (Opioid Prevention/Intervention/Recovery, Food Security, Mental Health Services)

• Veterans and Military Families

AmeriCorps VISTA continues to build out its virtual training resources and is intensifying training and 

technical assistance for VISTA supervisors in FY 2020.

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps VISTA will seek to support projects that increase organizational and financial capacity and 

demonstrate the effectiveness of their proposed intervention in addressing community needs. AmeriCorps 

VISTA will also measure member satisfaction.

 

2 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking are based upon the amounts approved in the October 11, 

2019 CNCS FY 2020 Spend and Procurement Forecast Plan. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment 

of final appropriations for FY 2020. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the amount of funding 

ultimately available for grants. 
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AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) FY 2020 Annual Plan 

Funding Allocation: $32,000,0003

Target Member Level (Traditional): 1,360

Target Member Level (FEMA Corps): 1,000 (FEMA Corps members are supported by FEMA funds) 

Key Milestones & Campus Start Dates

• October 2019: Southwest Region (Denver, CO) and Pacific Region (Sacramento, CA) Traditional 

• February 2020: North Central Region (Vinton, IA) Traditional

• March 2020: Southern Region (Vicksburg, MS) FEMA Corps 

• June 2020: Southwest Region (Denver, CO) Traditional 

• June 2020: Pacific Region (Sacramento, CA) FEMA Corps

• July 2020: North Central Region (Vinton, IA), Southern Region (Vicksburg, MS) Traditional

Funding Priorities

The Serve America Act authorizes the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) to operate a 

residential national service program that provides young people with leadership and team-building 

opportunities to meet national and community needs.

To evaluate the program’s effectiveness and efficiency, AmeriCorps NCCC measures key objectives and 

targets, including the impact of member service and the opportunities and training provided to its members. 

AmeriCorps NCCC Service Projects and Special Initiatives

In 2020, AmeriCorps NCCC project outreach and implementation will reflect a continued focus on the NCCCspecific service areas as outlined in the Serve America Act: response to natural and other disasters, 

infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban 

and rural development. 

To further build upon programmatic strengths such as our residential design and intensive member training 

program, AmeriCorps NCCC will continue in its role as the agency’s lead responders in times of disasters as 

well as disaster preparation, mitigation, and recovery. 

AmeriCorps NCCC will continue its partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to 

support the goal of an additional 1,000 AmeriCorps NCCC members, who will work solely on FEMAsponsored projects during their term of service. 

 

3 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking are based upon the amounts approved in the October 11, 

2019 CNCS FY 2020 Spend and Procurement Forecast Plan. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment 

of final appropriations for FY 2020. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the amount of funding 

ultimately available for grants. 
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AmeriCorps NCCC Members

The Serve America Act mandates that AmeriCorps NCCC engage participants from economically, 

geographically, and ethnically diverse backgrounds. In addition, Congress directed AmeriCorps NCCC to 

conduct outreach to increase participation of disadvantaged youth to a target enrollment of 50 percent by the 

year 2012. In 2020, we anticipate reaching more than 40 percent, accompanied by an aggressive strategy for 

keeping us moving toward the very ambitious goal. To meet this goal, AmeriCorps NCCC will continue to 

implement measures as outlined in AmeriCorps NCCC’s Annual Recruitment plan, including:

• Leverage new contract recruiters to target all NCCC applicant requirements

• Expand AmeriCorps NCCC recruitment efforts by conducting outreach to organizations and 

institutions that support youth from disadvantaged circumstances

• Collaborate with state and local corps programs to promote second year of service opportunities with 

AmeriCorps NCCC among their membership

• Promote AmeriCorps Week, National Service Recognition Day, and all National Days of Service as 

opportunities to introduce school-aged children to service and volunteering

• Increase use of social media outlets to recruit new members

• Expand the strategic use of the approximately 24,000 AmeriCorps NCCC alumni in recruitment efforts 

to increase the applicant pool for corps members and team leaders and aggressively promote national 

service

Performance Measures

AmeriCorps NCCC will contribute to the seven applicable measures of the agency-wide performance 

measures. 
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Senior Corps: Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)

FY 2020 Annual Plan 

Funding Allocation: $50,355,0004

Target Volunteer Level: 183,000

Key Milestones

• Total Estimated Grant Awards in FY 2020: 550

• 2020 RSVP National Competition for grants initially competitively awarded in FY 2014 and 

administratively renewed in FY 2017 (as required by statute). 

• Continuation of grants competitively awarded in FY 2015, 2016, and administrative renewal of 2017 

expansion grants (as required by statute).

• Possible additional grant and/or non-grant activities such as outreach, to be determined based on 

availability of FY 2020 funds, to include, among other things, augmentations for evidence-based 

programming, permanent augmentations for baseline funding for volunteer recruitment and disaster 

response.

Funding Priorities

The 2020 RSVP Competition Notice prioritizes grantmaking in the six focus areas identified by the Serve 

America Act of 2009 and in alignment with the CNCS Strategic Plan: Disaster Services; Economic Opportunity; 

Education; Environmental Stewardship; Healthy Futures; and Veterans and Military Families. Within the six focus 

areas, Senior Corps funding priorities include:

• Evidence-Based Program Implementation

• Access to Care – Opioid Abuse

• Aging in Place – Elder Justice

• Aging in Place – Independent Living

• Economic Opportunity – Workforce Development

• Education – Intergenerational Programming

• Disaster Services

• Veterans and Military Families

Performance Measures 

RSVP projects must use standardized Performance Measures as part of a comprehensive performance 

measurement strategy that relies on both performance and evaluation data to learn from their work and make 

tactical and strategic adjustments to achieve their goals. All unduplicated RSVP volunteers must be integrated 

into the Performance Measure work plans included in the application. Work plans must meet the maximum 

 

4 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking are based upon the amounts approved in the October 11, 

2019 CNCS FY 2020 Spend and Procurement Forecast Plan. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment 

of final appropriations for FY 2020. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the amount of funding 

ultimately available for grants. 
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cost per unduplicated volunteer in outcome assignments. For every $1,000 in annual base federal funding, at 

least one unduplicated RSVP volunteer must be placed in work plans that result in Performance Measure 

Outcomes.
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Senior Corps: Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) 5

FY 2020 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $110,899,000

Target Volunteer Level: 22,000

Key Milestones 

• Total Estimated Grant Awards in FY 2020: 290

• FY 2020 renewal and continuation grants will be awarded non-competitively (as required by statute)

• FY 2020 FGP Replacement Competition

• Possible additional grant and/or non-grant activities, to be determined based on availability of FY 2020 

funds; if available appropriations, Senior Corps will raise the stipend from $2.65 per hour to $3.00 per 

hour

Currently, all grants and volunteer service years relinquished in any state are centralized to CNCS for budget 

contingencies. Priority uses for centralized funding will be an FGP competitive process to award a 

combination of augmentation of grants supporting evidence-based programs and replacement sponsor 

competitions. 

Funding Priorities

Competitive and continuation grants fulfill program priorities around:

• Evidence-Based Program Implementation

• Education – Intergenerational Programming

Performance Measures

FGP projects must use standard performance measures as part of a comprehensive performance measurement 

strategy that relies on both performance and evaluation data to learn from their work and make tactical and 

strategic adjustments to achieve their goals. All unduplicated FGP volunteers must be integrated into the work 

plans included in the application. Work plans must meet the maximum cost per volunteer service year in 

outcome assignments. For every $6,000 in annual base federal funding, at least one volunteer service year must 

be included in work plans that result in education-related performance measure outcomes.

 

5 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking are based upon the amounts approved in the October 11, 

2019 CNCS FY 2020 Spend and Procurement Forecast Plan. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment 

of final appropriations for FY 2020. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the amount of funding 

ultimately available for grants. 
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Senior Corps: Senior Companion Program (SCP)

FY 2020 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $46,863,0006

Target Volunteer Level: 11,000

Key Milestones 

• Total Estimated Grant Awards in FY 2020: 190

• FY 2020 renewal and continuation grants will be awarded non-competitively (as required by statute) 

• FY 2020 SCP Replacement Competition

• Possible additional grant and/or non-grant activities, to be determined based on availability of FY 2020 

funds; if available appropriations, Senior Corps will raise the stipend from $2.65 per hour to $3.00 per 

hour

Funding Priorities

Competitive and continuation grants fulfill program priorities around:

• Evidence-Based Program Implementation

• Aging in Place – Elder Justice

• Aging in Place – Independent Living

Performance Measures

SCP projects must use standard performance measures as part of a comprehensive performance measurement 

strategy that relies on both performance and evaluation data to learn from their work and make tactical and 

strategic adjustments to achieve their goals. All unduplicated SCP volunteers must be integrated into the work 

plans included in the application. Work plans must meet the maximum cost per volunteer service year in 

outcome assignments. For every $6,000 in annual base federal funding, at least one volunteer service year must 

be included in work plans that result in performance measure outcomes related to Aging in Place.

 

6 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking are based upon the amounts approved in the October 11, 

2019 CNCS FY 2020 Spend and Procurement Forecast Plan. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment 

of final appropriations for FY 2020. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the amount of funding 

ultimately available for grants. 
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Subtitle H FY 2020 Annual Plan

(Volunteer Generation Fund, Call to Service – Martin Luther King Jr. and September 11th Days of Service)

Funding Allocation: $7,600,0007

Target Member/Volunteer Level: Not Applicable

Key Milestones

• September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance and MLK Day of Service

o June 2020 - Competitive grants to be awarded for MLK Day of Service

o June 2020 - Continuation grants to be awarded for both days of service

• Volunteer Generation Fund 

o New and recompete applications will be awarded competitively and continuation grants will be 

awarded noncompetitively

Funding Priorities

• September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance: Grantees may competitively subgrant or 

work with partner agencies so that a portion of the federal funds are provided to eligible 

organizations to plan and carry out direct service activities. Grantees will plan and carry out direct 

service activities that honor those lost on September 11th, 2001 and those who rose in service as a result 

of the tragedy. Activities may include ongoing service learning, ongoing direct service, and planning 

leading up to the events, but the majority of activity takes place on or close to September 11th. 

• MLK Day of Service: Grantees may competitively subgrant or work with partner agencies so that a 

portion of the federal funds are provided to eligible organizations to plan and carry out direct service 

activities. Activities may include ongoing service learning, ongoing direct service, and planning 

leading up to the events, but the majority of activity takes place on or close to the MLK holiday.

• Volunteer Generation Fund: Grantees must provide evidence that subgrantees have enhanced their 

capacity to fulfill the following requirements:

o Engage local partner organizations that use volunteers in a collaborative process of planning and 

implementation for increasing the impact of volunteers in meeting critical needs 

o Provide relevant, competency-based volunteer roles and opportunities that attract and retain high 

caliber volunteers 

o Develop the internal operational and financial management systems that will provide 

organizational sustainability.

 

7 All funding allocations in this Annual Plan for Grantmaking are based upon the amounts approved in the October 11, 

2019 CNCS FY 2020 Spend and Procurement Forecast Plan. These amounts are subject to adjustment upon the enactment 

of final appropriations for FY 2020. In addition, these amounts do not reflect the possible effect of the exercise of 

authorities to reserve and allocate funding for non-grant making purposes which could reduce the amount of funding 

ultimately available for grants. 
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Performance Measures

Performance measures for Subtitle H funds must include reports on the number of community volunteers 

recruited and/or managed by CNCS-supported organizations and national service participants as applicable. 

MLK and September 11 grantees will count number of volunteers recruited, trained, and committed to one or 

more future service activities and the number of organizations engaged and committed to one or more future 

service activities that honor and reflect on MLK or September 11.
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State Commission Support Grants & Commission Investment Funds FY 2020 Annual Plan

Funding Allocation: $17,538,000 and $8,500,000

Target Member/Volunteer Level: Not Applicable

Key Milestones

• FY 2020 awards: December 2020 

Funding Priorities

As required by the National and Community Service Act, funding will be awarded on a formula basis to 

support State Service Commissions as they implement service as a strategy to address local problems, such as:

leading disaster response and readiness efforts; addressing high school dropout rates; increasing mentoring 

efforts; providing training and technical assistance; supporting persons with disabilities; and establishing 

volunteer centers, online matching platforms, and other systems to effectively engage citizens in service. Funds 

will also be used in their outreach to prospective AmeriCorps grantees, administration of grant competitions,

and oversight and monitoring of grants and programs.

In addition, Commission Administrative Grants and Commission Investment Funds will be used to cultivate 

high-performing organizations by strengthening their training and technical assistance, accountability, and 

grant oversight activities.

Performance Measures

Each State Service Commission is required to report on standard performance measures.