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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26740-26741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09587]

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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

Request for Information From Non-Federal Stakeholders: Grantee 
Match Requirements

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Executive Order on advancing racial 
equity and support for underserved communities, the Corporation for 
National and Community Service, operating as AmeriCorps, is inviting 
public comment regarding grantee match (that is, the percentage share 
of non-AmeriCorps cash and in-kind contributions required to be raised 
by the grantee in support of the grant) from any interested party, 
including current and former AmeriCorps applicants and program award 
recipients and sponsors or funders, and organizations that considered, 
but ultimately did not apply for, AmeriCorps grants.

DATES: To be considered, written comments must be received 
electronically no later than June 10, 2022 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight 
Time (EDT).

ADDRESSES: Comments and any supporting attachments should be submitted 
online at http://www.regulations.gov; search for ``Request for 
Information (RFI) from Non-Federal Stakeholders: Grantee Match 
Requirements.'' They will be posted unchanged and viewable by the 
public. Please provide contact information or organization name on the 
web-based form for possible follow-up from AmeriCorps.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron Tendai, Program Support 
Specialist, AmeriCorps at [email protected] or 202-606-3904.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Matching fund requirements are not unusual 
for Federal grants, but they vary across government agencies and 
programs. Match requires that a grantee share the funding load for 
their project or program that is (partially) funded by the agency. 
Policy reasons for match requirements include ensuring that Federal 
taxpayer dollars are leveraging non-agency contributions, supporting 
more programming by stretching agency dollars further, encouraging 
community engagement and investment in the grantee's activities, and 
promoting grantees' sustained financial health and the viability of 
their projects beyond the life of the grant.
    Both AmeriCorps Seniors and AmeriCorps State and National have 
match requirements, established by Congress, for some of their grant 
opportunities, as do the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and the 
Volunteer Generation Fund grant programs. In each case, the grantees 
may provide the match through cash or in-kind contributions. AmeriCorps 
Seniors and AmeriCorps State and National grant programs currently have 
some statutory and/or regulatory relief from match requirements. In 
accordance with Executive Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and 
Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government), 
issued on January 20, 2021, AmeriCorps is inviting public comment 
regarding grantee match requirements.

I. Request for Comment

    AmeriCorps seeks input on the following:
    1. What are the benefits, if any, of matching requirements?
    2. What evidence, if any, supports (or does not support) the use of 
matching requirements?
    3. What changes related to match requirements and alternative match 
schedules, if any, might be needed in order to:
    a. Encourage more applicants to apply?
    b. Make grantees more successful?
    c. Allow applicants and grantees to reach underserved communities?
    4. What changes, if any, to the criteria or timing for alternative 
match and/or match waiver requests and approvals might:
    a. Encourage more applicants to apply?
    b. Make grantees more successful?
    c. Allow applicants and grantees to reach underserved communities?
    5. What alternative approaches to the existing matching 
requirements would help meet the intended policy goals of community 
engagement and investment?

II. Context

A. Current Match Requirements

AmeriCorps Seniors
    Congress established the match requirements for AmeriCorps Seniors 
programs in the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended 
(DVSA), 45 U.S.C. 4950 et seq.
    For the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and Senior Companion 
Program (SCP), the DVSA generally limits AmeriCorps' contributions to 
90 percent of the costs of the development and operation of projects, 
effectively requiring grantee sponsors to contribute at least 10 
percent of the total project cost. See 42 U.S.C. 5011(a). AmeriCorps' 
regulations specify that grantee sponsors must contribute 10 percent of 
the total project cost from non-Federal or authorized Federal sources 
for these programs. See 45 CFR 2552.92(a), 2551.92(a).
    For the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), the statute 
generally limits the match required of grantees to 10 percent in the 
first year, 20 percent in the second year and 30 percent in subsequent 
years. See 42 U.S.C. 5001(b). AmeriCorps' regulations mirror this 
requirement, stating that RSVP grants may be awarded to fund up to 90 
percent of the total project cost in the first year, 80 percent in the 
second year, and 70 percent in the third and succeeding years. See 45 
CFR 2553.72(a).
AmeriCorps State and National
    Congress established the match requirements for AmeriCorps State 
and National in the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as 
amended (NCSA), 42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq. The NCSA limits AmeriCorps' 
share of the cost of carrying out an AmeriCorps State and National 
program to 75 percent. See 42 U.S.C. 12571(e). However, Congress has, 
for several years through annual appropriations laws, revised this 
requirement. For example, in the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations law, 
Congress provided that the grantees must meet an overall minimum share 
requirement of 24 percent for the first three years they receive 
AmeriCorps funding and in successive years must meet the requirements 
as provided for in AmeriCorps regulations at 45 CFR 2521.60. See Public 
Law 116-260, div. H, title IV, 402, December 27, 2020.
    AmeriCorps regulations implement these requirements by requiring a 
24 percent match for cost-reimbursement grants to first-time grantees 
for the first three-year funding period. Starting with year four, the 
match requirement gradually increases every year until it reaches 50 
percent by year 10, as shown in the minimum overall share chart below. 
Match is calculated as a total of the over all budget (Federal share + 
grantee share.)

[[Page 26741]]

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AmeriCorps Funding Year.................................     1, 2, 3           4           5           6           7           8           9         10+
Grantee Share Requirements..............................         24%         26%         30%         34%         38%         42%         46%         50%
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    See 45 CFR 2521.45 and 2521.60(a).
AmeriCorps State and National--Commission Support Grants
    Section 126(a) of the NCSA (42 U.S.C. 12576) authorizes AmeriCorps 
to make grants of $250,000 to $1,000,000 to support State Commissions 
annually, and requires the State to agree to provide matching funds 
from non-Federal sources of not less than $1 for every $1 provided by 
the Corporation through the grant.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Day
    Section 198(i) of the NCSA (42 U.S.C. 12653(i)) authorizes 
AmeriCorps to make grants to support activities in honor of the life 
and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The statute limits the 
Federal share to 30% of the cost of the service opportunity. There is 
currently no explicit relief for this match requirement in statute or 
regulation.
Volunteer Generation Fund
    Section 198P(f) (42 U.S.C. 12653p(f)) authorizes AmeriCorps to make 
grants for volunteer programs. The statute limits the AmeriCorps share 
to 80% in year one, 70% in year two, 60% in year 3, and 50% in years 
four and beyond. There is currently no explicit relief for this match 
requirement in statute or regulation.

B. Match Waivers and Alternative Match Schedule

AmeriCorps Seniors
    AmeriCorps may grant a match waiver to a grantee for any of the 
three AmeriCorps Seniors programs. See 42 U.S.C. 5001(b) (RSVP), 
5011(a) (FGP), 5013(a) (SCP). AmeriCorps has established by regulation 
that it may grant a waiver of match requirements if it determines that 
at least one of the following criteria are met, based on information 
provided by the gprantee: Initial difficulties in the development of 
local funding sources during the first three years of operations; an 
economic downturn, a natural disaster, or similar events in the service 
area that severely restrict or reduce sources of local funding support; 
or the unexpected discontinuation of local support from one or more 
sources that a project has relied on for a period of years. See 45 CFR 
2551.92 (SCP), 2552.92 (FGP), 2553.72 (RSVP).
    AmeriCorps has designed a streamlined process for AmeriCorps 
Seniors to request individual match waivers in accordance with these 
regulatory criteria.
AmeriCorps State and National
    Under certain circumstances, applicants/grantees in AmeriCorps 
State and National may qualify to meet alternative matching 
requirements that increase over the years to 35 percent instead of 50 
percent as specified in the regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 12645(d); 42 
U.S.C. 12576. To qualify, applicants/grantees must demonstrate that the 
proposed program is located in a rural county or in a severely 
economically distressed community. See 45 CFR 2521.60(b).
    AmeriCorps may grant a match waiver for an AmeriCorps State and 
National grantee if it determines that the grantee has demonstrated all 
four of the following: There is a lack of resources at the local level; 
the lack of resources in the local community is unique or unusual; the 
grantee has made efforts to raise matching resources; and the grantee 
has raised a specified amount of matching resources or reasonably 
expects to raise that amount. See 45 CFR 2521.70. AmeriCorps has 
designed a streamlined process for AmeriCorps State and National 
Grantees to request individual match waivers in accordance with these 
regulatory criteria.
AmeriCorps State and National--Commission Support Grants
    The CEO may permit a State Commission that demonstrates hardship, 
or a new State Commission, to meet alternative matching requirements 
for a commission support grant as follows:
    (A) FIRST $100,000: For the first $100,000 of AmeriCorps grant 
funds, the State involved shall not be required to provide matching 
funds.
    (B) AMOUNTS GREATER THAN $100,000: For AmeriCorps grants of more 
than $100,000 but not more than $250,000, the State shall agree to 
provide matching funds from non-Federal sources of not less than $1 for 
every $2 provided by AmeriCorps in excess of $100,000.
    (C) AMOUNTS GREATER THAN $250,000: For AmeriCorps grants of more 
than $250,000, the State shall agree to provide matching funds from 
non-Federal sources of not less than $1 for every $1 provided by 
AmeriCorps, in excess of $250,000.
    See 42 U.S.C. 12576; 45 CFR 2550.110.

    Dated: April 29, 2022.
Anna Mecagni,
Chief of Program Operations.
[FR Doc. 2022-09587 Filed 5-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-P
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