AmeriCorps Open Forum Informational Session

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Lee Walters
5 years ago
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1 AmeriCorps Open Forum Informational Session

3 The Application Process Full applications must be received by 10:59:59 PM CST on Thursday, March 3, Late applications WILL NOT be accepted.

4 The Application Process Components required to be submitted in egrants Narrative. Does not 15 pages as the pages print out from egrants (this includes the executive summary and Facesheet) Performance Measures. Must include at least one aligned National Performance Measure for the Primary service activity Budget See the Budget Checklist located in Appendix E of the Application Instructions to ensure your budget includes all required components. Logic Model Does not exceed 3 pages as the pages print from egrants

5 The Application Process Components required to be submitted via Form A Member Placement Chart (required) Form B Organizational Capacity Survey (required) Provide a schedule of Federal and State Funds received in the last two years. Indicate the funding source, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number (where applicable), grant period, and amount.(if applicable) Provide any sample in-kind donation forms or documentation your organization uses.(if applicable) Form C Source of Matching Funds Chart (required) For any single match source that is valued at $20,000 or greater, submit evidence of commitment with the application (new applicants) (grants@onestarfoundation.org)

6 The Application Process Components required to be submitted via Applicants classifying their evidence as Moderate or Strong must submit up to two studies, evaluation reports, briefs, or peer-reviewed articles cited in this section as separate attachments. (if applicable) (required) Independent Financial Statement Audit and A-133(if applicable) (required) Organizational Chart (required) Evaluation (current grantees only) Labor Union Concurrence (if applicable) Federally Approved Indirect Cost Agreement (if applicable)

8 Questions from the Field Is this funding opportunity for statewide or local services? This opportunity is available for both statewide and local services. In your narrative you need to ensure that the documentation for need that you include covers all areas where you plan to have members serving. For example if you are planning to place Members in multiple cities or in multiple schools, you should include an equal amount of data justifying the need in each location.

9 Questions from the Field Can you please clarify the MSY requirement? All applicants must propose a program design that utilizes a minimum of 20 MSYs per program year. MSYs are calculated by multiplying the number of the particular member type times the MSY value. Full Time (1700 Hours) = 1.00 MSY Half Time (900 Hours) =.5 MSY Reduced Half Time (675 Hours) =.381 MSY Quarter Time (450 Hours) =.265 MSY Minimum Time (300 Hours) =.212 MSY

10 Questions from the Field May I select Performance Measures from multiple focus areas? Yes, you may select National Performance Measures from any of the focus areas so long as they are adequately capturing the Member service you are proposing. Keep in mind that there are no bonus points given for having lots of Performance Meaures.

11 Questions from the Field Can you please clarify the Health Insurance requirement? All AmeriCorps programs must provide health insurance to Full-Time AmeriCorps Members starting on the first day of their service. A Member may choose to waive the health insurance provided by your program, but you must at least offer it and provide documentation that the Member waived it.

12 Questions from the Field Do you have any resources on companies that offer AmeriCorps Member health insurance plans? Several programs use The Corps Network to offer health insurance to members. We have quite a few resources directly on our OneStar website which you can find here: -resources/#americorps Health Care Resources

13 Questions from the Field What are the font and spacing requirements for this application narrative? There is no formatting allowed within the egrants system. The length of the application cannot exceed 15 pages as the pages print from egrants. egrants will not accept any charts, graphs, tables, bold, underlined or italicized font. There is not an ability to change font or spacing either. The only way to draw distinction between sections is that typically applicants will type the section headings in all caps.

14 Questions from the Field Will organizations have a chance to make corrections to their application prior to final approval? Yes, this process is referred to as clarification and OneStar anticipates that this process will occur between mid-may and mid-june. Not all applicants will be asked to go through the clarification process.

15 Questions from the Field What are the expectations for volunteer engagement and management? The AmeriCorps Regulations require that your program include a component of Volunteer recruitment. How you all choose to do that is dependent on your program design and organizational capacity and need for volunteers. Any hours spent recruiting and/or managing volunteers would be allowable hours for the members in your program. According to the Regulations ( ), if recruiting or supporting volunteers is a fundamental alteration to your program structure then you would submit the waiver as part of your application which OneStar would review. If you do not request a waiver, you will be required to report on the number of volunteers and volunteer hours as part of your Progress Reports. OneStar doesn t have a set expectation for time spent on this or number of volunteers recruited/managed.

16 Questions from the Field The logic model instructions say that we should include a summary of the community problem outlined in the narrative. Where does that summary goes?

17 Questions from the Field When I log in to egrants, the NOFO options all have a due date of 1/20/2016, have I missed a deadline? No, Unfortunately this is very confusing because these Due Dates are pre-populated by CNCS to align with their National deadlines, not individual State deadlines. Please ignore the due date and ensure that you are selecting the correct NOFO and Prime Application ID according to the Submission Instructions.

18 What Additional Questions do You Have?

19 Tips and Reminders Respond to each criteria from the Notice in the order in which is being asked. Separate sections by typing headings in ALL CAPS. Do Not Refer to AmeriCorps Members as anything except for AmeriCorps Members. They are not interns, volunteers, employees, staff, etc. Spell AmeriCorps correctly throughout the application.

21 AmeriCorps Program Requirements The AmeriCorps program is a Federally funded program. As such, the following requirements apply to the program activities and funds expended as part of the program. National and Community Service Act of 1990 (as amended by Serve America Act 42 USC et seq., and 45 CFR 2510 et seq. Applicable Federal Policies Ex: Drug Free Workplace AmeriCorps Regulations 45 CFR AmeriCorps Terms and Conditions General Terms and Conditions OneStar Foundation Terms and Conditions Terms and Conditions for AmeriCorps State Grants

23 Please contact the following individual with any questions: Elisa Gleeson Senior Grants Management Specialist OneStar Foundation Phone: Availability: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM CST, Monday to Friday

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