1. AmeriCorps State and National
FY2011

2. Agenda
Speaker Introductions
What is AmeriCorps?
2011 AmeriCorps Funding Priorities
Mentoring and Parental Engagement Programs
How to Apply for an AmeriCorps Grant
Next Steps for You
Additional Resources

3. Speakers
Joshua DuBois, Executive Director, White House
Office of Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships
John Gomperts, Director of AmeriCorps
John Kelly, Director of Strategic Partnerships
Nicole Gallant, Director of Learn and Serve America
and Strategic Advisor for Education
Lois Nembhard, Deputy Director, AmeriCorps

4. What is AmeriCorps?
Maximizes the power of service and volunteering to improve
lives in communities across the country
Provides grants to organizations to operate AmeriCorps
programs that engage individuals in service as AmeriCorps
members.
Funds high-quality programs that are developed by an
applicant who designs a set of activities that demonstrate an
evidence-based approach to creating community impact and
solving community problems.

5. AmeriCorps Members
Individuals enrolled for an intensive term of service
(300-1700 hours per year) in an AmeriCorps program
U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident
alien of the United States
At least 17 years of age (no upper age limit)
Not a volunteer or a staff person
Receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for
successful completion of a term of service
Some AmeriCorps members receive a living allowance
and are eligible for health and childcare benefits

6. AmeriCorps State and
National Grant Funds
Provide partial funding to support AmeriCorps
programs
Require recipients to contribute match funding
Include an allotment of AmeriCorps member positions
Are directly tied to a specific number of member
positions
Are solely for program-related expenses

7. AmeriCorps State and
National Grant Funds are
NOT
Used to duplicate or supplant pre-existing activities,
staff, or volunteers.
For general organizational expenses.
Enough to support all program-related expenses.

8. Benefits of an
AmeriCorps Grant
Expands the capacity of organizations to meet critical
community needs
Provides funds to support program administration,
access to training and technical assistance resources,
and entrance into a national network of organizations
Allows organizations to recruit individuals from the
community to serve as AmeriCorps members
Community members who serve as AmeriCorps
members gain skills, experience, and a Segal
AmeriCorps Education Award to be used to further
their education or repay student loans

9. Eligible Grant Applicants
Non-profit organizations
Institutions of higher education
Government entities within states or territories
Indian tribes
Non-profit or higher education partnerships or
consortia
Intermediaries that provide support to
organizations with limited organizational
capacity are encouraged to apply

10. EDUCATION
Environmental Stewardship
Healthy Futures
Economic Opportunity
Disaster Services
Veterans & Military Families
2011 Funding Priorities

11. Education Focus Area
The Corporation seeks to fund research- and
evidence-based programs that improve academic
outcomes for young children, youth and young
adults by helping them:
 Prepare for school
 Perform at grade level
 Graduate from high school ready for college, work and
life
 Succeed in college and university
Emphasis on the lowest-performing schools

12. Mentoring Programs
Match disadvantaged youth with an adult who provides support
through either community based programs or school based
programs.
Sustain that match for a prescribed period of time:
 School-Based mentoring requires a continuous match, with the same
mentor for one hour per week (or as age-appropriate for older
mentees), for at least 6 months of one school year.
 Community-Based mentoring requires a continuous match, with the
same mentor for two to three hours per week, for at least 12 months
and up to 24 months.
Mentoring relationships are ideally one mentor per child, but could
be small group with a ratio of no more than 1:3.

13. Parental Engagement
Programs
Increase parental involvement in preparing a child for
academic success
Increase family involvement and volunteerism in schools
Increase parental leadership in school-based programs
Increase parental and family involvement on advisory
councils, committees
Increase parental and family organizing for school and
district improvement

14. Mentoring & Parental
Engagement Outcomes
Sustained mentor/mentee match for the prescribed period
of time (mentoring)
Improved academic performance
Improved school attendance
Decreased disciplinary referrals and suspensions
Decreased substance abuse, arrest, or gang involvement
Increased graduation rates or GED acquisition
Entrance into post-secondary institutions
Attainment of a post-secondary degree

15. How AmeriCorps Defines
Disadvantaged Youth:
• Economic Disadvantage: eligible for free (at or below 130% of poverty) or
reduced (between 130% to 185% of poverty) lunch; may or may not
actually be accessing free/reduced lunch.
• Disadvantaged youth: includes those youth who are economically
disadvantaged AND 1 or more of the following:
 Who are out-of-school youth, including out-of-school youth who are
unemployed
 Who are in or aging out of foster care.
 Who have limited English proficiency.
 Who are homeless or who have run away from home.
 Who are at-risk to leave secondary school without a diploma.
 Who are former juvenile offenders or at risk of delinquency.
 Who are individuals with disabilities.

16. Examples of Current
Mentoring Programs
• Grantee: Boys Hope Girls Hope
 Program Initiative: Links
 Boys Hope Girls Hope (BHGH) operates a network of residential homes for at-
risk children who are abandoned or homeless, or who come from home
environments marked by drug abuse, extreme poverty, or neglect. Through the
AmeriCorps grant, BHGH adds a national mentoring component to its program.
AmeriCorps members mobilize long-term volunteer mentors from the local
communities, build volunteer recruitment infrastructure at BHGH affiliates, and
expand the network of community partnerships at each site.
• Grantee: Notre Dame Mission Volunteers
 Program Initiative: Children of Incarcerated Parents
 AmeriCorps members identify children affected by parental incarceration and
match them with caring adult mentors recruited from the community. They
prepare mentees and mentors for matching by interviewing, screening, checking
references, and leading pre-match meetings.

17. Examples of Parental
Engagement Programs
• Grantee: Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters USA, Inc.
 HIPPY is a home-based parent involvement and school readiness program that
helps parents prepare children between the ages of 3 and 5 for success in
school and beyond. AmeriCorps members teach parents and model how to use
HIPPY learning activity packets, which focus on developing specific school
readiness skills such as language and vocabulary development, problem
solving, and pre-math concepts.
• Grantee: Institutes of Higher Learning
 AmeriCorps Teacher Assistants increase parental involvement over the course
of the academic. Each AmeriCorps Teacher Assistant will: (1) Publish and
distribute a newsletter to parents twice a year, describing school activities and
methods parents can use to increase student learning; (2) Invite all parents to
attend classroom activities for one hour a month; (3) Conduct two "open
houses" for parents; (4) Request parents of the students performing below
average to attend tutor training, thus assisting parents on how to tutor their
children. (5) Invite parents to participate in the service projects or service-
learning projects.

18. AmeriCorps State (single-state)
Formula
Competitive
AmeriCorps National (multi-state)
Indian Tribes
Applying for an AmeriCorps
Grant

19. How to Apply for an
AmeriCorps Grant
• Organizations proposing to operate within a single state must apply
through their State Service Commission. Commissions have two ways of
awarding AmeriCorps funds:
 Formula
 Competitive
• State Service Commissions have earlier deadlines for AmeriCorps
applicants and may have additional requirements
• Organizations proposing to operate in more than one state apply directly to
the Corporation.
• Indian tribes may apply through their State Service Commission or directly
to the Corporation. The Corporation sets aside 1% of competitive funding
specifically for Indian Tribes.

20. Application Materials
• AmeriCorps Regulations: 45 Code of Federal Regulations Sections
2520-2550 (www.gpoaccess.gov/ecfr) are the rules governing
AmeriCorps programs and includes important topics such as matching
requirements and program management requirements.
• 2011 Notice of Funding Opportunity
(http://www.americorps.gov/pdf/10_0831_ac_nofo.pdf) Outlines the
available grant opportunities, maximum allowable program costs,
funding priorities and other information pertinent to the year’s
competitions.
• Application Instructions: Each section contains a description of the
information that is to be addressed in that section of the application
narrative.
• eGrants account: Applications are submitted via eGrants and applicants
must create an account.

21. Next Steps for You
• Participate in the AmeriCorps State and National Outreach Call Series:
 Introductory call: Provides specific information about the various types
of AmeriCorps grants and the roles and responsibilities of an AmeriCorps
grantee
 Next Steps call: Reviews the materials needed to apply for a grant and
discusses the application content selection criteria
 Budget Calls: Reviews the components of an AmeriCorps budget and
fiscal responsibility of an AmeriCorps grantee
 Go to eventbrite.com and search for AmeriCorps to register for an
upcoming call or visit:
http://www.americorps.gov/pdf/10_1005_nofa_ac_tta.pdf
• Review this online presentation in lieu of the Intro Call:
 Link to AmeriCorps Grants 101 slide presentation:
http://www.slideshare.net/AmeriCorpsOutreach2009/americorps-grants-
101-presentation

22. Important Dates for
2011 Applicants
Fall 2010 –
State Service Commission deadlines vary, if you
are a single-state program, contact your State
Service Commission now!
January 25, 2011 –
Multi-State and Indian tribes applications due to
CNCS
June 2011 –
Award Announcements

23. Resources to Assist Programs
with the Application Process
www.americorps.gov
 Click on: How to Apply / Eligibility
http://americorps.gov/for_organizations/apply/index.asp
 Which takes you to:
Link to State Competition information:
http://www.americorps.gov/for_organizations/apply/state.asp
Link to National Competition information:
http://www.americorps.gov/for_organizations/apply/national .asp
Link to eGrants
http://www.nationalservice.gov/egrants/

24. Additional Resource
www.americorps.gov/fitfinder

25. Getting Things Done for America