Carry-Forward and No-Cost Extensions
Dear Senior Corps Grantees,
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) continues to recognize the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on our grantees and volunteers, and the communities they serve. Specifically, COVID-19 continues to have a direct impact on many grantees’ ability to continue program operations in communities across the country.
Following local, state, and federal guidelines, many of you have suspended volunteer activities to ensure the safety of your staff and our Senior Corps Volunteers. Due to the suspension of programs, grantees are finding many of their grant costs are lower than originally anticipated. In these exceptional circumstances, Senior Corps is focused on finding ways to ensure that, while programs are paused, we are looking towards recovery and preparing to meet the critical needs of your communities as programs reopen. To help support those efforts,CNCS is allowing unspent FY 2019 funds to be carried forward into FY 2020. This will be done in a way that complies with legal requirements and maintains the integrity of the programs, while giving grantees funding to meet the needs of the communities they serve.
Given the timing of FY 2020 awards, CNCS has identified the following processes:
For Senior Corps Grantees with April 1, 2020 start dates:
Please note that as this guidance was developed, we were mindful that for Quarter 3 grantees, those with an April/March cycle, the financial impact of the pandemic only impacted your FY 2019 program for approximately three weeks. For that reason, we do not anticipate a significant amount of unspent FY 2019 federal funds and the minimum request for a carry-forward or no-cost extension must be for at least $10,000 in federal funds.
Carry-forward for continuations (carry-forward applies to grantees who in FY 2019 were in either Year 1 or Year 2 of their grant): Grantees with unexpended FY 2019 funds of $10,000 or more may request permission to utilize these funds in FY 2020 for approved activities. Please send your program officer (PO) and grants officer (GO) or portfolio manager (PM) a request via email as follows by June 1, 2020. The justification in this case must include:
• Justification of Need
• Amount of requested Carry-Forward
• Purpose of Use.
No-cost extensions for grants ending on March 31, 2020 (no-cost extensions apply to grantees who in FY 2019 were in year 3 of their grant): Grantees with $10,000 or more in unexpended funds may request a no-cost extension for up to one year. This request should be emailed to your program officer (PO) and grants officer (GO) or portfolio manager (PM) as follows by June 1, 2020. The justification in this case must include:
• Justification of Need
• Amount of requested Carry-Forward
• Purpose of Use.
For Senior Corps Grantees with July 1, 2020 start dates:
Carry-forward for continuations (carry-forward applies to grantees who in FY 2019 were in either Year 1 or Year 2 of their grant): Grantees with up to $5,000 in unspent FY 2019 funds, and who would like to request this action, are not required to take any action at this time. Those grantees wishing to carry-forward funds will have the opportunity to do so through the clarification process and will receive more guidance in the coming weeks. You will receive approval to carry-forward unexpended funds and any additional guidance as part of your FY 2020 notice of grant awards.
No-cost extensions for grants ending on June 30, 2020 (no-cost extensions apply to grantees who in FY 2019 were in year 3 of their grant): Grantees with $5,000 or more in unexpended funds may request a no-cost extension for up to one year. This request should be emailed to your program officer (PO) and grants officer (GO) or portfolio manager (PM) as follows by Aug. 1, 2020. The justification in this case must include:
• Justification of Need
• Amount of requested Carry-Forward
• Purpose of Use.
We continue to update CNCS’s Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19, and encourage you to review the CNCS General Program and Senior Corps-Specific FAQs regularly. FAQs can be found here. Additionally, please continue to reach out to your Program Officer and Grants Officer or Portfolio Manager with any questions or concerns.
Yours in service,
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