Message From the Director
Dear colleagues,
We enter this month of June on the heels of two highly tragic events in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas – events that don’t just leave us shaking our heads, but have shaken us to the core. These incidents, which have become much too routine, leave us with a deep sense of sorrow as our hearts go out to the individuals, families, and communities impacted by them. I know that, like me, our colleagues in New York and Texas have been front-of-mind.
Please make sure that you are investing time in self-care for your mental and physical well-being. I appreciate the work that you do daily to engage and encourage our volunteers, but I also know that the demands of that work can sometimes be emotionally overwhelming. Take time to stop, reset, and re-center yourself. You cannot properly take care of our volunteers unless you take care of yourself. As instructed on airline flights, put on your mask first before trying to help others.
We all need something to look forward to and we have an exciting month ahead. Thank you to those who attended our AmeriCorps Seniors 2022 Virtual Convening Summer Series kick-off sessions last month. I’ve heard from many of you about how much you enjoyed our speakers, and I have shared your sentiment with them.
We have an equally exciting line up for AmeriCorps Seniors 2022 Virtual Convening Summer Series June 21-23. We have scheduled presentations on a variety of topics that you’ve asked for with internal and external speakers. Topics will include veterans, public health, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, tribal nations, partnerships, technology, stress management, and so much more. Since this is Pride month, we will also have a session on connecting with the LGBTQI+ community. We look forward to seeing you later this month, please be sure to tell your friends and colleagues to join us.
In service,
Atalaya Sergi, National Director
AmeriCorps Seniors
AmeriCorps Seniors 2022 Virtual Convening: Summer Series
Register for AmeriCorps Seniors 2022 Virtual Convening: Summer Series. Our time together will focus on your incredible innovation and resiliency, particularly during the past year. We are excited to create a space for discussion around sustaining program advances, future innovation and growth, and practical strategies for program implementation and management.
- Tuesday, June 21 – Thursday, June 23, 1-4 p.m. ET: Impact, Sustainability, Partnerships, and Innovation – Register
- Keynote speakers including Marc Freedman, president, CEO, and founder of Encore.org and Michael Smith, AmeriCorps CEO
- Over 20 breakout sessions with expert speakers from the public and private sectors
- Tuesday, July 19 – Thursday, July 21, 1-4 p.m. ET: Financial and Grants Management – Register
- Tuesday, September 20, 1-4 p.m. ET: Reflection and Celebration – Register
You can find materials and recordings from our Virtual Summer Series on Litmos in the 2022 ACS Virtual Summer Series Learning Path. Agendas and session descriptions will be posted in advance of each series and recordings will be posted after each event.
Operational Handbook Updates
Senior Demonstration Operational Handbook
The AmeriCorps Seniors team will release the Senior Demonstration Program Operations Handbooks on Thursday June 30. In the meantime, if you have questions about Senior Demonstration operations, please refer to the operational handbook of the program after which you modeled your Senior Demonstration project or contact your portfolio manager.
- For Senior Demonstration projects with stipended volunteers working with children on educational outcomes, please see the FGP Operations Handbook.
- For Senior Demonstration projects with non-stipended volunteers, please see the RSVP Operations Handbook.
- For Senior Demonstration projects with stipended volunteers providing support to older adults living in the community, please see the SCP Operations Handbook.
National Service Criminal History Check Update
Utah Joins the National Fingerprint File Program
Utah joined the National Fingerprint File Program on Thursday, April 13, and the state is now included in the National Fingerprint File Pre-Approved Waiver. This update and additional information about the National Fingerprint File Program can be found in the "National Service Criminal History Check Manual," available on the Knowledge Network.
If you have any questions, please contact CHC@cns.gov
Pathfinder Update
The Pathfinder will be updated on Friday, July 15. All grantees who have complete station roasters will have their contact information included in the Pathfinder.
Steps to correct or update your Pathfinder information:
- Review your contact information in eGrants. See Handbook Appendix A. 22: Review and Update Project Information, found on the Foster Grandparent, RSVP, and Senior Companion grantees page.
- Review each station roaster to confirm each location is in the approved geographical service area.
Any updated made between Friday, April 1, and Thursday, June 30, will be posted on Friday, July 15.
Elder Justice Corner
Celebrate Pride, Fight Fraud
Fraud affects every community, and some of the most egregious scams and abuses target the LGBTQI+ community. This Pride month, the Federal Trade Commission wants to help the community fight back.
LGBTQI+ consumers face a unique set of challenges. Many of the same tools we use to connect and build community can also be weaponized by scammers and their enablers.
For example, scammers can prey through dating apps, and threaten to shame victims to family and friends if they don’t pay up. Geolocation-based apps that help us connect with our neighbors can also be weaponized by scammers, who can use the valuable data on our whereabouts to threaten us with harm. Corporations that roll out the Pride flag every June may be facilitating these frauds by enabling romance scammers to use their platforms to harm people or by selling personal information to the highest bidders.
The LGBTQI+ community is uniquely suited to fight back. One of the biggest impediments to stopping fraud is shame — many of us are embarrassed to admit that we’ve been scammed, so we don’t report the fraud to law enforcement or tell our communities about how to avoid it. To those in the LGBTQI+ community, this may feel familiar — they know how shame can hold them back and prevent them from demanding justice.
The Federal Trade Commission hopes that LGBTQI+ consumers will take pride and fight back against fraud and other abuses. This month, we’ll discuss some consumer protection issues that affect the LGBTQI+ community — including how to fight back against cryptocurrency schemes, romance scams, and about your rights when it comes to credit discrimination.
Please share Federal Trade Commission resources, with your friends and family, on social media, and far and wide within the LGBTQI+ community. Most importantly, when you spot a scam, tell a friend or loved one and report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Every report helps us and our law enforcement partners, go after companies committing fraud, scams, and bad business practices.
Share Your AmeriCorps Story
Every AmeriCorps experience tells a story. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers represent the best of America, tirelessly serving people and communities across the country. AmeriCorps programs are doing amazing work across the nation, and we want to share that on a national scale. Share your story and help us raise awareness about the positive impact our programs, volunteers, and members have on their communities.
Submitted stories may be featured in social media, emails, and other media. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to see other members’ service stories.
Training Corner
New Project Curriculum Learning Paths (Litmos)
AmeriCorps Seniors has developed a new project curriculum for each of our programs. The curriculum is designed to introduce grant staff to the basic requirements of running an AmeriCorps Seniors grant, help understand how those requirements and strategies apply to a specific grant, and point to resources and tools you can use to best manage your project. Below are training modules within this curriculum:
- New Project Curriculum Introduction
- New Project Director’s Orientation
- Launching a New Project
- National Service Criminal History Check (Required annual e-course)
- Key Concepts of Financial Grants Management
- Introduction to Grants and Financial Management
To access the New Project Curriculum, select the appropriate AmeriCorps Seniors program from the list below:
Optimizing Your COVID-19 Vaccine Community Outreach
On Tuesday, June 21, from 3-4 pm, the CDC Foundation and Montgomery County Immunization Coalition are partnering for an Optimizing Your COVID-19 Vaccine Community Outreach webinar.
National experts will share best practices on:
- understanding and responding effectively to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy;
- Using the new Quarantine & Isolation Calculator Tool; and
- Using the V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker Tool
Attendees can submit questions in advance or ask them live.
Speaker Panel:
Martin Meltzer, PhD Lead Health Economics Modeling Unit, CDC COVID-19 Response
Francois Castonguay, PhD Health Economics Modeling Unit, CDC COVID-19 Response
Anne Hause, PhD, MSPH Epidemiologist, Immunization Safety Office, CDC
Richard Quartarone Health Communications Specialist, CDC
Moderated by Marilyn M. Watkins, DrPH, MPH, MCHES COVID-19 CoAg CBO Director, CDC Foundation
Department of Education funds may be used as Match
We are thrilled to share with the AmeriCorps Seniors portfolio that a determination has been made to allow Department of Education grantees or subgrantees to use program funds as matching funds for AmeriCorps programs.
In the past, questions have been raised as to whether Department of Education funds could be used as match for a federal award. The determination has been made that in accordance with our statute and regulations, each Federal agency providing funds for match must decide for itself whether their funds may be used for match. The Department of Education in their April 1 letter states that grantees “may use [Education] program funds as matching funds for AmeriCorps programs.” AmeriCorps defers to the Department of Education conclusion that its funds may be used for eligible AmeriCorps programs.
What does this mean for AmeriCorps Seniors grantees? If AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers are serving at school sites for example, this would mean meals provided to volunteers may now be considered as match. Of course grantees must follow the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), and ensure proper documents is on file – but as we said in the opening, this is exciting news. As AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors continue to deepen working relationships between our agency and other federal agencies, we will continue to explore options such as this one.
Postcards Now Available!
conducting a small pilot email postcard recruitment campaign to reach individuals 55 and over.
As part of this limited campaign, we have developed postcards that you can order from our warehouse and localize with your information.
Localization instructions can be found in Litmos AmeriCorps Seniors Resources:
Upcoming Deadlines and Reminders
Reporting Deadlines
Quarter 3 (Start Date: Friday, April 1)
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Federal Financial Report Final (Budget Year 3) Due: Saturday, July 30
Quarter 4 (Start Date: Friday, July 1)
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Performance Progress Reports Annual Due: Saturday, July 30
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Federal Financial Report (Budget Year 1 or Year 2) Due: Saturday, July 30
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Federal Financial Report Final (Budget Year 3) Due: Sunday, Oct. 30
Project Progress Reports Annual resources are on program pages under "Grantee Resources". Filter for “submit a progress report.”
Review Handbooks and Litmos for additional guidance.
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