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AmeriCorps Seniors July 14, 2023
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Notes From the Director's Desk: July Edition
AmeriCorps CEO Michael D. Smith and AmeriCorps Seniors staff at the 2023 Convening, “Growing Together: Uniting America Through Service.”
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Dear colleagues,
This spring and summer, I’ve been presenting at other organizations’ national conferences to promote AmeriCorps Seniors, most recently at the national Points of Light Conference in Chicago, Ill. It was a delight to see so many of you in attendance. Your presence helps to highlight AmeriCorps Seniors, and it demonstrates your quest for learning and hearing from those inside and outside of our network. I believe these engagements help prompt innovative ideas and show others how you and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers make a difference in communities across the country.
These national convenings also provide an opportunity for me to visit your local projects and meet some of your volunteers. In Chicago, Michael D. Smith, AmeriCorps CEO, and I visited AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers and project directors in the Foster Grandparent, Senior Companion, and RSVP programs as well as two AmeriCorps Seniors workforce development grantees. This level of engagement is invaluable, it provides me with in-depth knowledge of your successes and your challenges. As the summer and fall unfold, and as travel funds and schedules permit, I plan to visit more of you.
As we celebrated the Fourth of July, it made me think about how your projects and volunteers support the ability of individuals and families in our communities to fully live out their independence and participate in all that our country has to offer. Their service truly deserves fireworks.
Best,
Atalaya Sergi, Director AmeriCorps Seniors
Tentative Application Due Dates
It’s almost time for the fiscal year 2024 (Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023 – Monday, Sept. 30, 2024) grant season. We are excited to share a tentative application timeline to help you prepare and submit your application.
Please Note: These dates are tentative and subject to change. Fiscal year 2024 grant awards are contingent on annual congressional appropriations and availability of funds.
Quarter three grantees (Monday, April 1, 2024, start date):
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Notice of funding opportunity scheduled to open: Friday, Aug. 25; and
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Applications due: Thursday, Oct. 26.
Quarter four grantees (Monday, July 1, 2024, start date):
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Notice of funding opportunity scheduled to open: Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024; and
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Applications due: Saturday, March 9, 2024.
Important Remainders:
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It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure their SAM registration and Unique Entity Identifiers are active. Awards will not be made to organizations that have expired registrations.
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To apply in eGrants, it is required that two individuals from each organization have active eGrants accounts. The authorized representative and project director must be different individuals with different eGrants accounts. Applications will be returned if the same person is listed in both fields.
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On-time application submissions are required. AmeriCorps Seniors does not guarantee on-time funding decisions or grant awards for organizations that submit late applications.
Need Assistance? Contact the eGrants Help Desk
Introducing the "Evaluating COVID-19 Effects on Senior Volunteers and AmeriCorps Seniors Programs" Study
AmeriCorps Seniors is conducting a study to:
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understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers, grantees, beneficiaries, and program operations;
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capture and promote sustainable evidence-based solutions that drive changes; and
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identify substantial and unprecedented community needs.
AmeriCorps contracted with JBS International, an independent contractor, to conduct the study. With the support and collaboration of the AmeriCorps Seniors programs we expect to compile critical implementation decisions to inform a future learning agenda.
Interested in learning more about research and evaluation at AmeriCorps? Subscribe to the AmeriCorps Research and Evaluation Digest.
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Grantee Essentials Training and Technical Assistance
Join AmeriCorps Seniors each month to dive into specific technical assistance topics to help you build your skills while managing your AmeriCorps Seniors grant.
Tuesday, July 18, 1 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Sept. 19, 1 p.m. ET
New Litmos Learning Path
Access plenary and session recordings, presentations, and materials from the AmeriCorps Seniors 2023 Convening, Growing Together: Uniting America Through Service on Litmos.
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National Partnership for Student Success
Be a part of this important work.
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From our colleagues at the Federal Trade Commission
Scammers want to gain your trust. That’s why they use the names of real employees that work for government agencies. Scammers might call you to demand money, threaten you with arrest, promise you a prize, say there is a virus on your computer, or say something is wrong with an account.
The Federal Commission will:
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send you an email with advice about how to recover and protect yourself if you reported something to the Federal Trade Commission and provided an email address; and
- provide you an explanation or claim form about money being sent to you if you’re getting a refund or payment (check, prepaid debit card, or PayPal) from an Federal Trade Commission case.
To see a list of Federal Trade Commission cases that resulted in refunds, the name of the company sending payments, and a phone number to call with questions, go to the Federal Trade Commission website.
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Payment Integrity Updates
- The first round of data collection and testing for the FY 2023 payment integrity assessment is nearing completion.
- The second round of grantees selected for testing will be completed by Thursday, Aug. 30.
- Grantees will be notified of the results of the testing in September.
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In November, the Office of Management and Budget will publish results on Payment Accuracy.
AmeriCorps expects the pilot to:
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reduce the number of requests necessary to identify individual transactions;
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pull data more frequently and closer to when transactions occurred, which may simplify the process for providing files and allow for more timely requests of corrective actions;
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provide visibility into draws after the removal of the Federal Cash Transaction Report requirement; and
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remove long-standing audit issues around reporting and reconciliation issues, which would allow the agency to remove program reporting requirements if rates are under $10 million.
Once grantees are selected for the pilot, the agency will have dedicated staff for additional support.
Project Progress Report Instructions Updates
AmeriCorps Seniors has removed the six-month Project Progress Report Lite Semiannual from FY 2023. The report instructions were updated to reflect the report requirements and provide additional guidance around reporting volunteer service years.
Quarter Three (Saturday, April 1, start date)
- Federal Financial Report Final (Budget Year Three) Due: Sunday, July 30.
Quarter Four (Saturday, July 1, start date)
- Project Progress Report Annual Due: Sunday, July 30.
- Federal Financial Report (Budget Year One or Year Two) Due: Sunday, July 30
- Federal Financial Report (Budget Year Three) Due: Saturday, Oct. 28
Review program handbooks and Litmos for additional guidance.
Note: Program handbooks include updated links to the frequently asked questions on lobbying and partisan political activity documents, removal of the Progress Report Semiannual report information, and an update to de minimis rate of modified total direct cost. The AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent, Senior Companion, and Senior Demonstration program handbooks include an update for volunteer service year calculation.
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