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AmeriCorps Seniors
Feb. 21, 2024
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Notes From the Director's Desk: February Edition
 Share your stories with us! We would love to hear how your projects and volunteers promote healthy living and celebrate Black History Month.
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In February, we celebrate Black History Month and recognize the rich contributions made by Black Americans through their service. By engaging in service activities, individuals can contribute to the collective progress and amplify the spirit of unity that Black History Month represents. Service and volunteering honor the past, celebrates the present, and shapes a more inclusive future for all. I encourage you to read this article from People by Florence Cunningham, an AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer in the Foster Grandparent Program. She recounts her experience marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in 1965, and how volunteering honors his legacy today.
This month, AmeriCorps is focusing on healthy futures as a part of our 30th Anniversary celebration. I want to acknowledge how important healthy living is for older adults, as well as our AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers. Our dedicated volunteers have been at the forefront addressing health needs in communities, from battling the impacts of COVID-19, addressing childhood obesity, to ensuring access to care and supporting aging in place. Healthy living not only enhances the overall well-being for older adults, but also contributes significantly to their quality of life. Many of our volunteers also report improved health after one year of service, showing that service can be mutually beneficial for both volunteers and those that we serve.
Before I close this month, I want to do a little Public Service Announcement. Please include the Grantee Essential Call in your monthly schedule. This call is specifically for you and occurs every third Tuesday from 1-2:30 p.m. ET. This call is where you’ll hear the latest announcements, updates, and reminders, in addition to receiving training on relevant and timely topics. I encourage you make this call a priority.
Atalaya Sergi, Director
AmeriCorps Seniors
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Join our Upcoming Recruitment Webinars
Join the below calls to learn more about tips and tricks you can utilize to recruit more AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers. Please reach out to join@americorps.gov with any questions.
Grantee Essentials Training and Technical Assistance Calls
Each month, we dive into specific technical assistance topics to help you build your skills while managing your AmeriCorps Seniors grant. Upcoming calls:
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AmeriCorps Seniors Policies and Uniform Monitoring Package
Tuesday, March 19, 1 p.m. ET
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Quarter 3 Project Performance Reports and Data Quality and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Tuesday, April 16, 1 p.m. ET
Missed our last Grantee Essentials TTA call? Check out the Grantee Essentials TTA learning path in Litmos. This learning path includes webinar recordings, presentations, and other materials.
Quarter 4 Continuation and Renewal Training and Resources
Additional Grantee Training and Technical Assistance
Monthly Spotlight on Training Resources
This month, we are highlighting the “Closeout Training for Grantees” course on Litmos. This training reviews closeout requirements, with a particular focus on the timing of these requirements and compliant financial reconciliation. The goal of this training is to ensure grantees closeout AmeriCorps grants accurately and on-time. This training is intended for AmeriCorps prime grantees.
Once you log into Litmos, search the content library to locate the "Closeout Training for Grantees” course.
Note: You will need to first log in to Litmos then click the link to the course.
Data In Action
Evaluating the Effect of COVID-19 on Older Adult Volunteer and on AmeriCorps Seniors Programs and Volunteers
The Office of Research and Evaluation and JBS International hosted a webinar regarding AmeriCorps' ongoing study to determine the effects of COVID-19 on older adults and AmeriCorps Seniors programming.
Webinar topics discussed:
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research objectives;
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discussed work accomplished in 2023;
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provided a timeline as to what will be done in 2024; and
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how AmeriCorps Seniors grantees can participate in the study.
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To help highlight the incredible impact AmeriCorps programs create, the 30th anniversary celebrations will spotlight key areas of service each month. February's theme is Healthy Futures. AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers support health needs within communities, including mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 and other public health crises, access to care, aging in place, and addressing childhood obesity, especially in underserved communities.
Join us in lifting up the amazing work you do in our communities and the nation. Find video, photos, social media, communications templates, and more in our 30th anniversary communications toolkit.
Remember to share your Healthy Futures stories with us to raise awareness about the positive impact your program has on your community. Share videos, photos, and posts on social media. Use the hashtag #AmeriCorps30 to be featured on our channel.
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Elder Justice Corner
Scammers Speak Your Language
One common method involves exploiting language and cultural familiarity to establish trust. This empowers scammers to tailor their deceptive tactics to resonate easily with their targets.
The Federal Trace Commission provides resources and materials in multiple languages to educate people of diverse backgrounds on how to avoid fraud and scams.
For more information, visit the FTC website.
“Slam the Scam” Day is Thursday, March 7, and is part of National Consumer Protection Week. Learn more about this event and how to spot government imposters at the Social Security Administration website.
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2024 Income Guidelines
Income Disregard Provisions Memo
The Income Disregard Provisions Memo has been updated and posted on the Foster Grandparent, RSVP, Senior Companion, and Senior Demonstration grantee page.
For Public Comment:
AmeriCorps Seniors has a proposed rule published in the Federal Register, which is available at: Federal Register: AmeriCorps Seniors Regulation Updates.
Directors, please participate in the public comment period and share this information with your volunteers, we would like to hear from you. The public comment period is open until Monday, April 15, and commenters can submit comments either through regulations.gov or by pressing the “Submit a Formal Comment” button at this link.
Summary of the proposed changes:
This proposed rule would remove barriers to service in AmeriCorps Seniors for individuals and increase flexibility for AmeriCorps Seniors sponsors to determine the best mix of staffing and resources to accomplish project goals. Specifically, this proposed rule would:
- Remove barriers for individuals to serve as AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in three ways (Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion):
- by simplifying how income is calculated for the purposes of determining eligibility to receive a stipend in a manner that limits what is considered income;
- by allowing volunteers to continue to receive a stipend when sponsors place them on administrative leave due to extenuating circumstances preventing service; and
- by allowing sponsors to supplement stipends.
- This proposed rule would increase flexibility for AmeriCorps Seniors grantees in three ways:
- by removing the prescriptive requirement for them to employ a full-time project director;
- by establishing a single 10 percent match value for RSVP regardless of year; and
- by allowing sponsors to choose to pay more than (but not less than) the AmeriCorps-established stipend rates using non-AmeriCorps funds for the amount exceeding the AmeriCorps-established rate.
These proposed changes would allow grantees to determine the best staffing and volunteer mix to support projects and how to devote resources that would otherwise be devoted to meet increasingly high match requirements. This proposed rule would also update nomenclature to reflect that the Corporation for National and Community Service operates as AmeriCorps and that “Senior Corps” is now known as “AmeriCorps Seniors.”
Continuation and Renewal Application Due Dates
Please Note: Fiscal year 2024 (Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, to Monday, Sept. 30, 2024) grant awards are contingent on annual congressional appropriations and availability of funds.
Quarter four grantees (Monday, July 1, start date):
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Applications due: Monday, March 11
Important Reminders:
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It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure their SAM registration and Unique Entity Identifier 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.
Reporting Requirements
For reporting deadlines, review your grant's terms and conditions and section VII reporting requirements:
Reports will be made available in eGrants 90 days before the due date. If the option to enter report data is not available in eGrants, please reach out to your portfolio manager.
Additional Resources
For instructions on the project progress report and federal financial report, visit your program's grantee resources section, select “submit a progress report” or “submit a Federal Financial Report” as the action, then click “apply” to show the resources.
Updated AmeriCorps Seniors Handbooks
Litmos Trainings for Reporting
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