Applications Due: January 8, 2020 at 5 p.m. ET

AmeriCorps State and National (AmeriCorps) is a national service program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). AmeriCorps engages tens of thousands of men and women in intensive community service each year. AmeriCorps provides grants to a broad range of local and national organizations and agencies committed to using service to address community issues. CNCS funding priorities for FY 2020 are: economic opportunity, education, healthy futures, veterans and military families, rural intermediaries, and faith-based organizations.

Legal aid organizations and courts seeking funding for a single-state program apply through the state commission that then forwards it to CNCS. Organizations seeking funding for a multi-state program apply directly to CNCS.

Helpful resources

• AmeriCorps has a long history of legal aid and court grantees at both the national and state levels. See the U.S. Department of Justice FY 2016 Guide to the AmeriCorps State and National Program for Legal Aid Organizations for more information.
• CNCS provides contact information for this commission and state-specific grant deadlines here.
• The Justice in Government Project at American University has a grants matrix on state-administered federal funds that can support legal aid, which provides an overview of AmeriCorps, examples of legal aid providers that have used AmeriCorps, and tips on how to find the available amount of funding and how to apply.
• CNCS has a list of all the grantees by state and year, linked here. The formula allocations are linked here.

Grant information

Funding Title: AmeriCorps State and National Grants FY 2020

Agency Name: Corporation for National and Community Service

Funding Opportunity Number: CNCS-09-12-19

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

Express Language for Legal Aid: No, but AmeriCorps has a long history of supporting legal aid. See the U.S. Department of Justice FY 2016 Guide to the AmeriCorps State and National Program for Legal Aid Organizations for more information.

Target Population: CNCS funding priorities for FY 2020 are: economic opportunity, education, healthy futures, veterans and military families, rural intermediaries, and faith-based organizations. Click on the links embedded in this point for more information about programs that can be funded through each of these priorities.  

Expected Number of Awards: Not listed

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: Yes. Applicants are required to match funds through federal or non-federal cash and/or in-kind contributions. The match increases by year. A first-time successful applicant is required to match at 24 percent for the first three-year funding period, 26 percent for the fourth year, and increasing by four percentage points per year of the program. At ten or more years, the match is 50 percent (pg. 6 of this NOFO).

Estimated Total Program Funding: Not listed

Award Ceiling: Not listed

Award Floor: Not listed

How to Apply: The Justice in Government Project’s grants matrix explains: Legal aid organizations and courts seeking funding for a single-state program apply through the state commission that then forwards it to CNCS. Organizations seeking funding for a multi-state program apply directly to CNCS. Organizations that propose to operate in only one state must apply through its state commission.

Each state and territory has its own selection process and decides whether to award a subgrant from its formula grant or to put the application forward to CNCS for competitive funding. Organizations should contact their state commissions to receive the appropriate application materials and to learn about state specific deadlines.

Note: Single-state applicants from South Dakota are eligible to apply directly to CNCS for the FY 2020 competition. If you are a potential applicant from South Dakota, please contact AmeriCorpsGrants@cns.gov for additional guidance.

Current Closing Date for Applications: by January 8, 2020 at 5 p.m. ET

Eligible Applicants: Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, special district governments, nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, private institutions of higher education, independent school districts, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), state governments, city or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), county governments, and public and state controlled institutions of higher education.

For more information

Link to Full Announcement: Link to the AmeriCorps page and link to the NOFO

Contact Information: Contact AmeriCorpsGrants@cns.gov for questions. If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, contact 202-606-7508.

CNCS will host technical assistance calls to answer questions about the funding opportunity and eGrants. CNCS strongly encourages all applicants to participate in these sessions. The schedule and call-in information for the technical assistance calls is on CNCS’s website: http://www.nationalservice.gov/build-your-capacity/grants/funding-opportunities

Categories: Corporation for National and Community Service, Education Organizations, Government Organizations, Native American Tribes or Tribal Organizations, Non-profit Organizations, Pass-Through Funds/ Block Grants