Summer of Service for Middle-School Aged Youth

End Date: 10/17/2007
CFDA # 94.007

NOTICE:

The Corporation is extending the deadline to apply for Summer of Service grants to October 17. We are taking this step because of a temporary reduction in contractor staff support for the eGrants Help Desk that limits our capacity to answer questions and help potential applicants. We are working to address these challenges as quickly as possible, but in the interim callers to the eGrants Help Desk may experience a delay. As we review this situation further, we may extend the deadline again or make other changes in the application process. We will provide notification well in advance of any such changes. Thank you for your patience.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) announces the availability of up to $900,000 for grants to support summer of service activities. Summer of service activities are defined as high quality, supervised, volunteer activities in multiple locations during the summer (out-of-school) months. The participants will be middle school youth (typically 10 to 14 years old) from disadvantaged circumstances in urban and rural areas. The purpose of this competition is to stimulate new or expanded service-learning opportunities in the summer programming of youth-serving organizations that already serve large numbers of youth from disadvantaged circumstances at multiple sites. Service learning opportunities are designed so that the youth meet unmet needs in their communities.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Submission Requirements

1. Does the 25,000-character limit apply to the program design, organizational capacity, and budget as well?

   The total number of characters available for the entire application is 25,000. Thus, it applies to the combined number of characters for all three narratives of the application: program design, organizational capacity, and budget. Your application should be submitted online using our eGrants system. To access the eGrants system, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov/egrants/index.asp.

2. Should we submit other items such as letters of support or a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in addition to submitting an application in eGrants?

   No, please do not submit anything other than the required items in eGrants. If you submit additional items, they will not be reviewed.

3. One of our offices is a non-profit incorporated in North Carolina, while our satellite office is based in Las Vegas. Which address should I use in my application?

   Use the address of the legal applicant in your application.

4. Whom do I contact if I am having trouble submitting my application in eGrants?

   In the event you are prevented from completing and submitting your application by the deadline because the eGrants system is unavailable or you are having technical eGrants submission issues, you must contact the eGrants Helpdesk at 888-677-7849 or email at egrantshelp@cns.gov , prior to the 5:00 p.m. ET on September 6, 2007, to explain your technical issue and receive an eGrants ticket number. The eGrants Help Desk is staffed Monday – Friday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.

5. Are there Helpful Hints that I should take into account when applying through eGrants?
       
   

   • We suggest that you prepare and save your application as a word processing document prior to inputting it into eGrants.

   • Use only uppercase letters for all section headings and other information you would like to highlight in your narrative. Bold face, bullets, underlines, or other types of formatting, charts, diagrams, and tables will not copy into eGrants. Do not use any of these in your application whether using eGrants or submitting by paper.

   • Remember to follow the character limits. We use character limits rather than page limits because of the structure of eGrants. Characters include letters, punctuation, and spaces in the document. Your word processing software can provide a character count.
         
6. I did not submit a letter of intent. Can I still apply for this grant?
   
   Yes, you may still apply for this competition. You are not required to submit a letter of intent. These are used by our organization to gauge the interest in the competition in order to ensure an efficient review process.
   

Eligibility

7. I work for a state agency. Are we eligible to apply?

   State and local government agencies are eligible for this competition.

8. I work for a national or statewide nonprofit organization. We are a local organization that operates throughout a regional area. What do you define as regional? As a local entity, are we eligible to apply?

   Regional organizations may include organizations that operate in multiple states or organizations that operate throughout a city, metropolitan area, or county.

   As stated in the funding notice, we are especially interested in funding national and regional nonprofit organizations that engage local affiliates/chapters, as well as regional and state-based collaborations or consortia that use, supply, or help connect volunteers in their respective states.

   A regional organization could propose developing a collaborative initiative among organizations throughout the region or state to better leverage their collective resources toward the stated purpose of this grant competition.

   One of the stated evaluation criteria is the ability of the requesting organization or consortium to actively engage a broad network (national, regional, or statewide).

9. My organizations serves a large area within our state, but is not considered a statewide organization. Are we eligible for this grant?

   Organizations of any type are eligible to apply, except for lobbying organizations described in Section 501(c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code (see Section II B of the NOFA). Eligible applicants must propose programs that are expected to have an impact on the national, multi-state, or state level. However, a program does not have to operate in every section of the state.

10. Are organizations with applications for funding pending with the Corporation eligible to apply?

    Yes, organizations with applications for funding pending with the Corporation are eligible to apply. However, applicants must differentiate between this grant’s proposed activities and those of the pending application.

11. My organization currently receives funds through RSVP. Are we eligible to apply?

    Yes. Recipients of other Corporation grants are eligible to apply. . However, applicants must differentiate between this grant’s proposed activities and those of the currently funded program.

12. Do the organizations that we are proposing to work with have to be non-profit organizations?

    No, the organizations that you work with can be non-profits or for-profit organizations.

13. Is a Tribal Government eligible for these funds?

    Yes.

Clarification & Interpretation

14. Will providing more than the required matching amount increase an applicant's chance of receiving funding?

    The funding notice states that there may be a preference given to those organizations that surpass the minimum matching requirement. All things being equal, the amount of the match will be considered under the following evaluation criterion:

    • Cost effectiveness and capacity to leverage Corporation funds
      
15. Will the grant require the successful applicant to measure their performance in any particular way?

    We expect the successful grantee will measure program participant’s performance by collecting and analyzing data and reporting on at least the three indicators of success published in the Notice:

    • Perform a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer project planning, implementation, and reflection with an adult or older person’s supervision, over a 2 to 8 week period between May and August, 2008
      
    • Address unmet needs in the communities in which they live through high-quality, supervised, volunteer activities based on a service-learning model that engages participants in structured, hands-on projects while helping participants develop personal, civic, and/or academic skills
      
    • Receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award in recognition of their volunteer service

16. Are there a minimum number of participants needed for an organization to apply for these funds?

    The intent of this competition is to provide large numbers of youth with volunteer service opportunities and to have large-scale impact on the national, state, and multi-state level. We will rely on the applicants to indicate how they will meet the intent of this competition. We provided examples of both national and state wide applicants in the Notice in an effort to provide some idea of what we are hoping to accomplish with these funds in terms of numbers. We are intentionally not restricting this competition to a certain threshold of youth served.

17. I manage a small, non-profit organization. How can I benefit from these funds?

    Local nonprofit organizations or local affiliates of a national organization are encouraged to partner with their parent organization or a statewide organization. As this Notice state, collaboration with other organizations will be given preference.

18. Can these funds be used in the planning phase of a Summer of Service programs?

    Yes. A reasonable amount of planning costs will be accepted.

19. Do we have to serve only youth from disadvantaged circumstances?

    This competition is primarily directed toward youth from disadvantaged circumstances. Your proposal will be judged on the percentage of participants who come from rural and urban environments with high levels of poverty and crime.

20. What sorts of restrictions exist on how these funds are used? For example, is there a cap on indirect costs?
    
    This particular first-time program is not described in the federal regulations. The NOFA provides all of the substantive elements for this program. As one of several innovative grant programs supported by the Corporation, recipients will be subject to the government-wide administrative requirements set out in 45 CFR 2541 and 2543, as appropriate, and other applicable government-wide regulations
    
    We will pay 5% of the funds we are contributing to the grant for indirects. However, we will accept the grantees negotiated rate provided they have a copy of the agreement, and the remaining amount can be reflected as the Grantee Share. If they do not have proof of their negotiated rate, they can charge 5% of the funds we are providing to our share, and 10% of the TOTAL of sections 1 and 2 to the grantee share. They have the option of using their negotiated rate or the 5 and 10% Corporation rates, whichever is in their best interest.

Partners & Volunteers

21. Can two or more organizations apply together for funding?

    Organizations may jointly apply for funding as a consortium or collaboration. For the purposes of the application, one organization should be listed as the applicant and the partnering organizations can be referenced in the narrative of the proposal.

22. If we plan to collaborate with other organizations already working nationally or in a specific region, should we name these organizations in our application?

    It will strengthen your application if you disclose any identified entities that you plan to work with. It would also help to describe your present relationship, or if you plan to develop a relationship.

Post-Submission Expectations

23. Do you know about how many grants will be awarded?

    We estimate that approximately 4 to 6 grants will be awarded.

24. Do you expect this program to be very competitive?

    Based on eligibility requirements and experience, we estimate receiving approximately 50 applications.

25. Does the Corporation intend to contact organizations that we list in our application as possible partners?

    No, the Corporation will not contact organizations that you list in your application as possible partners.

26. When will the successful applicant(s) be notified?

    We plan to notify successful and unsuccessful applicants by early December 2007.

Technical Assistance Information:

The Corporation hosted a technical assistance call to answer questions from potential applicants. If they were not able to participate, applicants are strongly encouraged to listen to the replay of the call.

Replay Information

Phone: 888-403-4661
End Date: October 12, 2007 - 11:59 PM (EST)