Message from Acting Director Lois Nembhard

I hope you are all enjoying the summer despite the challenges of the economic crisis. We are working hard to plan the implementation of our reauthorization, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. This newsletter includes an update on our implementation plans. Our other areas of focus this summer include processing state formula awards, developing Recovery reporting requirements, preparing the 2010 Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity and application instructions, conducting site visits, planning the September grantee meeting, and of course preparing for the launch of the My AmeriCorps portal release 3. Thanks to all of you for the work that you do, and your patience as we move forward as quickly, but as thoughtfully, as we can to make the promise of these multiple priorities all realities.

My AmeriCorps Countdown—Are You Ready?

The long-awaited date will soon be upon us—My AmeriCorps portal Release 3 is slated to take place Monday, July 27. Please continue to take advantage of the tutorials and remind program and subgrantee users to do so as well. Your program officer is available to help you think through the policy implications of the new system. You will find lots of information, including webinars and tutorials here on the Resource Center.

WBRS will be available in read-only mode until the end of December 2009. In addition, grantees that are still using WBRS for subgrantee reporting can continue to do so until the end of December.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act: Implementation Update

Our first priority in planning the implementation of the Serve America Act (the Act) was to determine which provisions will take effect on October 1, 2009, which require guidance or policy, and which will require rulemaking. These determinations have an impact on the FY 2010 application deadline, and on the timing and content of the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity and application instructions.

We anticipate that we will conduct at least three different types of rulemaking: 1) technical fixes to align our regulations with the statute; 2) provisions that shouldn’t require too much development, i.e. transferability of the Education Award and the increase in the number of terms of service; and 3) provisions that will require extensive development and public comment such as common performance measures andfixed-amount grants. Rulemaking 1 is currently being drafted with a goal of an October 1, 2009 effective date.

With input from the Domestic Policy Council (DPC) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), we have decided to implement three pilots in the FY 2010 grant competition. The results of these pilots will inform rulemakingand how we ultimately implement these provisions of the Act.

The following provisions of the Act will be piloted in the 2010 competition.

1. The Act describes five service corps (Education, Healthy Futures, Clean Energy, Veterans, and Opportunity) and requires us to prioritize at least two each year. For FY 2010 programs that address indicators in all five corps will be given priority.

2. The Act requires us to develop common performance measures and identifies specific indicators. With input from grantees and other stakeholders, we will develop common performance measures for the five priority areas. Applicants proposing programming in the priority areas will be encouraged to adopt the common performance measures and will receive special consideration for doing so.

3. The Act authorizes fixed amount grants and specifies that in FY 2010 they may only be used for full-time member positions (excluding EAP). Fixed amount grants will be an option for programs that only have full-time members. Non-EAP programs with mixed slot types will not be eligible for a fixed amount grant in FY 2010. In addition, in FY 2010 we will be implementing the merged state competitive and national direct AmeriCorps grant competition.

National grantee and commission input is critical to successful implementation of the Act. We will be involving you in the development of the common performance measures and the merged grant competition. While everyone will have the opportunity to provide input, we will also be identifying a group of direct grantees and commissions to participate in working groups. We anticipate bringing those working groups to Washington, DC in August. We will keep everyone informed of the progress of these working groups and opportunities to provide input.

Please continue to remind your members and programs that the increased Education Award will only be available for those positions funded with 2010 appropriated funds. Also, we are still determining how to effectively implement the increased flexibility in the number of terms of service that can be served by an individual. Stay tuned for when and how this will go into effect. Until you hear otherwise, the present policy is still in effect and members can only serve two terms, regardless of type. Likewise, the transfer of the education award will not go into effect until we issue additional regulations and guidance.

2010 Grant Competition Timeline

Due to the Serve America Act, we will be releasing our Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity and Application Instructions later than usual. These documents will be distributed by the grantee meeting in September. The application due date will be in late January. We realize this is a hardship if you need to run your own competition prior to our deadline. We regret this unfortunate circumstance, and expect to be back on our regular schedule next year.

September Grantee Meeting

The week of September 14 is full of activities and we look forward to you joining us. Aside from the Grantee Meeting, we will be conducting the Program Start-up Institute for national grantees, the Commission Institute, and a Train-the-Trainers session. Earlier in the summer you received the save-the-date notice that identified the different events that will be taking place. This week we will open registration and invite some of you to participate in the planning processes to ensure that the events meet your needs.

Commissions and national grantees are expected to attend the Grantee Meeting and are invited to attend the other events that are relevant to them. The Grantee Meeting will be geared toward commission executive directors, commission staff, national grantee leadership and national grantee program directors. We understand the resource constraints that you are under; please let us know if you need our assistance in justifying your presence here that week.

A primary focus of the Grantee Meeting will be the Serve America Act but there will also be training sessions, planning and strategizing, opportunities to speak with CNCS leadership, and time for networking and developing strategic partnerships between commissions and national grantees. Please log on to www.regonline.com/2009ACMeetings for more details about each event and to register.

State Service Plans in the Admin Application: What’s New?

As you know, this is the year that state commissions will be submitting answers to the three questions that relate to state service plans in the Admin application. Due to new provisions in the Serve America Act, we are currently accepting public comment on these instructions as part of the federal-wide paperwork reduction act requirements. Please address your comments to aborgstrom@cns.gov.

The Serve America Act requires that state commissions submit their plans for engaging people 55 and over in service in order to qualify for funding in 2010. We recognize this is an additional burden, and encourage you to begin work on this component of the state service plan now, as it is a statutory requirement. The Application Instructions are available upon request (e-mail aborgstrom@cns.gov) and will be posted on our website by the end of the week. We will notify you as soon as the documents are posted.

In addition, the Serve America Act mandates an expanded purpose for PDAT and Disability funds that will go into effect with the 2010 appropriations. These funds will be able to be used to provide training and/or reasonable accommodation to all national service participants. We will be providing additional guidance and support as we move forward with implementing this provision of the Act.

We expect to release final application instructions in October.

State Commission Call Postponed until September

We have decided to cancel the monthly commission call scheduled for early August. Many of our staff are either on leave or are conducting on-site monitoring visits with their commissions. This ASN Update contains the latest information we have on our initiatives. The monthly commission call will resume in early September.

Recovery Reporting

An email was sent to Recovery commission and national grantees on July 16 regarding reporting. Please let your program officer know if you didn’t receive it so that we can ensure you are included in the Recovery distribution list. A copy of the email can be found here.

Spread the Word: United We Serve and Serve.gov

Be sure and let your friends and family know about the President’s summer service initiative, United We Serve. Here are three FAQs that include essential information to help you spread the word. It is also very simple to post from serve.gov to your Facebook or other social networking account. And if you are engaging in service this summer, register your project and tell your story! The site includes toolkits that make it easy to organize your own neighborhood service project.

A: Serve.gov is a comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities. Americans who are interested in volunteering can use this tool to locate opportunities to serve across the country and around the world. Serve.gov is managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

A: United We Serve is a nationwide service initiative that will help meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking us to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth. This initiative aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop do-it-yourself projects with friends, family, and neighbors. United We Serve is an initial 81 days of service from June 22 to September 11 but will grow into a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to promote service as a way of life for all Americans.

A: There are as many ways to join United We Serve as there are needs in our communities. If you’re already doing service, post your opportunities at Serve.gov so others can join your efforts. If you’re new to service, search for volunteer opportunities in your area or download one of our easy-to-use toolkits and develop your own project with friends, family, and neighbors.

Dates to Remember

• September 14-18 2009Annual Grantee Meeting/Program Start-Up Institute/Commissioner Institute in Washington DC 2010 Notice and Application Instructions Released
• October 19, 2009 National Planning-Indian Tribe Planning Grants Application Deadline
• November 2009 Admin-PDAT-Disability deadline
• November 2009 AmeriCorps Financial Management Institute
• January 2010 State and National competitive deadline
• Late January 2010 Award National Planning-Indian Tribe Planning
• Late May Award State and National grants Supplemental formula awards