Federal agency AmeriCorps, which coordinates national service and volunteerism, has launched its 2023 State and National Grants Competition. The competition, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars to local communities, is open to nonprofit, faith and community-based organizations, state service commissions and federally recognized tribal nations and tribal organizations.
The current competition prioritizes organizations that address service needs in communities with concentrated poverty, rural communities, tribal communities as well as organizations that serve historically underrepresented and underserved individuals. These individuals may include, but are not limited to, communities of color, veterans and military families along with their caregivers and survivors, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, people identifying as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with arrest or conviction records and religious minorities and other faith-based organizations.
The awards also prioritize programs with a track record of moderate or strong evidence of impact. Additional information on how the agency considers program effectiveness to be evidence-based can be found here: https://americorps.gov/about/our-impact/evidence-exchange
Per the AmeriCorps website, programs that the agency considers also include those that enhance member experiences and bolster recruitment and retention. These include paying more than the minimum living allowance, transportation, housing and food. Additional consideration is also given to programs that create workforce pathways for AmeriCorps members, such as deliberate training, certifications and hiring preferences and support.
The grantors also welcome proposals that stress environmental stewardship, such as community-based greenhouse gas reduction efforts, land and water conservation, increased renewable energy use and improvements to at-risk ecosystems, especially in underserved households and communities. Finally, the grantors take economic mobility efforts into consideration.
“The AmeriCorps State and National program is a unique partnership with governor-appointed state service commissions that places funds directly into existing community projects centered on national service as a solution,” AmeriCorps CEO Michael D. Smith said in a statement. “Thanks to investments from the American Rescue Plan, we have been able to make some of the largest awards in agency history.”
This round of funding follows $580 million in grants from AmeriCorps State and National which were issued in June of this year. Those grants were earmarked for preparing students for college, revitalizing cities, connecting veterans to jobs, fighting the opioid epidemic, rebuilding communities following disasters, preserving public lands, strengthening education and fostering economic opportunity among other goals.
The application deadline for the current round of grants is Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2023, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. AmeriCorps State and National anticipates notifying successful applicants in May 2023. More information, along with application processes, is available here: https://americorps.gov/funding-opportunity/fy-2023-americorps-state-national-grants#contacts
