FY 2024-25 VOLUNTEER AND
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT MINI-GRANTS

MINIGRANT APPLICATIONS FOR FY2024-25 HAVE CLOSED

Why AmeriCorps Mississippi?

Our grants provide the funding to connect YOU with people ready to serve, so YOUR organization can make a difference in the community.

United We Serve

FAQ

What is AmeriCorps?

AmeriCorps is an independent federal agency created to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation. AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps Seniors, and the Volunteer Generation Fund has helped to engage millions of citizens in meeting community and national challenges through service and volunteer action. The mission of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service (Volunteer Mississippi) is to engage and support Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities. Administering and supporting AmeriCorps programs, our partners, provides opportunities for Mississippians to address documented needs in our communities.

AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions to strengthen communities. Each applicant must clearly describe a project that will deploy AmeriCorps members effectively to solve a significant community problem. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community service through an approved national service position. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits while serving. Upon successful completion of their service, full-time members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of up to $6,345 from the National Service Trust that members can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans. Members who serve in a less than full-time capacity receive an education award based upon position enrolled in.

Is there more than one type of AmeriCorps program?

Yes, there are three main branches of AmeriCorps: AmeriCorps State & National, AmeriCorps*VISTA, and AmeriCorps*NCCC.

AmeriCorps Network (AmeriCorps State & National) consists of local, regional, and national organizations who are committed to using national service to address critical community needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment.

AmeriCorps VISTA members have served economically challenged communities for more than 35 years. The program is dedicated to increasing the capability of people to improve the conditions of their own lives. Members of AmeriCorps VISTA serve full-time and live in the communities they serve, creating programs that can continue after they complete their service.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a ten-month, full-time residential service program for men and women ages eighteen to twenty-four. Members help meet the nation’s critical needs in the areas of education, public safety, the environment, and other human needs. AmeriCorps NCCC combines the best practices of civilian service with the best aspects of military service, including leadership and team building.

What agencies oversee AmeriCorps?

AmeriCorps works with governor-appointed state commissions, nonprofits, faith-based groups, schools, and other organizations to provide opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve their communities.

Why should my organization apply for a Mississippi AmeriCorps program?

AmeriCorps provides people-power. Funds provided through AmeriCorps Mississippi support a team of members who provide direct service to build or improve communities and services provided and generate volunteers to support their efforts. If there are needs in your community and/or organization in the priority areas (below) that you believe can be addressed by the involvement of people serving together, then this program may be for you. Grant funds can considerably enhance current programs, but cannot duplicate or displace current employees.

What are the 2022 AmeriCorps funding priorities?

In the FY 2021 AmeriCorps competition, AmeriCorps seeks to prioritize the investment of national service resources in:

  • Efforts to help local communities respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants may propose programming to aid communities in their efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, including outcomes of COVID-19 on student subgroups described in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
  • Educational opportunity and economic mobility for communities experiencing persistent unemployment or underemployment, and students experiencing homelessness or those in foster care.
  • Programs that prioritize civic engagement and social cohesion.
  • Evidence-based interventions on the AmeriCorps Evidence Exchange that are assessed as having Moderate or Strong evidence. Please note that many of these interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in improving outcomes for individuals living in underserved communities and that the agency has committed resources to supporting grantees seeking to replicate and evaluate these interventions in similar communities.
  • Veterans and Military Families, Caregivers, and Survivors – a program model that improves quality of life of veterans and improves well-being of military families, caregivers, and survivors. 
  • Rural intermediaries – organizations that demonstrate measurable impact and primarily
  • serve rural communities with limited resources and organizational infrastructure.  
  • Environmental stewardship and climate change including renewable energy and energy
  • Faith-based organizations.
  • Economic Mobility Corps
Who is eligible to apply?

Public or private nonprofit organizations, including faith-based and other community organizations; institutions of higher education; government entities within states or territories (e.g., cities, counties); labor organizations; partnerships and consortia; and Indian Tribes are encouraged to apply.

AmeriCorps encourages organizations that have never received funding from AmeriCorps to apply for the grants described in this Notice.

    What type of grants are available?

    This grant is made for one program year. Additional funding for the remainder of the three-year cycle (if any) is contingent upon numerous factors, including, but not limited to, satisfactory performance, demonstrated capacity to manage the grant, compliance with grant requirements, agency priorities, and the availability of appropriated funds.

      Are there any program or grant size requirements?

      Programs must be large enough to achieve a demonstrable impact on the community served. Thus, while the actual size of each program may vary depending on the size of the community and/or organization it operates in, the design of the program, and other factors, applicants are encouraged to apply for a minimum of ten (10) AmeriCorps members.

        Is there a match requirement?

        There is an overall grantee match requirement of 24% for the first 3-year funding period. This match can be cash and/or in-kind. Overall grantee share of total program costs increases gradually to 50% by the tenth year of funding. Other federal funds used as match for this program must be tracked and reported.

          Do placement sites contribute financially to the cost of supporting AmeriCorps members?

          Partner contributions to AmeriCorps programs depend on the structure of individual partnerships and programs. In some cases, placement sites do contribute cash to the program; in other cases, placement sites might contribute in-kind services, supplies, trainers, facilities, evaluation expertise, or other services and equipment. Each partnership is unique to a given location and program.

            What are the responsibilities of operating an AmeriCorps program?
            • Recruiting, selecting, placing, training, and supervising AmeriCorps members.
            • Designating a full-time coordinator to manage the program.
            • Submitting progress reports reflecting progress towards meeting performance measurements, monthly expenditure reports, and financial status reports.
            • Participating in training and technical assistance sessions for program directors and staff.
            • Participating in statewide AmeriCorps member events and activities.
              What if you only want to involve one or a few AmeriCorps members?
              • You have numerous options, some of which include the following: You can find an agency to apply for and manage the funds (as a fiscal agent) that would then place the members at host service sites throughout a community, county, region or statewide; you can search our online program directory of existing AmeriCorps programs (found at www.volunteermississippi.org/) which will provide you with names and contact information for programs in your area, or you can contact the AmeriCorps Regional Office, which manages AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and AmeriCorps Seniors programs. For more information on AmeriCorps*VISTA and Senior Service Corps contact Yen Le at yle@cns.gov.

                Interested in AmeriCorps funding?

                Join other organizations that have discovered the power of national service and develop a program to engage a team of AmeriCorps members in service to meet those needs.

                AmeriCorps members