[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70113-70116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33535]
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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Notice of availability of funds to support AmeriCorps Promise
Fellowships in support of the goals of the Presidents' Summit in North
Dakota and South Dakota
AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.
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SUMMARY: Earlier this year, the Corporation for National and Community
Service (the Corporation) selected organizations to sponsor AmeriCorps
Promise Fellows in support of the five goals for children and youth set
at the Presidents' Summit for America's Future. We do not expect that
process to result in Fellows being placed in North Dakota and South
Dakota. By this announcement, the Corporation announces its intent to
use up to approximately $130,000 to award grants to nonprofit
organizations local governments, or state governments to sponsor
AmeriCorps Promise Fellows in North Dakota and South Dakota. These
Fellows will spend one year serving with organizations that are
committed to helping to meet one or more of the five goals of the
Presidents' Summit. Each Fellow will receive a living allowance of
$13,000 for a 12-month term of service and, upon successful completion
of a term, will receive a $4,725 AmeriCorps education award.
Last year at Philadelphia, President Clinton, former Presidents
Bush, Carter, and Ford, Mrs. Nancy Reagan, and General Colin Powell,
with the endorsement of many governors, mayors and leaders of the
independent sector, declared: ``We have a special obligation to
America's children to see that all young Americans have:
1. Caring adults in their lives, as parents, mentors, tutors,
coaches;
2. Safe places with structured activities in which to learn and
grow;
3. A health start and healthy future;
4. An effective education that equips them with marketable skills;
and
5. An opportunity to give back to their communities through their
own service.''
These five goals are now the five fundamental resources sought by
America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth, the organization following
up on the goals of the Presidents' Summit.
As a major partner in this effort, the Corporation devotes a
substantial part of its activities to help meet these goals, including
the work of AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and the National
Senior Service Corps. This new Fellowship program will provide States
and local communities with additional and unique support to help carry
out their plans to provide States and local communities with additional
and unique support to help carry out their plans to provide America's
children with these five fundamental resources.
DATES: All sponsor proposals must be submitted by January 19, 1999. The
[[Page 70114]]
Corporation anticipates announcing selections under this announcement
no later than February 16, 1999. The project period is negotiable, but
will generally end no later than March 31, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Proposals to sponsor one or more Fellows must be submitted
to the Corporation at the following address: Corporation for National
Service, Attn: H.B. Hicks, 1201 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20525.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, or to obtain
a sponsor application, contact the Corporation for National Service,
H.B. Hicks at (202) 606-5000, ext. 564. T.D.D. (202) 565-2799. This
notice may be requested in an alternative format for the visually
impaired.
SUPPLEMENARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Corporation is a federal government corporation that encourages
Americans of all ages and backgrounds to engage in community-based
service. This service address the nation's educational, public safety,
environmental and other human needs to achieve direct and demonstrable
results. In doing so, the Corporation fosters civic responsibility,
strengths the ties that bind us together as a people, and provides
educational opportunity for those who make a substantial commitment to
service. For more information about the Corporation and the activities
that it supports, go to http://www.nationalservice.org.
Pursuant to the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as
amended (the Act), the Corporation may support ``innovative and model
programs'' and may award national service fellowships. 42 U.S.C.
12653b. In addition, the Corporation may approve the provision of
education awards to individuals who successfully complete a term of
service in ``national service positions as the Corporation determines
to be appropriate''. 42 U.S.C. 12573(7).
Through this notice, the Corporation invites grant proposals from
eligible entities in North Dakota and South Dakota that wish to sponsor
one or more AmeriCorps Promise Fellows.
Eligible sponsors
The following entities in North Dakota and South Dakota are
eligible to apply to become a sponsor; nonprofit organizations, local
governments, state governments.
Substance of the Fellowship Program
An AmericCorps Promise Fellowship provides the Fellow with an
opportunity to make a unique contribution to organizations helping to
meet one or more of the five fundamental needs declared at the
Presidents' Summit and being advanced by America's Promise--The
Alliance for Youth; national, state, and local nonprofit organizations;
and the national service network. For more information about the five
goals of the Presidents' Summit, go to http://www.americaspromise.org.
Although AmeriCorps Promise Fellows may be placed by a sponsor at a
host organization that focuses its resources on only one of the goals
of the Presidents' Summit, the host organization must be part of a
larger effort (e.g., Community of Promise) that supports the delivery
of all of the five fundamental resources to children and young people.
Eligible sponsor applicants have considerable freedom to identify
the structure of their Fellowship program and the projects or
activities that AmeriCorps Promise Fellows will pursue. The most
important considerations in establishing a program are that the
prospective Fellows help meet the goals of the Presidents' Summit and
that they have the ability to produce a defined outcome. The following
are examples of specific tasks that Fellows may perform; these tasks
are included here for illustrative purposes:
A full-time coordinator for a Community of Promise
campaign providing a targeted number of young people with all or
several of the America's Promise fundamental resources.
A full-time coordinator of individual or multiple sites,
such as schools and housing complexes, that provide access to multiple
or all five fundamental resources.
An entrepreneur initiating a program to provide multiple
resources to targeted young people, for example, adding a service
component and access to dental care to an existing after-school
tutoring program.
A recruiter of Communities of Promise.
A recruiter and manager of volunteers in a local or
regional effort providing all or multiple resources to a number of
young people.
The following are examples of organizational activities that could
be supported by Fellows as part of an effort to provide the five
fundamental resources to children and youth. They are included here for
illustrative purposes only:
Expansion of Volunteer Center activities to promote the
goals of the Presidents' Summit.
State Education Agency efforts to stimulate service-
learning opportunities by K-12 students.
Community and school efforts to provide after-school
programs in safe places.
Youth leadership to stimulate service and service-learning
by inner-city youth.
Support to community volunteer and Federal-Work-Study
efforts to promote literacy.
Immunization efforts aimed at young children and their
families.
Efforts to secure access to health care providers and
facilities.
Mentoring programs linking adults with youth in need of
additional support.
Recruitment of placement of Federal-Work-Study students
for community service.
New models for involving professions in organizing to meet
the goals of the Presidents' Summit, e.g., health care professionals,
librarians, museum administrators, and teachers.
Efforts to stimulate service by diverse groups to meet the
Presidents' Summit's goals, including diverse ethnic, religious,
racial, and cultural groups.
A sponsor may determine its own process to identify projects and
programs in which AmeriCorps Promise Fellows will serve, and may either
participate directly in the recruitment and selection of individual
AmeriCorps Promise Fellows or delegate that responsibility to local
programs or another entity (e.g., a university). One model a sponsor
may consider is first to identify organizations where Fellows may
serve, establish that the activities of those organizations meet the
criteria for the AmeriCorps Promise Fellowship program and then simply
publicize a list of eligible host organizations for individuals
interested in pursuing a Fellowship.
Fellows will be viewed as leaders in the efforts to implement the
goals of the Presidents' Summit, and as a group will have an identity
tied to this overall effort, including opportunities to meet and to
assess the overall impact of their efforts. Although no particular
academic credentials or work experience are required to become a
Fellow, confidence in the ability of applicants to produce outcomes in
support of the goals of the Presidents' Summit, such as the
implementation of commitments made at the Presidents' Summit and
follow-up
[[Page 70115]]
state and local summits, is the central criterion for selection. This
is evidenced by: strong academic credentials; substantial and
successful work experience in a field related to the organization's
activities; and experience performing significant service related
activities, particularly various national service leaders' programs,
including AmeriCorps leaders, AmeriCorps*VISTA leaders,
AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps leaders, and leadership
activities in programs sponsored by Learn and Serve America and the
National Senior Service Corps. Each sponsor may adapt the above
concepts to meet its specific needs.
An AmeriCorps Promise Fellow must: (1) Be at least 17 years of age;
(2) be a U.S. citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident alien;
and (3) have a high school diploma or GED. Individuals who have already
served in two approved national service positions (a position for which
an educational award is provided) are, by statute, not eligible for a
third education award.
Fellowships are expected to be for at least 10 months and must be
completed within 12 months. To quality for an education award of
$4,725, a Fellow must serve on a full-time basis, perform at least
1,700 hours of service, and successfully complete the Fellowship.
Fellows who serve for twelve months receive a living allowance of
$13,000, paid in regular increments. Fellows who serve fewer than
twelve months receive a prorated living allowance. Fellows may receive
a living allowance greater than $13,000 only if they are part of a
professional corps and are supported entirely by public or private
organizations (e.g., Fellows on paid sabbaticals), with the
Corporation's support limited to the provision of education awards.
Sponsor's Role
Each sponsor determines the process for the recruitment and
selection of AmeriCorps Promise Fellows in its respective area. The
sponsor must certify that the organization in which the Fellow is being
placed is conducting activities that contribute to one or more of the
five goals of the Presidents' Summit, and that this is part of a larger
effort to provide all five of the fundamental resources to children and
youth.
The Corporation anticipates that host organizations generally will
be local nonprofit organizations that are engaged in activities in
support of the goals of the Presidents' Summit.
Sponsors are responsible for ensuring compliance with required
elements of the Fellowship program. These requirements, which will be
individually described in the grant agreement between the Corporation
and the sponsor, include, but are not limited to, the following:
Providing office space, supplies, and equipment
Providing a living allowance
Paying and withholding FICA taxes
Withholding income taxes
Providing unemployment insurance if required by State law
Providing workers' compensation if required by State law
or obtaining insurance to cover service-related injuries
Providing liability insurance to cover claims relating to
Fellows
Providing adequate training and supervision
Ensuring that Fellows not engage in prohibited activities
(such as lobbying)
Complying with statutory prohibitions on uses of
assistance (such as displacement, discrimination)
Providing a grievance procedure that meets statutory
standards
Verifying and submitting timely documentation relating to
each Fellow's eligibility for an education award
Providing an adequate financial management system
Complying with other reporting requirements.
Contents of the Sponsor Application
Sponsor applications must contain the following information:
1. Background concerning the applicant's current efforts to achieve
the goals of the Presidents' Summit.
2. A designation of the organizations where the Fellows will be
assigned, including the process used to select host organizations and
background concerning the selected organizations and the roles they are
playing in local summit follow-up. If the organizations are not yet
designated, the application should describe the process that the
sponsor will use to designate such entities.
3. A description of the activities that the Fellows will perform,
including an indication about how the activities will support
significant growth and/or improvements in the quality of efforts to
meet the five goals of the Presidents' Summit.
4. An estimated budget to carry out the program, consistent with
the description below.
The application may not exceed 21 double-spaced pages in length;
more detailed instructions concerning the contents of the application
are contained in the application package.
Budget and Finances
The Corporation will issue grants on a fixed amount per Fellow
basis, not to exceed $13,000. These amounts exclude the education
award. The sponsor assumes full financial responsibility for the
program. Sponsors must provide the additional financial support
necessary to carry out their proposed Fellowship program. To the extent
that a sponsor provides a significant portion of the costs such that it
notably reduces the Corporation's funding per Fellowship, additional
Fellowships may be supported. The Corporation strongly encourages cost-
sharing proposals, consistent with the guidelines in this Notice, to
leverage Corporation resources and maximize the number of Fellows.
For the Fellows program, the Corporation is implementing a fixed
price award mechanism that does not require Corporation monitoring of
actual costs incurred or compliance by the grantee with the Federal
Cost Principles. The award will be dependent on the grantee's
acceptance of its terms and conditions, including recruiting, placing,
and retaining the number of Fellows specified in the award to carry out
the activities and to achieve the specific project objectives as
approved by the Corporation.
In addition to the approved grant amount, the Corporation will
provide an education award to Fellows who successfully complete their
term of service. The Corporation expects to sponsor national training
events to provide Fellows with an opportunity to come together to
assess national progress in meeting the goals of the President's
Summit. The Corporation will also promote the availability of these
Fellowships.
The Corporation anticipates that these grants will be renewable for
up to a three-year period, subject to performance and the availability
of appropriations.
Process for selecting sponsors
In selecting sponsors, the Corporation will consider: program
design (60%), including (in order of importance) getting things done to
help achieve the five goals of the Presidents' Summit, fostering the
skills and leadership development of Fellows, and strengthening
communities; organizational capacity (25%); and budget/cost
effectiveness (15%). The Corporation will make all final decisions
concerning approval of these grants for Fellowships. Given the
Corporation's interest in having the common elements for the
Fellowships
[[Page 70116]]
that are described above, the Corporation announces its intent to enter
into such negotiations with any sponsor in a manner that may require
revisions to the original grant proposal.
Dated: December 15, 1998.
Kenneth L. Klothen,
General Counsel, Corporation for National and Community Service.
[FR Doc. 98-33535 Filed 12-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-M
