[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 159 (Monday, August 18, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43995-43997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21734]
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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Availability of Funds for Grants To Support the Martin Luther
King, Jr. Service Day Initiative
AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994, which
amended the National and Community Service Act of 1990, the Corporation
for National and Community Service (the
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Corporation) seeks to mobilize more Americans to observe the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday as a day of service in communities and
to bring people together around the common focus of service to others.
Specifically, under Section 12653(s) of the National and Community
Service Act of 1990, as amended, the Corporation is authorized to pay
for the Federal share of the cost of planning and carrying out service
opportunities in conjunction with the Federal legal holiday honoring
the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 19, 1998.
Accordingly, the Corporation announces the availability of
individual grants up to $5,000 for service projects under the Martin
Luther King, Jr., Day of Service initiative. The Corporation plans to
provide a total of between $100,000 and $225,000 in grants depending
upon the quality of applications.
DATES: The deadline for submission of applications is September 30,
1997. Applications, one with original signature and two copies, must be
received by the Corporation at the address listed below no later than
5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on that date. Applications may not be
submitted by facsimile.
ADDRESSES: Applications may be obtained from, and must be submitted to,
the following address: MLK Day of Service, The Corporation for National
Service, 1201 New York Avenue, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20525.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact
Rhonda Taylor at 202-606-5000 ext. 282. This notice may be requested in
an alternative format for the visually impaired by calling 202-606-
5000, ext. 260. The Corporation's T.D.D. number is 202-565-2799 and is
operational between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Corporation is a Federal government corporation that engages
Americans of all ages and backgrounds in community-based service. This
service addresses the nation's education, public safety, environmental,
or other human needs to achieve direct and demonstrable results with
special consideration to service that effects the needs of children. In
doing so, the Corporation fosters civic responsibility, strengthens the
ties that bind us together as a people, and provides educational
opportunity for those who make a substantial commitment to service. The
Corporation supports a range of national service programs including
AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and the National Senior Service
Corps.
Pursuant to the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as
amended, the Corporation may make grants to share the cost of planning
and carrying out service opportunities in conjunction with the Federal
legal holiday honoring the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The
Corporation intends that the activities supported by these grants will
(1) get necessary things done in communities, (2) strengthen the
communities engaged in the service activity, (3) reflect the life and
teaching of Martin Luther King, Jr., and (4) begin or occur in
significant part on the Federal legal holiday.
By ``getting things done,'' initiatives will help communities meet
education, public safety, environmental, or human needs through direct
and demonstrable service through effective citizen action. Accordingly,
the Corporation expects an initiative sponsor to identify an unmet need
that is important to the community and design a project that produces a
demonstrable impact on that community need or issue. Special
consideration will be given to service projects in literacy as well as
those which benefit the children and young people. To the maximum
extent possible, young people should be included as service providers
and resources in project planning, not just as the recipients of
service.
By ``strengthening communities'' through sustained service,
projects should be collaborations that bring people together in pursuit
of a common objective that is of value to the community. Initiatives
should engage a full range of local partners in the communities served.
Service projects should be designed, implemented, and evaluated with
these partners, including national service programs (AmeriCorps, Learn
and Serve America, National Senior Service Corps), community-based
agencies, local and state King Holiday Commissions, schools and school
districts, volunteer organizations, communities of faith, businesses
and foundations, state and local governments, labor organizations, and
colleges and universities.
By ``reflecting the life and teaching of Martin Luther King'',
initiatives should demonstrate his proposition that ``Everybody can be
great because everybody can serve,'' through the types of service
activities listed above.
By ``begin or occur in significant part on the Federal legal
holiday'', a portion of the community service activities supported by
the grant must occur on the holiday itself to strengthen the link
between the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, the
Federal legal holiday (January 19, 1998), and service that reflects his
life and teaching. Although celebrations and reflections may be a part
of the activities planned on the holiday, for the purposes of this
grant, celebrations and reflections alone do not constitute direct
service.
Service opportunities to be considered for this program ``shall
consist of activities reflecting the life and teachings of Martin
Luther King, Jr., such as cooperation and understanding among racial
and ethnic groups, nonviolent conflict resolution, equal economic and
educational opportunities, and social justice.'' 42 U.S.C. 12653(s)(1).
Project areas for which grant applications will be considered
include, but are not limited to, the following types of service
activities: a day of service plan that is designed to produce a
sustained service commitment; community-wide servathons that bring a
broad cross-section together in one day of service, including schools
or school districts that seek to involve all students and teachers;
service-learning projects that link student service in schools and
universities with community-based organizations; faith-based service
collaborations that bring together communities of faith and secular
human service programs (subject to the limitations listed below);
community-wide initiatives that are making a sustained effort to
mentor, protect, nurture, teach, or inspire to serve a targeted group
of young people, with a special emphasis on those most in need (in line
with the goals and initiatives that stem from the Presidents' Summit
for America's Future); or intense efforts to help solve a narrowly
defined community problem with a burst of one-day energy. A priority
objective of the grant is to engage young people in service.
Particularly important is the enlistment of young people for one
hundred hours a year, one of the special goals proposed at the
Presidents' Summit.
The grants supported under this announcement may be made for up to
$5,000 each. Grant funding will be available on a one-time, non-
renewable basis for a budget period not to exceed seven months,
beginning not sooner than November 1, 1997 and ending not later than
June 30, 1998. Grants provided for this program, together with all
other Federal funds used to plan or carry out the service opportunity,
may not exceed 30 percent of the cost of planning and carrying out the
service opportunity. In determining the non-
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Federal share of the costs of the program supported by the grant, the
Corporation may consider in-kind contributions (including facilities,
equipment, and services) made to plan and carry out the service
opportunity. Grants under this program constitute Federal assistance
and therefore may not be used primarily to inhibit or advance religion
in a material way.
Eligible Applicants
By law, any entity otherwise eligible for assistance under the
national service laws shall be eligible to receive a grant under this
announcement. The applicable laws include the National and Community
Service Act of 1990, as amended, and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act
of 1973, as amended.
Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to: nonprofit
organizations, State Commissions, state and local governments,
institutions of higher education, local education agencies, educational
institutions, private organizations that intend to utilize volunteers
in carrying out the purposes of this program, and foundations.
The Corporation especially invites applications from organizations
with the experience and commitment to fostering service on Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day, including applicable State Martin Luther King,
Jr. Commissions, local education agencies, faith-based partnerships,
Volunteer Centers of the Points of Light Foundation, and United Ways
and other community-based agencies.
Grant recipients from the 1997 Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of
Service Initiative will be eligible only if in compliance with the
terms of that grant award.
Pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an organization
described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26
U.S.C. 501(c)(4), which engages in lobbying activities, is not
eligible.
Overview of Application Requirements
To be considered for funding applicants should submit the following
in the required format:
1. An Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form 424.
2. A Project Narrative in the prescribed format describing:
a. Clearly-defined service activities being planned in observance
of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, some of which must take place on the
legal Federal holiday (January 19, 1998), but which may extend for the
budget period (November 1, 1997 through June 30, 1998).
b. The partnerships in the local community that are being engaged
in support of the day and/or a description of sustained service
activities over a period of time.
c. The organization's background and capacity to carry out this
program.
d. The proposed staffing of the activity.
3. A Budget Form.
4. A Budget Narrative.
5. A signed Certification and Assurances form relating to conditions
attendant to the receipt of federal funding.
6. Three complete copies (one original and two copies) of the
application.
Narrative
The narrative portion of the application may be no longer than 15
single-sided pages and must: (1) Be typed double-spaced in font no
smaller than 12 point on 8\1/2\ by 11 inch paper; (2) have one inch
margins at the top, bottom, left, and right; and (3) have each page of
the narrative numbered. All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time, September 30, 1997 at the following address: MLK
Day of Service, Corporation for National Service, 1201 New York Avenue,
NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20525
To ensure fairness to all applicants, the Corporation reserves the
right to take remedial action, up to and including disqualification, in
the event an application fails to comply with the requirements relating
to page limits, line spacing, font size, and application deadlines.
Budget
Budget information should show projected costs starting no earlier
than November 1, 1997, and extending no later than June 30, 1998.
Proposed start and end dates must be shown in section 13 of the
Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form 424. See the attached
instructions for budget in the Standard Form 424 for further guidance
in completing the Budget Form and Budget Narrative.
Selection Process and Criteria
The applications will be reviewed initially to confirm that the
applicant is an eligible recipient and to ensure that the application
contains the information required. The Corporation will assess
applications based on their responsiveness to the objectives included
in this announcement based on the following criteria listed below (in
descending order of importance):
1. Quality. The proposal must demonstrate the applicant's ability
to: meet community needs through meaningful service activities,
establish strong community partnerships, fulfill the goals of Martin
Luther King Jr.'s teaching with preference given to projects that also
serve young people.
2. Organizational Capacity. The application must demonstrate the
organization's ability to carry out the activities described in the
proposal, including the use of high quality staff.
3. Cost. The applicant must demonstrate how this small grant will
be used, including the sources and uses of matching support.
Awards
The Corporation anticipates making awards under this announcement
no later than November 15, 1997.
Dated: August 12, 1997.
Stewart Davis,
Acting General Counsel, Corporation for National and Community Service.
[FR Doc. 97-21734 Filed 8-15-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-P
