March 10, 2014

President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll Application Deadline. Click here for details.

 

National Volunteer Week. Click here for details.

 

Global Youth Service Day. Click here for details.

Tomorrow is "Day of the A"!

As part of Education Month to honor and lead up to the AmeriCorps 20th Anniversary this September, CNCS has designated these next two days as special pushes to help highlight all of the amazing work AmeriCorps members are doing in schools across the country. We will blog, tweet, and share your work - and we need you to join us today and tomorrow for the following:

• Feb. 24, 2014 (TODAY): Higher Education Day
• Feb. 25, 2014 (TOMORROW): Day of the "A"! Find a way to show us the AmeriCorps "A" in your classroom, school, or service site.

Don’t forget to share your photos or program highlights and use the hashtag #AmeriCorps20Ed and tag @AmeriCorps.

Check out the full toolkit with helpful information and message points about the breadth of our education-focused work.

Registration for the AmeriCorps*Texas All-Grantee Meeting (AGM) and New AmeriCorps Staff Orientation (NASO) is now open! The deadline to register for these events and book your hotel room is Monday, March 10th.  

• To view details and register for the New AmeriCorps Staff Orientation (March 25-26), please click here. This event will be held at the Courtyard Marriott-North Austin located at 12330 North IH-35, Austin, TX 78753.
• To view details and register for the All-Grantee Meeting (March 27-28), please click here. This event will be held at the Frank Fickett Training & Conference Center located just down the street from the Courtyard Mariott at 12500 N. IH-35, Austin, TX 78753.

 

A few logistical notes:

• Our hotel for both of these events will be the Courtyard Marriott-North Austin (12330 North IH-35, Austin, TX 78753). Please book your hotel room(s) no later than Monday, March 10th by clicking here for our group rate room block. You may cancel without penalty as long as you give 24 hours advance notice, so please book now!
• A copy of the detailed agendas for each event will be distributed separately to confirmed attendees. For meeting start/end times and basic information, please see the links above.
• No airport shuttle service will be available, so please arrange for your own shuttle or similar transportation from the airport if you are flying in for this event.
• However, a complimentary hotel shuttle will be available to take guests to and from the Frank Fickett Center, an optional AmeriCorps 20th anniversary reception on the evening of March 27th at Zed’s, and other destinations within a 5-mile radius of the hotel.

Please let us know if you have any questions or need assistance with registration – we are happy to help. We look forward to seeing you soon!

If you missed last Thursday’s February 20th Grantee Call, the recording is now posted in our Grantee Resource Library and available by clicking here. This call’s theme was Updates from the Field, hosted by Emily Steinberg, Associate Director, AmeriCorps*Texas. Topics included: Spring Training Updates, Monthly Call Schedule Changes, AmeriCorps Health Care, Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, and more.

Free Tax Returns Are Back

Each year, AmeriCorps Alums partners with MyFreeTaxes.com to offer free federal and state tax return filings to Alums and current members. Last year, over 1,700 Alums took advantage of this offer, and received over $1.36 million in federal and state tax refunds. We want to outpace last year's results, but can only meet that goal with your help. Please share this opportunity on Facebook or Twitter with any AmeriCorps Alums and/or AmeriCorps members you know. In order to qualify for this offer, individuals or families must have 2013 household income under $58,000.

To file your own free tax returns, please click here.

The CNCS Texas State Office seeks Concept Papers for the AmeriCorps VISTA program from innovative, high-performing and outcome-driven organizations that share the AmeriCorps VISTA mission to provide long term solutions to poverty.  Organizations interested in sponsoring an AmeriCorps VISTA project in Texas are invited to submit a Concept Paper to the Corporation for National and Community Service Texas State Office through the online eGrants system.  

Texas State Office Programming Priorities: The Texas State Office seeks concept papers for VISTA projects with a minimum of five full-time VISTA members.  If an applicant is unable to administratively support at least five full-time members, the applicant may collaborate with partnering organizations and consider applying as an intermediary for multiple sites that can host members. Priority will be given to projects that address the needs of rural areas and/or communities with comparatively limited access to resources and/or to communities without significant extant national service resources.  Priority will also be given to organizations which have not previously received VISTA support.  

VISTA Application Process: Applying to sponsor an AmeriCorps VISTA project is a two-part process.  First, an organization must submit a Concept Paper.  Upon approval of the Concept Paper, the organization will then be invited to submit a Full Application. Organizations applying to sponsor an AmeriCorps VISTA project in Texas with five or more VISTA members are invited to submit a Concept Paper to the Corporation for National and Community Service Texas State Office no later than 11:59 PM CST on Monday, April 14th 2014, through the online eGrants system. Concept Papers are typically five to six pages long and must include an executive summary, a statement of need, a description of how the project will strengthen the local community, a statement of the organization’s capacity to manage a VISTA project, and specific, measurable anti-poverty outcomes.

VISTA Program Guidance for Project Sponsors in Fiscal Year 2014 is available at: http://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/page/2014_VISTA_Program_Guidance.pdf

The Concept Paper should answer the questions outlined in the Concept Paper Instructions: http://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ac_vista_concept.pdf.  

For more information and full application requirements, please contact:

Texas State Office

300 East 8th Street, G-169

Austin, TX 78701

TX@cns.gov

Second Update on OMB Consolidation of the Grant Management Circulars

The Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) is providing webcast training on the major updates to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) recently reformed guidance on Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 C.F.R. 200).

If you want to know about future training events, please  fill out this form. You'll receive webinar information as it becomes available. The first session was held on Monday, January 27th.  Presenters provided the public with a comprehensive overview of the guidance, gave insight into the COFAR’s deliberations during the two-year development process, and addressed frequently asked questions. 

If you were unable to attend the training or want a refresher, please see the links below.

Uniform Guidance 1-27-14 COFAR Training Webcast:

• Intro 1-27-14
• Administrative Requirements 1-27-14
• Cost Principles 1-27-14
• Audit Requirements 1-27-14

COFAR Training Webcast Presentation Slides:

• Administrative Requirements 1-27-14 Slides
• Cost Principles 1-27-14 Slides
• Audit Requirements 1-27-14 Slides

Please let your OneStar Grants Officers know if you have specific questions. You may also submit comments or questions to  cofar@omb.eop.gov.

Calling All Young Heroes – Apply for the Radio Disney Awards

Youth Service America (YSA) and Radio Disney are partnering to offer young change-makers the chance to receive Heroes for Change Awards - $1,000 awards to help make a lasting, positive impact. The award is open to young people, ages 5-18, who live near Radio Disney communities (which include Houston and Dallas) who want to change the world. YSA is especially interested in ongoing projects that highlight the creativity and commitment of young people working to meet the needs of others.

Visit http://www.ysa.org/radiodisney to learn more! The deadline to apply is March 16th.

To spotlight the impact of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps and thank those who serve, mayors across the country are invited to participate in the second annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service on April 1, 2014. On this day, mayors will hold public events and use traditional and social media to highlight the value and impact of national service in our cities.
 
Last year, Texas led the nation as the #1 state with 58 participating mayors (out of 832 mayors nationally). This year, our goal is to continue this tradition by reaching 90 participating mayors!  

Participation is easy and flexible. We are asking mayors to issue proclamations, hold public events, and use traditional and social media to highlight the impact of national service to your cities. Mayors are encouraged to:

• Issue a proclamation
• Visit a national service program
• Invite national service programs to City Hall for a roundtable on service
• Put out a press release, report or Op-Ed on the impact of national service in your city
• Join with a local AmeriCorps or Senior Corps program on a service project
• Use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets to thank those who serve (using the hashtag #Mayors4Service)
• Take a group photo with all national service members in your city

Ask your local Mayor’s Office to sign up today! Send your Mayor this Fact Sheet, Proclamation Template, and ask him/her to officially register by clicking here.

Registration is now open for the Points of Light Conference on Volunteering and Service, June 16-18, 2014, in Atlanta, Ga! The Conference is the largest convening of service leaders from all walks of life, sectors, races and religions, and political persuasions, united to lead the dynamic, ever-expanding, international volunteer service movement.

The first 500 people to register will be entered in a drawing to win one of FIVE Platinum Conference Packages, including complimentary registration, hotel accommodations and round trip airfare to Atlanta.
 
This year’s Conference will showcase those on the forefront of the service revolution who have new ideas and proven solutions to tough community problems. Participants will hear from dynamic voices who meld digital prowess with down-home inspiration, provocative thinking with old-fashioned activism – to drive, empower and engage volunteers toward positive solutions. Join us as we share best practices, learn about new tools, technologies and strategies for engaging volunteers, and prove that, no matter the challenge or opportunity, service unites.
 
Visit www.volunteeringandservice.org to register and find all the latest news on the 2014 Conference. We hope to see you in Atlanta!

Public Comment Period – AmeriCorps Competitive Advantage Study

CNCS’ Office of Research and Evaluation has undertaken a new AmeriCorps Competitive Advantage study to identify any competitive advantage in the job market that may be conferred by AmeriCorps experience. The results of the analysis will inform CNCS policy at large, programming content and policy, and further lines of research around economic outcomes of national service members.

This is a new information collection request. This study would administer a 15 minute, online survey to a sample of managers with hiring authority in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. The survey consists of a section comprised of experimental questions regarding managers' hiring preferences when considering applicant skill and experience profiles, and a section of demographic questions.

You may access the survey document, as well as make any comments you might have, at

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=CNCS-2014-0003-0001 (the survey is posted as a PDF you can download).

The comment period ends on March 24, 2014.

This morning, The Monitor, the largest newspaper in South Texas, published an Op-Ed article co-authored by Teach for America-Rio Grande Valley and OneStar Foundation, regarding the power and impact of service in our state.

As co-authors Robert Carreon (TFA) and Elizabeth Darling (OneStar) write:

“As AmeriCorps celebrates its 20th anniversary, we’re proud that so many Texans have answered the call to service. From students to teachers, from first-time volunteers to those who consider giving back a full time job — we all have the ability to help Texas be its best. Try service on as part of your growing identity. We think it will be a great fit.”

To read the full article, visit:

http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/columnists/article_00033058-9b5d-11e3-b0bd-001a4bcf6878.html

Thank you to Teach for America-RGV for their leadership and vision in getting this published!