Et cetera : 2022-2023 Iowa AmeriCorps State – Planning Grant Funding Opportunity Announced

Planning Grant Updated Funding OpportunityVolunteer Iowa is pleased to announce the availability of extended deadlines to apply for AmeriCorps State planning grants for program year 2022-2023.For this competition, Volunteer Iowa particularly seeks applications that address the following priorities:

• Planning efforts to help local communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants may propose programming in any AmeriCorps focus area to aid communities as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Planning efforts to help local communities recover from recent Iowa weather disasters, including the August 2020 derecho and March 2022 tornadoes. Applicants may propose programming in any AmeriCorps focus area to aid communities as they recover.
• Plans to address educational opportunity and economic mobility for communities experiencing persistent unemployment or underemployment, and students experiencing homelessness or those in foster care.
• Planning grants from rural intermediaries - organizations that demonstrate measurable impact and primarily serve rural communities with limited resources and organizational infrastructure.
• Planning for programs that prioritize civic engagement and social cohesion, including those that that actively engage in removing structural racial inequities, advancing racial equality, and increasing opportunity in order to achieve sustainable change in communities.
• Plans to replicate evidence-based interventions on the AmeriCorps Evidence Exchange. Many of these interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in improving outcomes for individuals living in underserved communities.

Key Dates & DeadlinesSubmission of the required Pre-Application for Planning Grants is due no later than August 16, 2022. Check the AmeriCorps State grants page on the Volunteer Iowa website for the full timeline and application details.

• Planning Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement & Pre-Application Instructions Published: July 19, 2022
• Planning Grant Pre-Application Deadline: August 16, 2022
• Planning Grant Final Application Deadline: September 13, 2022
• Planning Grant Start Date: November 1, 2022

Iowa AmeriCorps State Funding DescriptionAmeriCorps State and National grants provide funding to help organizations manage an AmeriCorps program, which involves recruiting, training, and supporting AmeriCorps members who serve on a full-time or part-time basis to help the organization address a community need. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to projects that support organizational capacity-building, education, healthy futures, environmental stewardship, veterans and military families, economic opportunities, public safety, disaster preparedness/response, and other identified community issues in Iowa. Successful programs utilize service as a strategy to meet community needs, while supporting the development and growth of the AmeriCorps members serving with the organization.AmeriCorps State planning grants do not provide AmeriCorps member funding but instead provide organizations with funds to pay for the staff/consultant time needed to develop plans for and prepare to launch an AmeriCorps program.An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community service through an approved national service position. AmeriCorps members also mobilize community volunteers and strengthen the capacity of the organizations they serve. Members typically receive a living allowance and other benefits from the sponsor organization while serving. Upon successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award from the National Service Trust that they can apply to qualified student loans or use to pay for higher education expenses.

Application MaterialsApplicants for this funding will need to reference the complete application materials to be posted to the Volunteer Iowa AmeriCorps State grants web page, including the Volunteer Iowa Request for Applications (RFA), the Volunteer Iowa Pre-Application Instructions, the Volunteer Iowa Final Application Instructions, and the AmeriCorps Mandatory Supplemental Instructions. Applications will be accepted only from organizations seeking funding to operate a program wholly within the state of Iowa (multi-state applicants apply directly to AmeriCorps).Disclosure: Publication of this Funding Opportunity Announcement does not obligate Volunteer Iowa or AmeriCorps to award any specific number of grants or to obligate any particular amount of funding. The actual level and timing of grant funding will be subject to the availability of annual federal appropriations.