Domestic
Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended, Title II, Part A, Section
201, Public Law 93-113, 42 U.S.C. 5001, as amended; National and
Community Service Trust Act of 1993, Public Law 103-82.
The
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) provides grants to qualified
agencies and organizations for the dual purpose of engaging persons
55 and older in volunteer service to meet critical community needs;
and to provide a high quality experience that will enrich the lives
of volunteers.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Volunteers
are not to supplant hiring, displace employed workers, or impair
existing contracts for service. No agency supervising volunteers
shall request or receive compensation for services of the volunteers.
Volunteers are not to be involved in and funds are not to be used
for religious activities, labor or anti-labor organizations, lobbying,
or partisan or non-partisan political activities. Grants may be
used for staff salaries and fringe benefits, staff travel, equipment,
and related expenses, and for volunteer out-of- pocket expenses,
primarily for transportation. In addition, eligible agencies or
organizations may, with a Notice of Grant Award from the Corporation
for National and Community Service, receive technical assistance
and materials to aid in establishing and operating non-Corporation
funded RSVP projects using local funds.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: Grants are made only to public
agencies, including state and local government agencies and private
nonprofit organizations.
Beneficiary
Eligibility: Persons age 55 and older who
are willing to volunteer on a regular basis.
Credentials/Documentation:
The applicant must furnish evidence of: capacity to operate direct
community service programs; experience and interest in the needs
of older adults; and the ability to develop strong community financial
and programmatic support. Nonprofit organizations must furnish:
proof of nonprofit status, articles of incorporation and certification
of accounting capability. Costs will be determined in accordance
with OMB Circulars No. A-21 for educational institutions, No.
A-87 for State and local governments, and No. A-122 for non-profit
organizations.
Pre-application
Coordination: Organizations interested in exploring
the possibility of developing a local RSVP project should contact
the appropriate Corporation for National and Community Service State
Program Office. The Corporation for National and Community Service
issues application forms to applicants who have established their
eligibility. The standard application forms(modified by the Corporation
for National and Community Service with OMB approval), as furnished
by the Corporation for National and Community Service and required
by OMB Circular No. A-102 must be used for this Program. This program
is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review
of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or
official designated as the single point of contact in his or her
State for more information on the process the State requires to
be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected
the Program for review.
Application
Procedure: Applications for new projects are
submitted to the Corporation for National and Community Service.
This Program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No.
A-110 and A-102 for State and local governments.
Award
Procedure: Grants are awarded by the Corporation
for National and Community Service. States will be notified of
awards through the Federal Assistance Awards Data System (FAADS).
Deadlines:
Contact the Corporation for National and Community Service State
Office for application deadlines.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: 120 days after
receipt of application by the Corporation for National and Community
Service.
Appeals:
No formal appeals for denial of initial grant application, but
regulations provide for hearings on terminations and suspensions,
and opportunity to show cause in cases of denial of refunding.
Renewals:
Grant renewal applications, usually required annually, are submitted
120 days prior to the end of the budget period.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: This Program has
no statutory formulas. The RSVP sponsor is responsible for generating
needed financial support for the RSVP project from all sources,
Federal and nonfederal, including grants, cash and in-kind contributions,
to meet the budgeted costs of the project. The sponsor will supplement
a Corporation for National Service grant with other support to the
fullest extent possible. As a guide to the level of local support
expected, 10 percent of the total budget can be required for the
first year, 20 percent for the second year, and 30 percent in any
subsequent years. The level of local support negotiated may be higher
or lower than these figures, as mutually agreed to by the Corporation
for National and Community Service and the sponsor, and as justified
by local conditions. Sponsors proposing to contribute local support
of less than 30 percent of the total project budget for the third
or succeeding years must provide the Corporation for National and
Community Service with an acceptable written justification for the
lower level of support.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Grant project
periods are generally three years, with one year budget periods.
Grant payments are through the DHHS Payment Management System.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Quarterly Financial Status Report, Periodic Project Progress Report,
Quarterly Federal Cash Transactions Report, Annual Project Profile
and Volunteer Activity Survey; Customer Satisfaction Survey.
Audits:
Corporation for National and Community Service grants are subject
to audit by the Corporation for National and Community Service,
the General Accounting Office, other Federal agencies, and contract
auditors. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No.
A-133, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations,"
grantees that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more
a year in Federal awards shall have an audit made in accordance
with OMB Circular No. A-133. Grantees that receive between $25,000
and $300,000 a year in Federal awards shall have an audit made
in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-133, or in accordance with
Federal laws and regulations governing the programs in which they
participate.
Records:
All financial records for each budget period, including receipts,
disbursements, and vouchers for Federal and nonfederal costs,
copies of all contracts, personnel records, and job descriptions
must be available for a period of three years from date of submission
of the Final Financial Status Report.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 44-0103-0-1-506.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $47,147,500; FY 02 est $52,696,700; and FY 03 est
$56,384,000.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
$0 to $847,000; Average: $68,800.
For fiscal year 2001, over 470,000 older persons participated in
the Corporation for National and Community Service and non-Corporation
RSVP projects. They contributed almost 77,000,000 hours of service
to over 57,600 local organizations. Service opportunities continue
in intergenerational activities, education, in- home care, consumer
education, environmental activities, public safety, and other health
and human service activities. To ensure maximum utilization of program
resources, RSVP will provide guidance and technical assistance to
other agencies to expand opportunities available to older people.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
45 CFR 2553; Retired and Senior Volunteer Program flyers.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: Corporation for National and
Community Service State Program Offices as listed in Appendix IV
of the Catalog.
Headquarters
Office: National Senior Service Corps, Retired
and Senior Volunteer Program, Corporation for National and Community
Service, 1201 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20525. Telephone:
(202) 606-5000 and 1-800-424-8867.
Web
Site Address: http://www.nationalservice.org
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
The following exemplifies RSVP: An RSVP service volunteer, who is
a retired architect and engineer, designs homes for low-income families
displaced by midwestern floods. Another volunteer, who is bilingual,
uses her fluency in English and Japanese to help non-English speaking
Japanese-American seniors access community resources and live independently.
Another RSVP volunteer is the coordinator, fund-raiser and supervisor
of over 30 other RSVP volunteers who operate an inner-city soup
kitchen which feeds more than 250,000 homeless and disadvantaged
persons annually. In another instance, RSVP volunteers organized
neighborhood watches for an entire city of more than 45,000. As
a result, the police noted a 58 percent reduction in crime in some
areas. RSVP provides creative opportunities for older people to
serve their communities by responding to locally identified needs.
The following statistics suggest the scope of their service: During
fiscal year 1997, over 127,000 RSVP volunteers served at 10,400
acute care hospitals, clinics, and other medical care facilities.
Over 30,700 volunteers served in over 6,000 school systems. Over
100,000 served at congregations and Meals on Wheels programs. Other
volunteers served with police departments, Head Start centers, libraries
and ground water protection agencies. In aggregate, they served
over 80 million hours.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Program Design: (1) Well- documented compelling community need(s);
(2) well-designed activities with measurable goals and objectives
that meet community needs (3) well- defined roles for participants
that lead to measurable outcomes/impact; (4) effective involvement
of target community in planning and implementation; and (5) ability
to provide or secure effective technical assistance. Strengthening
Communities: (1) Strong community partnerships, including well-defined
roles for community partners; (2) potential for sustainability,
innovation, and/or replicability of project activities; (3) enhanced
capacity of organizations and institutions; (4) mobilization of
community resources, including volunteers; and (5) bring together
people of diverse backgrounds. Participant Development: (1) Effective
plans for recruiting, developing, training, supervising, and recognizing
participants; (2)well-designed plan to engage participants in high-quality
service-learning as defined by the corporation; and (3) well-designed
plan for participants to learn to serve together with people of
diverse backgrounds. Organizational Capacity: (1) Ability to provide
sound programmatic and fiscal oversight; (2) Sound track record
in the issue areas(s) to be addressed by the project; (3) Well-defined
roles for staff and administrators; and (4) well-designed plans
or systems for self-assessment, evaluation and continuous improvement.
Budget/Cost-Effectiveness: (1) Adequate budget to support program
design; (2) commitment of applicant organization/host agency to
securing resources for program, implementation and/or sustainability;
and (3) cost-effective within program guidance.
