RSVP engages people age 55 and older in a diverse range of volunteer activities that deliver valuable services to meet community needs while providing an enriching experience to those who serve. RSVP volunteers choose how, where, and how often they want to serve, with commitments ranging from a few hours to 40 hours per week.
Senior Corps taps the skills, talents, and experience of nearly 500,000 Americans age 55 and over to meet a wide range of community challenges through three programs — RSVP, the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion Program. For more information, visit Senior Corps.
The purpose of this RSVP grant funding is two-fold: (1) to establish new RSVP projects in geographic areas that are currently unserved by existing Corporation-funded RSVP projects; and (2) to expand the number of RSVP volunteers serving in existing RSVP projects who will engage in new programmatic activities.
Award Information
A. How much funding is available?
The total amount available for this competition is $2.7 million. Of this total:
- An estimated $2.5 million is available to all organizations meeting the eligibility criteria described in Section IV of the NOFA. Current Corporation for National Service grantees, including current RSVP sponsors, are eligible to apply.
- An estimated $229,000 is available only to organizations meeting the eligibility criteria in Section IV of the NOFA and that either will not be receiving any assistance from the Corporation at the time of the award or that are from a location where there will be no RSVP project operating at the time of the award.
B. How many grants will be awarded?
The number of grants that will be awarded will be determined by the scope of the applications received. We estimate that new RSVP projects will enroll an average of 300 RSVP volunteers in their first year, while augmentations of existing grants will support an average of 70 additional RSVP volunteers. The estimated average federal cost per RSVP volunteer is $300.
Requirements to apply for these grants
A. What are the programmatic requirements?
1. RSVP projects must focus RSVP volunteers, who must be at least 55 years old, on meeting critical community needs through assignments that provide a high quality experience that will enrich the lives of the volunteers.
2. At a minimum, 20 percent of the RSVP volunteers supported by these grants must be placed in assignments to recruit other community volunteers, thus expanding the capacity of local non-profits to meet their missions.
3. All of the RSVP volunteers must be placed in assignments that address one or more of the 16 categories of community needs identified in the Domestic Volunteer Service Act as national problems of local concern, or “Programs of National Significance (PNS),” as listed in “Programs of National Significance Categories” appended to this NOFA.
The Corporation is particularly interested in supporting the following volunteer activities:
- Providing in-home, non-medical independent living support to those in need of extra help, including frail seniors, veterans of recent conflicts, and their caregivers.
- Assisting children and youth to succeed academically, including mentoring, tutoring, and other assistance to remain in school.
- Enhancing energy efficiency at home, such as weatherization of homes, energy audits, or connecting people to related resources and information.
4. Applicants must propose a minimum of 3 performance measures of which one must be an Accomplishment/Output, one must be an Intermediate Impact/Outcome and one must be an End
Impact/Outcome. For further details, see the Senior Corps Grant Application, CNCS Form 424-NSSC [OMB Control No. 3045-0035] posted at Senior Corps Forms.
5. The application budget must include funding for a full-time RSVP Project Director. However, if you believe you can justify proposing less than a full-time project director, please provide a full justification in your narrative on project management. If your application is selected to receive an award, your justification will be taken into account in final grant award negotiations.
B. Is there a matching or grantee share requirement for these grants?
Yes. Applicants proposing to establish a new RSVP project must budget and raise 10 percent of the total project budget in Year 1, 20 percent in Year 2, and 30 percent in Year 3 and subsequent years, if the grant is renewed beyond three years. Existing RSVP grantees applying to augment their current grant must demonstrate that, if they receive the proposed award, the resulting new budget (i.e., the augmentation budget plus the current grant budget) will continue to meet the non-federal share requirement applicable to that grant.
NOTE: Please be sure to read the complete Notice of Funds Availability by clicking on the link below under "Available Documents"