Call for Reviewers
AmeriCorps is looking to expand our pool of qualified external reviewers to support future reviews, including our upcoming FY 2025 grant application reviews. This is a great opportunity to support AmeriCorps through your experience with disaster services, education, environmental stewardship, healthy futures, economic opportunity, veterans and military families, or capacity building. External reviewers will assess grant applications that align with the focus areas stated in the Serve America Act. Qualified reviewers must have five or more years of demonstrated experience to be considered.
If you know someone with the appropriate qualifications who could be interested in the AmeriCorps Grant Review opportunity, please direct them to this website: americorps.gov/reviewer.
How to Respond
Please follow the steps listed below to be considered for the AmeriCorps external reviewer recruitment pool:
- Create an eGrants profile using the following link: https://egrants.cns.gov/espan/main/newaccount.jsp
- Click “Become a Peer Reviewer”
- On the next screen click “Become a Peer Reviewer” again (Note: you may have to temporarily enable pop-ups)
- Follow the prompts entering all requested information. (Fields with a red asterisk are required)
- You will need to complete the education/job history sections of the eGrants application. The job history section must total 5 or more years’ experience.
- For technical assistance, please call the AmeriCorps Hotline at 1-800-942-2677.
About AmeriCorps Grant Reviews
- External reviewers will collaborate on a panel of review participants and complete their review tasks remotely.
- Each grant application is reviewed individually by the panel of external reviewers and then all reviewers participate in virtual panel discussions during business hours.
- Reviews include an assessment of application quality against the Notice of Funding Opportunity selection criteria.
Time Commitment
- The review process includes a training period, review period, and closeout period.
- Most reviews require an estimated 60-70 hour commitment over 4-6 weeks.
- Each grant competition may include unique elements and timeframes.
- AmeriCorps will conduct additional outreach for each grant competition and provide specific details and timeframes.
Eligibility and Honoraria Information
- Reviewers must use and access Microsoft Office Excel (version 2010 or later) and web-based programs such as SharePoint, eGrants, Zoom, and other training platforms to participate in the AmeriCorps grant reviews.
- All reviewers are carefully screened for conflicts of interest to ensure a fair process for applicants. For example, we would prioritize members of the public who are not affiliated with a current grantee or applicant to reduce the conflicts they have.
- AmeriCorps may pay reviewers, except for federal employees and possibly those receiving unemployment benefits, a discretionary honorarium payment for their participation in a grant review. The honorarium payment amount varies depending on the participant’s role and the expected deliverables. The historical honorarium payment for a reviewer in a 4-6 week review is up to $1,000. Expected honorarium payment amounts may be adjusted depending upon the unique elements and timeframes of each review process.
AmeriCorps will reach out to qualified reviewers periodically as review opportunities arise. Responding with your availability does not guarantee your participation in this review. The names of all participating external reviewers for AmeriCorps grant competitions may be made public after the review.