    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 02, 1998]
    [Pages 502-507]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

    1201 New York Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20525

    Phone, 202-606-5000. Internet, http://www.nationalservice.org/.
    Board of Directors:
    Chair                                             Bob Rogers
    Members                                           Victor Ashe, Thomas
                                                              Ehrlich,
                                                              Christopher
                                                              Gallagher,
                                                              Carol Kinsley,
                                                              Leslie
                                                              Lenkowsky,
                                                              Arthur
                                                              Naparstek, Eli
                                                              Segal, (7
                                                              vacancies)
    Members (ex officio)
        (Secretary of Agriculture)                    Dan Glickman
        (Secretary of Defense)                        William S. Cohen
        (Secretary of Education)                      Richard W. Riley
        (Secretary of Health and Human                Donna E. Shalala
                Services)
        (Secretary of Housing and Urban               Andrew M. Cuomo
                Development)
        (Secretary of the Interior)                   Bruce Babbitt
        (Secretary of Labor)                          Alexis M. Herman
        (Attorney General)                            Janet Reno
        (Director, Peace Corps)                       Mark Gearan
        (Administrator, Environmental                 Carol M. Browner
                Protection Agency)
        (Chief Executive Officer,                     Harris Wofford
                Corporation for National and
                Community Service)

    Staff:
    Chief Executive Officer                           Harris Wofford

    [[Page 503]]

    Chief Operating Officer                           Louis Caldera
    Chief of Staff to the CEO                         John S. Gomperts
    Director, AmeriCorps                              Deborah Jospin
    Director, National Senior Service Corps           Thomas Endres
    Director, Learn and Serve America                 Marilyn W. Smith
    Chief Financial Officer                           Donna H. Cunninghame
    Director, Planning and Program Integration        Gary Kowalczyk
    Director, Evaluation and Effective Practices      Bill Bentley
    Inspector General                                 Luise S. Jordan
    General Counsel                                   Kenneth Klothen
    Director, Congressional and Intergovernmental     Eugene Sofer
            Affairs
    Director, Public Affairs                          Tara Murphy
    Director, Public Liaison                          Melinda Hudson
    Director, Human Resources                         Phyllis Beaulieu

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Corporation for National and Community Service engages Americans of
    all backgrounds in community-based service that addresses the Nation's
    educational, public safety, environmental, and other human needs to
    achieve direct and demonstrable results. In so doing, the Corporation
    fosters civic responsibility, strengthens the ties that bind us together
    as a people, and provides educational opportunity for those who make a
    substantial service contribution.

    The Corporation for National and Community Service (Corporation) was
    established by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (42
    U.S.C. 12651 et seq.). The Corporation assumed the programs and
    authorities of the Commission on National and Community Service and
    effective April 1, 1994, incorporated programs previously administered
    by ACTION under authority of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973,
    as amended (42 U.S.C. 4950).
        The Corporation is a Federal corporation governed by a 15-member
    bipartisan Board of Directors, appointed by the President with the
    advice and consent of the Senate. The Secretaries of Agriculture,
    Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban
    Development, Interior, and Labor; the Attorney General, the
    Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, the Peace Corps Director,
    and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation serve as ex officio
    members of the Board. The Board has responsibility for overall policy
    direction of the Corporation's activities and has the power to make all
    final grant decisions, approve the strategic plan and annual budget, and
    advise and make recommendations to the President and the Congress
    regarding changes in the national service laws.

    Programs and Activities

    The Corporation serves its mission through three major program areas:

    AmeriCorps

    AmeriCorps is the Nation's national service initiative that engages
    thousands of Americans of all ages and backgrounds in solving the most
    pressing community and national problems. AmeriCorps members get things
    done by providing service to meet educational, public safety,
    environmental, and other human needs. In exchange for 1 or 2 years of
    service, members receive service education awards of up to $4,725 per
    year to help finance their college education or vocational training, or
    to pay back their student loans. The

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    Corporation has established an Education Award Trust Fund to administer
    the award moneys.
        AmeriCorps has three components: AmeriCorps*State and National is
    administered through grants, while AmeriCorps*VISTA and
    AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps are run directly by the
    Corporation. Currently, some 25,000 members are serving in AmeriCorps.
    AmeriCorps*State and National  AmeriCorps*State and National members
    accomplish their mission by providing direct service in the four issue
    areas established by law: education, public safety, the environment, and
    other human needs. Services include: tutoring school-age children;
    serving as mentors to teenage parents; developing crime prevention
    workshops and providing victim assistance; helping the homebound and
    disabled live independently; coordinating needed services for public
    housing projects; starting citywide recycling programs; and restoring
    national parks. Full-time AmeriCorps*State and National members must
    serve at least 1,700 hours during a period of not less than 9 months and
    not more than 12 months to be eligible for the education award. Part-
    time members must serve at least 900 hours during a period of not more
    than 2 years (unless the part-time member is enrolled in an institution
    of higher education while performing some or all of the service, in
    which case the member must provide at least 900 hours of service during
    a period of not more than 3 years).
        The Corporation funds AmeriCorps*State and National through
    population-based State allocations; funds distributed to programs
    selected by the States and submitted to the Corporation through
    competitive consideration; and programs operated by national nonprofit
    organizations, professional corps, and programs operating in more than
    one State. The funds granted to the States, on both formula and
    competitive bases, are administered by State Commissions on National and
    Community Service, which make subgrants to individual community-based
    programs. Information regarding annual grants requirements and schedules
    is published in the Federal Register.
    AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps*NCCC)
    AmeriCorps*NCCC's mission is to promote civic pride and responsibility
    through community service. Members work in collaboration with community
    representatives to complete service-learning projects in the issue areas
    of education, public safety, the environment, and other human needs--
    with the primary focus on environmental needs. Corps members, ages 18-
    24, are recruited nationally and participate in innovative training
    programs that uniquely combine the best in military training techniques,
    Civilian Conservation Corps values, and service-learning models.
    AmeriCorps*NCCC is a residential program, with members living at
    campuses located at closed or downsized military facilities at
    Charleston, SC; Denver, CO; San Diego, CA; and Washington, DC; and at
    the Veterans Hospital at Perry Point, MD. AmeriCorps*NCCC is directly
    administered by the Corporation.
    AmeriCorps*VISTA  AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) is
    a full-time service program established in 1965 and required by law to
    address poverty and poverty-related problems. AmeriCorps*VISTA members
    are supported directly by the Corporation, but serve with community-
    based public and private nonprofit organizations through memoranda of
    agreement between the Corporation and community-based groups.
    AmeriCorps*VISTA members must be assigned to antipoverty activities and
    are expected to serve in capacity-building assignments, whereas the
    AmeriCorps*State and National and AmeriCorps*NCCC programs emphasize
    direct service. Full-time AmeriCorps*VISTA service is 12 months, with
    members receiving a living allowance and health and child care; or they
    may elect to take a $1,200 cash stipend at the close of service rather
    than an education award.

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    Learn and Serve America

    Learn and Serve America supports service-learning by students from
    kindergarten through graduate school. Service-learning is an innovative
    concept through which students participate in organized service
    experiences that meet community needs and are supported by a curriculum
    that allows research, reflection, and discussion of their experiences.
    The focus of Learn and Serve America is to build a solid foundation for
    service-learning in the curriculum of every school in America. The
    Corporation awards competitive grants to support Learn and Serve America
    on an annual basis. Notices of funds availability published in the
    Federal Register provide information concerning application deadlines
    and program requirements.
    School-Based and Community-Based Programs  The goal of Learn and Serve
    America's School-Based and Community-Based Programs is to increase
    opportunities for school-age youth to learn and develop through service
    to their communities. The Corporation supports these initiatives through
    distribution of funds to State education agencies according to a
    population-based allotment. Grants to State commissions on national
    service, nonprofit grantmaking entities, Indian tribes, and U.S.
    territories are competitive.
        School-based programs are administered by State education agencies,
    local education agencies in States not applying for funding, Indian
    tribes, and U.S. territories. Participants are elementary and secondary
    school students and out-of-school youth ages 5-17. Schools use Learn and
    Serve America grants for adult volunteer programs and teacher training
    in service-learning, along with planning, implementing, and expanding
    service-learning programs. Community-based programs are administered by
    State commissions on national and community service and nonprofit
    organizations.
    Higher Education Programs  Service-learning at the postsecondary level
    is supported by grants to institutions of higher learning, consortia of
    institutions of higher learning, and public and private nonprofit
    organizations in partnership with institutions of higher education.
    These grants enable creation or expansion of community service
    opportunities for students and explore new ways to integrate service
    into the college curriculum and support model community service programs
    on campus. The programs are located in 38 States, the District of
    Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

    National Senior Service Corps (Senior Corps)

    The three Senior Corps programs--the Retired and Senior Volunteers
    Program (RSVP), the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion
    Program --support community service by senior adults. These programs
    demonstrate the continued resource of seniors, provide valuable
    community service, and engage the experience, expertise, and commitment
    of seniors in the community. Each of these programs is funded through
    renewable project grants to public and private nonprofit organizations,
    who enter into memoranda of agreement with local institutions, including
    schools, hospitals, senior centers, and other organizations, who
    directly assign and supervise participants. Most Corporation funding
    supports continuation projects; new projects are awarded competitively
    when funds are available.
    Retired and Senior Volunteer Program  The Retired and Senior Volunteer
    Program provides part-time, uncompensated service opportunities for
    persons age 55 or older. Participants serve a wide range of national and
    community needs, working with persons of all ages in community-based
    projects across America.
    Foster Grandparent Program  The Foster Grandparent Program provides
    service to children with special needs. Participants must be 60 years of
    age or older, and must be considered low-income by published Corporation
    criteria. Participants serve 20-hour weeks, typically 4 hours a day, and

    [[Page 507]]

    provide personal love, attention, and support to children. Children
    served include those with physical and developmental disabilities,
    living in conditions of poverty, or involved in the juvenile justice
    system; teen-age mothers and their children; and Head Start
    participants. Foster Grandparents receive a stipend of $2.45 per hour
    and are provided meals, transportation, and physical examinations. They
    serve in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the
    Virgin Islands.
    Senior Companion Program  The Senior Companion Program engages low-
    income seniors age 60 and older in service to adults with special needs,
    with a focus on service to the frail elderly. Eligibility criteria and
    program benefits for Senior Companions are the same as those provided to
    Foster Grandparents. Senior Companions provide support, assistance, and
    companionship to those whom they serve in both in-home and institutional
    settings. They also provide respite care to caregivers, especially
    family members of the frail elderly.
    Other Corporation Initiatives  The Corporation's mission to develop and
    support an ethic of service in America involves initiatives, special
    demonstration projects, and other activities, in addition to the three
    major program areas. These include the National Service Scholarship
    Program, the AmeriCorps Leaders Program (and similar leaders programs in
    AmeriCorps*VISTA and AmeriCorps*NCCC), a disaster response initiative,
    and short-term summer service initiatives. The Corporation also carries
    out an extensive training and technical assistance effort to support and
    assist State Commissions and service programs. Through partnerships with
    the private sector, other Federal agencies, and the Points of Light
    Foundation, the Corporation further advocates and advances service in
    America. The Corporation provides timely information about grants and
    financial assistance through notices of funds availability in the
    Federal Register.

    Sources of Information

    Electronic Access  Information regarding the Corporation's programs and
    activities is available in electronic form through the Internet, at
    http://www.nationalservice.org/.
    General Information  To obtain additional information regarding
    AmeriCorps, call 800-942-2677 (toll-free), or for Senior Corps programs,
    800-424-8867 (toll-free).
    Grants  Notices of funds availability are published in the Federal
    Register for most Corporation programs. Corporation State Program
    Offices and State Commissions on National and Community Service are
    located in most States and are the best source of information on
    programs in specific States or communities.
    National Service Recruitment  Persons interested in joining AmeriCorps
    should call 800-942-2677 (toll-free). To participate in other national
    service programs, contact Corporation State Offices or State Commissions
    on National and Community Service.

    For further information, contact the Corporation for National and
    Community Service, 1201 New York Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20525.
    Phone, 202-606-5000. Internet, http://www.nationalservice.org/.

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