The AmeriCorps State Update
August 13, 2021
New information this week has its subject line in RED.
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Program Risk Monitoring Levels Available for 21-22
Volunteer Iowa staff have completed program risk and monitoring level assessments for the 2021-2022 program year and those have been entered into IowaGrants for all programs with fall start dates. You can find your program’s levels by checking the 21-22 Grant Reference Materials component in IowaGrants. That component is also where we’ll post a copy of your signed grant agreement and where you’ll find other important materials such as the GAX forms you will use for claims for the 21-22 program year. With your monitoring levels assigned, you’ll be able to reference the Volunteer Iowa Monitoring Schedule to reference when your program will undergo various monitoring activities. The schedule is broken out by risk level and color coded by the type of monitoring. If you need help understanding the schedule and applying it to your program, let your program officer know.
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Volunteer Iowa COVID Policies
Volunteer Iowa has drafted COVID policies for the 21-22 grant year. These policies are available here for your review. Please note that the policies are in draft form, pending review/approval from the commission next week. If you have questions or concerns around the revised policies, please follow up with your program officer. The first page of the document contains a list of significant changes from the 20-21 guidance; however, you are encouraged to review the entire 10-page document. We appreciate your continued efforts to meet community and member needs despite the pandemic.
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TA Webinar: NSCHC Overview
Thank you to those that attended our NSCHC Overview training on Aug. 11. You can find the recording and slides on our website: https://www.volunteeriowa.org/americorps/current-americorps-grantee-resources/other-resources-trainings-and-development. Since we ran out of time and didn’t get through the entire jeopardy game, you can review the questions and answers HERE.
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Updates to OnCorps Training
Here’s a link to a training video that outlines the first step of the changes to OnCorps. Many of your provided feedback for this process. Please watch the video and let Jane Mild know if you have any questions or reach out to the OnCorps helpdesk directly.
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OnCorps Updates
As you get ready for the 21-22 program year here are some things to remember when setting up timekeeping in OnCorps:
- Timesheet dates MUST align with your organization’s payroll dates. Ideally, member start dates will align with the start of a pay period.
- Include dates for a No Cost Extension if you typically request one when you’re establishing timesheet dates. It’s MUCH easier include those dates now then it is to add them at a later date.
- The standard time sheet option is the time in and time out option. It provides the standard fundraising, training and direct service categories. Some programs remove the fundraising category and prohibit members from this type of service.
- If you choose another type of time sheet, when setting up your subcategories you can choose whatever you’d like, but changes are limited once hours are entered. Please be thoughtful.
- Time served in less than full hours should be limited to quarter time increments (.25, .5, .75). Please select that option in timekeeping.
- Programs should limit the options for members to provide comments in the timesheets. Programs should provide other options to members for communicating to site supervisors, or vice versa.
- Please enter this language in the Site Supervisor approval area:
By clicking submit, the site supervisor certifies that the time reported by members as program service, training and fundraising hours are true and correct and did not include any service activities prohibited by law, regulation or grant provisions. Further the site supervisor understands that a knowing and willful false statement on this form can be punished under federal law (Section 1001 of Title 18, USC)
- If you need to update your logo on the 21-22 OnCorps landing page, please send your new logos to Jane Mild. Logos need to be a jpeg.
- Additional help on setting up your OnCorps timekeeping is available on the Volunteer Iowa website, under Member Management Resources, at the bottom of the page. If you have questions or need assistance, reach out to Jane Mild
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AmeriTeam Staff Schedule
Volunteer Iowa staff are currently teleworking and can still be reached via regular phone numbers and email addresses.
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AMERICORPS AGENCY UPDATES
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eGrants Updates for Manual Verifications
Effective Date fields for citizenship and Social Security Number (SSN) status were added to the database that underlies the My AmeriCorps Portal. When activated by National Service Trust staff, these Effective dates display in the Portal in place of the dates that SSN and Citizenship statuses were verified. Start date validations (i.e., limits on the earliest possible start date that can be entered for a member) are based on Effective Dates when present.
What does this mean for you?
- For all SSN and citizenship manual verifications, the Effective Date will be set as the date of the original Returned notification from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or, if later, the date on which the individual’s citizenship status became valid.
- If a failure in AmeriCorps technology systems or other extenuating circumstances prevent a member record from being sent to SSA in a timely fashion, grantees may request Administrative Review to change the Effective Date for SSN or citizenship verification. This can be requested for both automatic and manual verifications.
- These changes support equity in the enrollment timeline for AmeriCorps applicants regardless of their place of birth, citizenship status, or any legal name changes.
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Member Enrollment Form Update
Socioeconomic diversity questions have been added to the Enrollment form of Member Portal, the questions are not mandatory to answer and will not be visible to Grantees, Sponsors or Staff. This information will provide the AmeriCorps agency with Socioeconomic Status (SES) data per requirements from the American Recovery Plan.
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COVID-19 FAQ
We encourage you to check the CNCS FAQ pages regularly because information changes without notice. CNCS is now adding the date to when the Q&A was posted. Volunteer Iowa is also monitoring this information and will keep you posted of significant changes.
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AMERICAN RECOVERY PLAN FUNDING UPDATES
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Formula ARP Initial Guidance
The AmeriCorps federal agency has released initial guidance to Volunteer Iowa regarding the formula ARP dollars that will be available to Iowa AmeriCorps programs over the next three years. Similar to the competitive ARP funding, formula ARP dollars will be allowable for three purposes (AmeriCorps is referring to them as “buckets”). Bucket #1 is for increasing member living allowance, Bucket #2 is for additional federal funding to replace cash match for cost reimbursement grantees, and Bucket #3 is for expansion of existing programs or funding new programs. In total, Volunteer Iowa will have over $2 million of formula ARP to distribute over the three year period. Now that we have the initial guidance, we have been tasked with some additional steps to set up our process and timeline for receiving requests for ARP funding from our formula programs. We expect to have more details to programs regarding this process and will schedule a call to respond to questions by the end of August.
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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES
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Registration open for 2021 Iowa Nonprofit Virtual Summit
The Iowa Nonprofit Summit Planning Committee and Sponsors are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2021 Iowa Nonprofit Summit! Join us Oct. 5-7 for an interactive virtual event and take advantage of the latest resources available to help nonprofits thrive.The biennial Summit offers essential learning opportunities relevant to staff in a variety of nonprofit, civic, foundation, volunteer engagement, government and national service roles, including but not limited to Board Members, Executive Directors, Program Directors, Resource Development staff, and AmeriCorps members.
Registration fees for the 2021 Nonprofit Summit are:
• Individual rate: $25
• Certified Service Enterprise Organizations: $20
• National Service Member: $15
You don't want to miss out on numerous break-out sessions, networking opportunities, and engaging keynote presentations. Session topics include change management, funding strategic volunteer engagement, adaptive leadership, volunteer impact, board leadership, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and more. This year’s sponsors include the Cedar Valley Nonprofit Association and the NE Iowa Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Iowa Council of Foundations, and the University of Iowa Nonprofit Leadership and Philanthropy Certificate.
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AmeriCorps Alums Segal Leadership Award
Service Year Alliance is excited to announce that the 2021-2022 AmeriCorps Alums Segal Leadership Award applications are now open! We will be selecting two outstanding emerging leaders for this award. Potential candidates should demonstrate strong communication and leadership skills as well as a commitment to advancing diverse, inclusive, and equitable strategies in their communities. To be eligible, you must have successfully completed an AmeriCorps program between August 2018 and August 2021. We welcome a diverse applicant pool.
Learn more about the expectations, benefits, and how to apply at serviceyear.org/segalaward. Applications are due Monday, Aug. 23 by 5 pm (ET)! |
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Points of Light Volunteer Engagement Training
In partnership with the Volunteer Centers of Iowa, join Volunteer Iowa for this virtual program training series, next session Aug. 17. This engaging and interactive virtual training series, created by Points of Light, will provide a comprehensive understanding of the major components of nonprofit volunteer engagement and provide the opportunity to develop volunteer recruitment, retention, and recognition strategies and methods of offering projects for diverse audiences.
Through the Training Program you will learn about:
- Planning for Volunteer Engagement
- Opportunities and Outreach
- Intake and Onboarding
- Supervision and Support
- Evaluation
Dates: Aug. 17 & 31; Sep. 14 & 28; and Oct. 12. All sessions run 10:00am – noon. Cost to participate is $125. To register, follow this link.
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Nominations open for Points of Light Inspiration Honor Roll
Points of Light is accepting nominations for the 2021 Points of Light Inspiration Honor Roll and specifically looking to receive nominations of individuals engaged in national service to recognize on the Honor Roll this year. Now in its second year, the Inspiration Honor roll celebrates acts of service, kindness and civic engagement by individuals who create change in communities around the world. The Inspiration Honor Roll recognizes the people who take action, in both large and small ways, to improve the lives of others.
Individuals recognized on the Inspiration Honor Roll will have their photo and story shared on the Points of Light website, and may be considered for one of 10 Inspiration Spotlight Stories that will be highlighted (virtually) during The George H.W. Bush Points of Light Awards Celebration on Sept. 28.
They want to highlight at least one national service individual as an Inspiration Spotlight.
The general nomination period will be open through Sept. 7 – however, they are looking at candidates for a Spotlight role in the next 1-2 weeks, which gives their team more time to work with the nominee to share their story. Nominate them here.
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ASC Member Assistance Program (MAP) Informational Webinar
The AmeriCorps Member Assistance Program (MAP) is designed to support AmeriCorps State programs in providing accessible and quality mental health services to AmeriCorps members and employees of their organizations. In order to participate in MAP, the AmeriCorps program must be an existing AmeriCorps State Service Partner with America's Service Commissions or pay the fee to join as part of the MAP enrollment.
For the 2021-2022 AmeriCorps Program Year, all programs (new and re-enrolling) must complete the enrollment form by the following dates:
- Sept. 1, 2021 Start Date- You must enroll by Aug. 21
ASC hosted an information webinar this week. You can watch the recording here. Review our extensive FAQ for more information.
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August 18: Program Director Webinar; 9 – 10 a.m. – required by all programs
August 25: Monthly claim submitted in IowaGrants (FINAL claim for grants that ended in July 2020) (for 07/21)
August 25: TA Webinar, Topic: Site Supervisor Support, 9 – 10 am
August 30: All 2020 – 2021 members should be exited from the electronic systems for grants ended July 31 (unless grant agreement extension was requested and approved)
August 31: Final Progress Report due in IowaGrants for programs ended 7/31/2020 (covering start of grant year through end of grant year)
August 31: 2020 – 2021 grant agreement ends for programs with a start date of September 1, 2020 (all members should be ending their service term and no further grant costs should be incurred, unless grant agreement extension was requested and approved)
August 31: Signed 2021 – 2022 grant agreement returned to Volunteer Iowa (or earlier) if grant start date is 9/1/2021
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