Corporation for National and Community Service

Corporation for National and Community Service in the United States

The Corporation for National and Community Service engages in community-based service and volunteering.

The Corporation was established on October 1, 1993, by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 12651 et seq.). In addition to creating several new service programs, the Act consolidated the functions and activities of the former Commission on National and Community Service and the Federal agency ACTION.

For more than a decade, the Corporation for National and Community Service, through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, has mobilized a new generation of engaged citizens. In 2012, for example, more than 2 million individuals of all ages and backgrounds served through those programs to help thousands of national and community nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies meet local needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other critical areas. National and community service programs work closely with traditional volunteer organizations to broaden, deepen, and strengthen the ability of America’s volunteers to contribute not only to their community, but also to the United States.

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 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. The Corporation for National and Community Service oversees three major service initiatives: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America (see below).

Presidential Memoranda

Presidential Memoranda in relation with Expanding National Service Through Partnerships to Advance Government Priorities (July 15, 2013):

“Service has always been integral to the American identity. Our country was built on the belief that all of us, working together, can make this country a better place for all. That spirit remains as strong and integral to our identity today as at our country’s founding.

Since its creation 20 years ago, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has been the Federal agency charged with leading and expanding national service. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 (SAA) expanded CNCS’s authority to create opportunities for more Americans to serve. This landmark, bipartisan legislation focuses national service on six areas: emergency and disaster services; economic opportunity; education; environmental stewardship; healthy futures; and veterans and military families. The SAA provides greater opportunities for CNCS to partner with other executive departments and agencies (agencies) and with the private sector to utilize national service to address these critical areas.

National service and volunteering can be effective solutions to national challenges and can have positive and lasting impacts that reach beyond the immediate service experience. Americans engaged in national service make an intensive commitment to tackle unmet national and local needs by working through non-profit, faith-based, and community organizations. Service can help Americans gain valuable skills, pursue higher education, and jumpstart their careers, which can provide immediate and long-term benefits to those individuals, as well as the communities in which they serve.

Americans are ready and willing to serve. Applications from Americans seeking to engage in national service programs far exceed the number of available positions. By creating new partnerships between agencies and CNCS that expand national service opportunities in areas aligned with agency missions, we can utilize the American spirit of service to improve lives and communities, expand economic and educational opportunities, enhance agencies’ capacity to achieve their missions, efficiently use tax dollars, help individuals develop skills that will enable them to prepare for long-term careers, and build a pipeline to employment inside and outside the Federal Government.

Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to expand the positive impact of national service, I hereby direct the following:

Section 1. Establishing a Task Force on Expanding National Service. There is established a Task Force on Expanding National Service, to be co-chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of CNCS and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, which shall include representatives from agencies and offices that administer programs and develop policies in areas that include the six focus areas set forth in the SAA. The Task Force shall include representatives from:

(a) the Department of Defense;

(b) the Department of Justice;

(c) the Department of the Interior;

(d) the Department of Agriculture;

(e) the Department of Commerce;

(f) the Department of Labor;

(g) the Department of Health and Human Services;

(h) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(i) the Department of Transportation;

(j) the Department of Energy;

(k) the Department of Education;

(l) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

(m) the Department of Homeland Security;

(n) the Peace Corps;

(o) the National Science Foundation;

(p) the Office of Personnel Management;

(q) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(r) the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs; and

(s) such other agencies and offices as the co-chairs may designate.

Sec. 2. Mission and Function of the Task Force. (a) The Task Force shall:

(i) identify existing, and, if appropriate, recommend new, policies or practices that support the expansion of national service and volunteer opportunities that align with the SAA and agency priorities;

(ii) make recommendations on the most effective way to coordinate national service and volunteering programs across the Federal Government;

(iii) identify and develop opportunities for interagency agreements between CNCS and other agencies to support the expansion of national service and volunteering;

(iv) identify and develop public-private partnerships to support the expansion of national service and volunteering;

(v) identify and develop strategies to use innovation and technology to facilitate the ability of the public to participate in national service and volunteering activities; and

(vi) develop a mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of national service and volunteering interventions in achieving agency priorities, and aggregate and disseminate the results of that evaluation.

(b) Within 18 months of the date of this memorandum, the Task Force shall provide the President with a report on the progress made with respect to the functions set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

Sec. 3. Facilitating National Service and Volunteering Partnerships. (a) Each agency on the Task Force shall:

(i) within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, consult with CNCS about how existing authorities and CNCS programs can be used to enter into interagency and public-private partnerships that allow for meaningful national service and volunteering opportunities, including participating in AmeriCorps, and help the agency achieve its mission;

(ii) work with CNCS to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such partnerships; and

(iii) work with CNCS to identify ways in which the agency’s national service participants and volunteers can develop transferable skills, and also how national service can serve as a pipeline to employment inside and outside the Federal Government.

(b) Where practicable, agencies may consider entering into interagency agreements with CNCS to share program development and funding responsibilities, as authorized under 42 U.S.C. 12571(b)(1).

Sec. 4. Recruitment of National Service Participants in the Civilian Career Services. In order to provide national service participants a means to pursue additional opportunities to continue their public service through career civilian service, the Office of Personnel Management shall, within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, issue guidance to agencies on developing and improving Federal recruitment strategies for participants in national service.”

Senior Corps

Each year Senior Corps taps the skills, talents, and experience of more than 500,000 Americans age 55 and older to meet a wide range of
community challenges through three programs: Retired and Senior Volunteers
Program (RSVP), Foster Grandparents, and Senior Companions. RSVP
volunteers help local police departments conduct safety patrols, participate in
environmental projects, provide intensive educational services to children and
adults, respond to natural disasters, and recruit other volunteers. Foster
Grandparents serve as tutors and mentors to young people with special needs.
Senior Companions help homebound seniors and other adults maintain
independence in their own homes.

AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps provides opportunities for more than 75,000 Americans each year to give intensive service to their communities. AmeriCorps
members recruit, train, and supervise community volunteers, tutor and
mentor youth, build affordable housing, teach computer skills, clean parks and
streams, run after-school programs, and help communities respond to disasters
and nonprofit groups to become selfsustaining. In exchange for a year of
full-time service, AmeriCorps members earn an education award of $4,725
that can be used to pay for college or graduate school, or to pay back
qualified student loans. Since 1994 almost 500,000 Americans have served
in AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps has three main programs: AmeriCorps*State and
National, AmeriCorps*NCCC, and AmeriCorps*VISTA.

AmeriCorps*State and National operates through national and local
nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and faith-based and community
groups. More than three-quarters of AmeriCorps grant funding goes to
Governor-appointed State service commissions, which in turn award grants
to nonprofit groups to respond to local needs. AmeriCorps*NCCC (National
Civilian Community Corps) is a teambased, residential program for men
and women from ages 18 to 24 that combines the best practices of civilian service with aspects of military service, including leadership and team building.
AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members serve full-time, for
1 year, in nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based organizations to fight
illiteracy, improve health services, build and expand business, increase housing
opportunities, and bridge the digital divide.

Learn and Serve America

Learn and Serve America engages more than 1 million students in community service
linked to academic achievement and the development of civic skills. This
type of learning, called service learning, improves communities while preparing
young people for a lifetime of responsible citizenship.

Learn and Serve America provides grants to schools, colleges, and nonprofit
groups to support its efforts. Grants are awarded through the Corporation
and State educational agencies and commissions, nonprofit organizations,
and higher education associations. School-based programs receive grants
through State educational agencies or nonprofits, while community-based
programs apply for funding through the same State commissions that
coordinate AmeriCorps grants or through nonprofits. Higher education institutions
and associations apply directly to the Corporation for grants. In addition
to providing grants, Learn and Serve America serves as a resource on service
and service-learning to teachers, faculty members, schools, and community
groups and promotes student service through the Presidential Freedom
Scholarships.

Other Initiatives

Other programs and special initiatives administered by the Corporation’s umbrella include: King Day of Service Grants, which support
community organizations in their efforts to engage local citizens in service on the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal holiday; and the President’s Council on Service
and Civic Participation, which presents the President’s Volunteer Service Award
to citizens of all ages and backgrounds who have demonstrated a sustained
commitment to service. The Corporation also provides extensive training and
technical assistance to support and assist State service commissions and local
service programs.

The Corporation and its programs work with the USA Freedom Corps, established
on January 29, 2002, by Executive Order 13254. USA Freedom Corps is a White
House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility,
and help all Americans answer the President’s call to 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.gov.


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