AmeriCorps Racial Justice Planning Grant Funding Opportunity

Grant Description

The recent protests for racial justice, as well as the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, have once again demonstrated the racial inequalities that continue to persist in both our state and nation. As the State Service Commission for California, California Volunteers is tasked with engaging Californians in service, volunteering, and civic action to tackle our State’s most pressing challenges while lifting up all communities. Our agency remains dedicated to the work of promoting and creating a more just and equitable society through our work with AmeriCorps members and programs, education partners, volunteer centers, local and national nonprofits, and volunteers helping others throughout our state.

Through AmeriCorps, Californians are stepping up to serve communities throughout our state, working towards racial justice in numerous ways. They are striving to help close the achievement gap in education, promoting greater access to legal resources and the courts system, and helping end disparities in both the access to healthcare and in health outcomes, and working with organizations throughout our state to further enhance and expand the reach of nonprofit organizations that aim to build a more just and equitable world.

We recognize that there is much more that can and should be done to address racial inequity in our society.  We also firmly believe that the shared experience of bringing people from all walks of life to tackle our most pressing community problems through service and volunteering is one of the most powerful ways to unite our communities toward a more just and equitable society. With this in the forefront of our thoughts, this AmeriCorps planning grant funding opportunity is dedicated to promoting racial justice and supporting the ending of racial inequity.

This funding opportunity provides planning grant funds to support organizations interested in engaging Californians as AmeriCorps members to help tackle community problems that disproportionately affect communities of color. Successful applicants receive training and technical assistance and a federal planning grant ranging from $25,000 – $75,000 to develop an AmeriCorps program or a new program element.  This funding opportunity aims to address racial inequity through three primary strategies:

1. Support the development of new AmeriCorps programs that:
   • Provide support and/or facilitate access to services and resources that contribute to the improved economic well-being and security of economically disadvantaged communities of color; help marginalized communities have improved access to services that enhance financial literacy; transition into or remain in safe, healthy, affordable housing; and/or have improved employability leading to increased success in becoming employed;
   • Support some of our most deserving young people (e.g. those impacted by the juvenile and criminal justice systems, transitioned age youth/former foster care).
   • Create safe spaces to practice restorative justice and empathy, acknowledge, accept, and celebrate our differences and commonality, and for people of color to participate and to lead.
2. Develop an intermediary program model designed to increase access to AmeriCorps funding for small-size nonprofit organizations who reflect indigenous community leadership, including building these organizations’ capacity to expand program reach, secure grant resources, and/or cultivate leadership talent.
3. Support existing California AmeriCorps state programs to create new program elements designed to help achieve racial equity. New program elements include but are not limited to:
   • Developing an inclusive and equitable recruitment and selection plan to ensure AmeriCorps members recruited will reflect the communities served;
   • Reassessing community needs to better understand gaps or persistent community problems that disproportionately affect communities of color;
   • Strengthening a program’s primary service activity to be culturally sensitive and responsive to previously underserved communities of color;
   • Developing a member support plan to reduce barriers that may prevent individuals from participating in your AmeriCorps program such as additional support for housing or high costs of living.

Eligible Applicants

Nonprofit organizations and state and local government agencies are eligible to apply. All applicants must have active registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) at to www.SAM.gov.

Application Deadline

Applications for the AmeriCorps Racial Justice Planning Funding Opportunity must be received via email to funding@cv.ca.gov no later than Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Application Documents

The following documents are required to complete the AmeriCorps Racial Justice Planning Grant Application:

• Request for Applications
• Application Forms
  • Application Checklist
  • AmeriCorps Planning Grant Title Page
  • Budget Narrative and Budget Form Template
  • AmeriCorps Readiness Self-Assessment
  • Financial Management Survey
  • Authorization, Assurances, and Certification

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions received by email or in any technical assistance opportunities will be collected and answered on a weekly Frequently Asked Questions document posted below.