Notice of Award and Approval to Execute Agreement for City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program Parnters in LearningCity of Dubuque
City Council Meeting
Consent Items # 12.
Copyrighted
August 2, 2021
ITEM TITLE: Notice of Award and Approval to Execute Agreement for City of
Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval for the City Manager to execute
the AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Grant 21-AC-10.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Notice of Award and Approval to Execute Agreement-
AmeriCorps Program Partners in Learning-MVM City Manager Memo
Memo
Staff memo
Award Letter
Agreement
Staff Memo
Supporting Documentation
Supporting Documentation
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Notice of Award and Approval to Execute Agreement for City of Dubuque
AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning
DATE: July 30, 2021
Leisure Services Manager Marie Ware recommends City Council approval for the City
Manager to execute the AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Grant 21-AC-10.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
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Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:sv
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jennifer Larson, Finance and Budget Director
Cassie Ross, Assistant Director of Finance
Nathan Kelleher, Budget/Finance Analyst (Grant Focused)
Marie Ware, Leisure Services Manager
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TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Marie Ware, Leisure Services Manager
SUBJECT: Notice of Award and Approval to Execute Agreement for City of Dubuque
AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning
DATE: 7/30/2021
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memorandum is to share the notice of award and request approval
to execute the agreement for City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Partners in
Learning.
DISCUSSION
AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program has been extremely successful in its 20
years of operation, thirteen of which have been under the leadership of the City of
Dubuque. The program's success is apparent in the over 800 AmeriCorps Alumni
giving over 450,000 hours of service in our community. These members and alumni
have performed invaluable service.
AmeriCorps members are paid living allowance stipend for their service and receive an
education award. The stipends and awards are a part of the grant. These funds are
often directly invested in our community in the form of groceries, rent or tuition to local
colleges and universities as well as other direct living expenses. Some of the
AmeriCorps members are grandparents and earn education awards they are passing
along to their grandchildren.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has established priority
areas of funding for their grants. AmeriCorps Partners in Learning fits nicely into CNCS
priority area of education. CNCS emphasizes performance measures and being able to
measure progress. They require evidence based approaches with evaluative data and
use of a logic model. We must provide evidence that the proposed intervention is
effective for the proposed population and community challenge. A third -party evaluation
was completed prior to the writing of this grant. The evaluation provided excellent
feedback on the AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program. This was used in the
writing of the grant attached.
The grant focuses on ensuring students read at grade level by 3rd grade and targeting
students with literacy needs. The program has been awarded three-year grants since
near its inception. The grant is currently in its 7th year, and this grant will fund year 8.
The grant was submitted to the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and to the
Corporation for National and Community Service and has been approved for federal
funding.
On 7/5/2021, Council approved our request to apply for City of Dubuque AmeriCorps
Program: Partners in Learning. On 6/30/2021, Leisure Services was notified of the
award. The details of the award are below.
Awarded Amount: 203760.00
Match Required: Yes
Match Amount: $209,169.00
Anticipated Receipt of money: 8/1/2021
Department Contact: Heather Satterly
Departments Involved: Leisure Services
The grant agreement is attached and was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Maureen
Quann.
GRANT OBJECTIVE
The AmeriCorps Partners in Learning (APIL) program proposes to have 49 AmeriCorps
members who will tutor K-3rd grade struggling readers one on one or in small groups in
the Dubuque Community School District's elementary schools and summer programs.
At the end of the first program year, the AmeriCorps members will be responsible for
increasing the reading scores of 400 students with literacy needs. In addition, the
AmeriCorps members will leverage an additional 100 volunteers who will be engaged in
Dubuque community days of service. The program will focus on the CNCS focus area of
Education. The CNCS investment of $203,760 will be matched with $209,169, $193,419
in public funding and $15,750 in private funding.
COUNCIL GOAL(S) ADDRESSED
Council Goal: Partnership for a Better Dubuque: Building our Community that is
Viable, Livable and Equitable
Outcome(s)
Become an inclusive and welcoming community for all
Have non-profit institutions, private businesses and educational institutions contributing
toward implementation of the Imagine Dubuque plan
Value(s)
Access to wealth and social capacity — financial, spiritual, social, etc
More ownership of "end" products — residents involved in the process and support
outcomes
Sense of community pride and commitment to the Dubuque community
ACTION STEP
The purpose of this memorandum is to request approval to execute the agreement for
City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning.
CC: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Jennifer Larson, Director of Budget and Finance
Cassie Ross, Assistant Director of Finance
MW/hs
VOLUNTEER IOWA
In Partnership with Iowa Economic Development Authority
1963 Bell Avenue, Suite 200 1 Des Moines, Iowa 50315 USA I Phone: 800.308.5987
volunteeriowa.org
June 30, 2021
City of Dubuque
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
SUBJECT: 2021— 2022 Iowa AmeriCorps State Award Letter
Dear Heather Satterly,
voluntee
1(`&'tWA
We are pleased to inform you that Volunteer Iowa has approved an AmeriCorps program grant in the
amount of $203760 in federal funding for AmeriCorps Partners in Learning. This award amount does not
reflect any additional state funding that your program may receive or any administrative fees that may
be charged or retained by Volunteer Iowa.
There are several steps in the AmeriCorps grant award process (award in eGrants, award in IowaGrants,
and signing a hard copy grant agreement). There are also multiple pre-award/program start up
requirements that you will wish to undertake before the formal start of your program. This letter aims
to summarize these steps. We will also include some welcome information as part of our regular
monthly Program Director webinar scheduled for July 21. Information is provided in the Key
Requirements & Resources chart below about getting signed up for the monthly webinars and weekly
email updates.
Grant Award
Written grant agreement: Your grant award will have a start date of 8/1/2021 and will go through one
program year, ending on 7/31/2022. A signed grant agreement or a pre -award letter (see details below)
must be in place before any grant funds can be expended (although your grant will appear in "awarded"
status in eGrants and IowaGrants at an earlier date, it is not fully awarded until the grant agreement is
executed).
Currently, the person to whom this letter is addressed is considered the program director/program
contact for the grant award process. Additionally, we have the following individual listed as the
authorized representative for the grant, based on your eGrants submission and/or previous grant
agreements. This individual will be listed as the signer for your AmeriCorps grant agreement. Please
contact us via email by Friday, July 9, to update the program contact or authorized representative.
Authorized Representative Name: Michael Van Milligen
Title: City Manager
Email: ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org
Governor Kim Reynoids 1 Lt. Governor Adam Gregg I Executive Director Adam Lounsbury
Once your individual grant agreement is drafted it will be sent to the authorized representative with
instructions on how to complete it and return it to us. Let us know as soon as possible of deadlines that
impact the approval and signature of the grant agreement by your organization (for example, if you
need authorization from your board/council on a specific date) or if you would like to see a draft
agreement template in order to expedite your agency's review process.
eGrants: The AmeriCorps grants have been awarded by CNCS in the eGrants system. Once this is
complete, you are able to add recruitment postings and begin member pre -enrollment steps in the
MyAmeriCorps/eGrants portal. If there are new staff who will be active in eGrants, they will need to set
up their own account. They should register with your organization's EIN to be connected to your existing
account. eGrants account registration system questions should be directed to the eGrants helpdesk.
IowaGrants: Most applicants had clarification and/or resolution items that resulted in changes to your
eGrants submission. Note that when your grant is awarded in IowaGrants, it will include your final
approved eGrants award and will be saved in the Grant Reference Materials section of IowaGrants. Any
versions included in the Application section of IowaGrants may not be accurate and final. Grantees who
receive state funding for their program in addition to federal AmeriCorps funding must complete the
State Budget Allocation form and email to Volunteer Iowa by Friday, July 9, in order for the grant award
to be set up correctly in IowaGrants.
IRS Form W9 & Iowa Direct Deposit Authorization Form: All new programs must submit a W9 to
Volunteer Iowa so that we can set up an account to reimburse you under the grant award. New
grantees wishing to use direct deposit, or existing grantees who wish to switch to direct deposit
payments, have an additional form to submit. These forms should be submitted via email by Friday, July
9.
Pre-Award/Start Up Responsibilities & Reminders
Authorization for Pre -Award Costs: Programs should notify Volunteer Iowa via email by Friday, July 9,
should they like to request authorization to incur pre -award costs. This authorization allows programs
to incur allowable, non -member -related expenses from their AmeriCorps budgets in advance of the
official grant start date, such as for staff time to work on program start-up activities. No pre -award
costs should be incurred without authorization from Volunteer Iowa. Returning programs are reminded
that a few recurring costs, such as for member recruitment and National Service Criminal History
Checks, have been determined by the federal AmeriCorps agency to be allowable costs across grant
years, meaning you may use funds from your 2020-2021 grant to cover that type of expense for 2021-
2022 applicants. However these are exceptions from the general rule that 2021-2022 expenses must be
incurred during the 2021-2022 grant period and charged to that year's grant.
IowaGrants Start Forms: Now that your grants are awarded in eGrants (and after your final eGrants
materials are uploaded into IowaGrants as noted above), we will work to award them in IowaGrants so
that you can begin work on the required start forms. These will be due in phases, with some due as
soon as Aug. 1 for new programs with Aug. or Sep. 1 grant start dates. See our Start Form Checklist for
full details on the required start forms and timeline. You are able to begin submitting start forms after
the grant is awarded. If there are new staff on the program who were not involved in the application
process, they will need to set up their own IowaGrants account and you will need to connect them to
your awarded grant in the system (see our guide to Giving Others Access to IowaGrants). IowaGrants
account registration system questions should be directed to Volunteer Iowa compliance officer Jane
Mild.
21-22 Enrollment Plan Form: The Enrollment Plan start form will be due Aug. 1 for programs with an
Aug. or Sept.1 start date. For those programs that would like to start working on their enrollment plan
here's the link to the 21-22 Enrollment Plan form. There are a couple of changes to the form for 21-22,
for example conditional formatting has been added to add reminders about anticipated service schedule
hours and start dates beyond the conversion date. The two new columns, Planned Refills and Slots Left
Unfilled are for use during Enrollment Plan Updates and can be left blank during the initial planning. If
you have questions about the form or need more space, please reach out to Jane Mild.
National Service Criminal History Checks (NSCHC): The AmeriCorps agency has updated the National
Service Criminal History Check guidance found at https://americorps.gov/grantees-sponsors/history-
check. Operational programs must have a minimum of two staff complete the annual CNCS-required
NSCHC e-course (planning grantees will be introduced to this course and complete it as part of their
planning curricula). Certificates of completion from the training must be uploaded as part of the start
form requirements in IowaGrants. Also, any covered staff on the grant must have completed NSCHC
before they can begin charging time to the grant. Reminder: Contractors and staff NOT listed on an
AmeriCorps budget (i.e. staff of fixed -amount grants) are not subject to NSCHC requirements.
Programs must complete and adjudicate all components of the check the day before the member/staff
start date (for members, this is based on the start date in eGrants) so it is important to start the process
as early as feasible. If you have questions about how to conduct the checks under the new rule or how
to get set up with any of the vendors for the checks, contact your program officer.
Program Manual: Please send an email to americorps@iowaeda.com by Friday, July 9, to let us know if
you wish to receive a hard copy manual. For those who prefer a hard copy, we will plan to mail them
out or make them available for pick-up at our office. Your email should include the number of hard copy
manuals requested (normally a maximum of 2 per program and the desired mailing address or the best
contact person to communicate details about picking up the manuals at our office). If we do not hear
from you, we will assume you will be utilizing the electronic version.
Risk -Based Monitoring: As we continue to tailor our risk -based monitoring and support, this year
programs with elevated risk/monitoring levels in grant, member, and/or financial management may be
required to use Volunteer Iowa tools and templates or attend targeted trainings in these areas. More
information on these expectations will be communicated in the start forms and/or along with
notification of your risk/monitoring levels.
Member Recruitment & Support: See the Key Requirements & Resources section for important
reminders about required member recruitment postings in eGrants (& suggested postings in Service
Year), setting up member benefits for the coming year, and setting up your timekeeping system for
incoming members. Programs that don't have final approval for their 2021-2022 their host site
agreements and member service agreements should be working with Jane Mild to ensure that these are
ready before the first members start under the new grant. New programs can request a template and
technical assistance to get started on these documents.
Upcoming Trainings
Training & Evaluation Start -Up Survey: We encourage you to take our Start -Up Survey by the beginning
of August to provide your input on the grant application process and training needs for the coming
program year. Your feedback will help us make improvements in both of these areas!
Important Dates & Boot Camp Opportunity: You should put the following upcoming trainings (as
appropriate) on your calendar. If you have questions as to whether or not you are expected to attend
one of the listed trainings, please reach out to your assigned program officer.
Note that Volunteer Iowa has funds available to cover the registration costs for a limited number of new
program staff to attend the America's Service Commissions New Program Start-up "Boot Camp." This is
an optional but highly recommended training for new programs and/or new staff at existing AmeriCorps
programs. Attendees are responsible for covering the costs of their travel to this in -person training.
Contact Volunteer Iowa via email by 7/9/2021 if you are interested in sending staff to this intensive
training.
Upcoming Trainings
Tentative
Notes &/or Registration Information
Dates
Welcome Webinar
7/21/21
In conjunction with regularly scheduled PD webinar.
New Program Director Training
8/4/21
Required for program directors or management staff with
(Required for New Staff)
two years or less experience. Takes place virtually.
TA Webinar Topic 1: NSCHC
8/11/21
May be required for programs at high risk/monitoring
levels.
TA Webinar Topic 2: Site
8/25/21
May be required for programs at high risk/monitoring
Supervisor Support
levels.
TA Webinar Topic 3: Data
9/8/21
May be required for programs at high risk/monitoring
Collection & Performance
levels.
Measurement
TA Webinar Topic 4: Financial
9/24/21
May be required for programs at high risk/monitoring
Management
levels.
Iowa Nonprofit Summit
10/5/21-
Required of all programs. Takes place virtually in 2021.
10/7/21
ASC New Program Start -Up Boot
10/13/21-
Will take place in Austin, TX. Encouraged for new program
Camp (Optional)
10/15/21
directors or program management staff but limited spots
available so if interested contact your program officer or
americorps@iowaeda.com by 7/9/21.
Volunteer Iowa AmeriCorps
10/20/21-
Required of all programs. Takes place virtually and/or in
Program Launch (Required for all
10/21/21
the Des Moines metro.
Programs)
Key Requirements & Resources
The following chart provides a reminder of some key start-up requirements for the coming program year
as well as resources available to you.
Key Requirements/
Due Date
Notes &/or Submission Format
Resources
Current AmeriCorps
n/a
Located at https://volunteeriowa.org/americorps/current-
americorps-grantee-resources. Includes Program Manual,
Grantee Resources Web
Page from Volunteer Iowa
calendars, weekly email update archives, and monthly
webinar recordings.
Register for/Save Dates for
n/a
Weekly emails: the subscription link for the Friday update
Weekly Program Emails &
emails is https://volunteeriowa.us7.list-
Monthly Program
manage.com/subscribe?u=04f63a8c794588ec65a2e9c56&i
d=c4e5442d32. We encourage all program staff to
Webinars
register.
Monthly webinars: It is required to have a program
representative attend each monthly webinar. The monthly
URL is https://bit.ly/20-21PDwebinar or call 515-348-6300
(Conference ID: 147 202 440#). Use this same link to
login/call in each month.
Name, Title, & Email of
7/9/21, as needed
Send updates via email to Volunteer Iowa at
Authorized Representative
americorps@iowaeda.com.
for grant agreement
Pre -Award Cost Request
7/9/21, as needed
Send request via email to Volunteer Iowa at
americorps@iowaeda.com.
State Budget Allocation
7/9/21, if
Required from programs awarded state funds. Use
Form
applicable
attached Excel budget spreadsheet: Budget Allocation
Form State Funds.xlsx
IRS Form W9 & Iowa Direct
7/9/21, if
W9 required from new grantees only. Direct deposit form
Deposit Authorization
applicable
to be submitted by new grantees requesting direct deposit
Form
or others updating their bank information.
IRS Form W9- https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
Iowa Department of Administrative Services Direct Deposit
Authorization Form-
https://das.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/acct sae/man for
ref/forms/eft authorization form.pdf
Program Manual
7/9/21
Send request for hard copy manual to Volunteer Iowa at
Preference
americorps@iowaeda.com
AmeriCorps Program Start-
7/9/21
Email your program officer or americorps@iowaeda.com if
Up Boot Camp Interest
you would like to send staff to this training.
Program Start -Up Survey
8/1/21
Take the survey at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACstart-up to give
feedback as you start up the program year
NSCHC Requirements
Vendor account set
NSCHC required annual ecourse is accessed through
up as soon as
Litmos, the AmeriCorps training platform. See how to
possible, ecourse
register at
completion
https://www.americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document
/How%20to%20create%20Litmos%20account.pdf. Before
annually, NSCHC
any covered program staff can charge time to the grant,
completion before
start of
they must have a completed NSCHC. All current NSCHC
work/service for
guidance and information on setting up your NSCHC
covered staff & all
process/accounts is found at:
members
https://americorps.gov/grantees-sponsors/history-check
Member Recruitment
As soon as possible
Programs should begin recruitment locally and in eGrants
as soon as the grant is awarded in that system. Volunteer
Iowa also strongly encourages recruitment through
ServiceYear. Resources on these systems as well as
developing compliant position descriptions are posted at
https://volunteeriowa.org/americorps/current-
americorps-grantee-resources/member-management-
resources.
Resources for creating a compliant posting in eGrants:
https://www.americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document
/2018 06 01 Creating Service Opportunity Listing PDF
ASN.pdf
IowaGrants Start Forms
8/1/21 and later,
Submit the forms in IowaGrants as indicated on the
see schedule
schedule and checklist attached here and to be posted at
https://volunteeriowa.org/americorps/current-
americorps-grantee-resources/monitoring-and-policies
Member Benefits Set Up-
7/23/21 deadline
Volunteer Iowa does not endorse any specific mental
Mental Health Services
for 8/1/21 start
health services provider for AmeriCorps members,
date
however the only AmeriCorps-specific program we are
aware of is the Member Assistance Program (MAP)
8/21/21 deadline
through America's Service Commissions (ASC)-
for 9/1/21 start
https://www.statecommissions.org/americorps-member-
assistance -program. AmeriCorps members and employees
date
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.
Member Benefits Set Up-
Before member
Volunteer Iowa does not endorse any specific health
Health Insurance
start- see
insurance provider for AmeriCorps members, however the
deadlines from
only AmeriCorps-specific program we are aware of in
provider
operation in Iowa is the plan through The Corps Network-
https://corpsnetwork.org/about-us/loin-the-corps-
network/health-insurance/. Volunteer Iowa is a member of
The Corps Network, which gives Iowa programs access to
this plan.
Member Service
Before member
Review feedback from Volunteer Iowa on member service
Agreements & Member
start
agreements (returning programs) before utilizing them.
Orientation Agenda
New programs should work with Volunteer Iowa to
customize the template for their use.
Host Site Agreements &
Before member
Review feedback from Volunteer Iowa on host site
Site Supervisor Training
start
agreements (returning programs) before putting them into
place. New programs should work with Volunteer Iowa to
customize the template for their use.
Member Timekeeping
By grant start date
Volunteer Iowa requires use of the OnCorps system unless
grantees get pre -approval to use an alternate system
(which will also incur additional fees). See the set-up
information at
https://www.volunteeriowa.org/americorps/current-
americorps-grantee-resources/member-management-
resources and contact Jane Mild at
9ane.mild@iowaeda.com for assistance.
Certificate of Insurance
By date noted in
As outlined in the grant agreement template, you will be
start form checklist
required to maintain protection against losses or damages
with a financially sound and reputable insurer. A copy will
need to be provided as part of the start forms in
IowaGrants.
Congratulations again on the work you have done to be selected for this funding. We look forward to
working with you!
Sincerely,
Kristin Honz
Volunteer Iowa, Deputy Director of Operations
CC. Jamie Orozco Nagel, Program Development Officer
Authorized Representative
IowaGrants Correspondence (will be copied to correspondence when grant is awarded)
Required Federal Award Information
PROJECT & SUBRECIPIENT INFORMATION
AGENCY NAME: City of Dubuque
ADDRESS: 50 West 13th Street, Dubuque, IA 52001
PROJECT TITLE: AmeriCorps Partners in Learning
TOTAL FEDERAL FUNDS AWARD TO RECIPIENT: $203760
GRANT AWARD PERIOD: 8/1/2021 to 7/31/2022
FEDERAL AWARD PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 2021-2022 Iowa AmeriCorps State
FEDERAL FUNDS INFORMATION
FEDERAL FUNDING ENTITY: Corporation for National & Community Service
FEDERAL PROGRAM NAME: 2020 AmeriCorps State & National Grants
FEDERAL AWARD NUMBER: 21ACEIA001
CATALOGUE OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE: 94.006
AWARD FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: No
IOWA COMMISSION ON VOLUNTEER SERVICE INFORMATION
CONTACT PERSON: Adam Lounsbury
E-MAIL ADDRESS: Adam.Lounsbury@iowaeda.com
TELEPHONE NUMBER: 515.348.6230
This information is provided as a requirement of 24 CFR 200.331 Requirements for pass -through
entities. All requirements imposed by the Federal entity are passed on to Iowa Economic Development
Authority- Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service (IEDA-ICVS). In turn IEDA-ICVS passes on to the
subrecipient all requirements imposed by the Federal entity and that the Federal award is used in
accordance with Federal statutes, regulations and the terms and conditions of the Federal award.
PLEASE RETAIN FOR YOUR FILES.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
- 1 -
IOWA COMMISSION ON VOLUNTEER SERVICE
AMERICORPS GRANT AGREEMENT
_____________________________________________________________________________
GRANTEE: City of Dubuque
GRANT NUMBER: 21-AC-10
PROGRAM NAME: AmeriCorps Partners in Learning
GRANT AGREEMENT PERIOD: August 01, 2021- July 31, 2022
TOTAL MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT: $199,687
GRANTEE FEDERAL ID #: 42-6004596
GRANT TYPE: Cost reimbursement
______________________________________________________________________________
This AmeriCorps Grant Agreement is made by and between the Iowa Commission on Volunteer
Service, 1963 Bell Avenue, Suite 200, Des Moines, Iowa 50315 ("Commission" or "Volunteer
Iowa"), an agency of the State of Iowa, and City of Dubuque (“Grantee”), 50 West 13th Street,
Dubuque, IA 52001, a city government.
WHEREAS the Commission is designated to receive, administer and disburse AmeriCorps grant
funds; and
WHEREAS the Commission desires to disburse grant funds to the Grantee for eligible purposes
primarily addressing community needs identified in the Grant Application; and
WHEREAS the Grantee submitted an application for funding to the Commission and the
Commission has approved the application; and
WHEREAS, in approving the application, the Commission has relied upon the representations of
the proposed Program activities; management and financial condition of the Grantee; investment
of other Grantee funds; and other material information contained therein; and
WHEREAS the Grantee has certified to the Commission that the primary purpose for obtaining
AmeriCorps funds is to make a significant impact in the community while providing a meaningful
service opportunity for the AmeriCorps members;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Grantee accepts this grant upon the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement.
In consideration of the mutual promises contained in this Agreement, the Parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1 - DEFINITIONS
As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall apply:
1.1 ACT. "Act" means the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et
seq.), as amended by the Serve America Act, (42 U.S.C. S.12501 et seq.).
1.2 GRANT AGREEMENT or AGREEMENT. "Grant Agreement" or "Agreement" means this
Agreement and all of the exhibits, attachments and documents referred to in the Agreement and
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
- 2 -
incorporated by reference. The Grant Agreement is the legal agreement by which the Commission
makes subawards of AmeriCorps funding to the Grantee. The Grantee is the subrecipient and the
Commission is the pass-through entity.
a) Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the
subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal Award received by the pass-through entity. A
subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement.
b) Subrecipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that
receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a Federal award; but
does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such award. A subrecipient may
also be a recipient of other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency.
1.3 PROGRAM. “Program” means the detailed description of the program activities,
interventions, and other obligations to be performed or accomplished by the Grantee as described
in this Agreement and the AmeriCorps application approved by the Corporation for National and
Community Service (“Corporation” or “AMERICORPS”) and the Commission, as authorized by
the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended.
1.4 GRANT AGREEMENT PERIOD, EFFECTIVE DATE, & COMPLETION DATE.
“Grant Agreement Period” is the period in which the Agreement is in force and effect. The first
date of the Grant Agreement Period is considered the Effective Date (or start date) of the
Agreement and the last date is considered the Completion Date (or end date). The Grant
Agreement Period is aligned with the Budget Period for the federal subaward, but the Grant
Agreement Period may not cover the full Period of Performance for the federal subaward. The
Agreement expires upon the occurrence of one of the following: a) Program tasks have been fully
accomplished including fulfillment of the obligations identified in Article 6 as of the end date of
the grant agreement period; or b) the Agreement is terminated by Volunteer Iowa due to any default
under Article 8.1; or c) the Agreement is terminated in accordance with the provisions set forth in
Article 10.3. Except in limited circumstances, the Grant Agreement Period Completion Date will
not be extended beyond 90 (ninety) days past the original Grant Agreement Period Completion
Date.
a) Period of performance means the total estimated time interval between the start of an
initial Federal award and the planned end date, which may include one or more funded
portions, or budget periods. Identification of the period of performance in the Federal
award per § 200.211(b)(5) does not commit the awarding agency to fund the award
beyond the currently approved budget period.
b) Budget period means the time interval from the start date of a funded portion of an award
to the end date of that funded portion during which recipients are authorized to expend
the funds awarded, including any funds carried forward or other revisions pursuant to
§ 200.308.
1.5 GRANT TYPE. “Grant Type” refers to the category of grant award provided. AmeriCorps
grants may be either Cost Reimbursement or Fixed Amount types; the type of grant determines
certain budget and financial management responsibilities of the grantee.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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a) For Cost Reimbursement Grantees AMERICORPS funds a portion of program
operating costs, member living allowances, and administrative expenses; funding is not
directly dependent upon recruitment and retention of AmeriCorps members. Cost
reimbursement grants include a formal matching requirement and require the submission
of a budget and financial reports.
b) Fixed Amount Grants provide a fixed amount of funding per Member Service Year
(MSY) that is substantially lower than the amount required to operate the program.
Organizations use their own or other resources to cover the remaining costs. Fixed
Amount programs are not required to submit detailed budgets or financial reports, there is
no specific match requirement, and programs are not required to track and maintain
documentation of match. However, AMERICORPS provides only a portion of the cost of
running the program and organizations must raise the additional resources needed to run
the fixed amount program. Fixed Amount Programs can access all of the AmeriCorps
grant funds, provided they recruit (in the case of Education Award Program or “EAP”) or
retain (in the case of full-cost Fixed Amount programs) the members supported under the
grant based on the MSY level awarded. Professional Corps programs applying for
operational funding through a Fixed Amount Grant must submit a budget in support of
their request for operational funds.
1.6 ALLOWABLE COSTS. "Allowable Costs" are those costs which are identified in Attachment
A, Grant Application; Attachment B, Budget; and consistent with Federal regulations and
guidelines applicable to the AmeriCorps program.
1.7 AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE. The Authorized Representative is the person within
the Grantee organization authorized to accept and commit funds on behalf of the organization. A
copy of the governing body’s authorization for this official representative to sign must be on file
in the Grantee’s office.
ARTICLE 2 - FUNDING
2.1 FUNDING SOURCES. The primary source of funding for the Grant is a federal grant from
AMERICORPS [Code of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) 94.006] for the AmeriCorps
Program. A portion of the Grantee share of matching funds budgeted for this Grant may be
provided to the Grantee by Volunteer Iowa as noted in Article 3.1 from state funding sources. The
Grantee shall comply with the requirements, conditions and rules of AMERICORPS, the
Commission and any other public or private entity having authority over the funds or the Grant.
2.2 RECEIPT OF FUNDS. All payments under this Agreement are subject to receipt by the
Commission of sufficient funds for the AmeriCorps Program. Any termination, reduction, or delay
of federal or state funds to the Commission may, in the sole discretion of the Commission, result
in the termination, reduction or delay of AMERICORPS funds to the Grantee and/or termination
of this Agreement.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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2.3 PRIOR COSTS. If any grantee has received written approval from the Commission to incur
certain costs prior to the Effective Date of this Agreement, then said written approval and those
terms and conditions are incorporated herein and made a part of this Agreement by this reference
as if fully set forth.
2.4 USE OF GRANT FUNDS. The Grantee shall expend funds received under the Grant only for
the purposes and activities described in its application and approved by the Commission and in
compliance with applicable federal and state law and regulations.
2.5 BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR COST REIMBURSEMENT GRANTEES. The
following budget changes for cost reimbursement grantees shall be subject to prior approval of the
Commission through the amendment process as provided for in Article 10.6. Budget amendments
shall be requested from the Commission and approved prior to implementation of the budgetary
changes. Budget amendments shall be compatible with the terms of this Agreement and of such a
nature as to qualify as an allowable cost. Budget amendments requested during the final ninety
(90) days of the Agreement period will be approved on a limited basis. The following
circumstances require budget amendments.
a) Budget changes which would result in changes in excess of ten percent (10%) of the total
budget.
b) Budget changes which would lower the Grantee's percent share of costs required under
this Agreement.
c) Budgetary changes related to changes in the scope or goals of the project.
d) Costs requiring prior approval: adding costs in a previously unbudgeted line item,
supplies in excess of $1,000 per item, equipment valued at greater than $5000, subgrants
or contracts not included in approved application and budget, other costs requiring prior
approval under § 2 CFR 220 and § 2 CFR 230 regardless of the ten percent budget
limitation.
2.6 DISBURSEMENT OF LESS THAN THE TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT. If the total award
amount has not been requested by the Grantee within sixty (60) days following the Completion
Date, then the Commission shall be under no obligation for further disbursement.
2.7 MEMBER COSTS. The award amount contemplated by this Agreement reflects a maximum
possible payment based on full member enrollment. In the event that the Program does not fully
recruit the awarded member service years (MSY), the Commission may reduce the federal funding.
The Commission reserves the right to request repayment of any federal funds disbursed above the
reduced federal amount.
2.8 ADMINISTRATIVE COST GUIDELINES. Federal funds used for reasonable
administrative costs, are allowable.
a) For cost reimbursement grantees, the federal share of administrative costs shall be limited
to approximately five percent (5%) of the AMERICORPS funds expended in Sections I
and II of the approved budget. (See Exhibit E. Application Instructions for detailed
calculations of administrative costs). Grantees are eligible for additional administrative
costs in the Grantee Share of the budget. These amounts are approved at the time of
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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award and are reflected in the budget. Administrative costs will only be disbursed
proportional to grant funds expended.
b) Competitive cost reimbursement grantees will be invoiced on a quarterly basis for forty
percent (40%) of the allowable federal share of administrative costs from Section III of
the approved budget based on expenditures to-date.
c) Formula cost-reimbursement grantees will be invoiced on a quarterly basis for a State
Support & Monitoring Fee of two percent (2%) of the total federal share of Sections I and
II of the approved budget.
d) Fixed-amount grantees are also subject to having two percent (2%) of their grant retained
by the Commission, calculated according to guidance from AMERICORPS. The
Commission will invoice programs on a quarterly or other regular basis.
2.9 UNALLOWABLE COSTS. If Volunteer Iowa determines at any time, whether through
monitoring, audit, closeout procedures or by other means, that the Grantee has expended funds for
unallowable activities, the Grantee will be notified of the questioned costs and given an
opportunity to justify questioned costs prior to Volunteer Iowa's final determination of the
disallowance of costs. Appeals of any determinations will be handled in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter 15h, Iowa Code. If it is Volunteer Iowa’s final determination that costs
previously paid by Volunteer Iowa are unallowable under the terms of the Agreement, the
expenditures will be disallowed, and the Grantee shall repay to Volunteer Iowa any and all
disallowed costs. Grantee shall repay all disallowed costs within thirty (30) days. Volunteer Iowa
may work out a payment plan with the Grantee at its discretion.
2.10 NATIONAL SERVICE CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS DISALLOWED COSTS. If
Volunteer Iowa determines at any time, whether through monitoring, audit, closeout procedures,
program self-reporting, or by other means, that any portion of the National Service Criminal
History Check (NSCHC) process has not been completed as required, Volunteer Iowa will follow
the most recent version of the AMERICORPS NSCHC Enforcement Guide to assess disallowance
in cases of noncompliance or other unallowable circumstances as described in the Guide.
Disallowance payments must be made with non-federal funds.
ARTICLE 3 - TERMS OF GRANT
3.1 GRANT. The Commission grants $199,687 to the Grantee for AmeriCorps activities during
the Grant Agreement Period. The program activities of the Grantee are to commence as of the
Effective Date and shall be undertaken in such a manner as to assure their expeditious completion.
All of the services required hereunder shall be completed on or before the Completion Date.
3.2 GRANT ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED. Subject to the provisions set forth in this
Agreement, Volunteer Iowa grants funds to the Grantee to carry out the grant activities and
interventions as specifically outlined in Attachment A entitled "Grant Application" signed on
5/26/2021 and incorporated by this reference, and for such other grant obligations as Volunteer
Iowa and Grantee may agree to in writing.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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3.3 DISASTER DEPLOYMENT. In the case of a state-declared disaster, Grantee’s members
and/or grant-funded staff may be voluntarily deployed as an asset of the state. In case of
deployment, allowable related expenses outside of the scope of the approved Application may be
eligible for reimbursement. All disaster deployments must be approved by Volunteer Iowa.
Organizations opting to serve as part of the Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team (Iowa A-
DRT) may also be deployed under the Volunteer Iowa Cooperative Agreement with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The terms of these deployments are covered in
Attachment C, “Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team Disaster Deployment Agreement”.
3.4 ADMINISTRATION. The Agreement shall be administered in accordance with all applicable
State and Federal laws, regulations, and guidance, including those found in Exhibit F,
“AmeriCorps Program Director Manual”, which has been distributed by Volunteer Iowa to the
Grantee.
3.5 EVALUATION. The Grantee will fulfill the evaluation requirements for AmeriCorps State
& National grantees and subgrantees as outlined in Exhibit B, “Federal Regulations” and other
AMERICORPS evaluation guidance. If the Grantee’s evaluation plan requires AMERICORPS
approval, the Grantee will secure this approval by the date communicated in writing. Designated
program staff may be required to participate in training and technical assistance. Failure to submit
plans or plan corrections or to participate in required training will result in program suspension.
3.6 SPECIAL CONDITIONS. The Grantee will be subject to any special conditions noted below.
Special conditions may be specified by AMERICORPS or by Volunteer Iowa. AMERICORPS or
Volunteer Iowa will suspend programs that do not comply with the special conditions.
a)Special conditions applicable to this grant agreement: The evaluation plan City of Dubuque
21AC230628 is still under review by AmeriCorps and may require additional revisions prior to final
approval. All evaluation plans require AmeriCorps approval by the end of December 2021. Designated
program staff may be required to participate in training and technical assistance. Failure to submit plans
or plan corrections or to participate in required training will result in program suspension
ARTICLE 4 - CONDITIONS TO DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS
Unless and until the following conditions have been satisfied, the Commission shall be under no
obligation to disburse to the Grantee any amounts under the Grant Agreement:
4.1 GRANT AGREEMENT EXECUTED. The Grant Agreement shall have been properly
executed and returned to Volunteer Iowa prior to the grant agreement effective date or within thirty
(30) days of Volunteer Iowa’s transmittal of the final Agreement to the Grantee, whichever is
sooner.
4.2 BINDING FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS. Upon request, the Grantee will provide a
resolution of the Board of Directors, or other Governing Body of the Grantee, authorizing the
execution and delivery of this Grant Agreement and such other papers as the Commission may
reasonably request, and specifying the officer(s) authorized to execute the Grant Agreement and
bind the Grantee.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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4.3 GRANTEE DOCUMENTATION. The Grantee shall have completed the following Start
Forms related to program management and compliance.
a) Must be approved: Pre-Award Financial Form (new and planning Grantees) or Financial
Survey (returning Grantees).
b) Must be submitted: NSCHC Checklist, Policy, and Training Certifications (all Grantees).
4.4 SUBMISSION OF TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. Completion and
submission of form “W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.”
ARTICLE 5 - REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF GRANTEE
To induce the Commission to make the Grant referred to in this Agreement, the Grantee represents,
covenants and warrants that:
5.1 AUTHORITY. The Grantee is duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the State,
is in good standing, and has complied with all applicable laws of the State of Iowa. The Authorized
Representative listed for the Grantee is duly authorized and empowered to execute and deliver this
Agreement. All action on the part of the Authorized Representative, such as appropriate resolution
of their governing body for the execution and delivery of the Agreement, has been effectively
taken.
5.2 FINANCIAL INFORMATION. All financial statements and related materials concerning
the Grantee and the Program provided to the Commission are true and correct in all material
respects and completely and accurately represent the subject matter thereof as of the effective date
of the statements and related materials, and no material adverse change has occurred since that
date.
5.3 GRANT APPLICATION. The content of the grant application the Grantee submitted to the
Commission for funding is a complete and accurate representation of the Grantee and the Program
as of the date of submission and there has been no material adverse change in the organization,
operation, or key personnel of the Grantee since the date the application was submitted to the
Commission.
5.4 CLAIMS AND PROCEEDINGS. There are no actions, lawsuits or proceedings pending or,
to the knowledge of the Grantee, threatened against the Grantee affecting in any manner
whatsoever their rights to execute the Agreement or the ability of the Grantee to make the payments
required under the Agreement, or to otherwise comply with the obligations of the Agreement.
5.5 PRIOR AGREEMENTS. The Grantee has not entered into any verbal or written contracts,
agreements or arrangements of any kind, which are inconsistent with the Grant Agreement.
5.6 RENEWAL AND RESTATEMENT. The covenants, warranties and representations of this
Article are made as of the Effective Date of this Agreement and shall be deemed to be renewed
and restated by the Grantee at the time of each request for disbursement of funds.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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ARTICLE 6 - GRANTEE OBLIGATIONS AND AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS
The Grantee covenants with Volunteer Iowa that:
6.1 PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AND INTERVENTIONS. The Grantee shall carry out in a
satisfactory and proper manner the activities and interventions detailed in the approved Grant
Application (Attachment A) by the end of the Grant Agreement Period. Such activities and
interventions will be conducted according to the standards generally acceptable in the Grantee’s
field for similar tasks and projects, as long as these are in conformance with AmeriCorps State
requirements as determined by the Commission.
6.2 COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND REGULATIONS. The Grantee shall comply with all
applicable State and Federal laws, rules, ordinances, regulations and orders, including but not
limited to the National and Community Service Act as amended by the Serve America Act, the
Corporation’s regulations (45 CFR §§ 2500-2599), and the AmeriCorps Terms and Conditions.
All Grantees are subject to the Uniform Guidance under 2 CFR Chapters I and II, except that
Fixed-Amount Grants are exempt from the cost principles outlined in 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.
6.3 USE OF DEBARRED, SUSPENDED, OR INELIGIBLE CONTRACTORS OR
SUBRECIPIENTS. AMERICORPS funds shall not be used directly or indirectly to employ,
award contracts to, support with member placements, or otherwise engage the service of, or fund
any organization, or contractor during any period of debarment, suspension, or placement in
ineligible status under 2 CFR Part 180 or any applicable law or regulation.
6.4 MONITORING. To fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities and programmatic obligations, the
Commission shall conduct grant agreement oversight activities under this Agreement. The
Commission shall conduct monitoring on a routine basis based on the Commission’s risk
assessments. The Commission shall conduct grant agreement oversight activities from the
Commission offices, on site at the Grantee’s offices, virtually using electronic communications,
or a combination of these approaches. The Grantee shall implement and maintain sufficient
management practices and systems to assure compliance with all programmatic and fiscal
obligations under this Agreement. The Grantee’s responsibilities in this regard extend to oversight
of its sites and their financial and program duties as an agent of the Grantee under this Agreement.
6.5 ACCESS TO RECORDS. The Grantee shall permit the Commission, Auditor of the State of
Iowa or any authorized representative of the State, and where federal funds are involved, the
Comptroller General of the United States or any other representative of the United States
Government, to access and examine, audit, and/or copy any directly pertinent books, documents,
papers and records of Grantee relating to orders, invoices, or payments or any other documentation
or materials pertaining to this Agreement. The Commission shall make every effort to provide
prior notice and to access records from Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m.
and 5:00 p.m. Such rights to access shall continue as long as the records are retained by the
Grantee. Records may be accessed in hard copy, electronically, on site, or in other ways as
necessary to meet the needs of the Commission. Regardless of the method, all records will be
managed by the Commission in accordance with proper records management procedure(s) while
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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they are in the possession of the Commission. Access to records shall be granted within 72 hours
of the request unless other arrangements have been agreed to by the Commission.
6.6 RECORDS RETENTION. All records of the Grantee relating to this Agreement shall be
retained for a period of three (3) years following the submission date of the Commission’s final
Federal Financial Report (FFR) covering the grant. A chart detailing disposition dates of past
grants is available on the Volunteer Iowa website and upon written request. In addition to financial
records and supporting documentation, this includes statistical records, evaluation and program
performance data, member information and personnel records and any other records needed to
document compliance with federal requirements and to justify costs and matching share.
6.7 PROGRAMMATIC DOCUMENTATION. Upon request, the Grantee shall deliver to
Volunteer Iowa or make available for review the following documentation as applicable based on
the grant type: (a) copies of all contracts or agreements relating to the Program, (b) invoices,
receipts, statements or vouchers relating to the Program, (c) member or staff records or files and
program performance and evaluation data related to this Program, (d) a list of all unpaid bills for
labor and materials in connection with the Program, (e) budgets and revisions showing estimated
Program costs and funds required at any given time to complete and pay for the Program, (f)
current and year-to-date operating statements and (g) any other such grant-related documents as
requested, in order to verify compliance with applicable state and federal AmeriCorps
requirements.
6.8 NOTICE OF PROCEEDINGS. The Grantee shall promptly notify Volunteer Iowa of the
initiation of any claims, lawsuits or proceedings brought against the Grantee that, if unfavorably
determined, would have a material adverse effect on the Grantee’s ability to perform this
Agreement.
6.9 NOTIFICATIONS. In the event the Grantee becomes aware of any material alteration in the
Program, initiation of any investigation involving the Program or any similar occurrence, the
Program shall promptly notify the Commission.
6.10 REPORTS. The Grantee shall prepare, review, certify and submit the requests and reports as
outlined below, or in Ch 1 of the AmeriCorps Program Manual (Exhibit F), in the form and content
specified by Volunteer Iowa. The Grantee shall review all Claims and verify that claimed
expenditures are allowable costs. The Grantee shall maintain documentation adequate to support
all claimed costs reported for federal reimbursement or Grantee Share.
ITEM SYSTEM OR
FORMAT
DUE DATE (as noted or working day before if due
date falls on a weekend or holiday)
Financial Reporting
Claim and
Signed GAX
form
Claims component
in iowagrants.gov
25th of each month on dates provided in AmeriCorps
Program Manual (or quarterly, if approved)
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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Final Claim
and Signed
GAX
Claims component
in iowagrants.gov
Within 30 days of Grant Agreement Period
Completion Date
Federal
Financial
Report (FFR)
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
April 25, 2022, and October 25, 2022
Unexpended
Funds Report
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
April 25, 2022
Budget
Modification
Request for
Cost
Reimbursement
Grantees
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
For programs starting August 1, 2021, or September
1, 2021: April 30, 2022
For programs starting January 1, 2022: July 31, 2022
Financial Desk
Review
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
As assigned by financial risk/monitoring level & start
date
High monitoring level: March 25, 2022; May 25,
2022; or July 25, 2022
Moderate monitoring level: April 25, 2022, or July
25, 2022
Low monitoring level: January 25, 2022; April 25,
2022; or July 25, 2022
Final FFR Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
Within 60 days of Grant Agreement Period
Completion Date
Annual Audit
Form, Second
Audit Form &
Management
Letters
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
Annual Audit form & Management Letter: as part of
Program Start Forms (see below)
Second Audit Form & Management Letter: within 30
days of audit completion or publication
Audit
Reconciliation
Report
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
Within 30 days of audit completion or publication.
Closeout
Report
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
Within 60 days of Grant Agreement Period
Completion Date
Performance Measure & Program Progress Reporting
Program Start
Forms
Start Form
components in
iowagrants.gov
As noted in the Volunteer Iowa Start Forms Schedule
& Checklist
For programs starting August 1, 2021, or September
1, 2021: August 1, 2021; September 1, 2021; October
1, 2021
For programs starting January 1, 2022: December 15,
2021; February 1, 2022; March 1, 2022
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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Program
Progress
Reports (Initial,
Mid, End, &
Final
Performance
Measure
Report)
Status Report in
iowagrants.gov
For programs starting August 15, 2021, or September
1, 2021: January 15, 2022; May 15, 2022; December
15, 2022, and/or within 30 days of Grant Agreement
Period Completion Date
For programs starting January 1, 2022: April 15,
2022; May 15, 2022; December 15, 2022, and/or
within 30 days of Grant Agreement Period
Completion Date
Evaluation
Plans &
Reports
With recompete
application
Applies only to certain competitive recompete
applicants: As noted in the Volunteer Iowa Request
for Applications, Special Conditions to the grant
agreement, or as notified by Volunteer Iowa
Other Reports various formats As contained in the AmeriCorps Program Manual or
as notified by Volunteer Iowa
6.11 REQUIRED TRAININGS & COMMUNICATIONS. The Grantee will send at least one
staff member to the following trainings (also noted in Ch. 1 of the AmeriCorps Program Manual,
Exhibit F): Volunteer Iowa new Program Director training (for new programs/new staff only, in
Iowa in advance of the new program year), Volunteer Iowa Program Staff Launch training (in
Iowa in the first few months of the program year), the Iowa Nonprofit Summit (held every other
year in odd years, in Iowa), a National Service Regional Conference (in the spring/summer in the
North Central region). Other trainings may be offered or required throughout the program year,
based on Volunteer Iowa or AMERICORPS monitoring and feedback. The Grantee will have at
least one staff member participate in monthly Program Director Webinars led by Volunteer Iowa
staff and in regular program/financial monitoring check-in calls with Volunteer Iowa staff, to be
scheduled based on the Grantee’s assigned monitoring levels. The Grantee’s Program
Representative will read and share with other Grantee staff, as appropriate, the Weekly Update
newsletter distributed via email by Volunteer Iowa and will address any questions to the Program
Officer.
6.12 AUDIT.
a) Single Audit. Grantees expending $750,000 or more in federal awards in their fiscal year
shall ensure that an audit is performed in accordance with the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Chapter I, and Chapter II, Parts 200, 215, 220,
225, and 230) as applicable. The audit and accompanying management letter (or other
accompanying documents) shall be submitted to the Commission within 30 days after the
completion or publication of the audit, unless a longer period is agreed to by both parties.
b) Other Audit or Financial Review. Grantees expending less than $750,000 in federal
awards in a year are exempt from any federal audit requirements for that year but shall
comply with audit requirements prescribed by state or local law. Grantees that have an
audit or financial review performed that is inclusive of a grant period(s) covered by this
agreement must submit a copy of the audit or review to the Commission within 30 days
after completion.
c) Auditor of State. The Commission may engage the Auditor of State in conducting a
review or audit at any time. If such an engagement occurs, the Grantee must cooperate
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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with the process and provide records and files to enable the Auditor of State to conduct a
thorough review.
6.13 MAINTENANCE OF PROGRAM INSURANCE AND INDEMNIFICATION. In
addition to the member insurance requirements for the AmeriCorps program as noted in Exhibits
A-F, the following requirements will apply depending on the grantee organization.
a) State agencies: If the Grantee is an Agency of the State of Iowa and is self-insured for
liability, in general, the Grantee does not purchase commercial liability insurance since
certain statutory protections are provided under Chapter 669 of the Code of Iowa.
Chapter 669 authorizes claims against the State of Iowa on account of wrongful death,
personal injury or property damage incurred by reason of the negligence of the Agency or
its employees. The Grantee participates with the other State Departments or Regents
Institutions in a self-insurance pool for purposes of vehicular liability on owned and
rented vehicles. Claims up to $250,000 are paid from the self-insurance pool. Claims
exceeding $250,000 are processed through the Tort Claims process, in accordance with
Chapter 669 of the Code of Iowa.
Indemnification for state agencies: As an agency of the State of Iowa, the Grantee is
prohibited by law from indemnifying any person or entity, however, the Grantee agrees to
be responsible for its own negligent acts and omissions and those of its employees as
provided by the Iowa Tort Claims Act, Iowa Code, Chapter 669.
b) Private nonprofits, private institutions of higher education, city governments, school
districts, and other grantee types: If the Grantee is not an Agency of the State of Iowa,
the Grantee shall maintain, with financially sound and reputable insurers, insurance to
cover the project and protect its properties and assets against losses or damages of the
kind customarily insured against by corporations of established favorable reputation
engaged in the same or similarly situated. The requirement of insurance under this
provision may be met by establishing, to the satisfaction of Commission, either of the
following: (i) that a policy covering the project is in effect with any insurance company
of recognized responsibility; or (ii) that Grantee maintains an actuarially sound program
of self-insurance sufficient to cover the project. Grantee shall submit copies of all
applicable agreements, certificates, policies or other documentation requested by the
Commission attesting to insurance coverage and any renewals thereof.
Indemnification for non-state agencies: The Grantee shall indemnify and hold harmless
the Commission, its officers and employees from and against any and all losses in
connection with the Project.
6.14 CERTIFICATIONS. The Grantee certifies and assures that the Program will be conducted
and administered in compliance with all applicable Federal and State laws, regulations and orders.
Certain statutes are expressly made applicable to activities assisted under the Act by the Act itself,
while other laws not referred to in the Act may be applicable to such activities by their own terms.
The Recipient certifies and assures compliance with the applicable orders, laws and implementing
regulations, including but not limited to, the following:
a) Financial Management guidelines issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget,
Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200). Fixed amount grants are exempt from the cost principles
outlined in 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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b) Certifications and Assurances agreed upon at the time of application as detailed in the
AmeriCorps Application Instructions, (Exhibit E).
ARTICLE 7 - DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE; PRIORITY
7.1 DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. The following documents are
hereby incorporated by reference:
a) Attachments
i. Attachment A, "GRANT APPLICATION”, dated 5/26/2021 on the SF424, form
(attached)
ii. Attachment B, "BUDGET” (attached)
iii. Attachment C, “IOWA AMERICORPS DISASTER RESPONSE TEAM DISASTER
DEPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.” (attached if applicable)
iv. Attachment D, “ADDITIONAL FEES & REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
GRANTEES NOT USING THE VOLUNTEER IOWA MEMBER MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM.” (attached if applicable)
b) Exhibits
i. Exhibit A, “ACT”, The National and Community Service Act of 1990 as amended by
the Serve America Act,
https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document/%40%20National%20and%20Co
mmunity%20Service%20Act%20of%201990%20%28as%20amended%20through%2
0PL%20111-13%29.pdf
ii. Exhibit B, “FEDERAL REGULATIONS”, 45 CFR §§ 1200-1299 and 2500-2599,
https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-
idx?SID=0a0651909748e317690886cbf689868a&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title45/
45cfrv5_02.tpl#0
iii. Exhibit C, "AMERICORPS TERMS AND CONDITIONS”, 2021 AmeriCorps Terms
and Conditions, including both the General Terms and Conditions and the Program
Specific Terms and Conditions for AmeriCorps State and National
a. “FY2021 General Grant and Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions”
https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document/20201202_2021GeneralTa
ndC508.pdf
b. “2021 Terms and Conditions for AmeriCorps State and National Grants”
https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document/2021ASNProgram508TC2
0210603.pdf
iv. Exhibit D, “REQUEST FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS”, including both the
Volunteer Iowa Request for Grant Applications (RFA) and the Corporation for
National & Community Service Mandatory Supplemental Information for 2021
AmeriCorps State and National Grants posted at
https://iowagrants.gov/insideLinkOpps.jsp?documentPk=1593580414480.
v. Exhibit E, “APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS”, including the Volunteer Iowa Pre-
Application Instructions and Volunteer Iowa Final Application Instructions posted at
https://iowagrants.gov/insideLinkOpps.jsp?documentPk=1593580414480.
vi. Exhibit F, “AMERICORPS PROGRAM MANUAL”, 2021-2022 AmeriCorps
Program Manual, which is posted to the Volunteer Iowa Current AmeriCorps Grantee
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
- 14 -
Resources page at https://www.volunteeriowa.org/americorps/current-americorps-
grantee-resources.
7.2 ORDER OF PRIORITY. In the event of a conflict between documents of this agreement, the
following order of priority shall govern:
a) Articles I through X herein
b) Exhibit A, “ACT”
c) Exhibit B, “FEDERAL REGULATIONS”
d) Exhibit C, “AMERICORPS TERMS & CONDITIONS”
e) Exhibit D, “REQUEST FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS”
f) Exhibit E, “APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS”
g) Attachment A, “GRANT APPLICATION” including all assurances, certifications,
attachments, and pre-award negotiations
h) Attachment B, “BUDGET”
i) Exhibit F, “AMERICORPS PROGRAM MANUAL”
j) Attachment C “IOWA AMERICORPS DISASTER RESPONSE TEAM DISASTER
DEPLOYMENT AGREEMENT”
k) Attachment D “ADDITIONAL FEES & REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
GRANTEES NOT USING THE VOLUNTEER IOWA MEMBER MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM”
ARTICLE 8 - DEFAULT AND REMEDIES
8.1 EVENTS OF DEFAULT. The following shall constitute Events of Default under this Grant
Agreement:
a) Material Misrepresentation. If at any time any representation, warranty or statement
made or furnished to the Commission by, or on behalf of, the Grantee in connection with
this Grant Agreement or to induce the Commission to make a grant to the Grantee shall be
determined by the Commission to be incorrect, false, misleading or erroneous in any
material respect when made or furnished and shall not have been remedied to the
Commission's satisfaction within thirty (30) days after written notice by the Commission
is given to the Grantee.
b) Lack of Progress/Failure to Meet Program Requirements. If there is a failure of the
Grantee to make substantial and timely progress toward performance of the Program or
when the Grantee has failed to comply with the Agreement, award conditions or standards.
Full program requirements are outlined in the Agreement and supporting materials. Some
key areas of program requirements are full member enrollment, meeting Performance
Measure targets, responsiveness to Volunteer Iowa communication on compliance issues,
timely correction of compliance issues, submitting timely and accurate program and
financial reports.
c) Noncompliance. If there is a failure by the Grantee to comply with any of the covenants,
terms or conditions contained in this Agreement.
d) Program Incompletion. If the Program, in the sole judgment of the Commission, is not
completed on or before the Grant Agreement Period Completion Date.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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e) Misspending. If the Grantee expends Grant proceeds for purposes not described in the
AmeriCorps application, this Agreement, or as authorized by the Commission.
f) Insolvency or Bankruptcy. If the Grantee becomes insolvent or bankrupt, or admits in
writing its inability to pay its debts as they mature, or makes an assignment for the benefit
of creditors, or the Grantee applies for or consents to the appointment of a trustee or
receiver for the Grantee or for the major part of its property; or if a trustee or receiver is
appointed for the Grantee or for all or a substantial part of the assets of the Grantee and the
order of such appointment is not discharged, vacated or stayed within sixty (60) days after
such appointment; or if bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, insolvency, or
liquidation proceedings or other proceedings for relief under any bankruptcy or similar law
or laws for the relief of debtors, are instituted by or against the Grantee and, if instituted
against the Grantee is consented to, or, if contested by the Grantee is not dismissed by the
adverse parties or by an order, decree or judgment within sixty (60) days after such
institution.
g) Lack of or Insufficient Insurance. If loss, theft, damage or destruction of any substantial
portion of the property of the Grantee occurs for which there is either no insurance coverage
or for which, in the opinion of the Commission, there is insufficient insurance coverage.
8.2 CORRECTIVE ACTION. Prior to issuing a formal notice of default for any of the events
identified under Article 8.1, Volunteer Iowa may, on reasonable notice to the Grantee, take action
to compel the Grantee to complete corrective action as required by Volunteer Iowa. The
Commission shall have the final authority to assess whether the Grantee is making adequate
progress on the performance measures and other program goals and requirements. The
Commission may require underperforming Grantees to submit Corrective Action Plans designed
to increase the Program’s performance. The Commission reserves the right to monitor and
measure the achievement of program performance at any time during or after the Grant
Agreement Period. Corrective action may involve the following:
a) Suspend Payments. Volunteer Iowa may suspend the Agreement and withhold future
payments under the Agreement until the program is brought into compliance or develops
a corrective action plan and timeline that is approved by the Commission to bring the
program into compliance. Volunteer Iowa may allow such necessary and proper costs
which the Grantee could not reasonably avoid during the period of suspension provided
that Volunteer Iowa concludes that such costs meet the requirements of the federal
regulations.
b) Partial Repayment. Volunteer Iowa may require partial repayment of Grant proceeds
which allows partial credit for the performance targets or programmatic goals which have
been met.
c) Other Remedies. The Commission may require other remedies following the parties’
unsuccessful good faith attempt to resolve any event of default giving rise to the
Commission seeking to exercise the enforcement of this clause.
8.3 NOTICE OF DEFAULT. Volunteer Iowa shall issue a written notice of default providing
therein a fifteen (15) day period in which the Grantee shall have an opportunity to cure, provided
that cure is possible and feasible.
8.4 REMEDIES UPON DEFAULT. If, after opportunity to cure, the default remains, Volunteer
Iowa may do one or more of the following:
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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a) Exercise any remedy provided by law,
b) Terminate the Grant Agreement and establish revised reporting deadlines for the purposes
of closing out the grant,
c) Require immediate repayment of the full amount of funds disbursed to the Grantee under
the Grant Agreement, plus interest.
d) Other Remedies. The Commission may require other remedies following the parties’
unsuccessful good faith attempt to resolve any default giving rise to the Commission
seeking to exercise the enforcement of this clause.
ARTICLE 9 - DISBURSEMENT PROCEDURES
9.1 REQUEST FOR DISBURSEMENT. All disbursements of proceeds shall be subject to
receipt by the Commission of claims for disbursement submitted by the Grantee. Claims for
disbursement (“claims”) shall be in form and content acceptable to the Commission. Each
requisition shall be submitted to the Commission according to the schedule shown in Article 6.10.
a) Program Income. All program income as defined in 2 CFR 200.307 shall be added to the
Budget and used to meet the grantee share in furthering eligible Program activities as
defined in the Agreement and the approved Grant Application. Program income not used
to further Program activities will be deducted from the federal share for the purpose of
determining the amount of reimbursable costs under the Agreement. In cases of dispute,
final decisions regarding the definition or disposition shall be made by Volunteer Iowa.
Proceeds generated from the AmeriCorps program are considered Program Income.
Programs are required to report all income generated in excess of that which is used to
meet the grantee share of the expenditures on the FFR to the Commission according to the
schedule shown in Article 6.10. All program income shall be expended prior to requesting
federal AMERICORPS funds. Program income received after the Grant Agreement Period
shall be returned to the Commission.
9.2 REQUEST FOR PAYMENT MODIFICATIONS.
a) Quarterly payments. With prior approval, the Grantee may qualify for quarterly claim
submission, provided the Grantee meets the financial management standards specified in
2 CFR Chapters I and II, as applicable, and provided Grantee submits any additional
information that may be required by Volunteer Iowa. The Commission may revoke the
approval for quarterly payment at any time, if the Grantee fails to meet financial
management requirements or demonstrates significant deficiencies.
b) Advance payments for cost reimbursement grantees. With prior approval, cost
reimbursement grantees may receive advance payments of grant funds, provided the
Grantee meets the financial management standards specified in 2 CFR Chapters I and II,
as applicable, and provided Grantee submits any additional information that may be
required by Volunteer Iowa.
i. Immediate cash flow needs. The amount of advance payments requested by the
Grantee must be based on actual and immediate cash needs in order to minimize
federal cash on hand in accordance with policies established by the U.S.
Commission of the Treasury in 31 CFR Part 205.
ii. Discontinuing advance payments. Volunteer Iowa may, after providing due
notice to the Grantee, discontinue the advance payment method and either allow
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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payments in advance based upon individual request and approval, or by
reimbursement only, in cases where the grantee receiving advance payments
demonstrates unwillingness or inability to establish procedures to ensure accurate
reporting, minimize the time elapsing between the receipt of the cash advance and
its disbursement, displays other practices that indicate a potential financial
management problem or in cases where federal funds are not forthcoming or
insufficient due to non-appropriation, termination of the Program, or reduction in
funding level.
iii. Interest earned. In most circumstances, the Grantee must deposit advance funds
received from the Volunteer Iowa in a federally insured, interest-bearing account.
For exceptions to this requirement, refer to 2 CFR Chapters I and II. To the extent
that interest is earned on advances of AMERICORPS funds, this interest shall be
returned to Volunteer Iowa.
9.3 MATCHING REQUIREMENTS FOR COST REIMBURSEMENT GRANTEES. The
following requirements apply only to cost reimbursement grantees.
a) The Grantee agrees to provide local matching contribution to the Program as defined in the
“Grantee Share” column of the budget shown in Attachment B, “Budget”. The Grantee is
expected to meet the budgeted match percent of the Grantee share for each reporting period,
unless otherwise agreed upon by the Commission.
b) The Grantee shall comply with OMB Cost Principles 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E
requirements related to allowable kinds and sources of match and match documentation
requirements. Grantees utilizing match funds from other Federal sources must have
consent from the other Federal source allowing the use of the funds as match under this
Grant. Grantees shall report the amount and sources of federal funds, other than those
provided by AMERICORPS, used to carry out its Program. This includes other federal
funds expended by Program Subrecipients and operating sites. This information shall be
reported on the Federal Financial Report (FFR).
c) If a Program fails to meet the matching requirements, the Commission will notify the
Grantee in writing of the situation and request that the costs be brought into alignment with
the budgeted federal and match percentages within one reporting period. If there is an on-
going issue related to match, the Commission may notify the Financial Representative,
Program Representative and/or the Authorized Representative of the Grantee agency. The
Commission may suspend payment of reimbursement request(s) until the situation is
corrected.
ARTICLE 10 - GENERAL TERMS AND PROVISIONS
10.1 BINDING EFFECT. This Grant Agreement shall be binding upon the Grantee and the
Commission, and their respective successors, legal representatives and assigns. The obligations,
covenants, warranties, acknowledgments, waivers, agreements, terms, provisions and conditions
of this Grant Agreement shall be jointly and severally enforceable against the parties to this Grant
Agreement.
10.2 SUSPENSION. Volunteer Iowa may suspend a grant for not more than thirty (30) calendar
days. Examples of situations necessitating a suspension may include, but are not limited to:
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
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a) Serious risk to persons or property.
b) Violations of Federal, state or local criminal statutes.
c) Material violation(s) of the grant agreement. Violations that are sufficiently serious that
they outweigh the general policy in favor of advance notice and opportunity to show cause.
d) Corrective action. As part of a corrective action plan undertaken according to Article 8.2.
10.3 TERMINATION. Termination means the ending of the Grant Agreement, at any time prior
to the planned end of the Grant Agreement Period.
a) Circumstances for Termination. This agreement may be terminated in the following
circumstances. (The Administrative Rules of Volunteer Iowa in regards to the appeals
process apply in all situations.)
i. For Convenience. With thirty (30) days notice, Volunteer Iowa or the Grantee may
terminate the Agreement in whole, or in part, when all parties agree that the
continuation of the Program would not produce beneficial results commensurate with
the future disbursement of funds.
ii. For Cause. As a result of Grantee's default under this Agreement, as stated in Article
8. The agreement may also be terminated if it no longer effectuates the program goals
or AMERICORPS priorities.
iii. Due to Non-appropriation or Reduction of AMERICORPS Funding. If funds
anticipated for the continuing fulfillment of this Agreement are at any time not
forthcoming or insufficient due to non-appropriation, termination of the Program, or
reduction in funding level, then Volunteer Iowa shall have the right to terminate this
Agreement without penalty by giving the Grantee not less than thirty (30) days written
notice. In the event of termination of this agreement under this Article, the exclusive,
sole and complete remedy of the Grantee shall be payment of services rendered prior
to termination.
b) Procedures Upon Termination.
i. Termination Notice. Volunteer Iowa shall provide written notice to the Grantee of the
decision to terminate, the reason(s) for the termination, the effective date of the
termination, and final reporting obligations and deadlines. If there is partial termination
due to a reduction in funding, the notice will set forth the change in funding and the
changes in the approved budget. The Grantee shall not incur new obligations after the
effective date of the termination and shall cancel as many outstanding obligations as
possible.
ii. Rights in Products. All finished and unfinished documents, data, reports and other
material prepared by the Grantee under the Agreement, except for any intellectual
property, shall, at Volunteer Iowa discretion, become the property of the Commission.
iii. Return of Funds. Volunteer Iowa’s share of noncancelable obligations which
Volunteer Iowa determines were properly incurred prior to notice of cancellation will
be allowable under the Grant Agreement. The Grantee shall return to the Commission
any costs previously paid by the Commission which are subsequently determined to be
unallowable through audit, monitoring or closeout procedures within thirty (30) days
of the disallowance. In case of termination, all unencumbered Grant proceeds shall be
returned to Volunteer Iowa within thirty (30) days of the of receipt of Notice of
Termination.
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
- 19 -
10.4 SURVIVAL OF AGREEMENT. If any portion of this Grant Agreement is held to be invalid
or unenforceable, the remainder shall be valid and enforceable. The provisions of this Grant
Agreement shall survive the execution of all instruments herein mentioned and shall continue in
full force and effect until the Grant Agreement is terminated or the proceeds are paid in full.
10.5 GOVERNING LAW. This Grant Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with the law
of the State of Iowa, and any action relating to the Grant Agreement shall only be commenced in
the Iowa District Court for Polk County or the United States District Court for the Southern District
of Iowa.
10.6 AMENDMENT.
a) Joint Modification. The Agreement may only be amended through written prior approval
of the Commission. The Commission or the Grantee may, during the duration of this
Agreement, deem it necessary to modify provisions of this Agreement, which make a
substantial change in the scope of services, extend the period of operation, modify the
performance measures or make other changes to programmatic elements of the Agreement.
The provisions of the amendment shall be in effect as of the date the modification is signed
by both the Commission and the Grantee, unless otherwise specified within the
amendment.
b) Unilateral Modification. Notwithstanding paragraph (a) above, Volunteer Iowa may
unilaterally modify this Agreement at will in order to accommodate any change in the Act
or any change in the interpretation of the Act or any applicable federal, state or local laws,
regulations, rules or policies. A copy of such unilateral modification will be given to the
Grantee as an amendment to this Agreement. Volunteer Iowa will give the Grantee
reasonable prior notice of any proposed unilateral modification of this agreement.
c) Volunteer Iowa Review. Volunteer Iowa will consider whether an amendment request is
so substantial as to require AMERICORPS written approval or as to necessitate
reevaluating the Commission’s funding decision on the Program. An amendment will be
denied if it substantially alters the circumstances under which the Program funding was
originally approved or if it does not meet federal or state requirements.
10.7 NOTICES. Whenever this Grant Agreement requires or permits any notice or written request
by one party to another, it shall be in writing, and delivered at Volunteer Iowa’s discretion via
electronic means (such as email with a read receipt requested), to the Authorized Representative,
Financial Representative, or Program Representative as noted on this Grant Agreement (or to
another Authorized Representative who may have been designated by written notice) or enclosed
in an envelope, addressed to the party to be notified at the address heretofore stated (or at such
other address as may have been designated by written notice), properly stamped, sealed and
deposited in the United States Mail, as Certified Mail, return receipt requested. Any such notice
given hereunder shall be deemed delivered upon the earlier of actual receipt or two (2) business
days after posting. The Commission may rely on the address of the Grantee and Authorized
Representative set forth heretofore, as modified from time to time, as being the address and
Authorized Representative of the Grantee.
10.8 WAIVERS. No waiver by the Commission of any default hereunder shall operate as a waiver
of any other default or of the same default on any future occasion. No delay on the part of the
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
- 20 -
Commission in exercising any right or remedy hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof. No
single or partial exercise of any right or remedy by the Commission shall preclude future exercise
thereof or the exercise of any other right or remedy.
10.9 LIMITATION. The Commission shall not, under any circumstances, be obligated financially
under this Grant Agreement except to disburse funds according to the terms of the Agreement. It
is expressly understood and agreed that the maximum amounts to be paid to the Grantee by the
Commission for any item of work or service shall conform to the Budget as presented in
Attachment B. It is further understood and agreed that all payments to the Grantee by the
commission for all work and services required under this Agreement shall not exceed the Total
Maximum Grant Amount unless modified by written amendment of this Agreement as provided
for in Article 10.6.
10.10 ENFORCEMENT EXPENSES.
a) State agencies: If the Grantee is an Agency of the State of Iowa, if any dispute arises
between the parties in connection with this Agreement and it cannot be resolved by
mutual agreement of the parties, the remaining dispute shall be submitted to a board of
arbitration in accordance with the procedure set forth in Iowa Code §679A.19.
b) Private nonprofits, private institutions of higher education, city governments, school
districts, and other grantee types: If the Grantee is not an Agency of the State of Iowa,
the Grantee shall pay upon demand any and all reasonable fees and expenses of the
Commission, including the fees and expenses of their attorneys, experts and agents, in
connection with the exercise or enforcement of any of the rights of the Commission under
this Grant Agreement, following the parties’ unsuccessful good faith attempt to resolve
any default giving rise to the Commission seeking to exercise the enforcement of its
rights.
10.11 HEADINGS. The headings in this Grant Agreement are intended solely for convenience of
reference and shall be given no effect in the construction and interpretation of this Grant
Agreement.
10.12 PROGRAM NONDISCRIMINATION. Grantee shall comply with the provisions of
federal, state and local laws and regulations to ensure that no employee, member or applicant for
employment is discriminated against because of race, creed, religion, color, age, sex, gender
identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or other protected class. Grantee shall
provide state or federal agencies with appropriate reports as required, ensuring compliance with
equal employment laws and regulations. Grantee shall ensure that all authorized subcontractors
comply with provisions of this clause. A breach of this Article shall be considered a material breach
of this Agreement.
10.13 NON-ASSIGNMENT. This Agreement may not be assigned without prior Commission
written consent. The Grantee may not discontinue administration of activities under this
Agreement without the prior written disclosure to and prior written consent of the Commission.
10.14 INTEGRATION. This Grant Agreement contains the entire understanding between the
Grantee and the Commission and any representations that may have been made before or after the
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
- 21 -
signing of this Grant Agreement, which are not contained herein, are nonbinding, void and of no
effect. Neither of the parties has relied on any such prior representation in entering into this Grant
Agreement.
10.15 COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each
of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute b ut one and
the same instrument.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank — Signature Page Follows]
Grant Agreement Number: 21-AC-10
- 22 -
GRANT AGREEMENT SIGNATURE PAGE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Grant Agreement by their proper and
duly authorized representatives as of the Effective Date first stated.
For City of Dubuque
___________________________________
Michael Van Milligen
City Manager
For Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service
_____________________________________
Adam Lounsbury
Executive Director
For the purposes of this Agreement, please add the following designees:
Program Representative Name and Title:
_______________________________________________________________________
Financial Officer Name and Title:
________________________________________________________________________
Please indicate below your participation in the Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team:
☐ Yes, the program will participate in the Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team
☐ No, the program will not participate in the Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team
If yes, designate a contact person for the Disaster Response Team.
Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team Program Contact Name and Title:
_____________________________________________________________________________
Cassie Ross, Assistant Director of Finance
Heather Satterly, AmeriCorp Director
Aug 5, 2021
Aug 5, 2021
Attachment A
Grant Application
Page 1
N/A
STATE APPLICATION IDENTIFIER:
18ACHIA0010012
FEDERAL IDENTIFIER:
21AC230628
2b. APPLICATION ID:
27-MAY-21
3. DATE RECEIVED BY STATE:
4. DATE RECEIVED BY FEDERAL AGENCY:
City of DubuqueLEGAL NAME:
2200 Bunker Hill Rd
Heather M. SatterlyNAME:
(563) 690-6171
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
FAX NUMBER:
hsatterl@cityofdubuque.orgINTERNET E-MAIL ADDRESS:
426004596
6. EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN):7. TYPE OF APPLICANT:
8. TYPE OF APPLICATION (Check appropriate box).
If Amendment, enter appropriate letter(s) in box(es):
94.00610a. CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE NUMBER:
AmeriCorps State10b. TITLE:City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning
11.a. DESCRIPTIVE TITLE OF APPLICANT'S PROJECT:
Dubuque, IA
12. AREAS AFFECTED BY PROJECT (List Cities, Counties, States, etc):
08/01/21START DATE:07/31/22END DATE:IA 01
$ 203,760.00a. FEDERAL
$ 209,169.00b. APPLICANT
$ 0.00c. STATE
$ 0.00d. LOCAL
$ 0.00e. OTHER
$ 412,929.00g. TOTAL
Heather M. Satterly
a. TYPED NAME OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE:
AmeriCorps Director
b. TITLE:
(563) 690-6171
c. TELEPHONE NUMBER:
05/26/21
e. DATE SIGNED:
Local Government, Municipal
2a. DATE SUBMITTED TO CORPORATION
FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY
SERVICE (CNCS):
1. TYPE OF SUBMISSION:
Non-Construction
5. APPLICATION INFORMATION
NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PROJECT DIRECTOR OR OTHER
PERSON TO BE CONTACTED ON MATTERS INVOLVING THIS APPLICATION (give
area codes):
ADDRESS (give street address, city, state, zip code and county):
A. AUGMENTATION B. BUDGET REVISION
C. NO COST EXTENSION D. OTHER (specify below):
9. NAME OF FEDERAL AGENCY:
Corporation for National and Community Service
13. PROPOSED PROJECT:14. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF:
15. ESTIMATED FUNDING:16. IS APPLICATION SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY STATE EXECUTIVE
ORDER 12372 PROCESS?
YES. THIS PREAPPLICATION/APPLICATION WAS MADE AVAILABLE
TO THE STATE EXECUTIVE ORDER 12372 PROCESS FOR
REVIEW ON:
DATE:
17. IS THE APPLICANT DELINQUENT ON ANY FEDERAL DEBT?
YES if "Yes," attach an explanation.NOX
18. TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF, ALL DATA IN THIS APPLICATION/PREAPPLICATION ARE TRUE AND CORRECT, THE DOCUMENT HAS BEEN
DULY AUTHORIZED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE APPLICANT AND THE APPLICANT WILL COMPLY WITH THE ATTACHED ASSURANCES IF THE ASSISTANCE
IS AWARDED.
APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE
Dubuque IA 52001 - 3010
NEW
CONTINUATION AMENDMENTX
7b.
7a.Local Government - Municipal
f. PROGRAM INCOME $ 0.00
PART I - FACE SHEET
DUNS NUMBER:093105302
Modified Standard Form 424 (Rev.02/07 to confirm to the Corporation's eGrants System)Application
NEW/PREVIOUS GRANTEE
11.b. CNCS PROGRAM INITIATIVE (IF ANY):
X NO. PROGRAM IS NOT COVERED BY E.O. 12372
d. SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE:
Year #:
X
2
a.Applicant b.Program IA 01
County: Dubuque
UEI NUMBER:
Page 2
For Official Use Only
Narratives
Executive Summary
Rationale and Approach/Program Design
The AmeriCorps Partners in Learning (APIL) program proposes to have 49 AmeriCorps members
who will tutor K-3rd grade struggling readers one on one or in small groups in the Dubuque
Community School District's elementary schools and summer programs. At the end of the first
program year, the AmeriCorps members will be responsible for increasing the reading scores of 400
students with literacy needs. In addition, the AmeriCorps members will leverage an additional 100
volunteers who will be engaged in Dubuque community days of service.
The program will focus on the CNCS focus area of Education. The CNCS investment of $203,760 will
be matched with $209,169, $193,419 in public funding and $15,750 in private funding.
THEORY OF CHANGE AND LOGIC MODEL
Dubuque Community School District's (DCSD) students are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade.
Data from DCSD's FAST (Formative Reading Assessment System for Teachers) and Certified Annual
Enrollment provide us with current literacy rates. In Fall 2019, 36% of all DCSD 3rd grade students
were not reading at grade level. When poverty is taken into consideration, the data is more severe. In
Fall 2019, 47% of DCSD's 3rd grade students that were eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch did not
read at grade level, compared to the 27% of Non-Free and Reduced Lunch students who did not read
at grade level. When looking at all grade levels leading up to grade 3, the data is similar. In Fall 2019,
56% of DCSD 2nd grade students, 53% of 1st grade students and 59% of Kindergarten students, were
not reading at grade level. In the Fall of 2019, 39% of DCSD K-3rd grade students, or approximately
2,999 students, were not reading at grade level. 5 of 13 Dubuque elementary schools (Audubon,
Fulton, Lincoln, Marshall, Prescott) are Title 1 which means they are designated as schools with high
percentages of children from low-income families. In the remaining 8 elementary schools, there exists
an increasing percentage of students in poverty: Bryant (39%); Carver (47%); Eisenhower (40%);
Hoover (66%); Irving (42%); Kennedy (53%); Sageville (63%); Table Mound (38%).
Our program realizes and understands that children from many backgrounds, impoverished or not,
struggle with reading. However, living in poverty can create a reality for students that contributes to
the struggle of reading at grade level. First, children in poverty are more likely to be unprepared for
kindergarten. A series of longitudinal studies by Hart and Risley (1995-2003) demonstrated low
income children heard 30 million fewer words total by age three than did more affluent children.
Page 3
For Official Use Only
Narratives
These early gaps result in persistent academic challenges in beginning elementary school years.
Second, students in poverty often experience learning loss during the summer. According to the
Campaign for Grade Level Reading, research has proven the summer slide exists. Simply, students
lose ground academically when not engaged academically during the summer. The problem is
particularly acute among low-income students who lose an average of more than two months in the
summer. In Dubuque, the rate of impoverished households is rising. Research conducted by MIT in
2018 showed that there is a strong positive correlation between the poverty rate and affordable quality
childcare. Because of this issue, our low-income families in our community struggle significantly with
students accessing early childhood education and quality educational summer programming. The
long term academic ramifications for students who do not read at grade level by 3rd grade are great.
According to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, reading by 3rd grade is a critical milestone in a
child's academic success. Before 3rd grade, students learn how to read. After 3rd grade, students
transition from learning how to read, to reading to learn. According to a study by researchers,
students who couldn't read at grade level by 3rd grade continued to fall further behind their peers after
3rd grade (McNamara, J.K., Scissons, M, and Gutknecth, N; 2011). In addition, a 2012 study by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation states children who do not read proficiently by the end of third grade are
four times less likely to graduate from high school on time than proficient readers. These ramifications
are serious for both the individual student and the community.
Our integrated, comprehensive, two pronged approach will ensure students with literacy needs read at
grade level by the end of 3rd grade. The first approach consists of a school year program where
members provide 1-1 or small group literacy interventions to struggling readers. The second approach
consists of a summer program where members provide 1-1 or small group literacy support and
enrichment activities. According to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, communities must use a
collaborative approach to ensure students read at grade level by 3rd grade. Our program works with
both the school district and community partners to target literacy efforts in Dubuque's elementary
schools and summer programs. This year-round approach ensures students continue to build on their
grade level reading efforts from the school year through the summer months.
During the school year, the program will place 22 (11 RHT and 11 MT) members as trained Academic
Reading Tutors in 13 DSCD elementary schools. Members will tutor K-3rd grade, Tier 2 students
identified through the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). MTSS is an evidence-based model to
integrate academic interventions. Tier 2 students are students who are not proficient in reading or
who are at risk of becoming not proficient in reading and require interventions. Tier 2 students do not
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often receive needed interventions from classroom teachers or staff because their time must be spent
with Tier 3 students who need intense, individual interventions from a certified teacher. Therefore,
AmeriCorps members are critical to Tier 2 students' literacy success because these interventions would
not otherwise occur.
Tutoring sessions will occur 1-1 or in small groups. Each session will occur at least three times per
week for 15-30 minutes for a minimum of 10 weeks or 30 sessions and until the student has been
reassessed and results show the child performing at grade level. Additionally, members will be
providing limited targeted support to 4th (20 15-30 minute sessions) and 5th (10 15-30 minute
sessions) grade students who have received at least 2 years of previous interventions from our
program during K-3rd grades, who are not proficient or at risk of losing proficiency. 1 FT member
with Carnegie Stout Public Library will focus on phonemic awareness skill building with the DCSD
preschool programs. 3 QT members with St Mark Youth Enrichment will support literacy homework
help and social-emotional learning during the after-school programs at 3 Title 1 DCSD schools.
AmeriCorps members will use two specific interventions, LEAD 21 and Lexia, both of which are
critical to the success of the tutoring session. These interventions are curriculum used by the
classroom teacher and align with Iowa's Common Core standards. LEAD 21 is designed to foster
essential literacy skills and strategies, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency and
comprehension. LEAD 21 provides systematic and explicit instruction as well as built-in differentiated
interventions specifically for Tier 2 students. Lexia provides all students a personalized, systematic,
structured approach in the following reading areas: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and
comprehension. It also provides differentiated interventions for Tier 2 students. Lexia's research
proven program targets skill gaps as they emerge and provides student-specific interventions through
Lexia Lessons. Lexia Lessons are scripted materials which allow each member to provide explicit,
multi-sensory interventions in a specific skill area. LEAD 21 and Lexia intervention materials are
already created for our members, which means all members are provided with a specific script to
follow.
School-based AmeriCorps members will target 800 DCSD students with literacy needs who start our
tutoring program. The program defines start as a student who has at least 10 tutoring sessions with an
AmeriCorps member. Of the 800 students that our members start with, 500 (ED 1A) will complete
the tutoring program. The program defines completion as a student who has 30 tutoring sessions
which equates to 10 weeks of the program with at least three sessions per week. Of those 500
students, 400 (ED 5A) will show steady progress toward grade level reading proficiency based upon
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fall and spring Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) literacy assessment scores. The
program defines steady progress as improving by 1 or more FAST determined risk levels from the
student's fall to spring FAST assessment. Students who make steady progress from fall to spring are
more likely to read at grade level by 3rd grade.
During the summer, the program will combat summer learning loss by placing 26 Minimum Time
(MT) members in summer programs. AmeriCorps members will provide K-3rd grade students small
group or 1-1 literacy supports and enrichment programming. Each site will also provide additional
literacy and enrichment interventions. Ten MT members will serve at DCSD's Summer Academy for
the 6 week program. Six MT members will serve at Leisure Service Playground Explorations for the
ten week program. One MT member will serve at Carnegie-Stout Public Library for the 6 week
program. Six MT members will serve at St. Mark Youth Enrichment for the 6 week program. The
school year tutoring program, coupled with the summer literacy support and enrichment programs,
will ensure students read at grade level by 3rd grade.
EVIDENCE BASE
APIL's program design is evidence informed and meets the preliminary tier level. Using an outside
evaluator, Dr. Rachel Daack PhD, of Clarke University, APIL conducted an outcome evaluation of the
school-based portion of our literacy services which yielded positive results indicating the sustainability
of student gains in reading over time. The results of the process evaluation to determine stakeholder
perceptions of program delivery and student impacts were also positive, as are the student gains seem
based on our annual performance measure data.
The external outcome evaluation was conducted using a longitudinal cohort design during the 2018-
2019 program year for the 2017-2020 grant cycle. APIL has seen steady, positive student growth
towards proficiency in annual performance measure results. In 2014-2015, our first year, the
program saw a 67% improvement towards K-3rd grade reading proficiency, and in 2015-2016, the
program saw an 89% increase towards K-3rd grade reading proficiency. The steady improvement in
our program data led us to the two main questions for our external outcome evaluation, which were:
1) whether students at grade level by the end of third grade maintained growth to grade level through
fifth grade? and 2) whether students in the high and low-risk categories at the end of third grade grew
by fifth grade?
Complete data sets of FAST reading proficiency scores were available from DCSD for 276 of the 321
individual students served by APIL during the school year program. The data sets were of students
who were in 2nd grade in 2014-2015 or 3rd grade in 2015-2016 through the end of 5th grade and
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were included in the study. The evaluation results indicated that 52% of the 111 students served that
completed 3rd grade at grade level in reading remained at grade level in fifth grade. Of the 96 students
with 'high risk' reading scores in 3rd grade, 5% had improved to grade level by 5th grade and nearly
30% improved by at least one risk level. Among the 69 students with 3rd grade 'some risk' scores, by
5th grade, 22% had improved to grade level and another 54% were able to maintain their 'some risk'
rating. Additionally, 36% of these students dropped to 'some risk' and 12% dropped all the way to 'high
risk' by fifth grade. The findings from the evaluation demonstrated that for most of the students we
served, reading gains were maintained or continued to improve through 5th grade. However, for a
portion of the students a decline was noted after 3rd grade and the end of APIL support. Taking this
research data into consideration, the program and DCSD has determined that that APIL will extend its
intervention model to provide limited target support to 4th and 5th grade students who received
interventions from our program during K-3rd grade in an effort to help students maintain or improve
their risk level.
The program conducted a process evaluation from March 2016 to November 2016. The two main
research questions were: 1) Is the APIL program being implemented consistently with the program's
logic model and theory of change and 2) Are program beneficiaries generally satisfied with the
program? The program utilized an outside evaluator to conduct and analyze focus groups, surveys
and data files. Surveys completed by the site supervisors showed 100% of the 12 respondents agreed
the interventions implemented by AmeriCorps members have helped children make progress in grade
level reading; 100% agreed AmeriCorps is positively contributing to K-3rd grade reading proficiency;
100% agreed they were satisfied with the program overall; and 92% agreed the students tutored by
AmeriCorps members have more positive connections to school because of AmeriCorps members.
There were also very high responses to members' training, attitude and professionalism.
In the program's 2018-2019 school year, the program had 24 AmeriCorps members serve as
Academic Reading Tutors. Out of the 1,078 K-3rd grade students served during the school year, 489
K-3rd grade Tier 2 students completed the tutoring program with the required dosage of three times
per week for 15-30 minutes each session, for a minimum of 10 weeks or 30 sessions over the course of
the school year. Of these 489 students, there were complete data sets for 477 students. Of the 477,
97% or 463 improved their FAST reading proficiency scores by at least 10 points, moving them toward
grade level proficiency as reported for Performance Measure ED5A.
During the Summer 2019, 199 students started the 6 week DCSD Summer Reading Academy, where
12 MT members served as academic and enrichment tutors. Based on FAST data, 56% of students
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improved by at least 1 risk level due to the summer program reading support they received, 31% of
students remained at High Risk, 13% remained at some or low risk, and only 1% of students declined a
risk level. Summer data from DCSD is meaningful to our program, because it shows that our program
is helping stem the summer learning loss issues among our districts most at-risk students. DCSD is
excited about the performance measurement and evaluation data, as both show students who
completed the APIL AmeriCorps tutoring program during both the school year and summer program
had positive gains in their reading proficiency.
NOTICE PRIORITY
The APIL program doesn't fit with any 2020-2021 CNCS priority areas. However, the program does
fit with several of our State of Iowa priorities based on the ICVS State Service Plan: 1) comprehensive
community strategy for Dubuque's Campaign for Grade Level Reading 2) engage underrepresented
populations and those that provide a high return on investment 3) address disparities with minority
populations 4) Governors priority areas of education, childcare and enrichment; and 5) actively
participate in the Iowa Disaster Cadre. The program fits with one of Iowa's priorities based on Iowa
Code. The program is an Iowa Reading Corps program providing data-based, models of literacy
instruction to tutor students from pre-k to 3rd grade who are not proficient in reading or who are at
risk of becoming not proficient in reading.
MEMBER EXPERIENCE
Member experience is a priority of our program. Development begins with the recruitment process
where the Director strategically recruits, interviews and places members from our community to the
site that is the best fit for each member. During their year of service, members are challenged to
develop personally and professionally. Members are supported and developed at their host site in
partnership with their site supervisors. The Director takes a personal, 1-1 approach with every member
to challenge them in different ways. This can include community presentations, mentoring other
members, applying for graduate school or leading service projects. Members also gain important
experiences through our Days of Service which are conducted in partnership with Dubuque's National
Service Partnership (DNSP), a collaboration of area national service members and programs. Through
National Days of Service and DSNP, members learn about their community, network with other
national service members, and participate in service opportunities.
Members are provided 12 hours of orientation consisting of general information on the Corporation
for National and Community Service (CNCS), AmeriCorps and the Iowa Commission on Volunteer
Service (ICVS). The program reviews member's rights and responsibilities, code of conduct, prohibited
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Organizational Capability
activities, Drug Free Workplace Act, grievance procedures, suspension and termination procedures,
sexual harassment and discrimination policies. Members review and sign the Member Service
Agreement which includes the review of the National Criminal History Background Check, prohibited
activities and grievance procedure. Members are trained on data collection, time sheets, and other
program specific information. Additionally, members participate in 4 hours of communication
training through a low/high ropes course to provide individual and team challenges, as well as 21
hours of training, spread out over monthly meetings, focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,
ensuring that members are able to provide the best support to students from different cultures and
backgrounds. DCSD trains members on Tier 2 students, professionalism, confidentiality, LEAD 21
curriculum, and Lexia interventions. Members are provided intensive on-site training and orientation
at their host site. Finally, all members develop and present a reflection project during our End of
Service Ceremony and Life After AmeriCorps Training.
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND AND STAFFING
APIL has been sponsored by the City of Dubuque since 2007. The City of Dubuque is a Municipal
Corporation governed by an elected mayor and six-member council. The City relies on its expert
personnel to plan and implement the grant and provides in-kind administration, personnel and fiscal
support. The City Council reviews the grant and budget documents each year. The AmeriCorps
Director, Heather Satterly, a 3-term AmeriCorps alum, has been the Director for 2 years in addition to
working in Iowa AmeriCorps Grant Management for 3 years. Kim Stickney, also an AmeriCorps
alum, has been the AmeriCorps Assistant for 10 years. She organizes and maintains key program
paperwork such as Background Checks and Data Collection Submissions. Marie Ware, Leisure
Services Department Manager, oversees the activities of the AmeriCorps Director and members. Marie
has been directly and indirectly involved with grant award management for over twenty-five years for
three cities and a non-profit agency. Arielle Swift, Assistant Public Works Director, previously our
Accountant, has overseen the fiscal responsibilities of the program since 2015. Jennifer Raber, Finance
Manager, & Jennifer Larson, Finance and Budget Director, have been training since April 2019, and
will continue to be supported by Arielle.
COMPLIANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
APIL strongly believes in compliance and accountability. The program prides itself in having a
reputation as a high functioning, low risk program and has a complete plan for compliance and
accountability. The Director ensures site supervisors and host sites fully understand the prohibited
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activities, non-duplication and non-displacement guidelines, and all other rules and regulations
through service agreements and training. The Director also conducts at least two site visits a year, as
well as a mid-term review to ensure rules and regulations are being followed. The Director keeps lines
of communications open between members and site supervisors to ensure compliance and
accountability. The Director monitors the activities being performed through ongoing communication
with members and site supervisors. The Director can visit any site, at any time without prior
appointment. Should a compliance issue be suspected or arise, the Director holds a meeting with all
parties involved to review guidelines and design a corrective action plan. If compliance issues continue
to be a concern the members are removed from their assigned placement until the site can ensure all
activities fall within the AmeriCorps guidelines. If compliance issues are not corrected, or re-appear,
the Director will no longer place members at the host site. Lastly, the program manages and
implements its program with limited compliance issues. Our staff takes CNCS' Criminal History
Record Check very seriously as well as the following program management policies: time sheets, in
kind documentation, position descriptions, Member Service Agreements, Host Site Agreements,
mandatory training requirements, corrective action forms, midterm and end of year evaluations,
grievance, termination of service, drug free workplace, sexual harassment, prohibited activities and
unallowable activities. Our systems follow this cyclical pattern: follow, monitor, review and update to
detect instances of risk or noncompliance. The AmeriCorps Director runs all background checks on
members. As these checks are completed, the Director completes the ICVS NSCHC Document
Checklist and attaches it to copies of all Background checks. Additionally, copies of all checks are kept
in the member electronic file, as well as in a hard copy format. The AmeriCorps Assistant reviews all
background checks to ensure compliance. The Director and Assistant conduct member and staff file
audits twice a year and works closely with its expert fiscal staff to ensure compliance.
CULTURE THAT VALUES LEARNING
APIL, as part of the City of Dubuque, believes in creating an equitable community of choice by being
a data-driven & outcome focused high performance government built on four pillars: Equity,
Resiliency, Sustainability and Compassion. The City of Dubuque City Council develops and sets goals,
policy agenda top priorities and high priorities, as well as management agenda top priorities and high
priorities based on the City mission and vision statements. These goals and priorities set the tone and
expectations of the City government plan for the next 2 years, driving each department and division
within the organization to collect data, measure performance, and continually strive to create
meaningful impact for community members. All departments, including APIL, have performance
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Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy
Evaluation Summary or Plan
measures that connect to the City goals and priorities. Data is collected on a regular basis and reported
annually to the City Council and the community in the City annual budget review process. During
this budget review process, all departments present the updates to performance measures and impacts
to the City Council for a decision on the next years budget and goals.
MEMBER SUPERVISION
All of our members receive two layers of supervision. First, every host site designates a site supervisor.
Each site supervisor provides daily supervision to their members and conducts biweekly, 1-1 meetings
with each of their members for clear guidance. Site supervisors also provide on-site training as
described previously and observations by the site supervisor to ensure accurate interventions. Second,
the Director serves as an added level of supervision for all members. The Director meets regularly with
each member to discuss progress and ensure member activities fall within allowable activities. The
Director has an open door policy and members may contact via in-person meeting, email, phone, or
text at any time for any reason. Each site supervisor is trained by the Director. Training occurs before
members arrive on site and are completed in person, 1-1, as well as in recorded webinar format to
review overall program changes. The site supervisor training consists of an overview of the CNCS and
ICVS, member responsibilities, supervisor responsibilities and host site agreements, in-kind match
documentation, time sheets, data collection, prohibited activities and unallowable activities including
nonduplication and nondisplacement. Site supervisors can contact the Director with
questions/concerns at any time.
The AmeriCorps brand is a high priority for our program. All members receive apparel and a photo id,
both with the AmeriCorps logo. Members are required to wear their photo id at all times during
service and are required to wear their AmeriCorps logo apparel at least once per week or more
frequently if participating in a community event. All host sites are provided an "AmeriCorps Members
Serve Here" sign and display it in a prominent location.
SEE BUDGET.
APIL EVALUATION PLAN
PROGRAM BACKGROUND/PROGRAM MODEL
AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program (APIL) has been extremely successful in its 20 years of
operation, 13 of which have been under the leadership of the City of Dubuque. The program has
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always focused around education, however, the current iteration of APIL focuses on ensuring students
read at grade level by 3rd grade and targeting students with literacy needs. The programs success in
the Dubuque community is apparent in the over 750 AmeriCorps alumni giving over 450,000 hours
of service in our community.
The AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program has become an important part of the schools served.
The AmeriCorps Program has partnered with the Dubuque Community School District to formulate a
program that continues to place AmeriCorps members in elementary schools at the Kindergarten, 1st,
2nd and 3rd grade level. The School District provides training to the AmeriCorps members that aligns
with the curriculum taught in the schools. By creating this focus, we have moved the needle with our
AmeriCorps program and members and will continue these efforts.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF CURRENT EVALUATION
As a Grantee receiving Corporation funds of less than $500,000 annually, AmeriCorps Partners in
Learning is required to conduct a process evaluation. However, APIL has decided to again go beyond
the minimum to conduct an external impact evaluation of its school year reading tutoring program.
The evaluation will replicate the longitudinal cohort design that was used for the 2017-2020 grant
cycle and add an additional component to determine if students who have received multiple years of
reading interventions from the AmeriCorps program during K-3rd grade maintain or improve their
reading proficiency by the 5th grade at the same or higher rates than students only served for a single
year.
The purpose of this evaluation is to better understand the sustainability of APIL AmeriCorps reading
tutoring over time. The findings of the evaluation will help our AmeriCorps Program learn and grow
to better support our students. Our intent, as a program and a partner in a community impact model,
is to determine how effective our program is and to use this information to drive enhancements to our
processes and procedures and inform future decision-making for our community.
THEORY OF CHANGE
Dubuque Community School District's (DCSD) students are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade.
Data from DCSD's FAST (Formative Reading Assessment System for Teachers) and Certified Annual
Enrollment provide us with current literacy rates. In Fall 2019, 36% of all DCSD 3rd grade students
were not reading at grade level. In Fall 2019, 56% of DCSD 2nd grade students, 53% of 1st grade
students and 59% of Kindergarten students, were not reading at grade level. Overall, in the Fall of
2019, 39% of DCSD K-3rd grade students, or approximately 2,999 students, were not reading at grade
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level.
The long term academic ramifications for students who do not read at grade level by 3rd grade are
great. According to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, reading by 3rd grade is a critical milestone
in a child's academic success. Before 3rd grade, students learn how to read. After 3rd grade, students
transition from learning how to read, to reading to learn. According to a study by researchers,
students who couldn't read at grade level by 3rd grade continued to fall further behind their peers after
3rd grade (McNamara, J.K., Scissons, M, and Gutknecth, N; 2011). In addition, a 2012 study by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation states children who do not read proficiently by the end of third grade are
four times less likely to graduate from high school on time than proficient readers. These ramifications
are serious for both the individual student and the community.
Our integrated, comprehensive, two pronged approach will ensure students with literacy needs read at
grade level by the end of 3rd grade. The first approach consists of a school year program where
members provide 1-1 or small group literacy interventions to struggling readers. Each session will
occur at least three times per week for 15-30 minutes for a minimum of 10 weeks or 30 sessions and
until the student has been reassessed and results show the child performing at grade level.
Additionally, members will be providing limited targeted support to 4th (20 15-30 minute sessions)
and 5th (10 15-30 minute
sessions) grade students who received interventions from our program during K-3rd who are not
proficient or at risk of losing proficiency.
The second approach consists of a summer program where members provide 1-1 or small group
literacy support and enrichment activities. This year-round approach ensures students continue to
build on their grade level reading efforts from the school year through the summer months.
OUTCOME OF INTEREST
The outcome of interest underlying this impact evaluation is that students with literacy needs who
receive APIL interventions will improve their reading proficiency as a result of the interventions
provided by the APIL AmeriCorps members. This impact evaluation will study the FAST Assessment
scores of students who have received AmeriCorps Interventions during their K-3rd grade years and
the FAST Assessment scores of the same students after they have completed 5th grade.
EVALUATION RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The impact evaluation will address the following three research questions:
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1) Do students supported by APIL who reach grade level reading proficiency by the end of third grade
maintain growth to grade level through fifth grade?
2) Do students who receive multiple years of support by APIL improve or maintain proficiency
through fifth grade at a higher rate than students supported for only one year?
3) Do students supported by APIL who remain in the high and some-risk categories at the end of third
grade maintain their risk level by fifth grade?
EVALUATION DESIGN
APIL proposes to use a longitudinal cohort design to track changes in student reading proficiency over
time. The strengths of this design include being able to utilize existing FAST data collected by our
program and Dubuque Community School District, as well as data that will be collected during the
2019-2020 5th grade Spring FAST Assessment. The Dubuque Community School District conducts
these evaluations, holds the data, and regularly analyzes this data, ensuring that the evaluation results
will be produced with high reliability and validity. Another strength of this impact evaluation design is
that our program will be replicating the same design that was conducted for the 2017-2020 grant
competition. This allows our program to analyze new variables and also allows our program to build a
long-term research plan with this design. One of the downsides of this design is that it can take several
years acquire the data and some students may not complete 5th grade with the DCSD, which can
reduce the final number of complete data sets to review. While this is a limitation, the positives of this
design significantly outweigh the negatives. Our program will be able to utilize this long-term data to
make changes to our program design and effectiveness.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS PLAN.
APIL utilizes the results of the Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST), the state-wide
mandated reading assessment used by Dubuque Community School District for all K-5th grade
students to determine reading proficiency. The DCSD instructional coaches (who are also the
AmeriCorps Site Supervisors) conduct the FAST Assessment three times each year. Much of the data
for this evaluation has been collected, checked and processed in previous years by both the DCSD and
the program for yearly performance measures while students were being served during their K-3rd
grade years. Data is collected in the same way for every program year to ensure accuracy and
consistency. Each program years data is held by the program to allow for the program to compare
which students are seen for multiple years. The program will only pull student data for students who
met dosage and duration requirements of our program. The APIL Director sends DCSD a list of
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students who have completed the programs dosage and duration requirements. The DCSD reviews the
students spring FAST scores and risk levels for both 3rd and 5th grade and then cleans this data of all
Personal Identifiable Information of the students and provides the risk levels for 3rd and 5th grade
and the total number of years the students were served by APIL to our external evaluator to analyze
how many students improved, maintained or declined from their 3rd grade FAST risk level to their 5th
grade FAST risk level using a multivariate regression model. Our evaluator analyzes this quantitative
data and aggregates it into a report for our AmeriCorps Program and DCSD, looking for themes,
concerns, or outliers.
EVALUATOR QUALIFICATIONS
Dr. Rachel Daack, PhD, of Clarke University, will work closely with the Program Director to develop
and execute our impact evaluation. Dr. Daack has a BA in Global Studies, a MA in Geography and a
PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies and currently served as a Professor of Sociology at Clarke University
in Dubuque, IA. Dr. Daack has prior experience with APIL, as she conducted both the Outcome
Evaluation (2018-2019) and Process Evaluation (2015-2016). Dr. Daack also provides evaluation
services to several community organizations, which includes St. Mark Youth Enrichment and the
Dubuque Dream Center, which support the Dubuque Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Initiative,
making her an ideal evaluator for our program.
Heather Satterly is a 3-term AmeriCorps alum, and has been the AmeriCorps Director of the City of
Dubuques AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program for 2 years. Heather has a BS degree in
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration with an emphasis on Recreation Therapy from
Western Illinois University. Heather has also worked for another competitively funded Iowa
AmeriCorps Program as a Program Manager for 3 years. She organizes and maintains Student logs
and Data Collection Submissions from AmeriCorps Members and handles the compilation of all
member-student intervention data.
Tammy Duehr is the Lead Instructional Coach and the K-5th grade Language Arts Coordinator for
the Dubuque Community School District. Tammy has been an educator for the past 28 years. She has
a BS in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education from Clarke University and a MS in
Reading from Southern Connecticut State University. She was a first and second grade classroom
teacher for 20 years and has held her current positions for the past 8 years. As one of her job
responsibilities, she is always involved with student data. DCSD currently uses FastBridge as their
literacy screener. Gathering, analyzing, and interpreting FAST data is something DCSD does three
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Amendment Justification
Clarification Summary
times each year. Tammy is responsible for pulling all the data off the FastBridge system and
organizing it for the district and for individual schools to analyze and make instructional decisions.
Tammy has participated in State meetings to learn about FAST and has the support of Keystone AEA
when working with FAST data.
BUDGET
Line Item Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Notes
Staffing (Evaluator) $3,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $50/hr @ 20 hours
Staffing (DCSD) $3,480 $1,160 $1,160 $1,160 $58/hour @ 20 hours
Budget Total $6,480 $2,160 $2,160 $2,160
TIMELINE
In 2020-21(Year One), program staff will begin to pull student data of students who have only
received services for one year in Q1. In Q2, program staff will provide a finalized list of students served
for only one year to DCSD and DCSD will begin to pull 3rd grade and 5th grade FAST scores, risk level,
race, gender and Free-Reduced Lunch status. In Q3, DCSD staff will provide the cleaned data to our
external evaluator, who will begin the analysis. Program staff will begin to pull student names who
were served for multiple years. In Q1 of Year Two (2021-2022), program staff will finalize the list of
students who received AmeriCorps services for multiple years during K-3rd grade and will provide the
list of students to DCSD. In Q2 and Q3, DCSD will begin to pull 3rd grade and 5th grade FAST scores,
risk level, race, gender and Free-Reduced Lunch status. In Q3, DCSD staff will provide the cleaned
data to our external evaluator, who will begin the analysis. Data will be analyzed and a report will
prepared for the final evaluation report in Q1 of Year Three (2022-2023) for submission with our next
recompete application due to CNCS in January 2023. The Evaluator, Program Staff and DCSD staff
will meet together to review the report to determine a post-evaluation action plan to drive decision
making for continuous improvements to reading interventions, delivery methods, member training,
and/or management systems will be developed.
N/A
20-21 CLARIFICATIONS
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Continuation Changes
Section 1G - Staff Training: The City of Dubuque has historically set aside funding for the AmeriCorps
Director's professional development. These funds are utilized towards yearly conferences, such as the
Iowa Women's Leadership Conference for community networking and leadership development; as
well as towards trainings and conferences to help the AmeriCorps Director improve their public
speaking skills as it relates to recruitment and training of AmeriCorps Members and towards 'train the
trainer' conferences that will allow the AmeriCorps Director to take back knowledge and establish
trainings for AmeriCorps Members. A perfect example of this is the current equity-based curriculum
for AmeriCorps Members that was developed after the AmeriCorps Director attended a 32-hour Equity
'train the trainer' workshop. All trainings, conferences and workshops will relate to the professional
development of the AmeriCorps Director to continually improve the AmeriCorps Program.
20-21 Programmatic Resolutions:
1. In order to better explain the impact of the AmeriCorps project on the identified community need,
please clarify numbers of Tier 2 students in grades K-3 in the schools to be served as well as the
percent of students who are in need to be served by AmeriCorps members.
-As of January 2020, the most recent FAST assessment has shown that the total number of K-3rd
grade students on a tier II intervention is 556. This is 19% of the total number (2852) of K-3 students
in the Dubuque community school district. Due to COVID-19, DCSD will be unable to conduct their
Spring FAST assessment and expects that the Fall 2020 FAST assessment will show a significant
increase in the number of students needing Tier II interventions. During the 2020-2021 Academic
School Year, the AmeriCorps program expects to serve 500 students, which is approximately 90% of
Dubuque Community School District's K-3 Tier II students (as of January 2019 FAST Assessment). Of
those 500 students, AmeriCorps Partners in Learning will improve the reading risk level of 400 K-3
Tier II students (80%).
21-22 Financial Resolutions:
1. Budget has been adjusted to the approved amount of $203,761 for 13.18 MSY. No change made to
performance measures.
2021-2022 CONTINUATION CHANGES
Page 17
For Official Use Only
Narratives
APPLICANT INFO:
The program has made an adjustment to the Applicant Info section regarding the naming convention
of the program. The program's name has been adjusted to City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program:
Partners in Learning from the City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program. This is to
allow for a more streamlined branding change in lieu of the new AmeriCorps Branding Guidelines.
Additionally, the email associated with the program was updated.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The AmeriCorps Partners in Learning (APIL) program proposes to have 50 AmeriCorps members
who will tutor K-3rd grade struggling readers one on one or in small groups in the Dubuque
Community School District's elementary schools and summer programs. At the end of the second
program year, the AmeriCorps members will be responsible for increasing the reading scores of 400
students with literacy needs. In addition, the AmeriCorps members will leverage an additional 100
volunteers who will be engaged in Dubuque community days of service.
The program will focus on the CNCS focus area of Education. The CNCS investment of $218,261 will
be matched with $224,400, $198,000 in public funding and $26,400 in private funding.
CHANGES IN OPERATING SITES:
There are no anticipated changes in operating sites.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN PROGRAM SCOPE OR DESIGN:
The program requests 1 additional minimum-time AmeriCorps Member for an increase in .21 MSY.
This member will serve with Carnegie-Stout Public Library during our summer program alongside the
1 FT AmeriCorps Member. The program has previously had 2 MT Members serving during the
summer months prior to have 1 FT member requested. The Host Site has determined that they need
the additional MT member for their Summer Reading Program to prevent the loss in program
capacity that has previously been built.
CHANGE TO PERFORMANCE MEASURES: N/A
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO STAFFING:
Page 18
For Official Use Only
Narratives
The AmeriCorps Program Assistant that has been with our program for nearly 10 years retired in the
2020-2021 program year. The program has reviewed the role of the part-time assistant and has
changed the position to a part-time AmeriCorps Program Coordinator. This position will still have
duties associated with monitoring program compliance, but added duties to the position include
member technical support. Sarah Berna, an AmeriCorps Alum, has previously worked as a temporary
coordinator for the program, as well as a Site Supervisor for the Program's AmeriCorps Members and
as an outside contractor for developing virtual curriculum for COVID-19 Virtual Tutoring. Sarah is a
certified teacher with a background in Elementary Education.
BUDGET REVISIONS:
The revised program budget includes increased costs for the living allowance and associated costs with
the increase of .21 MSY. The program also requests an increase in funding in a total of $9,000 to
cover costs associated with AmeriCorps Member technology purchased to continue program services
during COVID-19. The host organization's rate is $30/month per iPad. With 25 iPads, the data costs
associated with the AmeriCorps Virtual Tutoring is $9,000. To prevent barriers to access, the program
invested in iPads with data plans for members to utilize to provide virtual tutoring services. This has
allowed members who cannot afford home internet to provide virtual tutoring to our school district's
virtual students in a safe manner. Without knowing how long students may be learning in a virtual
setting, the program anticipates needing data plans connected to these AmeriCorps Member iPad.
Additionally, the program has invested in the approved CNCS AmericaLearns Data Collection System
to increase the program's ability to collect and evaluate reliable data. The cost of this system is $6,000
per program year. This system will decrease administrative burden related to the previous data
collection methods for the program and will allow for an increased focus on member management
and compliance monitoring. The requested increase results in a $16,300/MSY.
Grant Characteristics
Page 19
For Official Use Only
Education
Focus Area
100%
% MSYs
K-12 Success 100%
K-12 Success
Objectives
13.39
No of MSYs
50
No of Members
Table1: MSYs by Focus Areas Table2: MSYs by Objectives
Table4: No of MSY and Members by Objective
NPM Applicant
100% 0%% MSYs
Table3: %MSYs by NPM vs.Applicant vs. Not in ANY
Not in ANY
0%
Primary Focus Area:
Secondary Focus Area:
Education
Primary Intervention:
Secondary Intervention:
Tutoring
Performance Measures
Objectives %MSYs
13.39Total 50
Page 20
For Official Use Only
Problem Statement:
Selected Interventions:
Tutoring
Tutoring K-3 grade students in ReadingPerformance Measure:
Education K-12 SuccessFocus
Area:Objective:No of
Members: 13.39 50No of
MSY's:
Describe Interventions:
During the school year, 11 RHT and 11 MT tutor K-3rd grade, Tier 2 students identified through the Multi-
Tier System of Supports in reading in small groups or one on one at least three times per week for 15-30
minutes each session for a minimum of 10 weeks or 30 sessions and until the child has been reassessed and
results show the child performing at grade level. Research shows tutoring sessions for Tier 2 students must
be at least three times a week for 15-30 minutes to be effective. 30 sessions equates to 10 weeks of our
program if sessions are at least three times per week for 10 weeks. Research shows 10 weeks is sufficient to
see academic gains in the school year. Materials used complement classroom curriculum.
Members are trained on data collection processes during orientation and by DCSD at their on-site trainings.
The program's dosage and duration are revisited to reinforce tutoring sessions are occurring according to the
program’s standards. The program uses strong data collection tools to collect information for our output
(ED1A). Each member is given a student log to collect students' name, teacher, grade and number of sessions
for each intervention used. The members send their data to the Director and Assistant, biweekly, where they
analyze the data, ensure accuracy, and organizes the data by school and member. The program sends the
collected data to the site supervisor quarterly to analyze for accuracy and progress to targeted outputs and
outcomes. The program has an agreement with DCSD to get literacy data on the students we serve in a timely
Dubuque Community School District's students are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade. There are a few
challenges that create this problem. First, is poverty. Students living in poverty are more likely to be
unprepared for kindergarten. Research shows children from low income homes have limited exposure to
reading and vocabulary in the early years which can result in persistent academic challenges in elementary
school. Second, is summer learning loss. Research spanning 100 years has proven students lose ground
academically when they are out of school for the summer. Therefore, the purpose of AmeriCorps Partners in
Learning is a two pronged program.
During the school year, members tutor K-3rd grade students with literacy needs in the elementary schools in
reading to ensure students read at grade level by 3rd grade. Students will be identified as having a literacy
need based upon their scores with the Iowa FAST testing. 5 of the 13 elementary schools have a majority of
students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Students tutored at these 5 schools are considered
economically disadvantaged. The remaining 8 schools have free or reduced lunch rates of 33%, 22%, 29%, 35%,
28%, 21%, 26% and 29%.
During the summer, members spend 50% of their time tutoring K-3rd grade students with literacy needs who
are enrolled in a summer program in reading to combat the summer slide. Students tutored in the summer will
be identified as having a literacy need based upon their scores with the Iowa FAST testing. 5 of the 13
elementary schools have a majority of students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Students who
attend one of these 5 schools are considered economically disadvantaged. The remaining 8 schools have free
or reduced lunch rates of 33%, 22%, 29%, 35%, 28%, 21%, 26% and 29%.
Page 21
For Official Use Only
Problem Statement:
Selected Interventions:Tutoring
Tutoring K-3 grade students in ReadingPerformance Measure:
Described Instrument:
Described Instrument:
Members will record the name and school of each student who starts the school
year program on the Student Attendance Log. The list of student names will be
cross referenced to ensure no student is counted twice. Members will track each
student's individual tutoring session on the Student Attendance Log. Sessions
must be one on one or small group and 15-30 minutes at least 3 times per week.
Students who start our program and have a literacy need will be counted in this
measure. Students will be identified as having a literacy need based upon their
scores with the Iowa FAST testing.
Members will record the number of tutoring sessions completed for each student.
Each session must meet the requirement of one on one or small group for at least
15-30 minutes. For our school year program, students who have received at least
30 tutoring sessions and have a literacy need will be counted as having completed
the school year program. Students will be identified as having a literacy need
based upon their scores with the Iowa FAST testing.
During our school year program, in the fall students take a standardized,
district-approved pre-test in reading titled Formative Assessment System for
Teachers (FAST). FAST aligns with the materials being
used in our tutoring program and is appropriate for K-3rd grade. FAST has
demonstrated reliability and validity for K-3rd grade students. FAST will be
administered to students in the spring at the end of the school year. Students
who complete our school year program (30 sessions or more), who have a literacy
need and who improve in their risk level from the fall to spring FAST assessment
ED1A: Number of individuals served
ED5A: Number of students with improved academic performance
ED1A Output:
ED5A Outcome:
Tracking System
Standardized Test
Measured By:
Measured By:
500
400
Target:
Target:
Individuals
Students
manner. In the spring, the Director sends DCSD a list of students who completed the program. DCSD
compares the completed students' fall and spring reading assessments and analyzes how many students
improved from fall to spring FAST Assessment. DCSD provides the program with each school's number and
percent of students who improved.
Page 22
For Official Use Only
Problem Statement:
Selected Interventions:Tutoring
Tutoring K-3 grade students in ReadingPerformance Measure:
Described Instrument:will be counted under this measure. Students will be identified as having a
literacy need based upon their scores and risk level with the Iowa FAST testing. A
change in risk level is significant because the FAST expects students to grow by a
risk level. Therefore, if struggling students , they are showing great growth from
fall to spring.
Page 23
For Official Use Only
AmeriCorps Funding Priorities
Grant Characteristics
*Check any priority area(s) that apply to the proposed program. In order to
receive priority consideration, applicants must demonstrate that the priority
area is a significant part of the program focus, high quality program design, and
outcomes.
*Check any characteristics that are a significant part of the proposed program.
Program Information
Advancing Racial Equality
Geographic Focus-Urban
Page 24
For Official Use Only
Other Revenue Funds
Number of volunteers generated by AmeriCorps members
Percent of disadvantaged youth enrolled
0
100
0
Demographics
Page 25
For Official Use Only
Required Documents
Evaluation
Federally Approved Indirect Cost Agreement
Labor Union Concurrence
Other Documents
Document Name
Sent
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Status
Page 26
Logic Model
The community
problem that the
program activities
(interventions) are
designed to address.
Resources that are
necessary to deliver
the program
activities
(interventions),
including the
number of
locations/sites and
number/type of
AmeriCorps
members.
The core activities
that define the
intervention or
program model that
members will
implement or
deliver, including
duration, dosage
and target
population.
Direct products from
program activities.
Changes in
knowledge, skills,
attitudes and
opinions. These
outcomes, if
applicable to the
program design, will
almost always be
measurable during
the grant year.
Changes in behavior
or action.
Depending on
program design,
these outcomes may
or may not be
measurable during
the grant year.
Changes in
condition or status
in life. Depending on
program design,
these outcomes may
or may not be
measurable during
the grant year.
Some programs,
such as
environmental or
capacity-building
programs, may
measure changes in
condition over a
period as short as
one year.
Problem Inputs Activities Outputs Short-Term
Outcomes
Mid-Term Outcomes Long-Term
Outcomes
Attachment B
Budget
City of Dubuque
July 23, 2021 8:42 AM
Page 1
Form 424A Modified SF-424A (4/88 and 12/97)
RPT_BGT_424
City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning
A. Personnel Expenses
B. Personnel Fringe Benefits
C. Travel
D. Equipment
E. Supplies
F. Contractual and Consultant Services
G. Training
H. Evaluation
I. Other Program Operating Costs
A. Living Allowance
B. Member Support Costs
A. Corporation Fixed Percentage
B. Federally Approved Indirect Cost Rate
Staff Travel
Member Travel
Staff Training
Member Training
Full Time (1700 hrs)
1-Year Half Time (900 hours)
Reduced Half Time (675 hrs)
Quarter Time (450 hrs)
Minimum Time (300 hrs)
2-Year Half Time (2nd Year)
2-Year Half Time (1st Year)
Three Quarter Time (1200 hours)
Abbreviated Time (100 hrs)
FICA for Members
Worker's Compensation
Health Care
Corporation Fixed Amount
Commission Fixed Amount
1,580
1,000
2,700
16,150
0
70,510
12,825
96,900
0
0
0
0
15,023
6,284
4,800
42,722
4,073
0
0
0
0
0
25,510
12,825
38,150
0
0
0
0
15,023
6,284
4,800
6,109
4,073
1,580
1,000
2,700
16,150
0
45,000
0
58,750
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
36,613
0
65,872
24,651
1,620
29,874
7,160
8,406
57,000
22,936
0
0
4,648
6,402
8,872
1,715
1,620
29,874
2,512
2,004
$90,986
$102,592
$10,182
$52,656
$119,900
$36,613
$143,642
$222,492
$46,795
Section I. Subtotal
Section II. Subtotal
Section III. Subtotal
$0
$0
$76,485
$26,107
$10,182
Total Amt CNCS Share Grantee Share
$2,359
$3,700
$119,900
$0
$36,613
$2,359
$3,700
$196,385
$26,107
$46,795
Total
Total
Total
Total
Total
$203,760 $412,929 $209,169Budget Totals
Budget Dates:
Section I. Program Operating Costs
Section II. Member Costs
Section III. Administrative/Indirect Costs
Application ID: 21AC230628
Section II. Percentages 46% 54%
Section I + III. Funding Percentages 53% 47%
Travel to CNCS-Sponsored Meetings 779 0 779 0
Section I Percentage 63% 37%
Section III Percentage 22% 78%
49%Budget Total Percentage 51%
Required Match 0%
City of Dubuque
July 23, 2021 8:42 AM
Page 2
Form 424A Modified SF-424A (4/88 and 12/97)
RPT_BGT_424
City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning
Total Amt CNCS Share Grantee Share
$0 $0 $0Budget Totals
Total MSYs
Total MSYs
13.18
13.18
Cost/MSY $15,460
0%Budget Total Percentage 0%
Required Match
# of years Receiving CNCS Funds
# of years Receiving CNCS Funds
0%
15
15
Budget Narrative for 21AC230628
https://egrants.cns.gov/...KDYrXx3SbjxV6z6nMmjs!1116136528!1627043396819&scope=4&report=RPT_BGT_NARR&app=21AC230628[7/23/2021 7:45:47 AM]
Budget Narrative: City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Partners in Learning for City of Dubuque
Section I. Program Operating Costs
A. Personnel Expenses
Position/Title -Qty -Annual Salary -% Time CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
AmeriCorps Director: - 1 person(s) at 67100 each x 83.61 % usage 55,000 1,102 56,102
AmeriCorps Coordinator: - 1 person(s) at 19540 each x 50 % usage 2,000 7,770 9,770
Category Totals 57,000 8,872 65,872
B. Personnel Fringe Benefits
Purpose -Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
AmeriCorps Director Benefits Package: Health Flat Rate=$13032 + FICA@
.0765=$4292 + IPERS@.0991= $5560 + Life@.000927=$52 22,936 0 22,936
AmeriCorps Coordinator Benefits Package: FICA@.0765= $747 +
IPERS@.0991= $968 0 1,715 1,715
Category Totals 22,936 1,715 24,651
C. Travel
Staff Travel
Purpose -Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Travel to CNCS-Sponsored Meetings: Director travel to 1 CNCS Sponsored
meeting: $229 airfare, $400 in hotel, meal= $50 per day diem x 3 days =
$150
0 779 779
Travel to ICVS sponsored meeting: ICVS (Director travel to ICVS sponsored
meeting: 2 Trips to Des Moines @ 450 miles each=900 miles x .58 per mile
(City of Dubuque policy approved mileage reimbursement rate) = $522; $50
per day diem x 3 days $150; $328 for 3 night in hotel)
0 1,000 1,000
Director's Travel: Director Travel (Mileage for site supervision for 18 site
visits, 60 midterm reviews, and service projects, x 1000 miles per year x .58
per mile (City of Dubuque policy approved mileage reimbursement rate)
=$580.)
0 580 580
Category Totals 0 2,359 2,359
Member Travel
Purpose -Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Category Totals 0 0 0
D. Equipment
Budget Narrative for 21AC230628
https://egrants.cns.gov/...KDYrXx3SbjxV6z6nMmjs!1116136528!1627043396819&scope=4&report=RPT_BGT_NARR&app=21AC230628[7/23/2021 7:45:47 AM]
Item/Purpose -Qty -Unit Cost CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Category Totals 0 0 0
E. Supplies
Item -Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Member Gear with AmeriCorps Logo: Member gear w/AmeriCorps logo
(Uniform shirts & badges, 50 x $30= $1500; all with AmeriCorps logo)0 1,500 1,500
AmeriCorps Office supplies: AmeriCorps office supplies (paper, ink, toner,
pens, pencils, post-it notes) $10 per month x 12= $120 0 120 120
Category Totals 0 1,620 1,620
F. Contractual and Consultant Services
Purpose -Calculation -Daily Rate CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Member Supervision (DCSD School Year): 3 hours of direct member
supervision/week per member for 34 weeks by 11 DCSD staff @ a minimum
of $25/hour- Daily Rate of 25
0 28,050 28,050
AmeriCorps Copy Machine Lease: AmeriCorps Office Copy machine
@$456/quarterly*4 = $1824- Daily Rate of 0 0 1,824 1,824
Category Totals 0 29,874 29,874
G. Training
Staff Training
Purpose -Calculation -Daily Rate CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Program Director training: Program director attendance at conferences
required by the program sponsor: 8 trainings x $75 registration, $50 per day
diem x 8 = 1000- Daily Rate of 125
0 1,000 1,000
Category Totals 0 1,000 1,000
Member Training
Purpose -Calculation -Daily Rate CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Member Development/Communication: 4 Mounds Team
Building/communication training; 2 trainings per year at $600 each= $1200-
Daily Rate of 600
0 1,200 1,200
Member Orientation and ongoing training: Member Orientation (Portfolios,
handbooks, printed materials and other training supplies as needed. $30 x
50 members=1500. 3 day orientation training for fall and summer members.
Ongoing monthly training for both fall and summer members.)- Daily Rate of
30
0 1,500 1,500
Category Totals 0 2,700 2,700
Budget Narrative for 21AC230628
https://egrants.cns.gov/...KDYrXx3SbjxV6z6nMmjs!1116136528!1627043396819&scope=4&report=RPT_BGT_NARR&app=21AC230628[7/23/2021 7:45:47 AM]
H. Evaluation
Purpose -Calculation -Daily Rate CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Program Evaluation to support AmeriCorps program Evaluation Plan:
Program Evaluation conducted by outside evaluator ($58/hr for 20
hours=$1,160)- Daily Rate of 58
0 1,160 1,160
AmericaLearns Data Collection System: CNCS Approved AmericaLearns
Data Collection System for collection of raw data by AmeriCorps Members =
$6,000- Daily Rate of 0
4,648 1,352 6,000
Category Totals 4,648 2,512 7,160
I. Other Program Operating Costs
Purpose -Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Criminal History Background Checks: Background Checks (53 x $54 each =
2916. Includes FBI, state of residence and state of service checks for 49
members and 4 site summer supervisors. No funds budgeted for 2 program
staff- no expected turn-over.
2,862 0 2,862
Site Liabilitiy Insurance: $500 flat rate 0 500 500
Member Timekeeping System: Member Timekeeping System ($16 x 49
members=$784)0 784 784
AmeriCorps Director Cell Phone: Program Director cell phone/Ipad combo
$60 x 12= $720 (negotiated rate per sponsor); For AmeriCorps
Program/Staff use only.
0 720 720
Member Assistance Program (MAP): Member Assistance Program from
ASC- $250 Enrollment + $10 x 49 = $740 740 0 740
AmeriCorps Program Technology Replacement: AmeriCorps Staff Tech
Replacement cost & timeline per Host Org Tech Replacement Policy(Yr 2:
Coordinator Laptop Computer + 2 monitors, Mouse & keyboard $2800)
2,800 0 2,800
Category Totals 6,402 2,004 8,406
Section Totals 90,986 52,656 143,642
PERCENTAGE 63%37%
Section II. Member Costs
A. Living Allowance
Item -# Mbrs w/ Allow -Allowance Rate -# Mbrs w/o Allow CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Full Time (1700 hrs): 1 Member(s) at a rate of 16150 each
Members W/O allowance 0 0 16,150 16,150
1-Year Half Time (900 hours): 0 Member(s) at a rate of 0 each
Members W/O allowance 0 0 0 0
2-Year Half Time (1st Year): Member(s) at a rate of each
Members W/O allowance 0 0 0
Budget Narrative for 21AC230628
https://egrants.cns.gov/...KDYrXx3SbjxV6z6nMmjs!1116136528!1627043396819&scope=4&report=RPT_BGT_NARR&app=21AC230628[7/23/2021 7:45:47 AM]
2-Year Half Time (2nd Year): Member(s) at a rate of each
Members W/O allowance 0 0 0
Reduced Half Time (675 hrs): 11 Member(s) at a rate of 6410 each
Members W/O allowance 0 25,510 45,000 70,510
Quarter Time (450 hrs): 3 Member(s) at a rate of 4275 each
Members W/O allowance 0 12,825 0 12,825
Minimum Time (300 hrs): 34 Member(s) at a rate of 2850 each
Members W/O allowance 0 38,150 58,750 96,900
Three Quarter Time (1200 hours): 0 Member(s) at a rate of 0 each
Members W/O allowance 0 0 0 0
Abbreviated Time (100 hrs): Member(s) at a rate of each
Members W/O allowance 0 0 0
Category Totals 76,485 119,900 196,385
B. Member Support Costs
Purpose -Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
FICA for Members: .0765 X 196385= $15023 15,023 0 15,023
Worker's Compensation: .032 x 196385= 6284 6,284 0 6,284
Health Care: $400*12 / FT member = 4800 4,800 0 4,800
Category Totals 26,107 0 26,107
Section Totals 102,592 119,900 222,492
PERCENTAGE 46%54%
Section III. Administrative/Indirect Costs
A. Corporation Fixed Percentage
Item -Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Corporation Fixed Amount: Corporation Fixed Amount @ 5.26% x CNCS
share section I + CNCS share section II x 60%= $6109 Grantee share =
10% total section I + total section II = $36613
6,109 36,613 42,722
Commission Fixed Amount: ICVS Fixed Amount @ 5.26% X CNCS section I
+ CNCS section II x 40%= $4073 4,073 0 4,073
Category Totals 10,182 36,613 46,795
B. Federally Approved Indirect Cost Rate
Calculation -Cost Type -Rate -Rate Claimed -Cost Basis CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Category Totals 0 0 0
Section Totals 10,182 36,613 46,795
Budget Narrative for 21AC230628
https://egrants.cns.gov/...KDYrXx3SbjxV6z6nMmjs!1116136528!1627043396819&scope=4&report=RPT_BGT_NARR&app=21AC230628[7/23/2021 7:45:47 AM]
PERCENTAGE 22%78%
Budget Totals 203,760 209,169 412,929
PERCENTAGE 49%51%
Total MSYs 13.18
Cost/MSY 15,460
Source of Funds
Section Match Description Amount Classification Source
Source of Funds
Dubuque Community School District (secured)45,000 Cash State/Local
St Mark Youth Enrichment (Secured)15,750 Cash Private
Dubuque Community School District (Secured)28,050 In Kind State/Local
City of Dubuque (Secured)120,369 Cash State/Local
Total Source of Funds 209,169
Attachment C
Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team
Attachment C
IOWA AMERICORPS DISASTER RESPONSE TEAM
DISASTER DEPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
In this agreement the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service ("Commission" or
"Volunteer Iowa") and GRANTEE agree as follows:
1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this agreement is to outline the expectations,
limitations, and requirements for eligible reimbursements for disaster deployment
under the Commission’s Disaster Response Cooperative Agreement (DRCA) with
the Corporation for National and Community Service (“CNCS” or
“AMERICORPS”), Iowa AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team (Iowa A-DRT)
deployments, or direct deployments initiated from Iowa Homeland Security and
Emergency Management (HSEMD).
2. MEMBERS. The GRANTEE, as a member of the Iowa A-DRT is willing to
respond to disasters or assist in recovery efforts within their capability. Volunteer
Iowa and GRANTEE seek to make efficient use of their authority, powers,
resources, and privileges by entering into this agreement to carry out its purposes.
3. DISASTER RESPONSE: Volunteer Iowa requires the availability of Iowa
AmeriCorps members to support disaster response and/or recovery efforts as
needed by the State of Iowa. Waivers to this requirement will be considered on a
case-by-case basis for GRANTEES that demonstrate an undue hardship or for
complications related to program design.
4. STATE ACTIVATION: Volunteer Iowa serves as the primary point-of-contact
for National Service resources in Iowa during times of disaster and may receive
requests for support from government or nongovernmental partners, including the
Iowa HSEMD, the Iowa State VOAD, and the Iowa Governor’s Office.
In an Iowa federal declaration, the Commission will work with the CNCS and
Iowa HSEMD on any mission assignments and requests for assistance from the
Volunteer Iowa A-DRT.
Any budget or programmatic changes to a program due to a disaster response or
recovery will be made in accordance with AMERICORPS specific terms and
conditions.
5. OUT OF STATE: If GRANTEE is a member of the Volunteer Iowa A-DRT,
any mission assignment requests from the CNCS will be discussed prior to
accepting the mission assignment. At any time, GRANTEE AmeriCorps members
are not to deploy out of state without express approval from the Commission.
6. COST REIMBURSEMENT. GRANTEE is eligible for cost reimbursements
associated with a specific mission assignment for allowable expenses that fall
within the approved budget for deployment. Allowable expenses include travel,
lodging, meals, supplies, and equipment incurred for deployment and any
negotiated expenses specific to the deployment or mission assignment.
Unless negotiated and approved under a specific mission assignment and
deployment(s), the Commission will not reimburse costs already included in the
program’s budget under its existing Volunteer Iowa or AMERICORPS grant(s).
This preclusion includes both the CNCS and non-CNCS shares of staff salaries
paid, participant costs, staff overtimes, administrative overhead and fees and/ or
any other costs.
The GRANTEE is responsible for following all reimbursement procedures and
allowable cost policies outlined or referenced in the Disaster Deployment
Agreement between Volunteer Iowa and AMERICORPS that will be provided to
the GRANTEE in the case of mission assignment and deployment.
7. LIABILITY. GRANTEE ensures adequate liability coverage for any mission
assignment or deployment. Any deployment outside of the scope of the program’s
normal duties or not covered by existing policies will be covered by the state as
members will be considered acting on behalf of the state for deployment
purposes.
8. RECORD KEEPING. Records will be maintained by the GRANTEE and
Volunteer Iowa in a manner consistent with the reporting requirements of the
Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance, the State of Iowa Auditor's Office, the
Corporation for National and Community Service and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. Source documentation sufficient to support expenditures
will be provided by the GRANTEE. GRANTEE shall keep a copy of receipts
requested for reimbursement for a period of 6.25 years from the end of the
mission assignment.
9. TRAINING. Volunteer Iowa recommends GRANTEE provide training on
disaster preparedness, response, and recovery to all AmeriCorps members;
however, Volunteer Iowa will ensure task-specific training is provided to
members if they are requested to assist in a disaster. Additionally, members
selected to participate in the Volunteer Iowa A-DRT will receive intermittent
training throughout their service year.
10. TERMINATION. This agreement may be terminated in part or completely
with or without cause by either Volunteer Iowa or GRANTEE upon thirty (30)
days written notice.
11. AMENDMENTS. Any amendment to this agreement shall be by the mutual
consent of the parties, be in writing, and be appended to this agreement.
12. DEPLOYMENT. Any deployment not ordered by the Governor will be
voluntary and can be rejected by the Commission or the GRANTEE. Programs
will not be reimbursed for any disaster response unless a specific deployment for
that activity is issued. Multiple deployments may be issued under any specific
mission assignment received by Volunteer Iowa and/or AMERICORPS.
13. ADMINISTRATORS. GRANTEE and Volunteer Iowa each will designate
one representative to serve as administrators and contacts of this Iowa Disaster
Response Team agreement. GRANTEE will complete the appropriate section on
the signature page to designate a contact.
For GRANTEE: see signature page
For Volunteer Iowa:
Name: Adam Lounsbury
Phone: 515-348-6230
Email: Adam.Lounsbury@volunteeriowa.org
Attachment D
Additional Fees & Reporting Requirements for Grantees Not Using the
Volunteer Iowa Member Management System
Effective member management and timekeeping is critical for the success of any
AmeriCorps State program. Applicants were required to budget for costs of
participation in the state’s member management and timekeeping systems.
Grantees who wish to use another member management and timekeeping system
may be allowed to do so, with Volunteer Iowa approval, prior to the start of
member service and at additional cost to account for increased Volunteer Iowa
staff time required to conduct required monitoring in a separate system.
Any grantee wishing to use an alternate member management and timekeeping
system can seek formal approval by completing this form to provide additional
detail about the alternate system and to acknowledge the additional fees and
reporting requirements to be incurred.
System name/platform: _______________________________
Have you previously used this system for AmeriCorps member timekeeping:
Y / N
Please initial and date the following sections to acknowledge these requirements:
Grantee agrees to pay a cost of $32/member as a fee to Volunteer Iowa for use of
an alternate member management/timekeeping system.
Initials: _______________
Cost Reimbursement Grantees agree to provide Volunteer Iowa staff limited
access to the alternative timekeeping system for the duration of the project period
for the purpose of completing required monitoring. If such access is not available,
the Grantee agrees to submit a monthly timekeeping report in IowaGrants for the
same period, for the purpose of monitoring by Volunteer Iowa Staff. Such a report
must come directly from the system and should indicate submitted and approved
hours per member. Fixed Amount Grants are responsible for monitoring their own
member timekeeping in alignment with federal grant requirements and
maintaining timekeeping records for audit purposes; no timekeeping reporting to
Volunteer Iowa is required.
Initials: ________________
This form completed by: _______________________________ (Name)
_______________________________ (Title)
21-AC-10 City of Dubuque combined
Final Audit Report 2021-08-05
Created:2021-07-29
By:Ashley Tenney (Ashley.Tenney@VolunteerIowa.org)
Status:Signed
Transaction ID:CBJCHBCAABAAr6ek-OaszoyPy0SimSHH8AISk6jUwXTb
"21-AC-10 City of Dubuque combined" History
Document created by Ashley Tenney (Ashley.Tenney@VolunteerIowa.org)
2021-07-29 - 2:20:01 PM GMT- IP address: 173.215.23.66
Document emailed to City Manager (ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org) for signature
2021-07-29 - 2:25:18 PM GMT
Email viewed by City Manager (ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org)
2021-08-05 - 4:04:31 PM GMT- IP address: 208.87.237.201
Document e-signed by City Manager (ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org)
Signature Date: 2021-08-05 - 6:14:16 PM GMT - Time Source: server- IP address: 208.87.237.201
Document emailed to Kristin Honz (kristin.honz@volunteeriowa.org) for signature
2021-08-05 - 6:14:18 PM GMT
Email viewed by Kristin Honz (kristin.honz@volunteeriowa.org)
2021-08-05 - 6:42:44 PM GMT- IP address: 174.205.174.222
Document e-signed by Kristin Honz (kristin.honz@volunteeriowa.org)
Signature Date: 2021-08-05 - 6:42:55 PM GMT - Time Source: server- IP address: 174.205.174.222
Agreement completed.
2021-08-05 - 6:42:55 PM GMT