Present: Becky Hayes Boober, William Guindon, Kelly Day, and Ed Barrett
[Context: More than 15 years ago, the federal AmeriCorps agency established a match scale by rule. The schedule changed the match rate annually over 10 years until the requirement was $1:$1. The Commission responded with a policy that set the match rate at one value for all 3 years of a grant so AmeriCorps grantees would not have a constantly changing requirement. In summer 2024, the AmeriCorps agency published a new rule with a relaxed schedule for match. This issue is moot for fixed amount awards but would apply to any cost reimbursement grant award.]
To address the increased difficulty many grantees experience in raising match funds, the Grants Task Force has decided to adopt the match requirements set forth by the AmeriCorps agency. The new policy is based on a scale that gradually increases at the end of each three-year grant period (rather than annually) to reach a total of 30 percent overall share by the tenth year and for each year afterward without a break in funding of five years or more.
Revised Policy:
A first-time successful applicant is required to match at 24 percent for the first three-year funding period. Starting with year four, the match requirement gradually increases every three years to 30 percent by year ten.
| AmeriCorps Funding Year |
Years 1,2, and 3 | Years 4,5, and 6 | Years 7,8, and 9 | Years 10 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grantee Share Requirements | 24% | 26% | 28% | 30% |