AmeriCorps NCCC 2020 Request for Proposals: Need Things Done in Your Community?

Posted by AmeriCorps NCCC North Central Region on August 13, 2019

Are you seeking volunteers for your community to get things done?  AmeriCorps NCCC may be a resource for you. We are pleased to share our 2020 Request For Proposals.

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) strengthens communities and develops leaders through a federal full-time, team-based, residential national service program.  NCCC partners with a variety of nonprofit organizations, federal, state, and local agencies, and tribal organizations to complete projects typically lasting 6-8 weeks which address a compelling community need that would not be fully addressed without additional assistance. Jeff Moeur is the Assistant Program Director based out of the North Central Region NCCC Campus which covers a total of 15 states to which we deploy teams (IL, IN, IA, ME, MI, MN, NE, NH, NY, ND, OH, PA, SD, VT, WI).  Please feel free to share this with other partners within your network who may also benefit from an NCCC team.

Please note, in 2020 we are excited to offer several additional time frames compared to recent years. This includes a time frame of January 7 – March 12 which has a Concept Form due date of September 4, 2019.

Some types of tasks NCCC teams have completed in the past include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Energy Conservation: weatherizing existing homes or public infrastructure by insulating rim joists, caulking windows, conducting home energy audits and blower door tests, and conducting energy related educational programing.
• Environmental Stewardship and Conservation: trail construction, habitat restoration, assisting environmental education classes for camps, cleaning up river systems, prescribed fire, and limited amounts of brush and invasive species removal.
• Urban and Rural Development: blight removal projects in cities and other neighborhood revitalization efforts, assisting camp counselors at summer camps, building homes with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, assisting with tax preparation, and building community gardens.
• Infrastructure Improvement: repairing or maintaining public infrastructure such as city-owned fair and rodeo grounds, building public campsites, and constructing wheelchair ramps and boardwalks.
• Disaster: packing/preparing/distributing disaster kits and educational materials; clean-up tasks after a disaster (e.g. cleaning up or repairing homes after flooding or repairing trail systems after a wildfire), and performing disaster preparedness or mitigation tasks.

To give you some more information, AmeriCorps NCCC teams typically consist of 8-12 young adults age 18-24, including a team leader. Members come from all over the country and typically range from high school to college graduates in terms of education.  Teams typically serve in a particular community for 6-8 weeks, although shorter periods are possible. There is no charge for labor and teams provide their own transportation, however NCCC requests a place to sleep and shower be provided along with assistance with food or kitchen facilities to cook on.

Interested? These are the next steps:

Here is our 2020 Request for Proposals which includes relevant due dates and information about applying for a team. Additionally you can find more information on our website (https://www.nationalservice.gov/ncccsponsor).  The Concept Form * which is the first step in applying, as well as the Instructions * can be found by the hyperlinks (I am happy to send you copies of these documents as well). Concept Forms can be submitted to jmoeur@cns.gov or the Assistant Program Director for your state.  A Concept Forms is required for each team or time frame you may be considering and please be sure to fully answer each question as per the Instructions in your response.  Upon review, potential sponsors will be invited to submit a full application or contacted for more information.