	Background

The major federally funded community service and volunteer programs are authorized under two statutes: the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA). In general, these programs are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (hereafter referred to as the Corporation), an independent federal agency. The NCSA is designed to address unmet human, educational, environmental, and public safety needs and to renew an ethic of civic responsibility by encouraging citizens to participate in national service programs. The central purpose of the DVSA, which authorizes the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program and the National Senior Volunteer Corps, is to foster and expand voluntary service in communities while helping the vulnerable, the disadvantaged, the elderly, and the poor. 1388 , the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act, to amend and reauthorize NCSA and DVSA. The bill was signed into law on April 21, 2009 ( P.L. This report will not be updated. 111-13 authorizes a summer of service program under which students entering grades 6 through 12 at the end of the summer who complete 100 hours of service in an approved position would be eligible for an educational award of $500 from funds deposited in the National Service Trust. 111-13 , the educational award for full-time service will be equal to the maximum amount of a Pell Grant in the year in which the Corporation approves the national service position. In the 2009-2010 academic year the maximum Pell Grant amount is $5,350. 111-13 authorizes the ServeAmerica Fellowship program to allow individuals to design their own plans for serving their communities to address national needs. Under this program, individuals age 55 and older who complete 350 hours of service are eligible to receive a $1,000 educational award, which could be transferred to a child or grandchild. Social Innovation Funds Pilot Program (Part III)

Section 198K of P.L. 111-13 authorizes a Volunteer Generation Fund with which the Corporation may make grants to State Commissions and nonprofit organizations to carry out or to develop and support community-based entities that recruit, manage, or support volunteers. 111-13 requires the Corporation to establish a Nonprofit Capacity Building Program to make grants to intermediary organizations to support the organizational development of small and midsize nonprofit organizations, especially those nonprofit organizations "facing resource hardship challenges." 111-13 , individuals whose income was 125% of the poverty level or less could receive a stipend in the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion Programs.
The major federally funded community service and volunteer programs in this country are authorized under two statutes: the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA), as amended, and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA), as amended. The programs authorized by these statutes are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency.
The NCSA is designed to address unmet human, educational, environmental, and public safety needs, to renew the ethic of civic responsibility, and encourage citizens to engage in national service. The central purpose of the DVSA is to foster and expand voluntary service in communities while helping the vulnerable, the disadvantaged, the elderly, and the poor.
On April 21, 2009, the President signed P.L. 111-13, The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, to amend and reauthorize NCSA and DVSA through FY2014. Among other things, P.L. 111-13, which is effective on October 1, 2009, does the following:
requires the Corporation to develop a plan to increase the number of approved national service positions from 88,000 in FY2010 to 250,000 in FY2017; authorizes a "Summer of Service" program, which would provide an educational award of $500 for students entering grades 6 through 12 at the end of the summer who complete 100 hours of service in approved positions; provides that AmeriCorps State and National Programs can be funded through an Education Corps, a Healthy Futures Corps, a Clean Energy Corps, a Veterans Corps, or an Opportunity Corps; increases the national service educational award for full-time service from $4,725 to the maximum amount of a Pell Grant, which in the 2009-2010 academic year is $5,350; authorizes a ServeAmerica Fellowship program to allow individuals to design their own plans for serving their communities to address national needs; authorizes a Silver Scholarship Grant Program under which individuals age 55 and older who complete 350 hours of service are eligible to receive a $1,000 silver scholarship educational award; authorizes a Social Innovation Funds Pilot Program to increase private and public investment in nonprofit community organizations; authorizes a Volunteer Generation Fund to develop and support community-based entities that recruit, manage, or support volunteers; requires the Corporation to establish a Nonprofit Capacity Building Program to support the organizational development of small and midsize nonprofit organizations; and increases the income eligibility of participants in the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion Programs from 125% of the poverty level to 200%.
This report will not be updated.