Corporation used about $149 million of its fiscal year 1994 appropriations to make about 300 grants to nonprofit organizations and federal, state, and local government agencies to operate AmeriCorps*USA programs. Most of the matching contributions AmeriCorps*USA programs received came from public as opposed to private sources. In calculating resources available on a per-participant and per-service-hour basis (see table 1), we found that the average from all sources per AmeriCorps*USA participant was about $26,654 (excluding in-kind contributions from private sources). Because most AmeriCorps*USA programs were still implementing their first year of operations, actual cost could not be determined. Non-Corporation federal funds accounted for about 50 percent of total resources available to federal grantees. Expanding Opportunities

education or job training. The Corporation also has directed grantees exceeding a program year 1995-96 cost per participant of $13,800 to reduce their proposed program year 1996-97 per-participant costs by an overall average of 10 percent. The Corporation has also increased the grantee’s share of total program operating costs from 25 to 33 percent for grants awarded for the 1996-97 program year. And it means resources available to pay for the staff and operations of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed the Corporation for National and Community Service's AmeriCorps*USA service program.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) for program year 1994 to 1995, the Corporation provided almost $149 million for grantee projects; (2) about 69 percent of matching project contributions came from public sources; (3) total resources available per participant, exclusive of private in-kind contributions, averaged $26,654, of which federal sources provided 74 percent, state and local governments 14 percent, and the private sector 12 percent; (4) cost data could not be determined because most AmeriCorps programs are too new; (5) total available resources for AmeriCorps*USA grantees averaged about $16 per service hour; (6) grantees' projects are designed to meet unmet human, educational, environmental, and public safety needs, strengthen communities, develop civic responsibility, and expand educational opportunities for program participants and others; and (7) to reduce government costs in the 1996-1997 program year, Congress has reduced program appropriations and prohibited federal agencies from receiving AmeriCorps grants, and the Corporation has required certain grantees to reduce proposed costs by 10 percent and all grantees to pay a higher share of program operating costs.