A missed deadline could end up costing D.C. millions of dollars in federal funding for programs that help low-income communities.
The District turned in a late and incomplete grant application to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a body funded by Congress that in turn funds AmeriCorps, a federal service network that provides money and staff to local nonprofits.
The application requested $3.75 million for AmeriCorps programs for Reading Partners DC, The Literacy Lab, and City Year DC.
“The students we serve are our top priority, so we certainly plan to do everything we can to try to ensure that there is no impact on our program in the coming school year as a result of this situation,” says Michael Todd, spokesperson of Reading Partners, which was seeking more than $500,000.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s Office and multiple District officials are now petitioning CNCS to reconsider the application. According to a letter Norton’s office sent to CNCS, “technical difficulties … did not allow [Serve DC employees] to finalize their submission until the morning after the deadline.” The letter also says Serve DC submitted multiple requests for support to CNCS before the deadline.
Eleanor Holmes Norton Letter to the Corporation for National and Community ServiceEleanor Holmes Norton Officials / WAMU
“We are aware of the issues Serve DC had filing an application with the Corporation for National Community Service and have petitioned the federal agency to work with us to ensure the participating organizations are held harmless. While we have yet to find common ground with CNCS, the Mayor has committed to identifying avenues to remedy the funding for participating organizations so that there will be no disruption in services to our residents,” LaToya Foster, a spokesperson from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office, wrote in a statement to WAMU.
Some AmeriCorps programs will continue, but these are national programs run by national nonprofits. Organizations that operate only within the District will be left to compete for a smaller amount of money CNCS has already given D.C.
“AmeriCorps is still going to be in D.C. We have lots of programs that are national that are serving in D.C.,” says Samantha Jo Warfield, a spokesperson for CNCS. She notes that programs like AmeriCorps Vista and Senior Corps will still have funding, but local nonprofits could face major cuts.
How AmeriCorps Funding Works
CNCS allocates money to AmeriCorps, and in turn to nonprofit organizations, in two ways. First, through a national pool of money meant for nonprofits that operate in multiple states. The second way is through state-level offices that are specifically designed to dole out CNCS funds. Nonprofits that only operate in one state (or district) must apply for money through these offices. In the District, this office is called Serve DC.
When local nonprofits submit their applications, these offices can choose to either fund the program with money already allocated to them by CNCS, or the office can forward the applications to CNCS to compete for funding from the larger national pool.
Serve DC planned to forward multiple applications to compete for $3.75 million in additional funds. However, the office missed the Jan. 30 deadline to apply. CNCS allows states to apply after the deadline, but they must submit an explanation for why the application is late. According to CNCS, the District did not follow this procedure.
Norton’s office says they will wait 30 days for a response from CNCS before deciding what steps to take next.
This story originally appeared on WAMU.
