Federal grant programs / Corporation for National and Community Service

AmeriCorps Seniors Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) 94.002 (94.002)

Also known as RSVP 94.002

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$242 million
• Grant awards1,228
• Typical award$152,925
• Awarded in FY 2025$48.6 million
• Size rank563 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceProject grants (discretionary)

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $54.6 million in fiscal 2021 to $48.6 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 563rd largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 17% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 50 states and territories.

What the program funds

RSVP engages people ages 55 and older to address a wide range of community needs. AmeriCorps Seniors’ volunteers in RSVP recruit and manage other volunteers, mentor and tutor children, support workforce and job readiness skill development, provide disaster preparedness and mitigation assistance, and serve veterans and military families, among other critical community needs. AmeriCorps Seniors’ volunteers in RSVP choose how, where, and when they want to serve, with commitments ranging from a few hours to 40 hours per week.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

See the program's Notice of Funding Availability/Opportunity.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Volunteers are not to supplant hiring, displace employed workers, or impair existing contracts for service. No agency supervising volunteers may request or receive compensation for services of the volunteers. Volunteers may not be involved in and funds may not be used for religious activities, labor or anti-labor organizations, lobbying, or partisan or non-partisan political activities. Grants may be used for staff salaries and fringe benefits, staff travel, equipment, and related expenses, and for volunteer out-of- pocket expenses, primarily for transportation. In addition, eligible agencies or organizations may, with a Notice of Grant Award from AmeriCorps, receive technical assistance and materials to aid in establishing and operating non-AmeriCorps funded RSVP projects using local funds. Refer to the program's Notice of Federal Funding for additional information for uses and restrictions including the prohibited activities. Restrictions on use of funds are described in the program's Notice of Funding Availability/Opportunity. Use of funds must be consistent with the funded application, and are subject to AmeriCorps' grants administration laws, regulations and policies.;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Grantees are required to match funds in part for their projects through local, non-federal contributions. The required local contribution is at least 10 percent of the total project budget. Matching requirements are mandatory, but grantees can be eligible for a match waiver.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Notice of Funding Opportunities, with important dates and deadlines, are listed here: https://americorps.gov

Award range and average, in the agency's words

The range of financial assistance ranges from $0 to $728,668. The average amount of financial assistance requested is $80,239.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: Fiscal Year 2025: AmeriCorps Seniors awarded a project to recruit volunteers providing social supports, meal deliveries, medical appointment transport, mentorship, and capacity building across the applicants state.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Nonprofits received 76% of the money, state and local governments 16% and colleges and universities 5.0%.

By state

44 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.