Agency Releases Final AmeriCorps State and National Rule on Match Requirements, Education and Training Hours, and Term Limits

On May 28th, the AmeriCorps agency published the final AmeriCorps State and National rule designed to boost grant flexibility, reduce barriers to service, and expand access to workforce development opportunities for AmeriCorps members. The new regulations will go into effect on Tuesday, October 1st, 2024.  

The rule makes four substantive changes to the AmeriCorps State and National program:  

  1. Modifies grantee match requirements;  
  2. Clarifies match waiver requirements;  
  3. Supports job readiness waiver flexibility; and  
  4. Removes term limit barriers.  

On October 6, 2023, the agency released their proposed rule – or first draft. In Voices for National Service’s opinion, the proposed rule only made superficial changes to the AmeriCorps State and National program and added more administrative burden. During the public comment period, coalition partners and supporters submitted comments and recommendations for how to modify the proposed rule to both improve the benefits and value proposition for participants and ensure that all organizations can access and maximize government resources efficiently and responsibly. 

The final rule released by the AmeriCorps agency incorporates much of the feedback offered by Voices for National Service. The most notable change is the modified grantee match requirement – one of Voices for National Service’s top legislative priorities. Current regulations include a graduated match scale that increases to a total of 50% in a program’s 10th year, causing a burdensome dollar for dollar match for programs. The new rule includes a less aggressive match scale increasing to 30% in the 10th year and beyond. 

Voices for National Service is grateful to AmeriCorps and the Biden Administration for their leadership in modifying the current match requirement that was too aggressive, overly stringent, and more burdensome than the match imposed by other Federal agencies. 

Summary – AmeriCorps State and National Updates  
This rule is effective on October 1, 2024.  

1. Modifies grantee’s match requirements (or required share of program costs) to a scale that starts at 24% for the first three-year grant cycle and increases incrementally with each successive three-year grant cycle, until it reaches 30% in the tenth year of the grant cycle and beyond. Because this rule goes into effect concurrently with federal fiscal year 2025, it will impact grant awards made and member enrollments issued in the next funding round or post-October 1st. 

Current Matching Requirements for Cost Reimbursement Grant Applicants  

AmeriCorps Funding Year   1-3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10+ 
Grantee Share Requirements   24%  26%  30%  34%  38%  42%  46%  50% 

New Matching Requirements for Cost Reimbursement Grant Applicants  

Grant Period  1st match percentage  2nd match percentage  3rd match percentage  4th match percentage 
Years  1-3  4-6  7-9  10+ 
Grantee Share Requirements  24%  26%  28%  30% 

 2. Simplifies match waiver requirement to align with the criteria used by AmeriCorps Seniors, reducing administrative burden on grantees and creating greater parity across national service programs. Organizations that meet one of four listed criteria (difficulty securing funding in the first three years of operations; economic downturn or disaster restricting local funding; unexpected discontinuation of local support; or organizational revenue less than $500,000) can qualify for a match waiver.  

3. Supports job readiness by allowing AmeriCorps to waive the 20 percent limit to the aggregate hours that AmeriCorps members may spend in education and training activities. The new rule allows AmeriCorps to grant waivers for apprenticeship programs, job training and readiness programs, activities to support attainment of GEDs and other credentialing, and programs that primarily enroll economically disadvantaged members. If granted a waiver, these programs will be able to spend up to 50% of their hours in education and training activities.  

 4. Removes term limit barriers, which create an arbitrary barrier on an individual’s ability to serve. Currently, AmeriCorps members are capped at four terms in AmeriCorps State and National, regardless of the length of service. The new rule allows individuals to serve the number of terms needed to earn the value of two full-time education awards.  

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