Key Terms

Authorized supervisor — a person (program or service site staff) who has a cleared, completed two- or three-part criminal history check.

Auxiliary aids — are devices that enable effective communication for people with disabilities.

Continuation request — the AmeriCorps grant application completed by organizations that seek to continue funding for Year 2 or Year 3 of a grant cycle.

Covered individual — a person whose position or role, is listed as an estimated direct cost on the approved grant budget (federal or grantee/matching share), as receiving salary, stipend, living allowance, national education award or similar, in return for providing service to the program; or a person whose costs associated with their salary, stipend, living allowance, etc. that will be included within amounts reported as expenditure of either federal or matching share on the program’s financial reports.

Disability — is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one of more major life activities.

Essential functions — are tasks or service duties that are critical to the service position. If one or more are not performed, then the nature of the position is fundamentally changed. The person in the position must provide these tasks or service duties.

Electronic signature — Electronic signatures rely on certain types of encryption to ensure authentication. Encryption is the process of taking all the data that one computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be able to decode. Authentication is the process of verifying that information is coming from a trusted source. These two processes work hand in hand for digital signatures. The use of a user name and password provide the most common form of authentication.

Grant Terms & Conditions — formerly referred to as “AmeriCorps State & National Provisions,” “AmeriCorps Provisions,” or the “Provisions,” this term refers to a collection of two documents that are updated annually by the Corporation for National and Community Service: General Grant Terms & Conditions and Terms & Conditions for AmeriCorps State & National Grants.. These documents together represent the terms and conditions set forth by the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) which are binding on all recipients of CNCS funding. They are updated annually prior to the start of a new service year. See Program Management Resources

Grant cycle — the three-year term for which AmeriCorps grants are issued. This term is contingent upon positive compliance record and strong program performance.

Grant year — the year in which the program operates.

Line item — a budget item within a section and category in an approved budget.

Major life activities — are any tasks or functions an average person can do with little to no difficulty.

Marginal functions — are tasks or service duties that are not critical to the service position. These service tasks and duties can be easily reassigned, divided among a number or individuals, or traded between individuals. At times, marginal functions are tasks completed on an as-needed basis.

Operating site — an organization that places AmeriCorps State and National members into service locations. State programs are operating sites.

Program year — the year in which your program is in full operation

Qualified Individual — is a person of any ability who satisfies the skill, experience, education, and other related requirements of a service opportunity and is able to perform its essential functions with or without reasonable accommodations.

Re-compete programs — are those that have completed a three-year grant cycle and have applied to begin another three-year grant cycle.

Recurring access — The ability on more than one occasion to approach, observe, or communicate with a person, through physical proximity or other means, including but not limited to, electronic or telephonic communication. Recurring access is typically a regular, scheduled, and anticipated component of a person’s service activities.

Retention rate — the percentage of AmeriCorps members who exit the AmeriCorps program with either a full or pro-rated Education Award.

Service site/service location/host site — the organization where a member provides most of their service in the community. Typical service locations are schools, food banks, health clinics, community parks, etc. Service locations are not typically operating sites, unless the member actually serves at the operating site most of the time.

Test — a set of questions or problems designed to assess knowledge, skills, or intelligence.