Corporation for National and Community Service

Corporation for National and Community Service

Agency overview
Formed	1993
Preceding agency	ACTION
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	250 E Street, SW Washington, D.C. 20525 [1]
Employees	586 (2020)[2]
Annual budget	$1.055 billion USD (2013 Annualized CR level)[3]
Agency executive	Barbara Stewart, Chief Executive Officer
Website	www.nationalservice.gov

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives.^[4] The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering."^[5] While a government agency, CNCS acts much like a foundation and is the nation's largest annual grant maker supporting service and volunteering. CNCS, formerly known as the "Corporation for National Service" or "CNS," was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993.^[6]

Programs

Currently, CNCS delivers several programs that are designed to help communities address poverty, the environment, education, and other unmet human needs. The programs include:

AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps is a national service program designed to engage Americans in a variety of service. Programs under the AmeriCorps umbrella include AmeriCorps State and National programs, National Civilian Community Corps (also known as AmeriCorps NCCC, which includes FEMA Corps), and AmeriCorps VISTA.

On April 21, 2009, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act was signed into law, which reauthorized and dramatically expanded the AmeriCorps volunteer service program. The new law would more than triple the number of available AmeriCorps volunteer slots from then current 75,000 to 250,000 by fiscal year 2017 with 50% of these positions becoming full-time. The measure would also tie college tuition aid to demonstrated favorable community impacts; create a pilot Social Innovation Fund; expand eligibility for the Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent program; and expand participation by military veterans.

Senior Corps

The Senior Corps umbrella includes three programs that engage seniors aged 55+ in volunteerism: the Foster Grandparents program, through which volunteers teach and mentor children; Senior Companions, through which volunteers help older adults live independently in their homes; and RSVP, through which volunteers can serve in a variety of roles to meet their communities' needs.^[7]

Other programs

• MLK Day of Service
• September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance
• President's Volunteer Service Award
• Presidential Freedom Scholarship Program
• Learn and Serve America (discontinued)

Special initiatives

Employers of National Service

On September 12, 2014, President Barack Obama launched the Employers of National Service initiative at the 20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps event on the South Lawn of the White House.^[8] Employers participating in the initiative connect to the talent pipeline of AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other service year alumni, by indicating in their hiring processes that they view national service experience as a plus. The initiative is a collaboration between CNCS with the Peace Corps, Service Year Alliance, AmeriCorps Alums, and the National Peace Corps Association. To date, over 500 employers have joined the initiative.^[9]

History

The Commission on National and Community Service was a new, independent federal agency created as a consequence of the National and Community Service Act of 1990, signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.

The Commission was intentioned to mean to bring about a renewed focus on encouraging volunteering in the United States and was charged with supporting four streams of service:

1. Service-learning programs for school-aged youth
2. Higher education service programs
3. Youth corps
4. National service demonstration models

In 1993 the Corporation for National and Community Service was created by merging another agency, ACTION, and the Commission on National and Community Service together, thus ending the Commission.

Timeline

1990: President George H.W. Bush signs the National and Community Service Act of 1990 into law, ushering in a renewed federal focus on encouraging volunteering in the U.S. This legislation created the new independent federal agency called the Commission on National and Community Service.

1992: Enacted as part of the 1993 National Defense Authorization Act, the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is created as a demonstration program to explore the possibility of using post-Cold War military resources to help solve problems here at home. It is modeled on the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps and the United States military.

1993: President Bill Clinton signs into passage The National and Community Service Trust Act, formally merging the federal offices of ACTION and the Commission on National and Community Service, including Serve America and NCCC, to form CNCS, along with the addition of the new AmeriCorps program.

2002: President George W. Bush creates the USA Freedom Corps.

Administrative history

Past CEOs of CNCS include:

See also

• Community service
• National service in the United States
• Service learning
• Gerald Walpin

References

External links

• The Corporation for National and Community Service website
  • Corporation for National and Community Service – History
  • Corporation for National and Community Service – Legislation
• Corporation for National and Community Service in the Federal Register
• History of Service Learning in Higher Education website
• Booknotes interview with Steven Waldman on The Bill: How the Adventures of Clinton's National Service Bill Reveal What is Corrupt, Comic, Cynical -- and Noble -- About Washington, January 29, 1995.