AmeriCorps State Competitive & EAP Grants – 2027-28

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the official notice 2027_Tennessee_AmeriCorps_State_NOFO_Revised_09-17-26.pdf (37 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.

Registrations you need first (2)

• Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 12

  “Applicants must have a valid SAM registration and Unique Entity Identifier to receive an award.” Open page 12

• SAM.gov · p. 12

  “Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) for more information.” Open page 12

New to these? SAM.gov registration can take weeks, so start early. Get-ready checklist

Steps before the deadline

• Notice of intent · p. 15

  “Submission Dates and Times D.4.a Notice of Intent to Apply Applicants intending to apply for a new or re-competing Formula program are REQUIRED to complete a Notice of Intent form by 3:00 p.m.” Open page 15

• Notice of intent · p. 15

  “Continuation grantees are not required to submit a notice of intent.” Open page 15

What to submit

• Form SF-424 · p. 13

  “Standard Form 424 (SF-424) Face Sheet:” Open page 13

• Logic model · p. 14

  “Formula Applicants do not submit a logic model.” Open page 14

• Indirect cost rate agreement · p. 19

  “To request a federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, when AmeriCorps is the applicable cognizant agency for an organization’s indirect costs, the applicant must submit a request to IndirectCostRate@americorps.gov.” Open page 19

• Evaluation plan · p. 27

  “If the applicant has previously received three or more years of competitive funding for the same project being proposed, the applicant must submit an evaluation plan summary form (which includes Alternative Evaluation Approach request if applicable) Refer to…” Open page 27

• Audit or financial statements · p. 36

  “Single Audit AmeriCorps State applicants are required to submit an independent audit of their financial statements, conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) (or audited financial statements if the agency does not…” Open page 36

Length limits

• Narratives Applications: 11 pages max · p. 14

  “Narratives Applications must not exceed 11 double-spaced pages for the Narrative.” Open page 14

Formatting rules

• double-spaced · p. 14

  “Narratives Applications must not exceed 11 double-spaced pages for the Narrative.” Open page 14

• 1-inch margins · p. 14

  “Formula applicants should use 12- point font and one-inch margins when drafting responses outside Microsoft Forms to monitor overall narrative length.” Open page 14

Cost share or match

• Cost share / match · p. 11

  “Starting with year four, the match requirement gradually increases every three years to 30 percent by year ten.” Open page 11

• Cost share / match · p. 11

  “Fixed Amount Grants There is no cost share or matching requirement for fixed amount grants.” Open page 11

Dates in the notice

• October 16, 2026 · p. 15

  “Competitive Applications are due no later than Friday, October 16, 2026 by 3:00 p.m.” Open page 15

• February 5, 2027 · p. 15

  “Formula Applications are due no later than Friday, February 5, 2027 by 3:00 p.m.” Open page 15

• May 17, 2027 · p. 31

  “Volunteer Tennessee anticipates announcing the results of the Formula process by notifying applicants no later than May 17, 2027, depending on timely full year appropriations and notification of Competitive grant selections.” Open page 31

Mistakes that get applications rejected (8)

• Could get your application rejected: A single-state application submitted directly to AmeriCorps by the applicant rather than through Volunteer... · p. 11

  “A single-state application submitted directly to AmeriCorps by the applicant rather than through Volunteer Tennessee will be considered noncompliant and will not be reviewed.” Open page 11

• Could get your application rejected: New/recompete and continuation competitive applications with fewer than 20 AmeriCorps Volunteers will be... · p. 12

  “New/recompete and continuation competitive applications with fewer than 20 AmeriCorps Volunteers will be deemed noncompliant and will not be reviewed.” Open page 12

• Over the length limit: Application content that exceeds the page limit for either the narrative or Logic Model will not be reviewed. · p. 13

  “Application content that exceeds the page limit for either the narrative or Logic Model will not be reviewed.” Open page 13

• Could get your application rejected: Applicants that do not submit a justification or any other evidence to overcome the presumption of... · p. 16

  “Applicants that do not submit a justification or any other evidence to overcome the presumption of non-compliance within the published timeframe will not be reviewed or selected for award.” Open page 16

• Could get your application rejected: If multiple evidence documents are submitted by the applicant, the most recent – as measured by the date... · p. 25

  “If multiple evidence documents are submitted by the applicant, the most recent – as measured by the date of completion or publication– will be reviewed first, and any documents submitted beyond the allowable number will not be reviewed.” Open page 25

• Could get your application rejected: Submitted evidence documents that do not sufficiently match the intervention will not be reviewed or... · p. 25

  “Submitted evidence documents that do not sufficiently match the intervention will not be reviewed or receive any points.” Open page 25

• Could get your application rejected: The evaluation plan summary will not be scored and will not be reviewed unless it includes an Alternative... · p. 27

  “The evaluation plan summary will not be scored and will not be reviewed unless it includes an Alternative Evaluation Approach request.” Open page 27

• Could get your application rejected: Any other text entered in this field will not be reviewed. · p. 27

  “Any other text entered in this field will not be reviewed.” Open page 27