National Volunteer Resource Center

 

Older Americans Act (OAA) programs have always relied on volunteers as part of their workforce. Volunteers have been significant contributors to aging services network, serving at every level and in the delivery of all types of services. With a growing aging population, an increased need for critical services and reduced funding to meet the growing need, the AoA/ACL is challenged to mobilize the social capital of volunteers, especially older adults, and to deploy them as volunteers through the Aging Network. The Administration on Aging (AoA) is the lead partner of the National Network on Aging (the Aging Network). The Network consists of 56 State Units on Aging (SUAs), 629 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), 264 Tribal and Native organizations, some 20,000 service providers, and thousands of volunteers who operate a comprehensive system of home and community-based services for older individuals and their families. The 2002 amendments to the OAA included provisions to begin to address these volunteer issues. The amendments included a broad definition of civic engagement as “an individual or collective action designed to address a public concern or an unmet human, educational, health care, environmental, or public safety need.” It directed AAAs to make use of trained volunteers in providing direct services delivered to older individuals and individuals with disabilities needing such services. It encouraged creating opportunities for older individuals to participate in civic engagement activities and improving coordination of volunteer programs for older individuals. It also provided for a multi-generational/civic engagement demonstration grant focusing on discovering and documenting effective, sustainable, replicable exceptional local program models that positively impacted their target populations and demonstrated effective engagement of older volunteers in direct services and organizational, technical and developmental roles. Three populations were targeted: grandparents and other relatives raising grandchildren, families raising special needs children, or caregivers of frail, vulnerable elderly. Building on this earlier grant, in 2010 AoA awarded a Cooperative Agreement to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a). N4a and its partners created the Aging Network’s Volunteer Collaborative at http://agingnetworkvolunteercollaborative.org/ to help the Aging Network more effectively use and expand the number of volunteers. The Collaborative assessed the needs and barriers to volunteering; offered technical assistance through workshops and webinars; built a virtual resource center consisting of a technical assistance clearinghouse, functionality for blogs, live on-line chats, polls, webinars, and public and private practice communities for learners. It awarded small incentive grants; implemented a national communications campaign; developed evaluation mechanisms to measure performance and developed a partnership with LexisNexis to reduce the cost for volunteer background checks. This Program Announcement builds upon the existing and previous grants and current knowledge about volunteerism. The AoA plans to award one cooperative agreement to support a National Volunteer Resource Center. This national volunteer center will develop and sustain volunteer workforce capacity within the Aging Network.

General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Deleted 07/03/2014 (Archived.)
Program Number
HHS-2014-ACL-AOA-CC-0068
Federal Agency/Office
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Office: Administration for Community Living
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
Cooperative Agreement
Number of Awards Available
1
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
Domestic public or private non-profit entities including state and local governments, Indian tribal governments and organizations (American Indian/Alaskan Native/Native American), faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, hospitals, and institutions of higher learning. Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Application Procedure
Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.
Deadlines
06/03/2014
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
This program has cost sharing or matching requirements.
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Headquarters Office
Aiesha Gurley
aiesha.gurley@aoa.hhs.gov
Website Address
http://www.acl.gov/Funding_Opportunities/Announcements/Index.aspx
E-mail Address
aiesha.gurley@aoa.hhs.gov
Financial Information
Obligations
$258,518.00
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Awards range from $258,518.00 to $258,518.00

 


Related Federal Grants


Federal Grants Resources