OSM/VISTA AmeriCorps Program | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The OSM/VISTA AmeriCorps Program (Funding Opportunity Number S14AS00004) is a discretionary federal grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining (OSM), structured as a cooperative agreement. It supports a partnership model that brings together OSM, AmeriCorps VISTA, and local community watershed groups to strengthen community capacity while addressing environmental impacts from mining. The central purpose is twofold: projects must clearly improve the long-term sustainability of participating watershed organizations, and they must contribute in a direct, meaningful way to the remediation of acid mine drainage, a major water quality issue associated with abandoned or legacy mine sites.

This program is geared toward watershed-based organizations that are already established and active in communities affected by acid mine drainage. The emphasis on "sustainability" means proposed activities should build lasting organizational strength rather than only delivering short-term project outputs. In practice, this typically points to capacity-building work such as expanding volunteer recruitment and management, improving fundraising and grant-writing systems, developing partnerships, strengthening outreach and education strategies, building project management processes, and creating the organizational infrastructure needed to plan and carry out remediation efforts over time. At the same time, proposals must tie this capacity work to tangible progress on acid mine drainage remediation, meaning the organizational improvements should clearly support on-the-ground restoration planning, implementation, monitoring, or coordination that advances cleanup or treatment of AMD-impacted waters.

Eligibility is limited to nonprofit entities with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education as eligible applicants under the listing provided). The opportunity also notes that both private and public nonprofit institutions and established watershed organizations may participate, as long as they are operating in one of the specified states: Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These states reflect areas where acid mine drainage and legacy mining impacts are prominent and where watershed-based remediation organizations are commonly engaged in restoration work.

Funding is relatively targeted and competitive, with an expected number of awards listed as one and an estimated total program funding amount of $200,000. Individual awards are expected to fall between an award floor of $150,000 and an award ceiling of $200,000. The opportunity includes a cost-sharing or matching requirement, so applicants should be prepared to document eligible match sources and show how they will meet the required share as part of the overall project budget and partnership structure. The CFDA number associated with the program is 15.254.

In terms of timing, the opportunity was posted on September 20, 2013, and while an original closing date of October 1, 2013 is listed, the announcement also states that applications are due throughout the year and throughout the fiscal year, with a current closing date shown as September 30, 2014 and an archive date of October 1, 2014. The practical takeaway is that, during the active period of the announcement, OSM accepted applications on a rolling basis rather than through a single, fixed deadline, allowing watershed groups to apply as they became ready within the fiscal year window.

Applicants looking for the full announcement and official requirements were directed to Grants.gov via the additional information link (http://www.grants.gov). For assistance with accessing the announcement, the listed contact was Renata Miller at (202) 208-2747, with the email address rgarris@osmre.gov.

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