AmeriCorps opens FY2027 competition for older-adult volunteer projects
AmeriCorps opened its fiscal year 2027 competition for AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP projects on Aug. 20, inviting eligible organizations across the United States and its territories to apply for grants that engage adults age 55 and older in community service.
Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. The opportunity is an open grant competition, not an announcement that FY2027 awards have already been made.
What RSVP projects do
AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP connects adults 55 and older with flexible volunteer opportunities that address local needs. Service commitments can range from a few hours to a maximum of 40 hours per week, depending on the project and the volunteer’s availability.
Possible activities include caregiver support, family assistance, fraud and scam prevention, homelessness services, behavioral-health support, tutoring, tax assistance, food and nutrition support and disaster response. The program’s age threshold is 55 and older; volunteers do not have to be retired.
The FY2027 competition is intended to establish RSVP projects in areas not currently served, continue successful projects and increase the number of older adults participating in service.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, including faith-based groups; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and nonprofit private colleges and universities; and state, county, city, township and special-district governments.
The federal opportunity record identifies the competition as discretionary and says applicants must meet a cost-sharing or matching requirement. Organizations should use the full notice and appendices for the applicable budget, performance-measure and compliance rules.
Priority areas
Applicants may design activities around documented community needs. AmeriCorps also identifies six priorities for this competition:
- Supporting older adults and caregivers
- Helping older adults re-enter the workforce
- Building strong families
- Preventing and mitigating fraud and scams
- Reducing homelessness
- Supporting behavioral-health initiatives
A workforce-reentry project would have volunteers provide services such as job-readiness help, mentoring or training; RSVP volunteers are not being hired through the grant. Choosing a priority area also does not guarantee funding. Applicants must still meet the requirements in the notice of funding opportunity and submit the required narratives, work plans, performance measures, match information and pre-award compliance materials.
What applicants should do now
Organizations considering an application should review the full AmeriCorps competition notice, its appendices and the federal Grants.gov record. AmeriCorps has also posted application checklists, sample work plans, budget guidance and training resources, including sessions scheduled before the deadline.
The opportunity is listed under funding opportunity number AC-08-20-2026. The federal record confirms that the competition is open across all states and territories and that applications close Oct. 20, 2026. It does not list a FY2027 funding total or expected number of awards.
The prior FY2026 RSVP competition resulted in 130 awards totaling more than $19.8 million nationwide. That figure provides recent context for program scale, but it does not establish the amount or number of awards for FY2027.
For older adults who want to serve, this announcement is not an individual volunteer sign-up or direct stipend application. It funds sponsoring organizations, which then recruit, place and support volunteers in local service roles.
The next major date is the Oct. 20 application deadline. Any FY2027 award announcements, project locations and resulting volunteer opportunities will come later through AmeriCorps and participating organizations.
Sources
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