If you are looking for a volunteer job, you may find the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) on your search. Yeah, it is one of the federal agencies that leads service, volunteering, and grant-making efforts in the United States. Now, you may be wondering whether the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is legitimate or not. To break your curiosity, you should read this entire text. On this page, we will share some information related to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
What is the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)?
The Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS is a federal agency that leads service, volunteerism, and grantmaking efforts in the United States. According to research, The Corporation was established on October 1, 1993 as an independent agency of the United States government by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 12651 et seq.). Aside from making some new service programs, the Act also consolidated the functions and activities of the former Commission on National and Community Service and the Federal agency action.
Apparently, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) engages Americans of all backgrounds and ages in community-based service that handle environmental, public safety, Nation’s educational, and other human needs to reach direct and demonstrable results. By doing so, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) will be able to foster civic responsibility, strengthen the bonds of citizens as a nation, and provide educational chances for those who have made a substantial commitment to serve.
We get information that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) engages more than five million Americans in service through some programs such as AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Learn and Serve America, Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. Of course, the Corporation has a mission. The mission is to support the American culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) acts like a Foundation, despite being a government agency. Also, it is the largest annual grant-maker in the United States that supports voluntary services and activities.
Based on the research, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) play a crucial role to improve their own lives and the lives of their fellow citizens. To harness the ingenuity and spirit of the American people to face their most pressing challenges, they work with local partners.
A few years ago, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) also cooperated with HUD EXCHANGE. For your information, HUD EXCHANGE partnered with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to provide a webinar that informs a few questions such as what programs CNCS funds, how to apply for funding, and how communities can use the funds to build their capacity. In the first part of the webinar, it featured presentations by CNCS staff as well as communities that have used the program of CNCS. Then, in the second part of the webinar, it was used exclusively for Q&A.
Is the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) Legitimate?
Now, you may be curious whether the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is legitimate or not. As claimed by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), they are legitimate. In the previous paragraph, we also explain that the Corporation was established on October 1, 1993 as an independent agency of the United States government by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. As for now, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has more than five million Americans in service through a few types of volunteer work programs in several sectors. If you assume that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is not legitimate, it could be from the scammers.
On December 4, 2020, AmeriCorps issued an alert to notify the public of a fraudulent scam using the AmeriCorps and CNCS names and the names of its programs. In carrying out the scam, the scammers have already claimed to be senior officials of CNCS. They have already said that AmeriCorps offers an empowerment program. The scammers also said that the empowerment program was a compensation to assist retired, divorced, widowed, or people with disabilities. The scammers ask the potential victims to pay a certain amount of money. The point is the scammers steal money from the American public by using the names of federal government entities, fake Facebook page images for CNCS/AmeriCorps and its senior officials. In addition, the scammers also use non-governmental email addresses on behalf of actual AmeriCorps officials.
By the way, do you ever receive an email from someone who claims to be a senior official of CNCS and ask you for an amount of money to participate in an empowerment program? If you get this case, we highly suggest you be careful. Keep in mind that the official email address of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) ends with americorps.gov. So, if you receive an email from someone who claims to be a senior official of CNCS using Gmail or Yahoo, just let it. Keep in mind that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) does not call, text, or use social media to ask payment for their programs. Aside from that, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) also does not ask individuals to send money to participate in their own programs. Therefore, if you receive a call from someone who claims to be a senior official of CNCS, just hang up or end the communications. Afterwards, you should contact the agency or its Office of Inspector General (OIG).
So, once again, if you receive an email claiming to be on behalf of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) or AmeriCorps with a public service provider, a text message, or are contacted through social media asking you to give them some money, do not hesitate to contact the Office of the Inspector General immediately through the Complaint Hotline. For information, there are several ways you can try to contact the authorized party. The first way, you can call 1-800-942-2677. The second way you can contact them by visiting https://americorps.gov.
The Failures of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
Talking about the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), we found information that discusses the failures of CNCS. Several years ago, the Committee on Education and the Workforce checked the ability of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to fulfill its objectives as a government agency. In general, CNCS was found to have failed its members and the vulnerable groups it serves in terms of compliance, safety, and management. Although the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) claims that they are legitimate, according to this source, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has been involved in several cases, such as:
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Child Care Subsidies Fraud
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The Inspector General (OIG) noted 12 cases in total where AmeriCorps and VISTA members were reported receiving AmeriCorps Care or VISTA Care childcare subsidies as well the state childcare subsidies that lead to a loss to the federal government of more than $120,000.
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Fraudulent Timesheets
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A grantee agreed to repay $534,000 after The Inspector General (OIG) discovered that the officials had falsified timesheets and inflated member service hours leading to fraudulent certifications of education awards of 76 AmeriCorps members.
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Fraudulent Use of Education Award
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It is reported that a former AmeriCorps member was discovered guilty and debarred for a year after utilizing fraudulent documentation for an education award to pay off her car loan and trying to make payments on her mortgage using a second education award.
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Fraudulent RSVP Grant
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The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) closed an investigation into a Senior Corps grantee in 2016, who fraudulently obtained more than $20,000 in RSVP grants without registering a single volunteer. The CEO of the company used her virtual nonprofit organization to redirect funds back to his nonprofit company. After the OIG substantiated the case, the Corporation sought repayment of the funds and banned the CEO and the organization for three years.
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Paying Living Stipends to the Inmate
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The Inspector General (OIG) found evidence that VISTA’s executive director had violated the grant’s provision prohibiting nepotism by enrolling her immediate family members and other relatives as VISTA members. Also, the grantee paid a living allowance to a member while he was incarcerated for a period of 30 days.
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Embezzlement
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A former AmeriCorps executive director has been found guilty and convicted of stealing more than $325,000 in AmeriCorps grant funds.
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Defrauding Taxpayers for Service Not Performed
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The executive director of an AmeriCorps grantee was found guilty of defrauding the US government after she allowed her two children (who were AmeriCorps members) to submit timesheets stating that they had performed AmeriCorps service for the grantee while attending college in another state. Because of her actions, the executive director was sentenced to three years of probation. In addition, the executive director was also ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution.
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Conspiracy to Defraud
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According to the Inspector General (OIG) and FBI reports, an AmeriCorps executive director reportedly conspired with two individuals to steal more than $30,000 in AmeriCorps funds. The executive director had enrolled the two individuals in the AmeriCorps program without them performing any service in exchange for half of their living allowance.
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Fraudulently Enrolling Employees as AmeriCorps Members
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An AmeriCorps grantee reportedly enrolled employees as AmeriCorps members to supplement their salaries and benefits. Subsequently, the AmeriCorps program director made false statements and intentionally misled the state commission, resulting in the award of more than $520,000 in improper federal grant funds and education awards.
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False Claims to CNCS
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From 2007 to 2010, the executive director of the AmeriCorps program was reported to have authorized students to receive hours to independently perform services required by their academic programs. Subsequently, the executive director approved fraudulent time sheets and fraudulent certified education awards, which led to the erroneous disbursement of almost $3 million for education awards and administrative fees. According to research, out of over 1,000 students enrolled in the program, only a handful of students provided services to the community.
