Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF)
VGF grant management
built for state service commissions
The Grant Gateway is the AmeriCorps grant application and review system used by state service commissions to run Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) competitions end-to-end — eligibility, application, non-federal match, performance measures, peer review, clarifications, and award decisions.
VGF has its own requirements: a non-federal match, a focus on volunteer recruitment and management capacity, and performance measures distinct from Formula. The Grant Gateway treats VGF as a first-class competition type instead of forcing it into a Formula-shaped template.
VGF match tracking, built in
Capture and validate the non-federal match required for Volunteer Generation Fund awards at application time — cash and in-kind, with source documentation attached to each line. No more chasing match evidence after the fact.
Performance measures aligned to VGF
Configure performance measures for volunteer recruitment, training, and management outputs and outcomes. Applicants enter targets in a structured form; reviewers score against your rubric; auditors see the full lineage.
Run VGF alongside Formula
Most commissions run VGF in parallel with their Formula competition. The Grant Gateway handles both — and any other competition you run — concurrently, each with its own template, rubric, reviewer pool, and timeline.
2 CFR 200 — defensible by design
Every submission, score, COI event, clarification, resubmission, and award decision is captured in an immutable, timestamped audit log. When auditors or AmeriCorps ask for the trail on a VGF award, you can produce it on demand.
The VGF lifecycle, end to end
- Notice of Intent collection, with approve / return / reject decisions and applicant emails
- Eligibility screen aligned to VGF applicant requirements
- Application template with volunteer-management narrative sections
- Budget template with required non-federal match validation
- Performance-measure targets for volunteer outputs and outcomes
- Blinded peer review with VGF-specific scoring rubric
- Structured conflict-of-interest disclosure, recusal & resolution
- Two-way clarifications & resubmissions inside the platform
- Risk assessments tied to each award, with edit history
- Award decisions, notifications, and immutable audit trail
Why VGF deserves a dedicated tool
Generic submissions platforms treat VGF like any other grant — a form with some attachments. The match requirement, the volunteer-management framing, and the performance-measure structure all end up as free-text fields that reviewers and auditors have to interpret on their own.
The Grant Gateway captures match, performance measures, and reviewer scores in structured form from day one — so your VGF awards are easier to score, easier to defend, and easier to report on at the end of the cycle.
Run Formula and VGF in one place
Commissions running both Formula and VGF don't need two tools. The Grant Gateway supports unlimited concurrent competitions on every plan — each with its own template, rubric, reviewer pool, and timeline.
See the AmeriCorps grant management overview for how Formula competitions are handled in the same platform.
See it on your next VGF competition
Walk through the platform with a member of our team and see exactly how your commission's next Volunteer Generation Fund competition would run on The Grant Gateway.