42 U.S.C. § 12576 — Other special assistance

(a) Support for State Commissions. (1) Grants authorized. Using money set aside under section 12681(a)(5), the Corporation can give a state a grant of between $250,000 and $1,000,000. The state uses this money to set up or run its State Commission, which section 12638 requires it to have. (2) Matching requirement. When the Corporation gives this grant, the state must agree to provide at least $1 in matching money from non-federal sources for every $1 the Corporation gives. (3) Alternative. The Chief Executive Officer can let a state that shows hardship, or a brand-new State Commission, use easier matching rules instead: (A) First $100,000. The state does not have to match the first $100,000 of grant money. (B) Amounts greater than $100,000. For grant money between $100,000 and $250,000, the state must match at least $1 for every $2 the Corporation gives, counting only the amount above $100,000. (C) Amounts greater than $250,000. For grant money above $250,000, the state must match at least $1 for every $1 the Corporation gives, counting only the amount above $250,000. (b) Disaster service. The Corporation can run activities — including through part A of title I of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 — that connect national-service programs to disaster relief. This can include mission assignments under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, supporting nonprofits and public agencies that respond to communities hit by disasters. (c) Challenge grants for national service programs. (1) Assistance authorized. The Corporation can give "challenge grants" to programs already supported under the national service laws. (2) Selection criteria. The Corporation must set criteria to pick a wide variety of recipients, favoring programs that are high quality and run by organizations with real experience delivering benefits to participants and communities. (3) Amount of assistance. For a program's first three years, a challenge grant can give up to $1 for every $1 the program raises in cash from private sources — counting only money raised beyond what the program already needs for its regular matching requirements. After that first three-year period, the grant can give up to $1 for every $2 raised privately. The Corporation can let a program count local or state funds instead of private funds, if the Corporation decides that is fair because private funding is not available locally. The Corporation must also set a cap on how much challenge-grant assistance any one program can receive.