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New Jersey Bonner AmeriCorps - Prohibited Activities 

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Despite all the similarities between a non-AmeriCorps Bonner position and a Bonner AmeriCorps position, there are some key differences that affect where your AmeriCorps members are eligible to serve. Below is a list of prohibited AmeriCorps activities that you and your members should be aware of as they enroll in AmeriCorps and plan their service placements for each semester. As a Campus Administrator it is very important that you familiarize yourself with all aspects of the types of service that are not AmeriCorps-eligible as well as the Rules of Conduct that govern the program.

• The rule of thumb regarding AmeriCorps-eligibility for fundraising should be: "If in doubt, rule it out."  
• Prohibited activities are spelled out in detail in the 2013-14 National Bonner AmeriCorps Enrollment Workbook on Page 11 under Section VIII (a) "Rules of Conduct" and on Pages 18-19 under Section XV "Americorps Prohibited Activities": 
• When you are administering the AmeriCorps 101 Orientation to new members, it is crucial that you review the Prohibited Activities and Rules of Conduct in detail so that during a term of service, your AmeriCorps members do not end up logging service hours that cannot be counted toward an Education Award.  If you are ever uncertain about whether or not a proposed service site or service position is AmeriCorps-eligible, consult your Program Associate or AmeriCorps liaison at the Foundation before allowing a student to create a CLA for the site and log hours in a questionable position!
• For further clarification, please review the sections below, as well as the Release From Terms of Service explanation. 

The list of AmeriCorps Prohibited Activities includes but is not limited to the following:

1. Political or Partisan Activity

All forms of political or partisan activity are prohibited for AmeriCorps members during hours logged for service time.  These activities include:

• Participating in efforts to influence legislation, including lobbying for their program;

• Organizing a letter-writing campaign to Congress;

• Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office;
• Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, and/or elected officials;
• Serving in the office of an elected official; 
• Printing politically charged articles in a Corporation-funded newsletter or discussion list;
• Taking part in political demonstrations or rallies while wearing gear bearing the AmeriCorps logo or charging time to AmeriCorps;
• Engaging in any efforts to influence legislation, including state or local ballot initiatives;
• Activities that focus on voter education; 
• Organizing or participating in voter registration drives or recruiting others to perform such activities;
• Organizing or participating in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes;
• Assisting or deterring union organizing;
• Impairing existing contracts or collective bargaining agreements;
• Furthermore, members and staff may not engage in any conduct in a manner that would associate the National Service Program or the Corporation with any activities that are prohibited by the rules governing AmeriCorps. 

• Note:  AmeriCorps members, acting as private citizens, may participate in lobbying, political, or advocacy activities on their own time, at their own expense, and at their own initiative. Members may not wear AmeriCorps service gear such as tee shirts or hats bearing the AmeriCorps logo in such instances. 
•  If you are having any difficulty drawing hard and fast lines between what does and does not count towards a member's AmeriCorps term of service or the Bonner Program in general, please contact the Foundation before a student or member engages in a questionable activity. 

2. Religious Activity

• All religious activities are prohibited during serve hours, including:
• engaging in religious instruction; 
• conducting worship services; 
• providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or participation in a worship service in order for individuals to benefit from AmeriCorps service hours; 
• constructing, operating, or maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship; 
• serving at faith-based camps; 
• engaging in any form of religious proselytization.

3. Fundraising Activities

During their service hours AmeriCorps members may not fundraise in any of the following ways:

• Raising funds for an AmeriCorps stipend;
• Raising funds for the operating expenses or endowment of an organization or community partner;
• Writing grant applications for AmeriCorps funding or for any other funding provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS);
• Writing grant applications for funding provided by any other Federal agencies;
• Logging service hours related in any way to "Relay for Life" or similar fundraisers where funds raised are put into the general operating budget of an organization.

Note: Instances in which time devoted to fundraising may be approved for AmeriCorps hours (up to the 10 percent cap per Member Contract) are fundraisers devoted to a specific community-based project that has been disclosed to the campus administrator. Approvable fundraising activities must not be "random" but must always be linked to a member's service placement.

4. Prohibited Activities Related to For-Profit Businesses

Prohibited activities related to for-profit businesses include:

          Placement of members into internships with for-profit businesses as part of the education and training component of the program;

• Providing assistance to any business organized for profit including for-profit nursing homes, clinics or hospitals, day care centers and/or pre-school programs.If a Member wishes to serve at a nursing home, medical or dental clinic or at a hospital, day-care or pre-school program, it is very important that the Campus Administrator take the time to verify that the proposed service site is a not-for-profit entity.
•  Be diligent about ensuring that your community partners are nonprofit agencies! Before beginning with a new community partner, verify its nonprofit status. You may easily do this by using GuideStar.org and checking for the IRS Form 990 for the site in question.  

5. International Service

All hours logged while serving overseas cannot count toward the fulfillment of an AmeriCorps Member Contract including:

• Performing any type of international service, including but not limited to disaster relief or medical assistance;
• Activities (service or trainings) performed in the U.S. or U.S. territories but focused internationally; 
• Activities performed that benefit or provide education about individuals residing outside the U.S. and U.S. territories 

Background:  The AmeriCorps Program was created to address the domestic, non-military service needs of our country. The Peace Corps was created to address non-military service needs overseas. Therefore, AmeriCorps had to limit its scope to the domestic needs of our country and those of U.S. territories. Although during participation in the Bonner Leaders and Bonner Scholars Program we encourage travel and service abroad, hours logged while abroad CANNOT be counted to fulfill a AmeriCorps Member Contract during their term of service.

Note: The Foundation recognizes that AmeriCorps members may want to participate in service trips abroad during their term of service. While active AmeriCorps Members are not prohibited from participating in international service during their term, they should remember that they cannot count international service (whether through direct service or in a planning capacity) toward fulfillment of their AmeriCorps Member Contract nor may they request a Suspension from Active Service in order to serve overseas.

Similarly, fundraising to benefit an international organization or Training and Enrichment Events that focus solely on international issues cannot count toward completion of a member's term of service.  All AmeriCorps service hours must directly benefit individuals living within the United States and/or U.S. territories.

6. Other Prohibited Activities

The following are additional prohibitions to take into consideration when you and your students are thinking about duties at proposed service placements for AmeriCorps since members are prohibited from: 

• Performing tasks that displace any paid employees at the member's service site;
• Engaging in any service that is paid through an hourly wage other than Federal Work-Study; 
• Activities at an agency or community partner that provides abortion services or referrals for the receipt of such services;
• Clerical, Administrative or Custodial Work, unless such duties provide essential support to the Member's direct service activities.  If a member is required to perform clerical or custodial duties as a minor component of their service at a community partner, focus the service position description on the direct service responsibilities and avoid emphasizing ancillary duties such as filing, answering phones, general administrative tasks, and/or cleaning as these activities should not be the focus of AmeriCorp service hours.
• Serving On-Call Hours for emergency response from home or from a dorm room.  Members may serve in emergency response or on-call positions, but "On-Call time" must be spent at the headquarters of the community parter for which they are on-call if the Member is to be eligible to log "On-Call" time for their AmeriCorps hours. A Member may not be waiting in their dorm, at home, or at another location while "On-Call" and still be able to count those hours for AmeriCorps service. If a Member is waiting at home or at a location other than the community partner, they may log only the hours spent actually responding to a call. (For example, an EMT may log the hours actually spent responding or at the scene of the accident/incident.) These rules fall under the requirement that a Member must be doing direct service during hours logged for AmeriCorps. 
• Acting as a Site Supervisor for fellow AmeriCorps Members or signing off on time sheets or approving Hour Log entries for fellow AmeriCorps Members.
• Performing Medical research; 
• Activities that may pose a significant safety risk to participants;
• Engaging in any activity that is illegal under local, state or federal law.  

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