We urge you to increase FY 2010 Appropriations for RSVP to $76.6 million or 30 percent beyond the level proposed by the Administration in its budget for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).  We are asking that the same percentage increase applied to the Corporation budget as a whole be applied to RSVP. This increase would allow RSVP to enroll another 60,000 volunteers. 

Because no other system provides so many quality volunteer opportunities at so low a cost, a substantial increase in funding for RSVP is crucial, if the federal government is going to help retiring baby boomers volunteer in, and serve, their communities RSVP must be part of that commitment.  

For four decades RSVP has worked with a network of more than 65,000 nonprofit organizations to provide seniors with meaningful volunteer opportunities through which to meet the needs in their communities.  Approximately 430,000 seniors  -- including a growing number of “baby boomers” – volunteer annually in RSVP at an average federal cost of less than $140 per volunteer. In addition, RSVP raised $52 million, or 46 percent of grant funds in 2007, far exceeding the program’s required 30 percent match. 

RSVP programs deliver extraordinarily high quality volunteer opportunities.  In a recent study, CNCS reported that RSVP has increased the number of baby boomers in the program and provides those volunteers with activities that make use of their skills.  Baby boomers in RSVP volunteer over 100 hours more than counterparts who are not and virtually all of RSVP baby boomers who recruit/coordinate other volunteers are likely to continue in the program. RSVP accomplishes this feat even though our average grant is $76,000 and is much smaller in rural areas.   

RSVP mobilizes other community volunteers to strengthen the capacity of community-based organizations; increasing the ability of seniors to live independently by providing nutritional services, respite care, transportation; participating with the Center for Disease Control, and others, in a Falls Prevention Initiative that uses trained RSVP volunteers to reduce falls, which are the leading cause of injuries for those 65 and over and cost the country almost $20 billion a year; advancing disaster preparedness and recovery by staffing emergency shelters, distributing food and clothing, and assisting families who need to relocate; helping reduce energy use by increasing the energy efficiency of housing for elderly and low-income people; and, educating seniors to be alert for those who would prey upon, and victimize, them by training volunteers to provide peer counseling and fraud prevention messaging.  In short, RSVP continues to serve its traditional role, while moving into new areas to address new needs.  But, there is a cost to these efforts and the Administration proposal is simply inadequate. 

During the debate on the Serve America Act, the Statement of Administration Policy stated that the introduction of competition “would better position the program for expansion” and that “competition will improve the quality of service opportunities for seniors while introducing greater accountability and innovation.”  That is, that the Administration would grow the RSVP program if the Congress included competition in the Serve America Act, which it did. 

We are disappointed that the Administration budget does not adequately fulfill this commitment.  With some 70 million baby boomers expected to retire in the coming decades we will need RSVP to provide them with volunteer opportunities to serve their communities. RSVP is the only national infrastructure we have capable of performing this important job at a low cost.  

Thank you for the opportunity to share our views with you.  We look forward to working with you to ensure that RSVP continues to play an important role in providing seniors with the opportunity to serve their neighbors and in improving the quality of life in the communities in which they serve. 

Sincerely,