Building Evidence with AmeriCorps State and National

AmeriCorps has been building the evidence agenda, evidence readiness, and evaluation capacity for State and National grantees for the past 10 years. We’ve worked together to create a path and structure to support the development and use of evidence throughout hundreds of programs and communities across the country. Many AmeriCorps State and National grantees have released reports on the Evidence Exchange, I would like to highlight recently released evaluation reports that document the impact of AmeriCorps and our partners:

• Public Lands Service Coalition Partnership: Their survey of nearly 500 state and federal land management officials found high levels of satisfaction with the conservation work done by AmeriCorps members.
• Blueprint Schools Network: A recent evaluation of the Blueprint Math Fellows program, which pairs AmeriCorps members with students, found that students had a strong relationship with their AmeriCorps tutor and were likely to perform better on a standardized math test.
• AmeriCorps Ohio College Guides: The Ohio Education Research Center explored the impacts of the Ohio College Guides program in Cleveland.
• True North AmeriCorps Program: The AmeriCorps program at True North found that students who participated in this support program were more likely to score in the “typical” category on a standardized socio-emotional assessment.
• Minnesota Alliance with Youth: This evaluation of a drop-out prevention program found that AmeriCorps “Promise Fellows” had a positive impact on school attendance.
• Total Learning Classroom: The use of AmeriCorps “Scholar Coaches” had a positive impact on correct letter sounds in kindergarten classrooms.

In service,

Mary Hyde, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Research and Evaluation

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Understanding the AmeriCorps Member Experience

Since 2015, more than 350,000 AmeriCorps members have completed the AmeriCorps member exit survey upon exiting their service. This data gives a comprehensive level of insight into AmeriCorps members and their experiences. Read our recent look at how AmeriCorps bridges differences and learn how members view their cultural competency, their ability to work within communities different from themselves, and their civic engagement attitudes, beliefs and behaviors following service.

Launching the Public Health AmeriCorps Process Evaluation

Evaluation activities have been moving full steam ahead for Public Health AmeriCorps. JBS International, Inc. has released preliminary findings for the annual scan and developed, piloted, and implemented surveys and focus groups for Public Health AmeriCorps grantees. The findings from the annual scan and questions from surveys and focus groups are directly aligned with the CDC’s 10 Essential Services of Public Health framework to ensure program members are gaining experience critical to a career in public health.

AmeriCorps Civic Engagement and Volunteering Data Featured at Points of Light Conference

Laura Schlachter, Ph.D., research analyst at AmeriCorps, co-presented with Megan Singer, senior manager of strategy from Points of Light, on approaches for volunteer engagement from a “civic profiles” perspective using AmeriCorps/Census Bureau Civic Engagement and Volunteering supplement data. AmeriCorps analysts Kyle Brees and Trevor Farthing also worked on the analysis and are coauthoring a report based on the findings.

Explore the slideshow from the presentation to learn more about what was shared.

Research Grantee Spotlight

Indiana University A recent article by researchers Matthew Baggetta, Brad Fulton, and Zoe Caplan analyzes how civil society organizations are sites for creating and strengthening social ties among participants, with medium-sized spacing, fostering more interaction than small or large ones. The research was funded by an AmeriCorps research grant. Read the study to learn more about what they found.

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Recording Available: Leveraging Transformative Resources to Meet Community Needs and Ignite a Lifetime of Civic Engagement

On Thursday, June 8, panelists from AmeriCorsp, Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, Massachusetts Service Alliance, AL!VE, and ICF International participated in a webinar that discussed research and best practices from the Volunteer Generation Fund program. The discussion also explored how partners can leverage data from the 2017-2022 AmeriCorps member exit surveys to understand the service experience lens to inform those strategies.

Watch the Recording

Highlights from the Evidence Exchange 

AmeriCorps NCCC sponsor survey evidence related materials are now live on the Evidence Exchange. These products include:

• AmeriCorps NCCC Sponsor Survey Factsheet
• AmeriCorps NCCC North Central Region Survey Findings
• AmeriCorps NCCC Pacific Region Survey Findings
• AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region Survey Findings
• AmeriCorps NCCC Southwest Region Survey Findings

2023 AmeriCorps State and National Grantee Reports

• Blueprint Schools Network Final Report
• Total Learning Classroom Impact Evaluation
• AmeriCorps Ohio College Guides Impact Evaluation Report
• Impact Evaluation of the Minnesota Alliance with Youth Statewide AmeriCorps Promise Fellows Program
• An Evaluation of the True North AmeriCorps Program: Impact Report
• Public Lands Service Coalition Partnership Impact Evaluation Final Report

Visit the Evidence Exchange