Habitat for Humanity (HFH) is a nonprofit homebuilding program that operates nationally and internationally. It provides low-income families living in substandard housing with volunteer-built, rehabilitated, or repaired homes and affordable mortgages. The program also offers homeowner education to the HFH homeowners
Study Goals:
The goal of the return on investment (ROI) study was to measure the benefits of the HFH program against its costs based on the analytical approach and data sources specified in its respective feasibility study.
Findings:
The study findings from two HFH AmeriCorps evaluations on the program’s performance and impact were:
- According to the findings of Viola et al. (2018), as compared to non-host sites (who do not leverage AmeriCorps members) over three years, host sites on average:
- Built 4.99 more HFH homes (20.36 vs. 15.37); this finding was nearly statistically significant.
- Rehabbed 8.24 more homes (15.35 vs. 7.11); this finding was statistically significant.
- Relevant survey results from Mattessich et al. (2015) include the following:
- Fifty-seven percent of HFH homeowners who reported themselves or a household member had a respiratory illness before moving into an HFH home indicated their condition improved after moving into an HFH home.
- Twenty-five percent of surveyed HFH homeowners reported receiving federal rental assistance before moving into their HFH home and indicated they no longer did after moving into their home.
Learn more on the methodology used in the HFH AmeriCorps ROI Study, as well as the benefits and costs discovered after the ROI was calculated. Download the:
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ROI ONE-PAGER
Return on Investment (ROI) Studies
AmeriCorps and its grantees have invested significant resources in evaluating different agency programs and supported program models designed to improve a range of outcomes for national service members and volunteers, children, families, organizations, and communities across America. AmeriCorps has commissioned ICF International to conduct ROI analyses to help measure the program performance and build the base of evidence for future resource allocation decisions. In addition, each ROI study helps AmeriCorps communicate the value of its programs to relevant stakeholders. The ROI Studies Project will produce 16 ROI assessments from FY20 to FY23.