Return on Investment Study: Nevada Conservation Corps

Nevada Conservation Corps (NCC) is an environmental service program of the Great Basin Institute dedicated to promoting field research and direct conservation service. NCC has utilized AmeriCorps support for its conservation work since 1999. To better understand the impact of the program in relation to costs, AmeriCorps commissioned a return on investment (ROI) analysis.

Key Findings:

• Benefits of NCC include: 1) Improved outcomes for various stakeholders in terms of reduced wildfire damage, environmental improvements, and greater trail access; 2) Increased post-service earnings by AmeriCorps members; 3) Living allowances, stipends, and education awards to AmeriCorps members; 4) Increased tax revenue for government; and 5) Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public assistance, and social insurance.
• The program produces strong returns for the medium- and long-term scenarios when benefits to AmeriCorps members, program participants, and state/local governments are included.

Full Report

Research Brief

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. 

The ROI studies listed below evaluated the cost and benefits of each of the following program:

• AmeriCorps Senior: Foster Grandparents/Senior Companion: This study estimates that the AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and Senior Companion Program (SCP) generate an ROI of $3.50 per funder dollar. FGP alone has an ROI of $2.75 per funder dollar, while SCP has an ROI of $5.08 per funder dollar.
• Birth & Beyond Home Visitation Program: This study estimated the Home Visitation program’s ROI to be between $0.50 and $2.11 per funder dollar, depending on how long program participants and AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings as a result of the program.
• College Possible’s College Access Program: This study estimates College Possible’s ROI to be between $1.50 and $6.41 per funder dollar, depending on how long program participants and AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings due to College Possible’s College Access program. The return on each dollar of federal.
• Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP): This study estimates CTEP’s ROI to be between $2.95 and $34.26 per funder dollar, depending on how long program participants and AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings as a result of CTEP.
• Habitat for Humanity: This study estimated HFH AmeriCorps’s ROI to be between $0.62 to $2.61 per funder dollar, depending on how long HFH AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings from their national service.
• Minnesota Reading Corps - Kindergarten (MRC): This study estimates MRC Kindergarten’s ROI to be between $5.47 and $6.99 per funded dollar, depending on how long program participants and AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings as a result of MRC Kindergarten.
• Washington Conservation Corps: This study estimated Washington Conservation Corps’ ROI to be between $0.20 and $33.90 per funder dollar, depending on how long WCC AmeriCorps members experience increased earnings as a result of program participation, as well as the range of estimated benefits from improved ecosystems.
• YouthBuild AmeriCorps: This study estimates YouthBuild AmeriCorps’s ROI to be between -$0.40 and $9.58 per funder dollar, depending on how long YouthBuild AmeriCorps participants experience increased earnings from serving and participating in YouthBuild AmeriCorps.
• Breakthrough Central Texas’s Austin Program: This study estimates the Breakthrough Central Texas’s Austin program’s ROI to be between $0.03 and $10.22 per funder dollar, depending on length of program participation and level of increased earnings after AmeriCorps service.
• SBP AmeriCorps: This study shows the program produces strong returns for the medium- and long-term scenarios when benefits to AmeriCorps members, program participants, and state/local governments are included.
• Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps: This study estimates The Vet Corps program’s ROI at two-year institutions to be between $3.16 in return for every dollar invested and $17.52 for every dollar invested.