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AmeriCorps is Link to Civic Engagement According to Study

A new report released today by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) shows that AmeriCorps is an extremely effective tool which engages Americans to become public servants, civic leaders, and social entrepreneurs. The longitudinal study entitled "Still Serving: Measuring the Eight-Year Impact of AmeriCorps on Alumni," is the most rigorous evaluation ever conducted on AmeriCorps' long-term impacts on its members. Based on data collected eight years after members completed their year of service, the study conclusively demonstrates that AmeriCorps had a long-term positive impact on the civic attitudes and behaviors of the program's alumni. David Eisner, CEO of the CNCS states that even strong proponents of national service will be astonished at the study's findings. "With more than 60 percent of our alums working in nonprofits or government, these results are way more than statistically significant. AmeriCorps is becoming America's most important pipeline to careers in nonprofits and government -- this at the same time that crisis level shortfalls in leadership and workforce are looming in these areas." Key findings of the study include:

  • 60 percent of AmeriCorps alumni have chosen to work with a nonprofit organization or public agency.
  • Minority AmeriCorps members are significantly more likely to choose a career in public service than similar members of the comparison group (44% compared to 26%). AmeriCorps members from disadvantaged circumstances are 20 percentage points more likely to be employed in a public service field (46% compared to 26%).
  • AmeriCorps has a significant positive impact on members' attachment to community, their understanding of community problems, their sense of efficacy in working to address community needs, and their participation in community meetings and events.
  • Approximately 80 percent of members reported that their service exposed them to new career options, and more than two-thirds of the former members report that their service was an advantage to them in the job market.
  • Members who served in AmeriCorps are more satisfied with their lives eight years later than individuals who did not end up serving in AmeriCorps.

Read the complete report.

Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2008