Over the past 10 years the Circles initiative has produced a number of measurable and tangible outcomes among the individuals, families and communities who have passed through the program’s Pilot Phase
The general outcomes recorded by the Circles program to date include:
• Reduced poverty within the community;
• Increased income and stability among participating families;
• Reduced crime, abuse and abandonment within the community;
• General improvements in the economic status of the community;
• Reduction in community tax revenues devoted to social welfare programs.
Each of the organizations that have supported a Circles initiative for more than 18 months report significant increases in earned income of participants.
Move the Mountain’s original Circles pilot in Ames Iowa, for example, helped 58 of its first 106 families who were on cash assistance to leave welfare. The average family in the Ames Circles initiative increased their monthly income by approximately 30%.
Total new earned income for the entire group was $960,360 a year over an eight year period. MTM estimates that the annual savings to public initiatives such as Food Stamps alone was approximately $491,052 a year.
In Itasca County Minnesota, seven of the first 10 families participating in the program who were on welfare at the time, left this social program within the first 20 months of joing the Circles initiative. Of the first 25 Circles participants in the program, 13 increased their income from an average of $351 per month to $1150 a month for an average increase of $725 a month.
In Missouri Valley, Missouri, 24 of 127 Circles participants have started new jobs, with average earnings within the group increasing from $860 to $1759 a month.
In Des Moines, Iowa, 58% of families reported an increase in earned income, which increased from approximately $593 a month to $1619 a month.
Data drawn from the Circles initiative in Ames Iowa, in operation from 2000 to 2004, provides significant insight into the effectiveness and impact of this initiative on families and the community at large.
|
Ames Iowa Circles Outcomes Nov 2004 |
|
|
Helping Families Off Welfare
|
|
| Participants tracked to date |
151
|
| Participants on cash assistance at intake |
106
|
| Participants now off cash assistance |
58
|
| Average years on cash assistance |
3.86
|
| Average months to get off cash assistance |
10.31 |
|
Annual savings of cash assistance and food stamps |
$491,052
|
| Total cost of BW 2003 services |
$178,000
|
Difference
|
$313,052
|
| Rate of return on investment |
176%
|
Helping Families into Jobs
|
|
| Participants working at intake |
35%
|
| Participants working |
63%
|
Average earned income per month at intake
|
$227 |
| Current average earned income per month |
$757
|
| Average increase in earned income per month |
$530
|
| Total new earned income per year |
$960,360
|
| Rate of return on earned income |
540%
|
# of community volunteers
|
289 |
|
# of cars transferred |
123
|
