Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department 

of Veterans Affairs 

Vet Corps 

Submitted to:

AmeriCorps

250 E St., SW

Washington, DC 20024

Submitted by:

ICF Incorporated, LLC

9300 Lee Highway

Fairfax, VA 22031

https://www.icf.com

Septebmer 21, 2022 

This report was commissioned by AmeriCorps’ Office of Research and Evaluation 

under Contract # GS00Q14OADU209 and Order # 5332A20R0013. Information in this 

report is in the public domain. Please, direct communications related to this report to 

Lily Zandniapour at lzandniapour@cns.gov and Sarah Yue at syue@cns.gov. Cite 

this report as follows: Clark, D., Borgida, J., Kulka, L., Miller, B., Modicamore, D., 

Pershing, J., Thompson, P., Sarwana, M., & Voigt, G. (2022). Return on Investment 

Study: Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps. ICF.
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

i 

CONTENTS 

Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................ES-1

Program Description .........................................................................................................ES-1

Overview of Benefits and Costs.......................................................................................ES-1

ROI Results..........................................................................................................................ES-2

Introduction..................................................................................................................................1

Program Description ...................................................................................................................2

Population Served ..................................................................................................................2

WDVA Evaluation History.......................................................................................................2

Selection of WDVA Vet Corps Program for the AmeriCorps ROI Project.........................3

Related Research...................................................................................................................3

ROI Methodology ........................................................................................................................4

Monetizing Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs), and Program 

Costs ........................................................................................................................................6

ROI Study Limitations............................................................................................................14

Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs), Program Costs, and ROI 

Results .........................................................................................................................................14

Program Benefits ..................................................................................................................15

Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs)................................................................................16

Program Costs ......................................................................................................................17

ROI Results.............................................................................................................................18

Recommendations for Further Research ................................................................................21

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 23

Appendix A: Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits, and Program Costs Included in 

Return on Investment Calculations .........................................................................................24

Appendix B: Additional Information on the Methodology ...................................................33

Methodology Overview ......................................................................................................33

Measuring Program Benefits...............................................................................................34

Measuring Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs).............................................................53

Measuring Program Costs ...................................................................................................57

Calculating ROI ....................................................................................................................57

Appendix C: Results by Year....................................................................................................60

References ................................................................................................................................. 65
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Benefits Among Stakeholder Groups From the Vet Corps Program .....................5

Figure 2. Program Benefits by Stakeholder Group................................................................15

Figure 3. Program Cost by Funding Source ...........................................................................18

Figure 4. Unemployment Status Results from Friedman et al. (2016) ..................................38

Figure 5. Compound Interest Formula Used to Calculate Investment Opportunity 

Cost............................................................................................................................................56

LIST OF TABLES

Table ES-1. ROI Estimates ......................................................................................................ES-2

Table 1. Benefits Realized From the Vet Corps Program by Stakeholder Group.................6

Table 2. Vet Corps Program Costs by Funder Type ..............................................................14

Table 3. Program Benefits by Recipient .................................................................................15

Table 4. Forgone Benefits From Professional Opportunity Cost...........................................16

Table 5. Investment Opportunity Cost by Scenario and Funding Stream..........................17

Table 6. Program Cost by Funding Source for the Vet Corps Program..............................17

Table 7. Program Benefits, Net Benefits, and Program Costs by ROI Scenario..................18

Table 8. ROI Results for the Vet Corps Program ....................................................................20

Table 9. Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits, and Program Costs Included in ROI 

Calculations ..............................................................................................................................25

Table 10. Student Population by Vet Corps Site, 2018–2019................................................36

Table 11. Additional Expected Median Annual Additional Earnings (2021$)....................36

Table 12. Additional Earnings for Student Veterans and Resulting Public Benefits by 

Scenario (2021$).......................................................................................................................37

Table 13. Vet Corps AmeriCorps Member Benefits From the Living Allowance and 

Education Award .....................................................................................................................38

Table 14. Additional Pre-Tax Earnings for Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members From 

Reduced Unemployment Based on Vet Corps AmeriCorps Member Demographics ....39

Table 15. Cumulative Additional Post-Tax Earnings Derived From Reduced 

Unemployment Due to Serving With the Vet Corps Program by Scenario ........................40

Table 16. Average Total Cost of Education and Portion Attributable to Education 

Award by Degree Type............................................................................................................41

Table 17. Estimates of the Number of Postsecondary Degrees Pursued Using the 

Education Award by Degree Type.........................................................................................42

Table 18. Additional Earnings From AmeriCorps Members’ Use of the Education 

Award ........................................................................................................................................43
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Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

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Table 19. Government Costs by Educational Attainment Level per Individual’s 

Lifetime ......................................................................................................................................49

Table 20. 2019 Tax Rates and Ratio of Taxable Expenditures for Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

Members’ Earnings, Living Allowances, and Education Awards ........................................50

Table 21. State/Local and Federal Government Benefits by Stakeholder Group and by 

Scenario .....................................................................................................................................51

Table 22. Forgone Earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members for a Service Term ........54

Table 23. Forgone Taxes Associated With the Forgone Earnings of Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps Members for a Service Term ..............................................................................55

Table 24. Forgone Benefits From Investment Opportunity Cost Calculation by 

Scenario and Funding Stream ................................................................................................57

Table 25. Funding Sources and Amounts for the Vet Corps Program (2019–2020)...........57

Table 26. ROI Calculations for Short-Term Scenario..............................................................59

Table 27. ROI Calculations for Medium-Term Scenario........................................................59

Table 28. ROI Calculations for Long-Term Scenario..............................................................59

Table 29. Vet Corps Program Benefits and Costs per Year..................................................61

AUTHORS 

This study was conducted by researchers from ICF and BCT Partners: 

• Danny Clark, ICF, Research Analyst 

• Julia Borgida, ICF, Public Policy Researcher

• Lisa Kulka, BCT Partners, Research and Evaluation Analyst

• Benjamin Miller, ICF, Senior Director

• Dominic Modicamore, ICF, Lead Economist

• Janet Pershing, ICF, Vice President

• Miriam Sarwana, BCT Partners, Research and Evaluation Manager 

• Phylicia Thompson, BCT Partners, Research and Evaluation Analyst 

• George Voigt, ICF, Economics Analyst
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

ES-1 

Executive Summary 

Program Description

The Washington State Department of Veterans 

Affairs (WDVA) Vet Corps program engages 

AmeriCorps members to help veterans and their 

family members take advantage of educational 

benefits and services earned through their 

military service. Vet Corps provides necessary 

services to veterans to improve their academic 

outcomes, graduation rates, and postsecondary 

success after college. Those services include 

peer mentoring, direct support, resources, and 

referrals to veterans in college. Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members also educate faculty and 

administrative employees about veteran needs, 

increasing veteran cultural competence, and 

informing policy at educational institutions. Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members are typically a 

veteran or a military-connected family member. 

Participants can form a connection with a peer 

who has a shared experience to help them with 

the transition to the educational institution. The 

lived experience of WDVA AmeriCorps members 

can be particularly useful in mentoring 

participants. WDVA engages approximately 50 AmeriCorps members each year.

To better understand the impact of the program in relation to costs, AmeriCorps 

commissioned a return on investment (ROI) analysis by ICF, an independent research 

firm. ROI analyses of national service programs estimate the monetary value of benefits 

that a program generates per dollar invested.

Overview of Benefits and Costs

To calculate the ROI of the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions, the program 

benefits were identified, quantified, and compared to the program’s costs. Benefits of 

WDVA include: 

• Additional lifetime earnings resulting from improved employment outcomes. 

Program participants receive educational support and services as they pursue 

higher education, which result in higher earnings. 

• Additional earnings by AmeriCorps members. Serving in AmeriCorps leads to 

increased wages and reduced unemployment post-national service through skill 

acquisition, as well as increased educational attainment post-service.

AmeriCorps, the federal agency 

for volunteerism and national 

service, provides opportunities for 

Americans to serve their country 

domestically, address the nation’s 

most pressing challenges, improve 

lives and communities, and 

strengthen civic engagement. 

Each year, the agency invests 

more than $800 million in grants 

for local nonprofit, community, 

tribal, and state organizations; 

places more than 250,000 

AmeriCorps members and 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in 

intensive service roles; and 

empowers millions more to serve 

as long-term, short-term, or onetime volunteers. Learn more at 

AmeriCorps.gov. 
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

ES-2 

• Living allowances, stipends, and education awards. AmeriCorps members 

receive living allowances and stipends during their national service and receive a 

Segal AmeriCorps Education Award after successful completion. 

• Increased tax revenue for government. Federal, state, and local governments 

receive more income tax revenue from increased AmeriCorps member earnings 

post-service, as well as additional sales tax revenue related to those earnings. 

Federal, state, and local governments also realize tax revenue from the taxable 

living allowances, stipends, and education awards provided to AmeriCorps 

members. Further, federal and state governments realize tax revenue from 

increased earnings by program participants as a result of increased educational 

attainment. 

• Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public assistance, and social 

insurance. Because of the increase in postsecondary educational attainment for 

AmeriCorps members and program pariticpants, federal and state governments 

spend less on these items. 

Program costs for WDVA Vet Corps totaled $1,116,364. Funding was from the following 

sources: 

• Federal government (AmeriCorps) – $870,361

• State and local government – $246,003

ROI Results

Table ES-1 shows the ROI results for the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions. Each 

row represents a different ROI calculation depending on which benefits are considered 

(all benefits or only benefits to the federal government) and which funding is 

considered (federal funding only, or all funding). The ROIs are presented as dollars 

returned for every dollar of investment. The analysis used three different scenarios to 

estimate benefits under different assumptions. Specifically, the study assumed that 

increased earnings attributable to the programs last for 1 year (short-term scenario), 

15 years (medium-term scenario), or 30 years (long-term scenario).

Table ES-1. ROI Estimates

ROI calculation

ROI scenario

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

Total benefits per federal dollar $1.05 $12.75 $17.52

Total benefits per funder dollar $0.82 $9.94 $13.66

Federal government benefits per federal dollar $0.19 $3.16 $4.65

The Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions produces strong returns for the mediumand long-term scenarios; ROIs under these scenarios range from $3.16 in return for every 

dollar invested to $17.52 for every dollar invested. 
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

ES-3 

In the short-term scenario—which only includes benefits for 1 year post-program—the 

ROI results indicate that there is a short-term loss on funding invested in the program 

based on the results of total benefits per funder dollar and federal benefits per federal 

dollar ROI calculations. An ROI that is below $1 in the first year post-program is common 

in programs where there is an initial one-time investment made and benefits accrue in 

the following years. This is because it can require several years of benefits to recoup the 

initial investment and generate positive returns. 

The most significant factors driving the positive ROI estimates in the medium- and 

long-term scenarios are:

• Educational attainment of program participants. Program participants receive 

educational support and services as they pursue higher education, which result in

higher educational attainment and subsequently higher earnings. Those earnings 

accumulate over participants’ years in the workforce.

• Educational attainment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. After serving in the 

AmeriCorps program, AmeriCorps members receive an education award, which 

is used by a portion of members to help pay for postsecondary degrees 

post-service. The additional educational attainment resulting from the use of the 

education award generates additional earnings for AmeriCorps members. 

• Employment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. Past studies establish that 

AmeriCorps members experience increased employment and increased earnings 

post-service. 
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Introduction 

AmeriCorps contracted with ICF Incorporated, LLC (hereafter ICF) to research and 

quantify the return on investment (ROI) of several programs that rely on national 

service—specifically AmeriCorps—as a major resource to sustain operations. ROI 

analyses measure the performance of programs and build the base of evidence for 

future resource allocation decisions. ROI study results demonstrate the value of 

AmeriCorps programming to relevant stakeholders. 

This project began with a comprehensive literature review and preliminary assessments 

of whether ROI analyses were feasible for five national service programs. These 

feasibility studies included thorough reviews of these programs’ recent evaluations, 

detailed logic models, proposed ROI analysis methodologies for each program, and a 

scorecard mechanism that determined the viability of conducting an ROI analysis for 

each selected program. 

Upon completion of five feasibility studies, AmeriCorps selected four programs to be the 

subjects of ROI studies for fiscal year 2022: Breakthrough Central Texas’s Austin program, 

Nevada Conservation Corps, SBP, and Washington State Department of Veterans 

Affairs Vet Corps. This ROI study measures the benefits of the WDVA Vet Corps program 

against its costs. 

This study of the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions is organized into five sections:

• Program Description describes the program’s design, activities, and objectives, 

along with the role that national service (specifically AmeriCorps) plays in its 

operation. This section also provides a brief history of past evaluations, outlines 

the factors that made this program a strong selection for an ROI study, 

underscores the population this program serves, and identifies a potential set of 

comparable ROI estimates for the Vet Corps program. 

• ROI Methodology outlines how this analysis used various data sources to 

monetize benefits derived from Vet Corps, describes its associated program 

costs, and explains how opportunity costs were calculated. 

• Benefits, Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Cost), Program Costs, and ROI Results

provides a detailed description of the program benefits, forgone benefits 

(opportunity cost), and program costs that are inputs into the ROI analyses and 

presents the results of the three ROI calculations across different assumptions. 

• Recommendations for Further Research explores ways AmeriCorps and others 

could further build the evidence base for this program and similar programs, 

including how to address limitations of this study.

• Conclusion summarizes key points from the ROI study overall.
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Program Description 

The Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) Vet Corps program 

engages AmeriCorps members to help veterans and their family members take 

advantage of educational benefits and services earned through their military service. 

Vet Corps provides necessary services to veterans to improve their academic 

outcomes, graduation rates, and postsecondary success after college. Those services 

include peer mentoring, direct support, resources, and referrals to veterans in college. 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members also educate faculty and administrative employees 

about veteran needs, increasing veteran cultural competence, and informing policy at 

educational institutions. Vet Corps members are typically a veteran or a militaryconnected family member. Participants can form a connection with a peer who has a 

shared experience to help them with the transition to the education institution. The lived 

experience of WDVA AmeriCorps members can be particularly useful in mentoring 

participants. WDVA engages approximately 50 AmeriCorps members each year.

Population Served

The program has served veterans from all military branches and their family members. In 

the 2018–2019 program year, Vet Corps served about 200 veterans directly and served 

on campuses with a student veteran population greater than 5,000. According to 

WDVA program data,1 the populations served are somewhat diverse in terms of race, 

age and background, although the majority of those served identify as white, male, 

and under the age of 35. 

WDVA Evaluation History

The Illuminate Evaluation Services (2017) evaluation of WDVA’s Vet Corps program 

measured veteran student retention, credits attempted, completion rates, and grade 

point averages (GPAs) for program participants and non-participants at the same 

institutions. Data were provided by the Washington State Board for Community and 

Technical Colleges (SBCTC) for the 2015 and 2016 program years. Although Vet Corps 

operates at both 2- and 4-year institutions, data were collected on students attending 

2-year institutions, as data constraints prevented an evaluation of 4-year institutions. So, 

the evaluation only captured outcomes and potential benefits for 2-year institutions.

The sample includes student veterans served by Vet Corps and student veterans not 

served by Vet Corps. There were 85 and 109 participants in 2015 and 2016, respectively, 

along with 7,412 and 6,917 non-participants each year, respectively. Authors did not 

control for any demographic characteristics. The study found that veteran students 

participating in Vet Corps: 

• Had 15 percentage points' higher retention from Fall 2015 to Spring 2016

• Passed 4 more credits on average in 2016

1 Melissa Rhault, WDVA Vet Corps contact, personal communication, March 15, 2022. Hereafter, all 

instances of WDVA referenced as a data source were retrieved from this communication.
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Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

The evaluation also compared student outcomes at Vet Corps and non-Vet Corps sites. 

Vet Corps seeks school-wide changes at its host institutions to improve campus 

environments for veterans. The authors collected data from the 2013 to 2016 program 

years. Authors did not control for any demographic characteristics. The study found 

that—at institutions that hosted Vet Corps programming—all veteran students 

(regardless of whether they participated in Vets Corps):

• Were 6 percentage points more likely to complete their degree in 2016

• Had 6 percentage points’ higher retention from Fall 2015 to Spring in 2016

• Passed 3 more credits on average in 2016

Selection of WDVA Vet Corps Program for the AmeriCorps ROI Project

ICF recommended making WDVA’s Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions the subject 

of a feasibility study based on the 2017 evaluation documenting program outcomes 

related to credits passed, student retention, and degree completion. This is the first 

AmeriCorps ROI study in the agency’s Veterans & Military Families focus area. 

Related Research

Studies of other programs that offer similar services provide context for ROI estimates for 

the Vet Corps program. A 2017 study of the National Veteran Education Success 

Tracker (NVEST) Project studied the benefits of postsecondary educational supports 

provided by the GI Bill. Researchers projected veterans’ lifetime earnings and 

compared those projections to comparison groups. The researchers also estimated the 

effects of increased earnings on the economy, as well as income tax revenue and 

spending on unemployment benefits. The findings showed that student veterans in the 

NVEST Project are succeeding in higher education and are providing a strong ROI for 

the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Seven out of ten student veterans in the NVEST Project either 

completed a postsecondary certificate or degree or were working on one. Researchers 

found nearly half of student veterans completed a degree in STEM (i.e., science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics), business, or health-related fields. These

majors offer the top three highest entry-level salaries and earn more than the average 

college graduate, according to a report by the Center for Education and the 

Workforce (Carnevale, Cheah, and Hanson, 2015). The researchers did not calculate 

ROI estimates (Cate et al, 2017).

Edwards and Duerden (2018) assessed the impact of Conservation Corps experiences 

on military veteran participants. The study specifically examined the influence of 

Conservation Corps participation on outcomes associated with civilian job readiness 

and career success such as educational attainment and employment, among other 

variables. The study used a study panel of the veteran population that was 

representative of Conservation Corps veteran graduates. This was based on branch of 

service, gender, race, whether the veteran served in a combat zone, and the presence 

of a service-connected disability. The study compared this sample to a national sample 

of U.S. veterans, pre-screened for similar demographics as the participant group. The 

analyses calculated differences in mean salary for Conservation Corps veterans and 

veterans across those demographic and job dimensions, and found that mean income 
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

differences showed lower overall salary levels for Conservation Corps veterans than the 

general veteran population. The study found that, although graduates of the 

Conservation Corps are more likely to be employed, on average their income tends to 

be less than that of the average veteran. On average, survey respondents earned an 

income of $30,888, $12,482 less than the typical veteran. The researchers did not 

calculate ROI estimates.2

ROI Methodology 

The methodology for estimating the ROI of the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions 

consisted of the following components: 

1. Measuring and monetizing program benefits. This included using program data 

provided by WDVA, publicly available data, and other third-party sources to 

determine the benefits to program participants, AmeriCorps members, and the 

government. 

2. Estimating forgone benefits (opportunity costs). This ROI analysis estimated 

two types of forgone benefits. The first was the professional opportunity cost to 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members for their period of national service, during which 

they could have earned more pay by doing other work. The second was the 

investment opportunity cost for Vet Corps program funding that could have 

been used for other purposes. 

3. Assessing program costs. WDVA provided program costs for the program year of 

2019–2020. WDVA Vet Corps costs for the 2019–2020 program year included 

operating costs, AmeriCorps member expenses, and other indirect costs. 

AmeriCorps member expenses included the living allowance amounts received 

during service and the expected education awards received post-service. 

4. Calculating the ROI. The ROI analysis includes three ROI calculations, each 

assessed under three scenarios representing different assumptions about the 

persistence of program outcomes: 

• Total benefits per federal dollar

• Total benefits per funder dollar3

• Federal government benefits per federal dollar

This analytical framework includes only those benefits that could be reasonably 

monetized given the available data and that likely would not have occurred without 

the Vet Corps program. Figure 1 shows how Vet Corps program activities can result in 

2 While this study compares the outcomes of veterans who served with AmeriCorps Conservation Corps 

programs with veterans who did not serve, this analysis relies on Friedman (2016) for post-service earnings 

outcomes. Friedman uses more robust methods and measures outcomes for the entire AmeriCorps 

population. 

3 The different funder groups whose investment is in this calculation include the federal government (i.e., 

AmeriCorps) and match funding from state and local governments.
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

benefits to WDVA program participants; Vet Corps AmeriCorps members; and federal, 

state, and local governments. 

Figure 1. Benefits Among Stakeholder Groups From the Vet Corps Program

Available data establish that Vet Corps AmeriCorps members enjoy earnings impacts

as a result of serving with the Vet Corps program. However, the data do not establish 

the duration of those benefits. To address a range of possible durations for those 

benefits, the analysis includes three scenarios:4 

• Short-term. This scenario assumes short-term earnings impacts. The assumption is

that earnings impacts are limited to a single year after program exit. This scenario

also assumes that no lifetime benefits are realized.

• Medium-term. This scenario assumes a longer duration of earnings impacts. The

assumption is that earnings impacts last 15 years. A 3 percent discount rate is

applied each year to represent net present value in 2021 dollars.5 This scenario

also assumes that only half of the net present value of lifetime benefits is realized.

• Long-term. This scenario assumes sustained earnings impacts throughout Vet

Corps AmeriCorps members’ working years. The assumption is that earnings

impacts last 30 years. A 3 percent discount rate is applied each year to

represent net present value in 2021 dollars. This scenario also assumes that the

entire net present value of lifetime benefits is realized.

The long-term scenario (i.e., 30 years of sustained employment and earnings benefits) 

represents roughly a lifetime of working years for a given person, while the short-term 

scenario assumes benefits for only the year after program participation or service is 

4 These three scenarios consider varying durations of how long increased employment and earnings 

benefits last for AmeriCorps members. They also consider varying durations for lifetime benefits that stem 

from the program. For example, lifetime benefits in terms of decreased public assistance, social insurance, 

and corrections costs result from AmeriCorps members’ higher educational attainment post-service. The 

analysis estimates lifetime benefits differently in the three scenarios. Specifically, the net present value of 

the entire lifetime benefit is realized for the long-term scenario, half of the net present value of the lifetime 

benefit is realized for the medium-term scenario, and no lifetime benefit amount is realized for the shortterm scenario.

5 The Office of Management and Budget (1992) defines a discount rate as, “The interest rate used in 

calculating the present value of expected yearly benefits and costs” (p. 18). Regarding the 3 percent

discount rate, see Office of Management and Budget (2003).
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completed. The medium-term scenario (i.e., 15 years of sustained employment and 

earnings benefits) represents the midpoint between these two scenarios. 

Monetizing Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs), and 

Program Costs

This analysis monetized an array of benefits and included WDVA program costs and 

expected opportunity costs—all in 2021 dollars—to assess the ROI of the Vet Corps

program. Additional details on the methodology employed and the calculations used 

for this analysis are in Appendix B.

Program Benefits 

Outcomes of the Vet Corps program result in monetizable benefits to the program 

participants; Vet Corps AmeriCorps members; and federal, state, and local

governments. Table 1 summarizes these benefits and data sources by stakeholder 

group.

Table 1. Benefits Realized From the Vet Corps Program by Stakeholder Group

Stakeholder group Benefits

Vet Corps participants • Additional lifetime earnings from increased educational 

attainment as a result of educational support services

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members • Additional earnings from reduced unemployment 

• Additional lifetime earnings from increased educational 

attainment as a result of education awards

• Post-tax living allowances and education awards 

Federal, state, and local 

governments 

• Tax revenue from increased earnings by Vet Corps

AmeriCorps members post-program and sales tax 

revenue from the induced increased economic activity

• Tax revenue from living allowances and education 

awards 

• Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public 

assistance, and social insurance from increased 

educational attainment by Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members as a result of education awards

• Lifetime tax revenue from increased educational 

attainment by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members as a 

result of education awards

• Lifetime tax revenue from increased educational 

attainment by Vet Corps program participants as a 

result of education awards

• Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public 

assistance, and social insurance from increased 

educational attainment by student veterans at Vet 

Corps sites 
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Benefits to Program Participants 

Additional Lifetime Earnings From Increased Educational Attainment as a Result 

of Vet Corps Program Participation 

The analysis used the following result from WDVA’s 2017 evaluation to determine how 

many additional Vet Corps participants graduate college: 17.6% of veterans at Vet 

Corps sites completed their program compared with 11.7% of veterans at non-Vet 

Corps sites. 

The base student population included veteran students attending campuses served by 

an AmeriCorps member in the 2018–2019 program year, prior to any disruptions from 

the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. 

Graduation data (the percentage of students who complete a program on time) are 

not available from WDVA. Graduation rate typically measures the percentage of a 

student cohort starting their program at the same time who complete a program within 

a time frame. However, WDVA and SBCTC provided the rate of students who 

completed a program in a given year as an alternative measure. Rather than follow a 

group of students to see if they complete their program, completion rate only measures 

the percentage of students who completed their program out of all students attending 

an institution. Completion rate does not account for students who just entered the 

program and would not have the opportunity to graduate. Since this does not account 

for student progress toward earning a degree, the estimate could be biased if the 

student body composition could be more or less weighted toward students who could 

not graduate because they are in the first year of a 2-year program. Graduation data 

would be preferable because it would measure the percentage of a specific cohort of 

students who had enough time to complete their program.

To calculate the increased number of graduates, WDVA provided the sites they served 

in the 2018–2019 program year. ICF gathered the number of veteran students attending 

2-year colleges from SBCTC’s website, along with age demographics and types of 

degree. The analysis multiplied the percentage of students in an associate, 

apprenticeship, or certificate program at each institution. This is the total number of 

veteran students at WDVA Vet Corps sites. The analysis then determined the completion

rate at each institution for the 2018–2019 program year and then used this figure to 

adjust the completion rate from the 2017 Illuminate study. The analysis multiplied the 

differential completion rate and the total number of veteran students for the total 

number of additional graduates. 

The analysis used the number of additional graduates to quantify the additional 

earnings they obtain due to this increased educational attainment. The analysis used 

the census’s 2019 Current Population Survey to determine the difference in median 

earnings for veterans in Washington State by education level (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019-

c). Finally, the analysis multiplied the additional annual earnings by the number of 

additional college graduates. Note that this increased income is subject to taxes, 

resulting in increased government revenue.
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Benefits to AmeriCorps Members 

Post-Tax Living Allowances and Education Awards (Benefits to AmeriCorps 

Members) 

Member-specific benefits to AmeriCorps members serving with Vet Corps include posttax living allowances AmeriCorps State and National members receive during their 

national service and post-tax education awards they receive after service completion. 

Both are considered taxable income and thus result in increased government revenue.6

The post-tax living allowance and the education award amount that was used to repay 

student loans were included in the ROI analysis as direct one-time benefits to Vet Corps

AmeriCorps members. 

Additional Earnings From Reduced Unemployment (Benefit to Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps Members)

Evaluations have shown that serving in AmeriCorps fosters higher skill acquisition, 

increased educational attainment, and higher income from increased employment 

post-national service.7 Freidman et al. (2016) found that unemployment among 

AmeriCorps members 6 months after their period of national service was 5 percentage 

points lower compared to 6 months before serving.8 To monetize this decrease in 

unemployment, the analysis first determined the demographic distribution of Vet Corps

AmeriCorps State and National members who served during the most recent program 

year in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, age, and education level pre-service using 

data provided by WDVA. The analysis then proceeded to:

1. Estimate Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ per-person average annual earnings 

(weighted by the above demographics) using data from the Current Population 

Survey’s Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement for 2020 (U.S. Census 

Bureau, 2020)

2. Multiply the 5-percentage-point reduction in unemployment from Freidman et al. 

(2016) by the number of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members who served during the 

most recent program year to estimate the number of additional Vet Corps

AmeriCorps members employed post-service 

3. Multiply the demographically weighted per-person average annual earnings by 

the number of additional Vet Corps AmeriCorps members employed to estimate 

the total increased earnings attributable to national service

The earnings metrics for Vet Corps AmeriCorps members were applied and discounted 

based on the short-term, medium-term, and long-term scenarios to represent net 

6 The tax implications of the AmeriCorps member education award are stated here: AmeriCorps. (n.d.). 

Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. https://americorps.gov/members-volunteers/segal-americorpseducation-award

7 Relevant studies include Markovitz et al., 2008; Spera et al., 2013; Friedman et al., 2016; Zeidenberg et al., 

2016. 

8 See page 56 of Friedman et al. (2016).
9 

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

present 2021 dollars. The post-tax Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ projected earnings 

represent the additional income earned by AmeriCorps members attributable to 

serving with the Vet Corps program. 

Additional Lifetime Earnings From Increased Educational Attainment as a Result 

of Education Awards (Benefit to Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members)

Another benefit derived from national service is the higher educational attainment of 

AmeriCorps members. AmeriCorps members in general—as documented in Friedman 

et al. (2016)—can use their education awards to pay for additional postsecondary 

educational attainment or to repay student loans. 

Friedman et al. (2016) reported that 46 percent of AmeriCorps State and National 

members used their education award to pursue additional postsecondary education, 

while 33 percent used it to repay student loans.9

This analysis estimated the expected increase in lifetime earnings of Vet Corps

AmeriCorps members attributable to the use of education awards to pay for additional 

postsecondary schooling. Based on the findings from Friedman et al. (2016), the analysis 

estimated the amount in post-tax education awards that Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members used to pay for additional educational attainment. The analysis then 

estimated the value of the additional educational attainment attributable to the 

education awards in terms of lifetime earnings using data from Trostel (2015). These 

estimated additional post-tax lifetime earnings were included as a benefit to Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members.

Benefits to Government 

Tax Revenue Generation and Reduced Spending (Benefits to Government)

The benefits of the Vet Corps program participants and Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members result in benefits to various levels of government.

Benefits to Government From Increased Earnings by Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members 

Federal, state, and local governments benefit from increased earnings by Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members. Those benefits include: 

• Income tax revenue from increased employment by Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members post-service. Federal income taxes, state income taxes, Medicare 

taxes, and Social Security taxes were estimated for the additional pre-tax 

earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members based on 2019 rates. For both 

federal and state income taxes, the analysis estimated proportional tax rates 

representing the share of earnings paid in taxes. 

To estimate proportional tax rates that reflect federal- and state-level progressive 

tax brackets and standard deductions, the amount of total taxes paid was 

divided by the pre-tax earnings per Vet Corps AmeriCorps member. For the state 

9 Friedman et al. (2016). op. cit. Exhibit VIII-6.
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

income tax rate, the analysis weighted individual state-level rates by their 

respective state populations to estimate a weighted national tax rate to apply 

program-wide. A weighted national tax rate was used because Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members may disperse to various locations nationwide following 

their service terms and continue to migrate over the course of their working 

years. 

• Sales tax revenue from the increased economic activity that results from 

increased employment by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members post-service. To 

estimate the additional sales tax revenue generated due to the additional posttax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members, the combined state and 

average local sales tax rate for the United States—weighted by states’ 

populations—was calculated. This analysis applied that rate to the estimated 

taxable expenditures of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members based on their postservice pre-tax earnings using Consumer Expenditure Survey data (U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, 2021).10 The resulting product was then applied to the share of 

post-tax earnings attributable to serving with the Vet Corps program, for 

AmeriCorps members, to estimate state and local government sales tax 

revenue. 

Benefits to Government From Increased Educational Attainment by Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps Members and Program Participants

Federal, state, and local governments benefit from increased postsecondary 

educational attainment by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members and program participants. 

Those benefits include: 

• Tax revenue from education awards. Education awards provided to Vet Corps

AmeriCorps members upon service completion are subject to taxes, resulting in 

additional government revenue.11 This ROI analysis applied federal income, state 

income, Social Security, and Medicare tax rates to the expected total amount of 

education awards to be given to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members to estimate 

these additional taxes. Both estimated proportional federal and state income tax 

rates were used. Sales taxes were not estimated for education awards because 

they cannot be used for consumer purchases. 

• Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public assistance, and social 

insurance from increased educational attainment as a result of education 

awards and program participation. Higher educational attainment is associated 

with less dependence on government assistance programs and lower 

incarceration rates (Harlow, 2003; Blagg and Blom, 2018). Because of Vet Corps

10 To calculate the estimated taxable expenditures, Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) Table 1203 was 

used from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021). This table lists the annual expenditure means by pre-tax 

income tax brackets. Thus, the pre-tax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members were used instead of 

their post-tax earnings to calculate this metric. Please visit this site for more details: 

https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables/calendar-year/mean-item-share-average-standard-error.htm#cu-income. 

11 The tax implications of the AmeriCorps member education award are stated here: AmeriCorps. (n.d.). 

Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. https://americorps.gov/members-volunteers/segal-americorpseducation-award
11

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members and program participants’ increased postsecondary 

educational attainment due to the use of the education award and program 

participation, respectively, federal and state governments spend less. For the 

monetization of these benefits, the analysis paired the expected increase in 

postsecondary educational attainment of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members and 

program participants with the expected difference in per-person lifetime 

government cost savings from Medicaid, SNAP, unemployment insurance, 

workers’ compensation, and corrections for individuals with different levels of 

educational attainment. The latter values were provided by Trostel (2015). 

• Lifetime tax revenue from increased educational attainment as a result of 

education awards. Another benefit related to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members 

captured in this ROI study is the lifetime tax revenue generated from members’ 

higher postsecondary educational attainment due to the use of the education 

award. Here, the estimated increase in Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

postsecondary educational attainment was paired with the expected difference 

in per-person lifetime taxes for individuals with different levels of education, as 

provided by Trostel (2015). This lifetime tax revenue includes federal income,

state income, property, Social Security, Medicare, and sales taxes derived from 

use of the education award.

• Tax revenue from increased educational attainment as a result of program 

participation. Increased program participant education results in increased 

income for program participants. This is subject to federal income, state income, 

Social Security, Medicare, and sales taxes. The analysis used the estimated 

increase in participant earnings to quantify the tax revenue for each of these 

sources. The analysis assumes that program participants remained in Washington 

State. 

Benefits to Government From Living Allowances Received by Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

Members

The living allowance provided to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members during their service 

term is considered taxable income. This analysis applied a proportional federal income 

tax rate as well as Medicare and Social Security tax rates to the pre-tax living allowance 

amount received by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members for the most recent program year. 

The analysis also applied a sales tax rate to the estimated taxable expenditures of Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members based on their post-tax living allowance amount to 

estimate additional state and local government revenue. 

Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs) 

The analysis estimated forgone benefits of both members and funders because of their 

participation and investment in the Vet Corps program. These forgone benefits were 

subtracted from the program benefits (shown above) to calculate the net benefits of 

the program. Those net benefits were then compared to program cost to calculate the 

ROI. These forgone benefits are referred to as the professional and investment 

opportunity costs, described below. 
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Professional Opportunity Cost to Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members

The first opportunity cost was the professional opportunity cost to Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members for their period of national service, during which they could otherwise be 

working and earning higher pay. To calculate this, this analysis estimated what Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members would have earned if they did not serve with the Vet Corps 

program. Specifically, this analysis estimated the weighted average annual earnings of 

this group as well as their weighted unemployment rate using ASEC data and the 

demographic distribution of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members for the 2020–2021 program 

year. The demographics included were gender, age, race/ethnicity, and the highest 

level of education pre-service. The weighted average annual earnings represent the 

expected earnings of the Vet Corps AmeriCorps members if they were employed but 

not serving with the Vet Corps program. The weighted unemployment rate represents 

how many of the Vet Corps AmeriCorps members would have been unemployed if 

they did not serve with the Vet Corps program. These weighted metrics were first used 

to estimate the portion of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members who would have been 

employed and then to calculate the aggregate earnings those employed individuals 

would have made without serving with the Vet Corps program. Namely, they are used 

to calculate the aggregate post-tax earnings this population would forgo due to 

serving with the Vet Corps program for one year. 

Some of the forgone earnings would have been paid in the form of taxes. To 

appropriately allocate opportunity costs between Vet Corps AmeriCorps members and 

government, the analysis estimated the reduced tax revenue for federal income, state 

income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. The analysis also estimated the reduction 

in sales tax from reduced consumption. Combined, these taxes represent what the 

various levels of government are forgoing in tax revenue when these individuals decide 

to serve with the Vet Corps program instead of working for higher pay. The summation 

of all forgone taxes and the forgone post-tax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members is called the total professional opportunity cost. 

It is important to note that in the federal government benefits per federal dollar ROI 

calculation, only federal government (not total) benefits are included. Given this, only 

federal components of the professional opportunity cost are subtracted from all federal 

government benefits (e.g., tax revenue and cost savings) realized as a result of the Vet 

Corps program in this ROI calculation. The parts of the professional opportunity cost 

removed from these total federal government benefits include the federal income, 

Social Security, and Medicare taxes forgone due to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members 

forgoing earnings during their service year. The summation of these forgone federal 

taxes is called the federal professional opportunity cost. 

Investment Opportunity Cost to Funders

The second opportunity cost used in this ROI analysis is an investment opportunity cost. It 

estimates the expected forgone return if all funds used to support the Vet Corps 

program during the 2019–2020 program year were invested in U.S. Treasury bonds 

instead. To calculate this, the analysis matched 2019 real interest rates provided by the 

Office of Management and Budget (2020) to each of the scenarios leveraged in this 
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

ROI analysis: short-term, medium-term, and long-term.12 The rates of return for U.S. 

Treasury bonds provide a market-based estimate of return for low-risk investments.

The real interest rate for the 3-year maturity was used for the short-term scenario, the 

average between the 10-year and 20-year maturity rates was used as the rate for the 

medium-term scenario, and the 30-year maturity rate was used for the long-term 

scenario. These real interest rates were 1.3 percent, 1.45 percent, and 1.5 percent, 

respectively (Office of Management and Budget, 2020). Also, the number of time 

periods elapsed on these bonds was equal to the number of years the short-term, 

medium-term, and long-term scenarios assume Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

employment and earnings gains are sustained: 1 year, 15 years, and 30 years, 

respectively. These bonds compound biannually, according to the U.S. Department of 

the Treasury (2019). The forgone accrued interest was calculated for each of the three 

scenarios if the funding amount used to support the Vet Corps program was instead 

invested. 

Note that for 1) the federal government benefits per federal dollar and 2) the total 

benefits per federal dollar ROI calculations, the investment opportunity cost subtracted 

from the benefits in these calculations is the forgone accrued interest from investing 

only the federal funds into these U.S. Treasury bonds. This is called the federal investment 

opportunity cost. This is because these ROI calculations only include federal 

government (not total) program costs. For the other ROI calculation estimated in this 

analysis, the investment opportunity cost subtracted from the benefits realized is the 

forgone accrued interest from investing all Vet Corps program funds (both federal and 

non-federal) into these U.S. Treasury bonds. This is called the total investment 

opportunity cost. See Appendix B for details. 

Program Costs 

The costs for the Vet Corps program, used for this ROI analysis, include federal and 

required match funding and any other funding used to support program operations. 

The program costs are specific to funding the activities and positions of Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members whose outcomes are measured in this analysis. 

Table 2 shows the segmentation of Vet Corps program costs by funder.13 The federal 

funds included the AmeriCorps State and National grant. Federal dollars also helped 

pay for the expected education award amounts granted to Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members once they completed their service term. Funds provided by state/local 

governments represent the match funding the Vet Corps program received for the 

program year. 

12 The analysis used 2019 real interest rates for U.S. Treasury bonds because the Vet Corps program year 

analyzed began in 2019. 

13 Program cost data were provided by WDVA. 
14

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Table 2. Vet Corps Program Costs by Funder Type

Funder Funding provided for the program year

AmeriCorps $870,361

State/local governments (i.e., 

match funding) $246,003

Total $1,116,364

ROI Study Limitations

Study limitations include the following:

• While the Illuminate Evaluation Services (2017) evaluation compared veterans 

to other veterans on the participant outcomes, they were unable to control 

for several variables, such as race, gender, and age. Additionally, factors 

related to type of institution, such as rigor or other student supports, are not 

controlled for by researchers.

• The Illuminate Evaluation Services (2017) evaluation did not measure 

graduation rate but rather program completion rate among all students 

each year. If veteran students at non-Vet Corps sites are more likely to be 

early in their program than veteran students at Vet Corps sites, then the 

completion rate would reflect variation in progress toward degrees rather 

than the impact of Vet Corps. It is unclear if this will bias our estimate upward, 

downward, or not at all.

• The Illuminate Evaluation Services (2017) evaluation did not attempt to find 

the impact on veterans attending 4-year institutions due to unavailable data. 

This ROI did not quantify the benefits stemming from veterans attending those 

institutions, so the ROI estimate likely understates Vet Corps’ benefits. 

• This ROI analysis does not include other benefits to program participants 

beyond academic achievement that are unique to the program model. 

These could include improvement in students’ socio-emotional skill 

development, extracurricular involvement, and civic engagement. 

• Data on costs and benefits are from prior to any disruptions from the COVID19 pandemic that began in 2020. The analysis does not attempt to model the 

effect of those disruptions on ROI due to lack of data. The ROI estimates are 

relevant to more normal conditions.

Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs), 

Program Costs, and ROI Results 

This section provides estimates of program benefits, forgone benefits (opportunity 

costs), and program costs, along with the ROI results. 
15

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program Benefits 

Table 3 shows the estimates of monetized benefits of the Vet Corps program by 

stakeholder group for each of the three scenarios and Figure 2 shows the percent of 

total benefits by stakeholder group. The majority of monetized benefits is realized by Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members and the federal government. In all three scenarios, both 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members and the federal government combined realized 43 

percent or more of program benefits.

Table 3. Program Benefits by Recipient

Recipient

Benefits by scenario (2021$)

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

Vet Corps program participants $690,797 $6,850,469 $8,794,110

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members $755,566 $1,794,714 $2,496,707

Federal government $358,408 $3,149,503 $4,724,514

State/local governments $68,617 $521,413 $813,226

Total $1,873,388 $12,316,099 $16,828,557

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 

Figure 2. Program Benefits by Stakeholder Group

*Short-term percentages: Vet Corps program participants, 37%; Vet Corps AmeriCorps members, 
16

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

40%; federal government, 19%; state and local government, 4%. 

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 

Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs)

Table 4 shows the breakdown of the forgone benefits from the professional opportunity 

cost to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members and government in net present 2021 dollars. It 

lists the amount of post-tax earnings that members are forgoing—and the associated 

taxes forgone—to serve with the Vet Corps program. This is called the total professional 

opportunity cost. For the federal government benefits per federal dollar ROI 

calculation, only the forgone federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes were

subtracted from the total federal benefits that are realized due to the Vet Corps 

program. The summation of these forgone federal taxes is called the federal 

professional opportunity cost. 

Table 4. Forgone Benefits From Professional Opportunity Cost

Forgone category

Professional opportunity 

cost amount across all scenarios (2021$)

Post-tax earnings $732,030

Federal income taxes $112,213

State income taxes $18,447

Social Security and Medicare taxes $72,362

Sales taxes $10,862

Total $945,914

Table 5 lists the forgone benefits from the investment opportunity cost incurred by 

scenario and for when:

a) Total Vet Corps program funds for the program year are invested in U.S. Treasury 

bonds and

b) Only federal Vet Corps program funds (both program and education award 

funding) are invested in these bonds. 

Table 5 also lists the 2019 real interest rates and the number of years elapsed (with two 

payments a year) that were used as inputs to calculate the forgone accrued interest 

value for each scenario. The analysis used 2019 real interest rates for U.S. Treasury bonds 

because the Vet Corps program year analyzed began in 2019. 
17

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Table 5. Investment Opportunity Cost by Scenario and Funding Stream

Funding stream

Forgone accrued interest by scenario (2021$)

Short-term

(1.30% interest rate 

and 1 year elapsed)

Medium-term

(1.45% interest rate 

and 15 years 

elapsed)

Long-term

(1.50% interest rate 

and 30 years 

elapsed)

Total Vet Corps 

program funding $14,560 $270,150 $631,506

Federal Vet Corps 

program funding only $11,351 $210,619 $492,347

Program Costs

Table 6 shows the cost of Vet Corps for the 2019–2020 program year by funding source, 

and the percentage from each source is shown in Figure 3. The table underscores what 

portion of Vet Corps program funds were provided by AmeriCorps compared to other 

stakeholder groups (i.e., match funding). The table also highlights a further breakdown 

of these two funding streams, where applicable. Overall, the total cost of the Vet Corps 

program for this program year was $1,116,364. This amount includes the AmeriCorps 

State and National grant and the expected education awards, which together total 

$870,361 or 78% of the total cost. The remaining $246,003 or 22% of the cost was 

provided by state/local government as part of the required match funding. This match 

provides the Vet Corps program with the resources to offer more services and supports 

to a greater number of students than would otherwise be available only under the 

AmeriCorps federal funds. That translates into increased aggregate benefits realized 

across stakeholder groups.

Table 6. Program Cost by Funding Source for the Vet Corps Program

Funder Funding provided for the program year

AmeriCorps $870,361

Education awards $193,392

Grant $676,969

State/local governments (i.e., match funding) $246,003

Total $1,116,364

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 
18

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Figure 3. Program Cost by Funding Source

ROI Results

This analysis developed three ROI estimates for the Vet Corps program at 2-year 

institutions using the three scenarios (short-term, medium-term, and long-term). As noted 

above, the ROI calculations compare the net benefits of the Vet Corps program with 

the program cost to calculate the ROI. 

Table 7 shows the program gross benefits, forgone benefits, net benefits, cost of the Vet 

Corps program, and each of the components that are used to calculate the three 

ROIs. 

Table 7. Program Benefits, Net Benefits, and Program Costs by ROI Scenario

Benefits and costs

ROI scenario (2021$)

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

Total program gross benefits $1,873,388 $12,316,099 $16,828,557

Vet Corps participants $690,797 $6,850,469 $8,794,110

Member benefits $755,566 $1,794,714 $2,496,707

Federal government benefits $358,408 $3,149,503 $4,724,514
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Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Benefits and costs

ROI scenario (2021$)

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

State/local government/other funder 

benefits

$68,617 $521,413 $813,226

Total forgone benefits (opportunity cost) $960,474 $1,216,064 $1,577,420

Forgone benefits to members (forgone 

earnings post-taxes) 

$732,029 $732,029 $732,029

Forgone tax revenue from members’ 

earnings 

$213,885 $213,885 $213,885

Forgone tax revenue federal government $184,576 $184,576 $184,576

Forgone tax revenue state/local 

government

$29,309 $29,309 $29,309

Forgone benefits from total investment (all 

funders)

$14,560 $270,150 $631,506

Forgone benefits from federal 

government investment 

$11,351 $210,619 $492,347

Forgone benefits from state/local 

government investment

$3,208 $59,530 $139,159

Total program net benefits (total program 

gross benefits – total forgone benefits) 

$912,914 $11,100,036 $15,251,137

Net benefits Vet Corps participants $690,797 $6,850,469 $8,794,110

Net benefits members (member benefits – 

forgone benefits members) 

$23,537 $1,062,685 $1,764,678

Net benefits federal government (federal 

government benefits – forgone tax 

revenue to federal government – forgone 

benefits from federal government 

investment)

$162,481 $2,754,308 $4,047,591

Net benefits state/local government and 

other funders (state/local government 

benefits – forgone tax revenue to 

state/local government – forgone 

benefits from state/local government and 

other funder investment)

$36,100 $432,574 $644,758

Program cost $1,116,364 $1,116,364 $1,116,364

Federal government cost $870,361 $870,361 $870,361

Non-federal government cost $246,003 $246,003 $246,003

ROI for total benefits per federal dollar 

(total program net benefits / federal 

government cost)

$1.05 $12.75 $17.52
20

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Benefits and costs

ROI scenario (2021$)

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

ROI for total benefits per funder dollar 

(total program net benefits / program 

cost)

$0.82 $9.94 $13.66

Federal government benefits per federal 

dollar (net benefits federal government / 

federal government cost) 

$0.19 $3.16 $4.65

Table 8 summarizes the ROI results for the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions across 

the short-term, medium-term, and long-term scenarios. Three different ROI results are 

calculated for each scenario. Since two of the calculations include benefits to society, 

the results are expressed as cost–benefit ratios, while maintaining the ROI terminology. 

Specifically, these ratios take the form of the sum of monetized benefits over the sum of 

applicable program costs. The ROIs expressed as cost–benefit ratios in this study can be 

interpreted as the amount of dollars returned for every $1 of investment (or program 

cost).14 See Appendix B for the formulas used to calculate each ROI calculation.

Table 8. ROI Results for the Vet Corps Program

ROI calculation

ROI scenario

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

Total benefits per federal dollar $1.05 $12.75 $17.52

Total benefits per funder dollar $0.82 $9.94 $13.66

Federal government benefits per federal dollar $0.19 $3.16 $4.65

The Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions produces strong returns for the mediumand long-term scenarios; ROIs under these scenarios range from $3.16 in return for every 

dollar invested to $17.52 for every dollar invested.

In the short-term scenario—which only includes benefits for 1 year post-program—the 

ROI results indicate that there is a short-term loss on funding invested in the program 

based on the results of total benefits per funder dollar and federal benefits per federal 

dollar ROI calculations. An ROI that is below $1 in the first year post-program is common 

in programs where there is an initial one-time investment made and benefits accrue in 

the following years. This is because it can require several years of benefits to recoup the 

initial investment and generate positive returns. 

The most significant factors driving the positive ROI estimates in the medium- and longterm scenarios are:

14 ROIs can be expressed in percentages or as ratios, such as in this study. Although not shown as a ratio in

the results, the ROIs in this study show the amount of return for every $1 invested. 
21

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

• Educational attainment of program participants. Program participants receive 

educational support and services as they pursue higher education, which result in

higher educational attainment and subsequently higher earnings. Those earnings 

accumulate over participants’ years in the workforce. 

• Educational attainment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. After serving in the 

AmeriCorps program, AmeriCorps members receive an education award, which 

is used by a portion of members to help pay for postsecondary degrees 

post-service. The additional educational attainment resulting from the use of the 

education award generates additional earnings for AmeriCorps members. 

• Employment outcomes of AmeriCorps members. Past studies establish that 

AmeriCorps members experience increased employment and increased earnings 

post-service. 

Government funding serves as a catalyst for private funding of evidence-based social 

services programs. For the ROI calculations of 1) total benefits per federal dollar and 

2) total benefits per funder dollar, AmeriCorps’s requirement of match funding also 

contributed to the magnitude of outcomes. Federal government funding of the Vet 

Corps program serves as a catalyst for other funding, specifically that from state and 

local governments. This additional funding—amounting to about $246,003 for Vet Corps

for the most recent program year—allowed the Vet Corps program to serve more 

veterans than otherwise would have been served under the federal funding alone. 

Though it may not impact the ROI because it is a per-unit metric, match funding leads 

to greater investment in the Vet Corps program and thus to a greater impact as more 

individuals are served. 

Recommendations for Further Research 

Future ROI studies for national and community service programs, such as the Vet Corps 

program, can be strengthened in several ways. 

Recommendation 1: Determine the persistence of short- and long-term impacts for 

program participants and AmeriCorps members. The persistence of impacts, such as 

earnings or employment, is often not measured in evaluations because it requires 

long-term tracking. Although a scenario-based approach that accounts for variations 

in the persistence of impacts can be used, as was completed in this ROI analysis,

rigorous research on the long-term impact of programming will enable AmeriCorps to 

determine a single value for ROI calculations and avoid relying on the scenario-based 

approach. For example, Friedman et al. (2016) reported the unemployment status of 

AmeriCorps member alumni 6 months before service, 6 months after service, and during 

the summer of 2016. The authors indicate that data for the latter timepoint was 

collected anywhere from 3 to 11 years after service completion, depending on the 

AmeriCorps member alumni cohort (i.e., 2005, 2010, or 2013). The varying data 

collection periods for the cohorts makes it difficult to measure the duration of benefits. 

Thus, instead of collecting outcome measures at a time that varies by AmeriCorps 

member or program participant, studies should track outcomes of interest at the same 
22

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

intervals, multiple times after program or service completion, to provide greater insight 

into the duration and consistency of benefits.

Recommendation 2: Document outcomes using third-party data sources. Using thirdparty data, along with or in place of self-reported data, can also improve the accuracy 

of program outcome measurements. While self-reported data are easier to obtain—

especially via the use of survey instruments—they have several disadvantages. Some 

answers may be exaggerated, respondents may not answer honestly, and response 

biases could affect results. AmeriCorps programs should—where possible—leverage 

data from third-party sources either to provide data for their program evaluation or to 

corroborate findings from self-reported data. For example, if employment and earnings 

outcomes are of interest, unemployment insurance data—which are submitted by 

employers—could be used to verify members’ wages or employment status postservice. Additionally, if degree completion data are of interest, such as in the case of 

this ROI analysis, data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) could be used to 

verify what portion of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members pursued higher education and 

which degrees were completed post-program with the help of the education award. 

Were degree or employment outcomes data available from third-party data sources 

(like NSC), those data may make more precise ROI estimates possible. In the case of 

Vet Corps, future research could track post-graduation earnings or unemployment of 

participant veterans. 

Recommendation 3: Quantify ripple effects. Earnings impacts on program participants 

and AmeriCorps members likely have positive benefits for those individuals’ families and 

surrounding communities. Rigorous research on those potential ripple effects would 

enable AmeriCorps to capture a broader array of benefits of this and other programs, 

which would be expected to result in an increased ROI. Specifically, the longitudinal 

impacts on program participants could be collected alongside the ripple effects their 

outcomes have on their families and communities to determine how long these indirect 

impacts are sustained after program participation or completion. For instance, studying 

how Vet Corps program participation impacts parents’ employment status, 

educational attainment, substance or alcohol use, as well as mental and physical 

health would result in a more comprehensive ROI estimate. 

Recommendation 4: Document outcomes using strong methodologies. Using 

experimental and quasi-experimental methods of analysis can improve the accuracy 

of program outcome measures. While non-experimental methods are easier to conduct 

if detailed administrative data are not available, they have several disadvantages. 

Several factors unrelated to program participation, such as students’ previous 

educational attainment, could bias the outcomes. AmeriCorps programs should—

where possible—rely on experimental or quasi-experimental methods to measure 

program outcomes. 

Recommendation 5. Compare graduation rates of Vet Corps and non-Vet Corps 

veterans. Completion rates were the best data available to estimate the extent to 

which Vet Corps increases graduation rates. An evaluation that measured graduation 

rates directly would eliminate potential error from using completion rates. 
23

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Recommendation 6. Evaluate outcomes for Vet Corps participants at 4-year institutions.

The Illuminate Evaluation Services (2017) evaluation did not attempt to find the impact 

on veterans attending 4-year institutions. As a result, this ROI analysis did not quantify 

the benefits stemming from veterans attending those institutions. Evaluating that 

segment of the program would make a more complete ROI of Vet Corps possible.

Conclusion 

Based upon these findings, investment in the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions 

results in favorable impacts under the medium- and long-term scenarios. Impacts are

driven by increased postsecondary educational attainment of program participants 

and AmeriCorps members. In the short-term scenario—which only includes benefits for 1 

year post-program—the results are mixed. The total benefits per federal dollar

calculation estimates that benefits exceed costs in the short-term. The total benefits per 

funder dollar and federal government benefits per federal dollar calculations estimate 

a short-term loss. 
24

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Appendix A: Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits, and Program 

Costs Included in Return on Investment Calculations 

In Table 9, the three columns on the right indicate by an “X” if the program benefits, 

forgone benefits (opportunity cost), or program cost is included in the numerator or 

denominator of a return on investment (ROI) calculation.
25

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Table 9. Program Benefits, Forgone Benefits, and Program Costs Included in ROI Calculations

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Program benefits Stakeholder group Data sources X indicates inclusion in the ROI numerator

Additional earnings 

of Vet Corps 

program participants 

from increased 

educational 

attainment 

Vet Corps program 

participants 

• WDVA

• Illuminate 

Evaluation 

Services (2017)

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-c) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

X X — 

Additional earnings 

of Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members 

from reduced 

unemployment

Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members 

• WDVA

• Friedman et al. 

(2016)

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-b)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics 

(2019-b)

X X — 
26

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Increased income 

tax revenue due to 

additional earnings 

of Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

Federal and state 

governments

• WDVA

• Friedman et al. 

(2016)

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-b)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics 

(2019-a) 

• Loughead (Tax 

Foundation, 2020)

X X X 

Increased Social 

Security and 

Medicare tax 

revenue due to 

additional earnings 

of Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

Federal government • WDVA

• Friedman et al. 

(2016)

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-b)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

• Social Security 

Administration 

(2020)

X X X 
27

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Increased sales tax 

revenue due to 

additional earnings 

of Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

State and local 

governments

• WDVA

• Friedman et al. 

(2016)

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-b)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

• Loughead (Tax 

Foundation, 2020)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics 

(2021)

X X — 

Increased tax 

revenue due to 

increased 

educational 

attainment of Vet 

Corps program 

participants as a 

result of increased 

educational 

attainment

Federal, state, and 

local governments

• WDVA

• Illuminate 

Evaluation 

Services (2017)

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-c) 

• Loughead (2020) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

X X X 
28

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Reduced spending 

on lifetime public 

assistance, 

corrections, and 

social insurance due 

to increased 

educational 

attainment of Vet 

Corps program 

participants as a 

result of education 

awards 

Federal, state, and 

local governments 

• WDVA

• Illuminate 

Evaluation 

Services (2017)

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• Trostel (2015)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

X X X 

Increased lifetime 

earnings due to 

increased 

educational 

attainment of Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps 

members as a result 

of education awards

Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

• WDVA

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• NCES (2019)

• NCES (2020)

• Trostel (2015)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics 

(2019-b)

X X — 

Increased lifetime tax 

revenue due to 

increased 

educational 

attainment of Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps 

members as a result 

of education awards

Federal, state, and 

local governments

• WDVA

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• NCES (2019)

• NCES (2020)

• Trostel (2015)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

X X X 
29

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Reduced spending 

on lifetime public 

assistance, 

corrections, and 

social insurance due 

to increased 

educational 

attainment of Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps 

members as a result 

of education awards

Federal, state, and 

local governments 

• WDVA

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• NCES (2019)

• NCES (2020)

• Trostel (2015)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

X X X 

Increased tax 

revenue from living 

allowances and 

education awards

Federal, state, and 

local governments

• WDVA

• Friedman et al. 

(2016)

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• Loughead (Tax 

Foundation,

2020)

• Social Security 

Administration

(2020)

X X X 

Post-tax living 

allowances and 

education awards

Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

• WDVA

• Friedman et al. 

(2016)

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• Loughead (Tax 

Foundation,

2020)

• Social Security 

Administration

(2020)

X X — 
30

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Lifetime tax revenue 

from increased 

educational 

attainment by Vet 

Corps program 

participants 

Federal, state, and 

local governments

• WDVA

• Trostel (2015)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

X X X 

Forgone benefits 

(opportunity costs) Stakeholder group Data sources X indicates inclusion in the ROI numerator

Professional 

opportunity cost of 

forgone market 

wages for Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

• WDVA

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-b)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-b) 

X X — 

Professional 

opportunity cost of 

federal income, 

Social Security, and 

Medicare taxes on 

forgone market 

wages for Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members 

Federal government • WDVA

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-b)

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-b) 

• Loughead (Tax 

Foundation, 

2020)

• Social Security 

Administration 

(2020)

X X X 
31

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Professional 

opportunity cost of 

state income and 

sales taxes on 

forgone market 

wages for Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members

State and local 

governments

• WDVA

• U.S. Census 

Bureau (2019-b) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-a) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2019-b) 

• U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics

(2021)

• Loughead (Tax 

Foundation, 

2020)

X X — 

Investment 

opportunity cost of 

investing total Vet 

Corps program 

funding in U.S. 

Treasury bonds

All funders • WDVA

• Office of 

Management 

and Budget 

(2020)

• U.S. Department 

of the Treasury

(2019)

X X — 

Investment 

opportunity cost of 

investing only federal 

Vet Corps program 

funding in U.S. 

Treasury bonds

Federal government • WDVA

• Office of 

Management 

and Budget

(2020)

• U.S. Department 

of the Treasury

(2019)

— — X 
32

Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

Program benefits, forgone benefits, and program costs 

Total benefits per 

federal dollar

Total benefits per 

funder dollar

Federal 

government 

benefits per 

federal dollar

Program cost Payer Data sources X indicates inclusion in the ROI denominator

AmeriCorps grant

costs (excluding 

education awards 

provided to Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps 

members)

Federal government 

(AmeriCorps)

• WDVA

X X X 

Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps member 

expected education 

awards 

Federal government 

(AmeriCorps)

• AmeriCorps (n.d.)

• WDVA

• Friedman et al. 

(2016)

X X X 

State and local 

government funding

State and local 

governments

• WDVA — X — 
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

33

Appendix B: Additional Information on the Methodology 

This appendix provides additional details on the methodology used for this study, as a 

supplement to the methodology section in the main report. It describes the steps used 

to calculate the return on investment (ROI), the results of interim calculations that 

contribute to the ROI calculations, and assumptions that underlie the analysis. 

Methodology Overview 

Calculating the ROI for the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions included the 

following steps: 

• Measuring and monetizing program benefits to Vet Corps program participants, 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members, and the different levels of government 

• Estimating forgone benefits (opportunity costs) 

• Assessing program costs 

• Calculating the ROI 

This ROI analysis included only those benefits that could be reasonably monetized given 

the available data and that likely would not have occurred without the WDVA Vet 

Corps program. 

Although Vet Corps AmeriCorps members experience positive benefits from the Vet 

Corps program in terms of increased employment and earnings (described below), 

available data do not establish how long these specific impacts are sustained over 

time. To address a range of possible durations for those benefits, three scenarios were 

developed for this ROI study: 

• Short-term. This scenario assumes short-term earnings impacts. The assumption is 

that earnings impacts are limited to a single year after program exit. This scenario 

also assumes no lifetime benefits are realized. 

• Medium-term. This scenario assumes a longer duration of earnings impacts. The 

assumption is that earnings impacts last 15 years. A 3 percent discount rate is 

applied each year to represent net present value in 2021 dollars.15 This scenario 

also assumes only half of the net present value of lifetime benefits is realized. 

• Long-term. This scenario assumes sustained earnings impacts throughout Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members’ working years. The assumption is that earnings 

impacts last 30 years. A 3 percent discount rate is applied each year to 

represent net present value in 2021 dollars. This scenario also assumes the entire 

net present value of lifetime benefits is realized. 

15 The Office of Management and Budget (1992) defines a discount rate as, “The interest rate used in 

calculating the present value of expected yearly benefits and costs” (p. 18). Regarding the 3 percent

discount rate, see Office of Management and Budget (2003).
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

34

There are some differences between the three scenarios. One is the length of time that 

increased employment—and earnings associated with that employment—are 

sustained. The other is what portion of lifetime benefits, when applicable, are realized.16

For each ROI calculation, three estimates using the three scenarios were developed, 

which is shown in greater detail in the Calculating ROI section. 

Measuring Program Benefits 

The first step in calculating the ROI for the Vet Corps program is to measure and 

monetize the program benefits. Vet Corps program participants, Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members, and various levels of government benefit from the Vet Corps program. These 

benefits were identified through an extensive literature review and data collection 

process. The methods used to measure benefits for each of these stakeholder groups 

are described below. 

Benefits to the Vet Corps Program Participants 

The Illuminate Evaluation Services (2017) evaluation of the Vet Corps program 

measured the impact of attending a Vet Corps site on veteran students. The objective 

of this analysis was to determine the impact of Vet Corps on participant outcomes 

related to education, such as GPA, retention, and program completion. The evaluation

also measured the impact of school-wide initiatives on the same outcomes for all 

student veterans. The study found a 6 percent increase in program completion rate of 

veterans attending schools with a Vet Corps program compared to schools without a 

Vet Corps program. 

Graduation data were not available from WDVA, so the analysis used program 

completion as an alternative measure. Completion rate is the percentage of students 

who complete the program out of all students at an institution for a given academic 

year. Graduate rates typically measure the percentage of students who graduate from 

a program on time. Completion rate does not consider student progress toward 

completion of a degree as all students, whether just entering or several years into a 

program, are pooled together. Because the analysis does not use graduation rates, the 

estimated difference in number of graduates could be biased. The analysis assumed 

the distribution of students by progress toward earning a degree will be similar between 

sites served and sites not served by AmeriCorps members.

There may be differences in program completion rates between institutions that have 

Vet Corps programs and institutions that do not have Vet Corps programs. Since the 

analysis did not control for this factor, the analysis used SBCTC data to determine the 

16 These three scenarios consider varying durations of how long increased employment and earnings 

benefits last for Vet Corps AmeriCorps members. They also consider varying durations for lifetime benefits 

that stem from the Vet Corps program. For example, lifetime benefits in terms of decreased public 

assistance, social insurance, and corrections costs result from Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ higher 

educational attainment post-service. The analysis estimates lifetime benefits differently in the three 

scenarios. Specifically, the net present value of the entire lifetime benefit is realized for the long-term 

scenario, half of the net present value of the lifetime benefit is realized for the medium-term scenario, and 

no lifetime benefit amount is realized for the short-term scenario.
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

35

program completion rate at Vet Corps and non-Vet Corps sites. The difference, 1.6 

percent higher at Vet Corps sites, was used to adjust the differential program 

completion rate from Illuminate Evaluation Services (2017).

To calculate the increased number of graduates, the analysis gathered the number of 

veteran students attending each one of Washington State’s 2-year colleges. The 

analysis then gathered the number of students by age cohort and type of degree at 

each institution. Other programs, such as non-credentialed programs and basic adult 

education, likely have different impacts on earnings compared to these programs, so 

students completing those programs were excluded. To obtain the number of veteran 

students at Vet Corps sites, the analysis multiplied the percentage of students in an 

associate, apprenticeship, or certificate program at each institution by the percentage

of students under the age of 40. To obtain the number of additional graduates, the 

analysis then multiplied the differential completion rate by the total number of veteran 

students. 
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

36

Table 10. Student Population by Vet Corps Site, 2018–2019

Institution 

Number of 

veteran students

Percentage in 

an associate, 

apprenticeship, 

or certificate 

program

Percentage

under 40 years 

old 

Number of 

veteran students 

at Vet Corps 

sites 

Bates 365 90% 78% 257

Big Bend 71 92% 84% 55

Cascadia 150 92% 93% 129

Centralia 124 79% 71% 70

Clover Park 593 98% 77% 447

Edmonds 270 89% 79% 190

Lower Columbia 121 83% 78% 80

Olympic 1,220 91% 85% 951

Pierce 1,234 91% 83% 930

Seattle Central 357 85% 84% 255

Seattle North 354 89% 71% 224

Seattle South 364 90% 76% 250

Shoreline 309 96% 89% 264

South Puget 

Sound

481 86% 79% 325

Spokane 408 95% 65% 253

Spokane Falls 236 87% 89% 183

Walla Walla 107 88% 75% 71

Wenatchee 

Valley

116 88% 80% 82

Total 6,880 N/A N/A 5,016 

Sources: SBCTC and WDVA

To estimate the additional annual earnings attributable to increased program 

completion due to Vet Corps, the estimated number of additional graduates was 

multiplied by the difference in median income between a veteran in Washington State 

with some college education and a veteran with an associate degree, according to 

the census’s 2019 Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019-c). 

Table 11. Additional Expected Median Annual Additional Earnings (2021$)

Number of 

veteran students 

at Vet Corps sites 

Additional 

college 

graduates

Additional annual 

median earnings

Total annual additional gross 

earnings

5,016 215 $4,254 $915,107

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2019-c), SBCTC, and WDVA
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

37

Table 12 shows the gross additional earnings for program participants for each ROI 

scenario, discounted at a 3 percent rate. Along with the earnings, this table displays tax 

revenue resulting from increased income. Additionally, Table 19 shows the lifetime 

reduction in public assistance payments received due to the increased educational 

attainment of student veterans attending Vet Corps sites (Trostel 2015). In other words, it 

shows the reduced spending on public assistance, social insurance, and criminal justice 

costs due to increased educational attainment.

Table 12. Additional Earnings for Student Veterans and Resulting Public Benefits by 

Scenario (2021$)

Scenario

Gross additional 

earnings of 

participants

Reduced 

government 

spending

Payroll tax 

payments*

Estimated 

additional sales 

tax revenue

Short-term $888,454 $0 $174,581 $23,076

Medium-term $9,808,963 $988,376 $1,731,280 $228,838

Long-term $13,307,113 $1,996,752 $2,222,486 $293,765

*Summed federal and state income, Medicare, and Social Security taxes based on gross earnings of 

student veterans 

Benefits to Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members 

The Vet Corps AmeriCorps members who provide services as part of the Vet Corps 

program experience benefits due to their national service. This analysis estimated the 

following benefits: 

• Living allowance and education award

• Increased earnings due to reduced unemployment

• Increased lifetime earnings due to increased postsecondary education derived 

from the use of education awards

Living Allowance and Education Award

Living allowances are given to AmeriCorps members during their 1-year service term to 

pay for various living expenses—such as housing and groceries—and they sometimes 

include members’ workers’ compensation and health insurance when applicable. 

Regarding education awards, according to Friedman et al. (2016), a significant portion 

(i.e., 46 percent) of AmeriCorps State and National member alumni use them to pay for 

additional postsecondary education at colleges, graduate schools, and 

technical/vocational schools, while others (i.e., 33 percent) use them to pay off 

outstanding student loans. The remaining 21 percent do not use their education 

awards. 

Both the living allowances and education awards (considered one-time benefits that 

are not discounted or spread over time) are taxable and represent member benefits. 

However, only the portion of education awards used by members to pay off existing 

student loans is considered a direct member benefit. The portion that is utilized to 

pursue further postsecondary education is only used in calculating members’ additional 
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

38

lifetime earnings due to the increased educational attainment they experience 

post-service from using the education award. This is done to avoid double counting. 

This analysis included as Vet Corps AmeriCorps member benefits the post-tax values of 

the living allowance and the portion of the education award used to repay student 

loans, which are listed in Table 13. The portion of the education award used to fund 

additional post-secondary education is discussed in the following section.

Table 13. Vet Corps AmeriCorps Member Benefits From the Living Allowance and 

Education Award

Benefit Post-tax value (2021$) Notes

Living allowance $545,200 Post-tax living allowances members 

receive during service

Education award used to 

pay off student loans $155,123 Post-tax education award amount used to pay off outstanding student loans

Total $700,323

Sources: WDVA and Friedman et al. (2016)

Increased Earnings Due to Reduced Unemployment 

According to Friedman et al. (2016), the percentage of AmeriCorps members 

unemployed was 5 percentage points lower 6 months after serving in AmeriCorps 

compared to 6 months before serving. The study did not provide actual employment 

rates for AmeriCorps members pre- and post-service but instead provided the 

unemployment rates shown in Figure 4 (17 percent vs. 12 percent) in which the change

between them represents a 5-percentage-point decrease. 

Figure 4. Unemployment Status Results from Friedman et al. (2016)17

Source: Friedman et al. (2016)

17 “Currently” refers to the summer 2016 survey. Respondents were from the 2005, 2010, and 2013 

AmeriCorps cohorts, so respondents varied in how much time had elapsed since their AmeriCorps service.
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

39

A direct member benefit from being employed post-service is additional income 

earned. To monetize this 5-percentage-point decrease in unemployment, ICF 

requested that Vet Corps provide the gender, age, pre-service educational 

attainment, and race/ethnicity distribution of AmeriCorps members who served with 

the Vet Corps program for the most recent program year. However, WDVA did not 

have this information available, so the analysis used national AmeriCorps member 

demographic data from FY 2017. Based on those demographics, the analysis used 

annual average earnings data from the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and

Economic (ASEC) Supplement for March 2019 to estimate Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members’ additional earnings due to the reduced unemployment (U.S. Census Bureau, 

2019-b). 

Specifically, the analysis used ASEC data to calculate the per-person pre-tax average 

annual earnings for 18- to 34-year-olds weighted by the demographic distribution of 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members who served during the 2019–2020 program year. 

This value expressed in 2021 dollars was $42,858 as shown in Table 14. The analysis then 

multiplied the 5-percentage-point decrease in unemployment from Friedman et al. 

(2016) by the number of Vet Corps AmeriCorps member full-time equivalents (FTEs) who 

served during the most recent program year (i.e., 40). This estimated the number of 

additional Vet Corps AmeriCorps member FTEs employed due to national service 

(i.e., 2). To estimate the additional pre-tax earnings that stemmed from the reduced 

unemployment, the $42,858 annual earnings amount was multiplied by the additional 

number of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members employed post-service. This represents the 

additional income earned by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members due to serving with the 

Vet Corps program. 

Table 14. Additional Pre-Tax Earnings for Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members From Reduced 

Unemployment Based on Vet Corps AmeriCorps Member Demographics

Metric

Value 

(2021$)

Average per-person pre-tax annual earnings of employed 18- to 34-year-olds 

weighted by Vet Corps AmeriCorps member demographics (e.g., gender, 

race/ethnicity, and pre-service education level)

$42,858

Reduction in AmeriCorps members’ unemployment 5% 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps member FTEs 40

Cumulative additional pre-tax earnings $85,715

Cumulative additional post-tax earnings $56,900

Sources: WDVA and Friedman et al. (2016)

To avoid double counting, the additional post-tax earnings is used to calculate the 

direct benefit to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members, rather than the additional pre-tax

earnings. The post-tax annual earnings for the additional 2 Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

member FTEs employed in Table 14 exclude payroll taxes (e.g., federal and state 

income, Social Security, and Medicare). The payroll tax rates used are described in 

more detail in the Benefits to Government section. 
Return on Investment Study: 

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Corps 

40

Based on these calculations, the cumulative additional post-tax earnings for Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members for the three different scenarios—discounted in 2021 dollars using 

data from the Office of Management and Budget (2003)—are shown in Table 15. These 

monetary amounts represent the additional post-tax earnings realized due to the 

employment gain that is solely attributed to the Vet Corps program. 

Table 15. Cumulative Additional Post-Tax Earnings Derived From Reduced 

Unemployment Due to Serving With the Vet Corps Program by Scenario

Scenario

Cumulative additional post-tax earnings 

due to serving with the Vet Corps program (2021$)

Short-term $56,900

Medium-term $547,830

Long-term $703,263

Sources: WDVA, Friedman et al. (2016), U.S. Census Bureau (2019-b), and Office of Management and 

Budget (2003)

Increased Lifetime Earnings Due to 

Increased Postsecondary Education 

Derived From the Use of Education 

Awards

The AmeriCorps education award pays for 

some portion of members’ increased 

postsecondary educational attainment, 

and the future earnings derived from that 

educational attainment is treated as a 

direct benefit to Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members. To calculate the portion of 

members’ increased educational 

attainment that is attributable to the Vet 

Corps program, this analysis used cost 

data from the National Center for 

Education Statistics (NCES). Table 16 details 

the average total cost for each degree 

type and the portion of the cost that the 

post-tax education award amount 

(i.e., $5,234) represents ($6,155 before 

taxes18). The analysis used these 

percentages to estimate the lifetime 

18 This analysis used the 2020 to 2021 AmeriCorps education award amount ($6,345) but discounted it to net 

present 2020 dollars using the Consumer Price Index. For more information about this education award, 

please see https://americorps.gov/members-volunteers/segal-americorps-education-award/find-out-more. 

Additional earnings derived from 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

reduced unemployment were 

calculated annually and then 

discounted based on the short-term, 

medium-term, and long-term scenarios 

in net present 2020 dollars. 

For additional earnings derived from 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

increased postsecondary educational 

attainment—due to using education 

awards—Trostel (2015) did not provide 

data on how earnings accrue over 

time. Therefore, this analysis treated the 

increases in earnings as lifetime values 

expressed in 2020 dollars. The analysis 

assumed 100 percent of those lifetime 

earnings accrued by year 30 (i.e., in the 

long-term scenario), 50 percent 

accrued by year 15 (i.e., in the 

medium-term scenario), and nothing 

accrued 1 year post-program (i.e., in 

the short-term scenario). 
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benefits of postsecondary educational attainment that can be attributed to the 

education award. For instance, according to NCES (2020), the average annual cost of 

a public, in-state, 4-year academic institution during the 2019–2020 academic year was 

$24,869. This amounts to more than $100,000 for 4 years if expressed in 2019 dollars. The 

$5,234 post-tax education award only represents 4.8 percent of the cost of that degree, 

so the Vet Corps program could only be credited with 5 percent of the completion of 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ bachelor’s degree post-service. 

Table 16. Average Total Cost of Education and Portion Attributable to Education Award 

by Degree Type

Degree type19 Average cost (2019$)*

Percentage of degree total cost 

covered by post-tax education award

Associate degree $30,824 15.8% 

Bachelor’s degree $101,948 4.8% 

Graduate degree $24,342 20.0% 

*Costs were provided for the 2019 to 2020 academic year by NCES (2020) for associate degree and 

bachelor’s degree types. Costs were provided for the 2018 to 2019 academic year by NCES (2019) for 

graduate degree type. 

Sources: AmeriCorps (n.d.), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019-a), NCES (2019), and NCES (2020) 

To determine the future lifetime earnings (and later, the associated lifetime taxes, which 

are described in the Benefits to Government section) realized due to the use of the 

education award post-service, the analysis first determined the number of additional 

postsecondary degrees estimated to be completed by degree type. The 40 Vet Corps

AmeriCorps member FTEs who served during the 2019–2020 program year were 

distributed by the education award using findings listed in Friedman et al. (2016) across 

the degree types. Specifically, Friedman et al. (2016) reported 46 percent of 

AmeriCorps State and National member alumni used their education award to pursue 

postsecondary degrees after program completion. This makes the number of Vet Corps

AmeriCorps member FTEs expected to use the education award to pursue additional 

postsecondary education roughly equal to 18. Specifically, Friedman et al. (2016) 

indicated that the 46 percent comprises 2 percent using the education award to 

attend a technical or vocational training program, 21 percent using it to obtain a 

bachelor’s degree, and 23 percent using it for graduate school.20 This results in the 

number of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members estimated to pursue—due to using the 

education award—an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, or a graduate degree 

post-service to be roughly 1, 8, and 9, respectively. These values are shown in Table 17. 

19 Costs for an associate degree include tuition, required fees, books, and supplies for a public, in-state, 

2-year program; costs for a bachelor’s degree include tuition, required fees, books, supplies, and 

on-campus housing for a public, in-state, 4-year program; costs for a graduate degree include tuition 

and required fees for a public, in-state, 2-year graduate program. 

20 This analysis considers the use of the education award to attend a technical or vocational training 

program from Friedman et al. (2016) to be synonymous with using it to pursue an associate degree.
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Table 17. Estimates of the Number of Postsecondary Degrees Pursued Using the 

Education Award by Degree Type

Degree type

Total WDVA Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps 

member FTE count

Percentage estimated to 

pursue postsecondary 

education according to 

Friedman et al. (2016) 

Number of 

degrees pursued 

using the

education award

Associate degree 40 2% 0.8

Bachelor’s degree 40 21% 8.4

Graduate degree 40 23% 9.2

All degrees — 46% 18.4

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 

Sources: AmeriCorps (n.d.), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019-a), WDVA, Friedman et al. (2016), NCES 

(2020), and NCES (2019)

Next, the difference in the additional lifetime pre-tax earnings from one degree type to 

the subsequent degree type was estimated using data provided by Trostel (2015), 

which is shown in the fifth column of Table 18 and expressed in 2019 dollars.21 For 

instance, using Trostel (2015) data, the lifetime earnings in 2019 dollars of someone with 

an associate degree is about $875,000, while that of someone with a bachelor’s degree 

is almost $1.3 million. The difference between these two metrics (roughly $417,000 as 

shown in Table 18) represents the additional lifetime earnings realized as a result of 

gaining a bachelor’s degree if an associate degree was already completed. This 

process was completed for all postsecondary degree types to conservatively estimate 

the additional lifetime earnings realized by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members due to an 

increase in postsecondary educational attainment. Trostel (2015) also included data on 

lifetime taxes paid, which was converted to 2019 dollars and then used to estimate the 

post-tax lifetime earnings that would be realized per additional postsecondary degree 

received. Specifically, the lifetime taxes paid amounts were subtracted from the pre-tax 

additional lifetime earnings amounts to estimate the additional post-tax lifetime 

earnings, a direct benefit to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members. 

21 For an associate degree, comparisons were made between metrics for a high school diploma and those 

for an associate degree. For a bachelor’s degree, comparisons made were between metrics for an 

associate degree and those of a bachelor’s degree. For a graduate degree, comparisons made were 

between metrics for a bachelor’s degree and those of a master’s degree. 
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Table 18. Additional Earnings From AmeriCorps Members’ Use of the Education Award

Degree 

type

Number of 

degrees 

pursued 

using the

education 

award

Percentage

of degree 

total cost 

covered by 

post-tax 

education 

award

Number of 

degrees 

obtained 

using the

education 

award

Additional

pre-tax 

lifetime 

earnings

per degree 

type

Additional 

lifetime 

earnings 

from 

education 

award 

(pre-tax) 

Additional 

lifetime 

earnings 

from 

education 

award 

(post-tax)

Associate 

degree

0.8 16.1% 0.1 $170,286 $21,524 $10,950 

Bachelor’s 

degree

8.4 4.9% 0.4 $526,201 $212,164 $110,107

Graduate 

degree

9.2 20.4% 1.8 $467,083 $859,432 $534,481 

Total 18.4 — 2.4 — $1,093,121 $655,538

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 

Sources: AmeriCorps (n.d.), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019-a), WDVA, Friedman et al. (2016), NCES 

(2020), NCES (2019), and Trostel (2015)

To isolate the increase in additional lifetime earnings specific to members using the 

education award, the number of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members who used the 

education award for this purpose by degree type was reduced by the percentage of 

the degree cost that can be covered by the $5,234 post-tax education award 

received post-service, displayed in the third column of Table 18. As a result, the analysis 

estimated that the use of the education award among Vet Corps AmeriCorps members 

produced roughly 0.1 additional associate degree, 0.5 additional bachelor’s degree, 

and 1.8 additional graduate degrees post-service. Then, the number of additional 

degrees obtained was applied to the 2019 additional post-tax lifetime earnings by 

degree type. This calculates the additional lifetime post-tax earnings realized by Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members from their increase in postsecondary educational 

attainment that is credited to the use of the education award post-service. The total 

additional lifetime post-tax earnings amount was roughly $655,000 across Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members. Of note, these lifetime earnings are in addition to the earnings 

derived from Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ gains in employment as delineated in 

the previous section. To reiterate, the earnings from Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

reduced unemployment differs depending on the scenario (i.e., short-term, mediumterm, and long-term) since it is uncertain how long these earnings will persist. For the 

post-tax lifetime earnings—and all lifetime benefits in this ROI analysis—the entire 

amount is realized in the long-term, half of it is realized in the medium-term, and no 

amount is realized in the short-term. 
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Benefits to Government 

State and Local Government 

State and local government benefits from: 

• Additional state income tax revenue from Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

increased earnings due to reduced unemployment

• Additional lifetime state and local taxes due to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’

increased postsecondary educational attainment22

• Additional lifetime state and local taxes due to veteran students’ increased 

postsecondary educational attainment23

• Additional state and local taxes from the living allowance and education award 

received by these members

• Additional state and local sales tax revenue from Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members’ increased consumption due to reduced unemployment

• Reduced lifetime spending on social insurance and corrections24 due to Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members’ increased postsecondary educational attainment

• Reduced lifetime spending on social insurance and corrections25 due to veteran 

students’ increased postsecondary educational attainment 

State income tax revenue: To measure income tax revenue generation that stems from 

reduced unemployment for state governments (any local income taxes are not 

included), the additional pre-tax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members that are 

solely attributed to the Vet Corps program are taxed by a weighted, estimated 

proportional state income tax rate. This tax rate considers state-specific progressive tax 

brackets and standard deduction amounts. Based on the taxable income, the analysis 

estimated the proportional state income tax for each state as the amount of state 

income taxes paid per Vet Corps AmeriCorps member divided by their pre-tax 

earnings. This analysis then calculated the weighted average of these state-specific tax 

rates—using these states’ populations from the 5-year estimates of the 2019 American 

Community Survey—to estimate a weighted national tax rate (i.e., 2.1 percent; U.S. 

Census Bureau, 2019-a). A weighted national tax rate was used because Vet Corps

22 This benefit was calculated using lifetime tax revenue data from Trostel (2015). These values summed 

lifetime state income taxes, lifetime property taxes, and lifetime sales taxes by education level. 

23 Ibid.

24 Reduced spending on public assistance due to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ increased 

postsecondary educational attainment is included as a federal government benefit, not a state and local 

government benefit. This is because public assistance includes programs funded at the federal level (e.g., 

TANF, etc.).

25 Ibid.
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AmeriCorps members may disperse to 

various locations nationwide following 

their service terms and continue to 

migrate over the course of their working 

years. 

Lifetime state income tax revenue values 

are also provided by Trostel (2015) by 

education level. Based on the number of 

postsecondary degrees estimated to be 

obtained due to the use of the 

education award received after serving 

with the Vet Corps program, additional 

lifetime state income taxes are realized. 

Thus, the values of additional lifetime 

state income taxes paid—informed by 

data from Trostel (2015)—were first 

converted to 2021 dollars. The analysis 

then multiplied them by the inferred 

number of degrees obtained using the 

education award (which are listed in the 

fourth column of Table 18). 

The analysis assumed student veterans 

remained in Washington State after 

graduation. Washington State’s income 

tax rate is 0 percent, so no state income 

tax revenue is generated from their 

increased educational attainment.

State governments also receive state 

income taxes from the education 

awards Vet Corps AmeriCorps members 

receive post-service. The analysis 

estimated the pre-tax education award 

amount in 2019 dollars (i.e., $6,155).26

Then the analysis multiplied it by the 

number of Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

member FTEs expected to redeem the 

award and use it to pursue postsecondary education or to repay outstanding student 

loans, based on findings from Friedman et al. (2016). The result represents the pre-tax 

cumulative education award amount expected to be received by Vet Corps 

26 This analysis used the 2020 to 2021 AmeriCorps education award amount ($6,345) but discounted it to net

present 2020 dollars using the Consumer Price Index. For more information about this education award, 

please see https://americorps.gov/members-volunteers/segal-americorps-education-award/find-out-more. 

Additional tax revenue derived from 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

reduced unemployment, living 

allowances, and education awards was 

calculated using tax rates specific to 

each per-person monetary amount. 

For additional tax revenue derived from 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

increased postsecondary educational 

attainment—due to using education 

awards—as well as from Vet Corps 

program participants’ increased 

secondary educational attainment, 

Trostel (2015) did not provide specific 

tax rates. Therefore, this analysis treated 

the increases in tax revenue as lifetime 

values expressed in 2021 dollars. The 

analysis assumed 100 percent of those 

lifetime tax revenues accrued by year 

30 (i.e., in the long-term scenario), 50 

percent accrued by year 15 (i.e., in the 

medium-term scenario), and nothing 

accrued 1 year post-program (i.e., in 

the short-term scenario).

Tax revenue derived from student 

veteran’s increased educational 

attainment assumes a federal marginal 

income tax rate of 12 percent, the state 

income tax rate for Washington (0 

percent), the Medicare tax rate (1.45 

percent), and the Social Security tax 

rate (6.2 percent). The assumed 

Washington sales tax, state and local, is 

9.17 percent. The analysis applied these 

tax rates to the estimated earnings in 

each scenario. 
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AmeriCorps members. The portion of this value taxed by state income taxes was 

estimated using a weighted state income tax rate specific to the per-person education 

award amount. Additionally, state income taxes were estimated for the living 

allowance amount received by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members during their service 

term using tax rates specific to the per-person value. The different rates used for these 

member benefits are enumerated in Table 20. 

State and local sales tax revenue: To measure sales tax revenue generation for state 

and local governments that stems from reduced unemployment, a weighted state and 

local sales tax rate was applied to the amount of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ 

cumulative additional post-tax earnings that are available to be spent on taxable 

goods. To establish a weighted state and local sales tax, this analysis first summed the 

state sales tax rate and the average local sales tax rate for each state using data from 

Cammenga (2020). Then using 2019 data from the American Community Survey 

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2019-a), these state-level combined state and local sales tax rates 

were weighted based on the population of each state. The resulting weighted average 

sales tax rate used in this analysis was 7.43 percent. 

To estimate the additional post-tax earnings as a result of reduced unemployment that 

was spent on taxable goods, data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (U.S. Bureau 

of Labor Statistics, 2021) were used. These data show the amount of spending on a 

number of different goods and services by national consumers across several different 

pre-tax income brackets.27 The proportion of earnings that is spent on taxable goods 

(such as alcoholic beverages, housekeeping supplies, apparel, etc.) was then 

calculated for consumers with incomes that matched the per-person average pre-tax 

earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members. This value was 44.9 percent. This proportion 

was then applied to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ cumulative additional post-tax

earnings to calculate the post-tax monetary amount they spend on taxable goods. 

Then the sales tax rate (i.e., 7.43 percent) was applied to estimate the resulting sales tax 

revenues that go to state and local governments due to Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members’ reduced unemployment post-service. 

Trostel (2015) also provides additional lifetime state and local sales tax values by 

education level. Using these values, the analysis calculated the additional sales tax 

revenue realized by state and local governments as a result of Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members using their education award to achieve higher postsecondary educational 

attainment post-service. These values represent a direct benefit to state and local 

governments in the form of increased tax revenue. 

27 To calculate the estimated taxable expenditures, Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) Table 1203 was 

used from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021). This table lists the annual expenditure means by pre-tax 

income tax brackets. Thus, the pre-tax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members were used instead of 

their post-tax earnings to calculate this metric. Please visit this site for more details: 

https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables/calendar-year/mean-item-share-average-standard-error.htm#cu-income. 
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For student veterans at Vet Corps sites, data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey 

were used to match the percentage of spending on taxable goods with the average 

pre-tax earnings of graduating students (44.9 percent; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

2021). This proportion was then applied to the post-tax earnings to calculate the posttax spending on taxable goods. Then the Washington sales tax rate (9.17 percent) was 

applied to estimate the resulting sales tax revenue that goes to state and local 

governments. 

State and local government cost savings: State and local governments also benefit 

from the Vet Corps program through lifetime savings in public assistance, social 

insurance, and corrections—as reported in Trostel (2015)—due to the increase in 

Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ postsecondary educational attainment after program 

exit and student veterans’ postsecondary educational attainment. Of note, social 

insurance includes unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. To calculate 

these lifetime non-federal government savings, the analysis first calculated the 

decrease in social insurance and corrections costs (and thus, savings) from one 

education level to the subsequent education level using data from Trostel (2015) and 

then multiplied these monetary amounts by the number of additional postsecondary 

degrees estimated to be obtained due to the use of the education awards. 

To determine what portion of this differential represents lifetime cost savings to state or 

local governments versus the federal government, a different method was employed 

for each of these cost savings areas. For social insurance, 50 percent of lifetime 

unemployment insurance cost savings and all the lifetime cost savings for workers’ 

compensation are apportioned to state and local governments (Oswald, 2018). 

Regarding reductions in lifetime corrections spending, the portion between the federal 

and state or local governments was determined based on data from Hyland (2015). 

Specifically, this report found that 8.4 percent of U.S. corrections costs is paid by the 

federal government and the remaining 91.6 percent is paid by state and local 

governments. Therefore, almost 92 percent of the lifetime cost savings in corrections 

due to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members experiencing an increase in post-secondary 

educational attainment post-service are allocated to state and local governments. 

Federal Government

The federal government benefits from: 

• Additional federal income, Social Security, and Medicare tax revenue from Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members’ increased earnings due to reduced unemployment

• Additional federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from the living 

allowance and education award received by these members

• Additional lifetime federal taxes due to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’

increased post-secondary educational attainment

• Additional lifetime federal taxes due to the increased post-secondary 

educational attainment of student veterans at Vet Corps sites
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• Reduced lifetime spending on public assistance, social insurance, and 

corrections due to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ increased post-secondary 

educational attainment

• Reduced lifetime spending on public assistance, social insurance, and 

corrections due to the increased post-secondary educational attainment of 

student veterans at Vet Corps sites

Federal income tax revenue: To measure federal income tax revenue that stems from 

reduced unemployment, the additional pre-tax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members that are solely attributed to the Vet Corps program—as well as the pre-tax 

living allowance and education award amounts received by Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members—are taxed by a federal income tax rate. The rates used are estimated 

proportional tax rates that consider the standard deductions and progressive tax 

brackets specific to federal income taxes as provided by El-Sibaie (2019). To reiterate, 

an estimated proportional tax rate equals the total amount of taxes estimated to be 

paid divided by the pre-tax amount of the value to be taxed (e.g., per-person average 

pre-tax earnings). The specific federal income tax rates used for these different benefits 

are enumerated in Table 20. Of note, different tax rates were used because they were 

specific to the per-person pre-tax earnings, living allowance, and education 

award amounts.

For the additional lifetime earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members that is based on 

their increase in post-secondary educational attainment—fueled by the use of the 

education award, Trostel (2015) provides additional lifetime federal income tax values. 

These values are used to calculate the additional income tax revenue realized by the 

federal government due to members’ post-secondary education gains.

For veteran students at Vet Corps sites, the analysis estimated the increase in pre-tax 

earnings. Then the analysis applied a marginal tax rate (12 percent) to determine the 

increase in federal income tax attributable to additional program participant 

education. 

Social Security and Medicare tax revenue: Social Security and Medicare tax revenue 

are measured as fiscal gains as a result of the additional pre-tax earnings of Vet Corps

AmeriCorps members from their reduced unemployment and as a result of the pre-tax 

living allowances and education awards amounts received by members. However, tax 

rates specific to each revenue source are used. Social Security and Medicare use flat 

tax rates, 6.2 percent and 1.45 percent, respectively; thus, these rates are applied to 

the additional pre-tax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members to calculate the 

additional amount of revenue the federal government receives. These same rates are 

also applied to the living allowance and education award amounts received by Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members to calculate additional tax revenue. For student veterans 

at Vet Corps sites, the analysis applied these tax rates to the estimated additional 

earnings as a result of their increased education.

Moreover, lifetime Social Security tax values are provided by Trostel (2015) by education 

level. The analysis used these values to estimate the additional lifetime Social Security 

tax revenue realized by the federal government as a result of Vet Corps AmeriCorps 
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members using their education award to complete different post-secondary education 

degree types post-service. 

Federal government cost savings: The federal government realizes cost savings in public 

assistance, social insurance, and corrections due to the increased postsecondary 

educational attainment of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members after program exit. 

Specifically, the number of additional postsecondary degrees estimated to be earned 

by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members post-service as well as data from Trostel (2015) were 

used to estimate the federal government portion of lifetime cost savings on social 

insurance (which is composed of workers’ compensation and unemployment 

insurance, as noted earlier), public assistance (e.g., SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, etc.), 

and corrections. 

Table 19 shows the lifetime costs to the federal versus the state and local governments 

for each of these areas—where applicable—by education level in 2012 dollars as 

presented in Trostel (2015). The differences in these lifetime costs from one education 

level to the next represent cost savings per degree obtained. 

Table 19. Government Costs by Educational Attainment Level per Individual’s Lifetime

Source of government costs

Associate degree 

(2012$)

Bachelor’s degree 

(2012$)

Graduate degree 

(2012$)

Public assistance $31,803 $14,480 $9,394

Social insurance $8,209 $5,863 $4,732

Federal $3,570 $2,660 $2,090

State/local $4,639 $3,204 $2,643

Corrections $4,055 $1,190 $725

Federal $341 $100 $61

State/local $3,714 $1,090 $664

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.

Source: Trostel (2015) 

As mentioned earlier in this appendix, as a result of the Vet Corps program, the analysis 

estimated an additional 18 Vet Corps AmeriCorps members would redeem the 

education award to pursue additional postsecondary education. Based on the portion 

of degree costs covered by the post-tax education award, this analysis calculated that 

an additional associate degree, bachelor’s degree, and two graduate degrees would 

be obtained due to the Vet Corps program. To conservatively calculate the federal 

government’s lifetime savings associated with these education gains, the differences 

between the public assistance, federal social insurance, and federal corrections 

lifetime costs for these education levels and those that precede them are calculated 

and then expressed in 2019 dollars. These values are then multiplied by the number of 

additional postsecondary degrees estimated to be obtained—where appropriate—to 

represent the total cost savings realized by the federal government due to the Vet 

Corps program. As previously mentioned where discussing the state and local 
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governments’ allocation of the reduction in lifetime social insurance and corrections 

expenditures, the federal government receives 50 percent of the lifetime cost savings in 

unemployment insurance (part of social insurance; Oswald, 2018), and more than 8 

percent of the lifetime cost savings in corrections (Hyland, 2015). These federal 

government savings are shown in Table 21.

The federal government also realizes lifetime cost savings from veteran students at 

Vet Corps sites. The methodology used to calculate these lifetime benefits is described 

above. Specifically, this analysis estimated that the federal government realizes 

$1,659,125 in lifetime cost savings that are attributable to the Vet Corps program. 

Table 20 shows the tax rates applied to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members’ additional pretax and post-tax earnings (derived from reduced unemployment), depending on the 

type of revenue being calculated. It also enumerates the tax rates used for the pre-tax 

living allowance and education award amounts received by Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members during their service term or upon service completion, respectively. 

Table 20. 2019 Tax Rates and Ratio of Taxable Expenditures for Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

Members’ Earnings, Living Allowances, and Education Awards

Metric

Rate for 

additional 

earnings & 

education 

award*

Rate for living 

allowance & 

education 

award** Notes

Estimated 

proportional 

federal 

income tax 

8.25% 3.00% • Tax rates are used that consider the 

progressive tax brackets and standard 

deductions specific to federal income 

taxes. 

• These rates are dependent on and 

applied to the pre-tax value of each 

metric being taxed.

Estimated 

proportional 

state income 

tax 

2.13% 2.31% • Tax rates are used that consider the 

progressive tax brackets and standard 

deductions specific to each state’s 

income taxes. Each state’s tax rate is 

weighted based on the state’s 

population and summed to estimate a 

weighted national average. 

• These rates are dependent on and 

applied to the pre-tax value of each 

metric being taxed.

Social Security 

tax 

6.20% 6.20% • Social Security tax rate for employees 

and employers.

• These rates are applied to the pre-tax

value of each metric being taxed.
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Metric

Rate for 

additional 

earnings & 

education 

award*

Rate for living 

allowance & 

education 

award** Notes

Medicare tax 1.45% 1.45% • Medicare tax rate for employees and 

employers.

• These rates are applied to the pre-tax

value of each metric being taxed.

Sales tax 7.43%; N/A to 

the education 

award

7.43%; N/A to 

the education 

award

• The combined state and average local 

tax rate for each state was summed 

and weighted based on states’ 

populations to calculate a national 

weighted average sales tax rate. 

• The rate is applied to the additional 

post-tax earnings of members as well 

as their post-tax living allowance 

amount.

Ratio of 

taxable 

expenditures 

per national 

consumer

44.9%; N/A to 

the education 

award

53.1%; N/A to 

the education 

award

• Percentage of post-tax earnings spent 

on taxable goods and services that is 

used to calculate sales tax from posttax earnings.

• Ratio is dependent on the pre-tax 

value of members’ additional earnings

or the pre-tax living allowance amount.

*These rates are only used for the portion of the education award used to repay outstanding student loans. 

**These rates are only used for the portion of the education award used for additional schooling. 

Sources: Cammenga (2020), Social Security Administration (2020), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021), and 

El-Sibaie (2019)

Summary of Benefits to Government

Table 21 shows the amount of tax revenue generated and savings in expenditures for 

state and local versus federal government that are solely credited to the Vet Corps

program and calculated using the methods described above. These government 

revenue and savings amounts are benefits that are included in the three ROI 

calculations, and they are derived from Vet Corps program impacts.

Table 21. State/Local and Federal Government Benefits by Stakeholder Group and 

by Scenario

Benefit type

Benefit (2021$)

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

State/local government benefits $68,617 $521,413 $813,226 

State income tax revenue from education 

awards and living allowances* $4,135 $4,135 $4,135 
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Benefit type

Benefit (2021$)

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

State and local sales tax revenue from 

living allowances $38,105 $38,105 $38,105

State income tax revenue from 

employment $1,779 $17,645 $22,651 

State and local sales tax revenue from 

employment $1,522 $15,094 $19,377 

State income, sales, and property taxes 

from member postsecondary educational 

attainment (lifetime)

 — $46,294 $92,589 

State income, sales, and property taxes 

from student veteran postsecondary 

educational attainment 

 $23,076 $228,838 $293,765 

Savings in reduced public assistance, 

social insurance, and corrections 

spending from member postsecondary 

educational attainment (lifetime) 

 — $2,488 $4,977 

Savings in reduced public assistance, 

social insurance, and corrections 

spending from veteran postsecondary 

educational attainment (lifetime) 

 — $168,814 $337,627 

Federal government benefits $358,408 $3,149,503 $4,724,514 

Federal income tax revenue from 

education awards and living allowances* $90,172 $90,172 $90,172

Social Security and Medicare tax revenue 

from education awards and living 

allowances*

 $68,981 $68,981 $68,981

Federal income tax revenue from 

employment $18,308 $181,557 $233,069 

Social Security and Medicare tax revenue 

from employment $6,366 $63,132 $81,044 

Federal income and Social Security tax 

revenue from member postsecondary 

educational attainment (lifetime) 

 — $172,496 $344,993 

Federal income and Social Security tax 

revenue from student veteran 

postsecondary educational attainment

 $174,581 $1,731,280 $2,222,486 

Savings in reduced social insurance, 

corrections, and public assistance 

spending from member postsecondary 

educational attainment (lifetime) 

 — $12,322 $24,644 
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Benefit type

Benefit (2021$)

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

Savings in reduced social insurance, 

corrections, and public assistance 

spending from student veteran 

postsecondary educational attainment

(lifetime) 

 — $829,562 $1,659,125 

Total $206,380 $883,991 $1,513,834 

*Living allowances and education awards are one-time taxable payments. The resulting tax revenue does 

not vary by scenario.

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 

Measuring Forgone Benefits (Opportunity Costs)

The analysis included two types of forgone benefits, referred to as opportunity costs, in 

each of the three ROI calculations to conservatively estimate the return of the 

Vet Corps program: forgone benefits from a professional opportunity cost to Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members and forgone benefits from an investment opportunity cost to 

funders. Each of these forgone benefit (opportunity cost) types is subtracted from the 

total program benefits—that stem from the Vet Corps program—to calculate net 

benefits. Net benefits are then compared to the program cost to calculate each ROI. 

The methodologies used to calculate these two forgone benefits (opportunity costs) 

are described below. 

Forgone Benefits From Professional Opportunity Cost to Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

Members 

There is a professional opportunity cost to Vet Corps AmeriCorps members for their 

period of national service, during which they could have otherwise been working. 

This includes both the forgone earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members for their 

service term and the forgone taxes associated with those lost earnings. To calculate 

this, the analysis first used the demographic distribution of Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members for the 2019–2020 program year—in terms of gender, age, race/ethnicity, and 

pre-service education level—and ASEC data to estimate the weighted unemployment 

rate for this population (i.e., 3.5 percent). This represents how many of these Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members would have been unemployed if they did not serve with the Vet 

Corps program. Using the weighted unemployment rate and the number of Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps member FTEs who served during the 2019–2020 program year, the analysis 

estimated the number of members who would have been unemployed without serving 

with the Vet Corps program based on their demographic characteristics. Then the 

analysis multiplied this value by the weighted post-tax annual earnings. This is derived 

from the post-tax annual earnings listed in Table 15. The methodology used to calculate 

this latter monetary amount is described in the previous Increased Earnings Due to 

Reduced Unemployment section. The post-tax amount subtracts all applicable payroll 

taxes (e.g., federal income, state income, Medicare, and Social Security). Combined, 

these values represent what Vet Corps AmeriCorps members would have earned in 

total if they did not serve with the Vet Corps program. Separately, the analysis then 
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multiplied the number of Vet Corps AmeriCorps member FTEs who served by the 

amount they earned during their national service in the form of a post-tax living 

allowance (i.e., $14,608 per person). This represents the aggregate amount Vet Corps 

AmeriCorps members earned during their service term. The difference between what 

they would have earned if they did not serve and what they did earn because they 

served equals the total post-tax earnings forgone due to serving with the WDVA Vet 

Corps program. These values and the formula used to calculate the forgone post-tax 

earnings are shown in Table 22.

Table 22. Forgone Earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps Members for a Service Term

Row Component Value Source

A Vet Corps AmeriCorps member FTEs 40 WDVA

B Weighted unemployment rate 3.5% U.S. Census Bureau (2019-b) & 

WDVA

C Weighted post-tax annual earnings per 

person (2021$) $34,103

U.S. Census Bureau (2019-b), 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

(2019-a), & WDVA

D Post-tax living allowance per person $14,608 WDVA

E Total post-tax earnings forgone (2021$) $732,029 [A x (1 – B) x C] – (A x D)

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 

The second portion of this professional opportunity cost is the forgone taxes associated 

with the earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members lost for this year of service. Federal 

income, state income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes specific to the per-person 

weighted pre-tax earnings amount were calculated. Specifically, the estimated 

proportional federal and state income tax rates used were 8.1 percent and 2.1 percent, 

respectively. The analysis also estimated the sales taxes lost based on the per-person 

post-tax earnings forgone by the Vet Corps AmeriCorps members. Using data from the 

Consumer Expenditure Survey (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021), the analysis 

estimated that based on the per-person weighted pre-tax earnings of Vet Corps

AmeriCorps members (i.e., $34,103), 43 percent of their income would have been spent 

on taxable goods, as opposed to 71 percent of the living allowance. Then the 

weighted combined state and local sales tax rate (i.e., 7.43 percent)—used earlier in 

this analysis to calculate government benefits—was applied to the difference in 

expected spending on taxable goods to represent the resulting sales tax revenue lost 

due to individuals serving with the Vet Corps program instead of working for higher pay. 

The totals for these taxes are listed in Table 23. 
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Table 23. Forgone Taxes Associated With the Forgone Earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

Members for a Service Term

Forgone taxes

Taxes without 

service term

(2021$)

Taxes realized 

from living 

allowance

(2021$)

Net taxes 

forgone

(2021$)

Federal forgone taxes (i.e., federal 

professional opportunity cost) $259,995 $75,419 $184,576

Federal income taxes $133,446 $21,232 $112,214

Social Security and Medicare taxes $126,549 $54,187 $72,362

Non-federal forgone taxes $77,903 $48,594 $29,309

State income taxes $34,785 $16,338 $18,447 

Sales taxes $43,118 $32,256 $10,862 

Total taxes $337,898 $124,013 $213,885 

Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 

For the federal government benefits per federal dollar ROI calculation, only federal 

government (not total) benefits are included. Because of this, only federal components 

of the professional opportunity cost are subtracted from all federal government 

benefits—realized due to the Vet Corps program—in this ROI calculation. The parts of 

the professional opportunity cost subtracted from these total federal government 

benefits include the forgone net federal income taxes (i.e., $112,214) and the net 

forgone Social Security and Medicare taxes (i.e., $72,362). The sum of these two values 

is called the federal professional opportunity cost. The sum of all the values listed in 

Table 23 and the forgone post-tax earnings of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members is called 

the total professional opportunity cost. These naming conventions are referenced in the 

Calculating ROI section. 

Forgone Benefits From the Investment Opportunity Cost to Funders 

The investment opportunity cost estimates the expected forgone return if funds used to 

support the activities and positions of Vet Corps AmeriCorps members during the most 

recent program year were invested in U.S. Treasury bonds instead. An investment 

opportunity cost is calculated for two different funding streams: 1) all Vet Corps

program funding for the 2019–2020 program year and 2) only federal funding for the 

same program year. This is done because two of the three ROI calculations only have 

federal (not total) program costs included. Thus, for 1) the federal government benefits 

per federal dollar and 2) the total benefits per federal dollar ROI calculations, the 

investment opportunity cost subtracted from the benefits in these calculations is the 

forgone accrued interest from investing only the federal funds into these U.S. Treasury 

bonds. For the other ROI calculation, the investment opportunity cost subtracted from 

the benefits realized is the forgone accrued interest from investing all Vet Corps 

program funds (both federal and non-federal) into these U.S. Treasury bonds. The 

analysis estimated forgone accrued interests across all three scenarios when 1) all Vet 
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Corps program funds and 2) only federal Vet Corps program funds are invested in U.S. 

Treasury bonds.

To calculate these forgone accrued interest values, the analysis first matched 2019 real 

interest rates provided by the Office of Management and Budget (2020) to each of the 

scenarios included in this ROI analysis. The analysis used 2019 real interest rates for U.S. 

Treasury bonds because the Vet Corps program year analyzed began in 2019. The real 

interest rate for the 3-year maturity was used for the short-term scenario, the average 

between the 10-year and 20-year maturity rates was used as the rate for the mediumterm scenario, and the 30-year maturity rate was used for the long-term scenario. These 

real interest rates were 1.3 percent, 1.45 percent, and 1.5 percent, respectively (Office 

of Management and Budget, 2020). Also, the number of years elapsed on these U.S. 

Treasury bonds was equal to the number of years the different scenarios assumed Vet 

Corps AmeriCorps members’ employment and earnings gains were sustained. These 

values are 1 year, 15 years, and 30 years for the short-, medium-, and long-term 

scenarios, respectively. Given that U.S. Treasury bonds compound biannually according 

to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (2019), the formula used to calculate the forgone 

accrued interest for each of the three scenarios for the two funding streams is listed in

Figure 5, where A equals the forgone accrued interest (e.g., the investment opportunity 

cost), P equals the amount of one of the funding streams, r equals the 2019 real interest 

rate, and t equals the number of years elapsed. 

Figure 5. Compound Interest Formula Used to Calculate Investment Opportunity Cost

Based on this formula, the forgone benefits from the investment opportunity cost 

calculated by scenario and funding stream are listed in Table 24, along with their 

associated inputs. The forgone accrued interest amounts for all funding are called the 

total investment opportunity costs, while that for federal funding only are called the 

federal investment opportunity costs. These naming conventions are referenced in the 

Calculating ROI section. 
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Table 24. Forgone Benefits From Investment Opportunity Cost Calculation by Scenario 

and Funding Stream

Metric

Short-term Medium-term Long-term

All funding

Federal 

funding 

only All funding

Federal 

funding 

only All funding

Federal 

funding 

only

Real 

interest 

rate 

1.30% 1.45% 1.50%

Years 

elapsed 1 15 30

Funding 

amount $1,116,364 $870,361 $1,116,364 $870,361 $1,116,364 $870,361

Forgone 

return 

(accrued 

interest) 

$14,560 $11,351 $270,150 $210,619 $631,506 $492,347

Measuring Program Costs

Table 25 shows the costs and funding sources of the Vet Corps program. AmeriCorps 

contributions covered 78 percent of the program’s annual costs, consisting of the 

AmeriCorps State and National grant as well as the expected education awards

received by Vet Corps AmeriCorps members. The remaining program costs are funded

by state/local government as part of the required match funding. 

Table 25. Funding Sources and Amounts for the Vet Corps Program (2019–2020)

Funder

Funding provided 

for the program year Percentage of total 

AmeriCorps $870,361 78% 

Education awards $193,392 18% 

Grant $676,969 60% 

State/local governments 

(i.e., match funding) $246,003 22% 

Total $1,116,364 100% 

Source: WDVA

Calculating ROI 

To complete the three ROI calculations for the Vet Corps program at 2-year institutions, 

the sum of applicable program benefits is reduced by the forgone benefits, or the 

professional and investment opportunity costs (where appropriate), and then 

compared to the cost of the program. As described previously, these three ROI 
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calculations are calculated for each of the three scenarios: short-term, medium-term, 

and long-term. 

Since two of the calculations include benefits to society (e.g., Vet Corps AmeriCorps 

members, Vet Corps program participants, etc.), the results are expressed as cost–

benefit ratios, while maintaining the ROI terminology. Specifically, these ratios take the 

form of the sum of monetized benefits over the sum of applicable program costs. The 

ROIs expressed as cost–benefit ratios in this study can be interpreted as the amount of 

dollars returned for every $1 of investment (or program cost).28 

The formulas used to calculate each of the three ROIs are shown below:29

28 ROIs can be expressed in percentages or as ratios, such as in this study. Although not shown as a ratio in 

the results, the ROIs in this study show the amount of return for every $1 invested. 

29 Non-government stakeholders in this ROI analysis include Vet Corps AmeriCorps members and Vet Corps 

program participants. 
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Table 26, Table 27, and Table 28 show the total benefits, opportunity costs, program 

costs, and ROI results for each scenario. 

Table 26. ROI Calculations for Short-Term Scenario

Components

Total benefits per 

federal dollar 

(2021$)

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

(2021$)

Federal government 

benefits per federal 

dollar (2021$)

Total program benefits $1,873,388 $1,873,388 $358,408

Total forgone benefits 

(opportunity costs) $960,474 $960,474 $195,928

Total program costs $870,361 $1,116,364 $870,361

Result $1.05 $0.82 $0.19

Table 27. ROI Calculations for Medium-Term Scenario

Components

Total benefits per 

federal dollar 

(2021$)

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

(2021$)

Federal government 

benefits per federal 

dollar (2021$)

Total program benefits $12,316,099 $12,316,099 $3,149,503

Total forgone benefits 

(opportunity costs) $1,216,064 $1,216,064 $395,195

Total program costs $870,361 $1,116,364 $870,361

Result $12.75 $9.94 $3.16

Table 28. ROI Calculations for Long-Term Scenario

Components

Total benefits per 

federal dollar 

(2021$)

Total benefits per 

funder dollar 

(2021$)

Federal government 

benefits per federal 

dollar (2021$)

Total program benefits $16,828,557 $16,828,557 $1,038,050

Total forgone benefits 

(opportunity costs) $1,577,420 $1,577,420 $492,347

Total program costs $870,361 $1,116,364 $870,361

Result $17.52 $13.66 $4.65
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Appendix C: Results by Year 

Table 29 shows the breakdown of costs and benefits over a 30-year period. Program activities create a stream of benefits 

over time for program participants, AmeriCorps members, the federal government, state and local governments, 

and society. AmeriCorps members’ forgone benefits from professional opportunity cost apply to the first year. Funders’ 

forgone benefits from investment opportunity cost accrue over time. Program costs are expended in the first year only. 

Program benefits are shown in nominal dollars.
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Table 29. Vet Corps Program Benefits and Costs per Year

Benefits and costs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 

Benefits $1,998,929 $1,164,345 $1,190,582 $1,217,892 $1,246,296 $1,275,814 $1,306,471 $1,338,289 

Program participants $723,274 $744,972 $767,321 $790,341 $814,051 $838,472 $863,627 $889,535

AmeriCorps members $761,972 $96,734 $98,788 $100,904 $103,084 $105,328 $107,640 $110,022

Federal government $398,355 $244,501 $249,960 $255,582 $261,372 $267,337 $273,480 $279,808

State and local 

government $115,328 $78,138 $74,513 $71,065 $67,789 $64,677 $61,723 $58,923

Forgone benefits 

(opportunity costs) $960,474 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 

Forgone benefits to 

members $732,029 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone tax revenue $213,885 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Federal taxes $184,576 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

State/local taxes $29,309 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone benefits from 

total investments (all 

funders) $14,560 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296

Forgone benefits from 

federal investments $11,351 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044

Program costs $1,116,364 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 

Federal government $870,361 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Non-federal $246,003 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
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Benefits and costs Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Year 14 Year 15 Year 16 

Benefits $1,371,293 $1,405,509 $1,440,965 $1,477,688 $1,515,708 $1,555,056 $1,595,763 $1,637,863 

Program participants $916,221 $943,708 $972,019 $1,001,180 $1,031,215 $1,062,152 $1,094,016 $1,126,837

AmeriCorps members $112,475 $115,001 $117,603 $120,284 $123,044 $125,888 $128,817 $131,833

Federal government $286,326 $293,039 $299,953 $307,075 $314,411 $321,966 $329,748 $337,764

State and local 

government $56,271 $53,761 $51,389 $49,149 $47,038 $45,050 $43,182 $41,429

Forgone benefits 

(opportunity costs) $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $24,090 

Forgone benefits to 

members $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone tax revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Federal taxes $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

State/local taxes $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone benefits from 

total investments (all 

funders) 

$19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $19,296 $24,090

Forgone benefits from 

federal investments $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $15,044 $18,782

Program costs $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 

Federal government $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Non-federal $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
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Benefits and costs Year 17 Year 18 Year 19 Year 20 Year 21 Year 22 Year 23 Year 24 

Benefits $1,681,390 $1,726,380 $1,772,870 $1,820,898 $1,870,504 $1,921,730 $1,974,619 $2,029,213 

Program participants $1,160,642 $1,195,461 $1,231,325 $1,268,265 $1,306,313 $1,345,502 $1,385,867 $1,427,443

AmeriCorps members $134,940 $138,141 $141,437 $144,833 $148,330 $151,932 $155,642 $159,463

Federal government $346,020 $354,524 $363,283 $372,305 $381,598 $391,169 $401,027 $411,181

State and local 

government $39,787 $38,254 $36,824 $35,496 $34,264 $33,128 $32,082 $31,126

Forgone benefits 

(opportunity costs) $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 

Forgone benefits to 

members $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone tax revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Federal taxes $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

State/local taxes $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone benefits from 

total investments (all 

funders) 

$24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090

Forgone benefits from 

federal investments $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782

Program costs $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 

Federal government $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Non-federal $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
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Benefits and costs Year 25 Year 26 Year 27 Year 28 Year 29 Year 30 

Benefits $2,085,561 $2,143,708 $2,203,704 $2,265,600 $2,329,448 $2,395,303

Program participants $1,470,266 $1,514,374 $1,559,806 $1,606,600 $1,654,798 $1,704,442

AmeriCorps members $163,399 $167,454 $171,629 $175,931 $180,361 $184,924

Federal government $421,640 $432,412 $443,508 $454,937 $466,708 $478,833

State and local government $30,255 $29,468 $28,761 $28,133 $27,582 $27,105

Forgone benefits (opportunity 

costs) $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 

Forgone benefits to members $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone tax revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Federal taxes $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

State/local taxes $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Forgone benefits from total 

investments (all funders) $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090 $24,090

Forgone benefits from federal 

investments $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782 $18,782

Program costs $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 

Federal government $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Non-federal $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
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