Evidence Brief

Effective CNCS-Funded Economic Opportunity Programs 

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9

CNCS Office of Research & Evaluation 
EVIDENCE BRIEF: EFFECTIVE CNCS-FUNDED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS February 2019 2

Evidence Brief: Effective CNCS-Funded Economic Opportunity Programs 

The Corporation for National and Community Service is the federal agency for volunteering, service, and civic engagement. The

agency engages millions of Americans in citizen service through its AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs and leads the nation's 

volunteering and service efforts. Through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and other programs,

1

the agency has made investments in 

vulnerable and at-risk individuals, families, and communities across the country, working with local partners to solve their most 

pressing challenges and improve the economic well-being of those served. The priority objectives of many of the CNCS-funded 

programs within the Economic Opportunity focus area center around employability, job placement/advancement, income growth, 

housing, financial literacy, and financial health. 

Featured in this brief are the CNCS-funded interventions in the Economic Opportunity area with positive results from high-quality, 

independent, and rigorous impact studies.

2 However, CNCS’s impact footprint goes beyond CNCS-funded organizations and their 

participants, and includes benefits to members gained during their service experience. The results of a survey of nearly 4,000 

AmeriCorps alumni,

3

and findings from the CNCS member exit survey, demonstrate that service benefits members’ careers. Other 

research studies, like the one conducted at Tufts University, show that national service has a significantly positive impact on 

getting a job interview.

4

Who did these programs serve? 

The interventions span a range of target groups. Funded 

programs serve low-income and at-risk target groups, 

primarily adults, with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, 

in communities across the country.5

What did they accomplish? 

The Economic Opportunity-focused programs supported by 

CNCS produced the strongest favorable and measured 

outcomes in the areas of:

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

Certifications/skills obtained

Credit rating improved

Debt reduced

Financial hardship/strain decreased

Employment obtained

Income increased

Nonfinancial advancement in the current job

Wealth built

Wage growth

 

How did these programs do it? 

The evidence-based programs employ a variety of models, 

including sectoral, industry-based, and soft skills training;

establishing relationships with employers; and other 

employment and income supports for participants, such as 

job placement, post-employment counseling, career 

advancement coaching, financial literacy training, 

remediation, and assistance. 

Of the four Economic Opportunity interventions that 

demonstrated strong evidence of effectiveness:

▪

▪

Three (75 percent) addressed employability 

through education and/or job training, or other 

employment supports.6

Two (50 percent) targeted financial literacy and 

used two distinct strategies. One intervention 

provided financial counseling and income-support 

counseling, and another intervention provided 

financial assistance in the form of matched savings 

accounts.

1

For more information, see www.nationalservice.gov

2 Based on an independent meta-synthesis study conducted in 2018 (Richman, S., Maxwell, N., Streke, A., Needels, K., & Eddins, K. (2018). Evidence of Effectiveness in CNCSFunded Interventions: Benchmark Findings. Prepared for the Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Evaluation. Chicago, IL: Mathematica Policy 

Research), these programs had a range of effect sizes from 0.03 to 0.70 and an average, statistically significant, effect size of 0.39 across these impact studies. This corresponds to 

a 15 percentage point increase in favorable outcomes for participants, and indicates that the average person in the treatment group would score higher than 65 percent of a control 

group that was initially equivalent.

3 Friedman, E., Freeman, B., Phillips, B., Rosenthal, L., Robinson, D., Miller, H., & Porowski, A. (2016). New Methods for Assessing AmeriCorps Alumni Outcomes: Final Survey 

Technical Report. Prepared for the Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Evaluation. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates, Inc.

4 How Does Participating in National Service Impact Employment and Professional Development? https://nationalservice.gov/documents/2018/how-does-participating-nationalservice-impact-employment-and-professional

5 More details on target groups can be found in Table 2.

6 These programs had an average effect size of 0.42.
EVIDENCE BRIEF: EFFECTIVE CNCS-FUNDED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS February 2019 3

MEMBERS’ ROLE IN IMPLEMENTATION AND SCALING OF EVIDENCE-BASED 

INTERVENTIONS 

A key concern for CNCS and its grantees is how national service can contribute to the implementation and scaling of evidencebased interventions in ways that facilitate the achievement of their intended outcomes. A review of evidence-based interventions 

funded by CNCS indicates that AmeriCorps member functions within these interventions generally fall into two categories: (1) 

direct service providers, and (2) coordination or support roles within the organization or at implementation sites.

One example of members providing direct services is Financial Opportunity Centers by Local Initiatives Support Corporation 

(LISC), where AmeriCorps members served as employment or financial counselors and carried out other program activities. 

Findings from a 2017 independent meta-analysis study suggest that organizations that deliver service with AmeriCorps members 

are as effective, if not slightly more effective, when compared with organizations where similar services are delivered without the 

assistance of AmeriCorps members.

7 This is promising for grantees seeking to scale their interventions with the national service 

members involved. In the Economic Opportunity interventions focus area, members can serve in direct service roles in the case 

of the interventions noted in this brief, such as career advisors or coaches in the National Fund for Workforce Solutions

(NFWS) and WorkAdvance, and as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance operators for SaveUSA. Additional information about 

these interventions can be found in Table 1 below.8

In addition to providing direct service, national service members also take on coordination or support positions that are important 

for enabling organizations to successfully scale up. From managing day-to-day program operations to organizational capacity 

building, members serve in positions such as site coordinators, volunteer recruiters and managers, and resource developers to 

support the implementation of these interventions.

TABLE 1. EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS FUNDED BY CNCS AND THEIR KEY FINDINGS 

INTERVENTIONS KEY FINDINGS

Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs) seek to increase 

low-income families’ financial prospects by providing 

integrated services in three core areas: financial 

counseling, employment assistance, and assistance 

with accessing public benefits to supplement income 

from work.

FOC group participants were employed at a 21% higher rate than comparison 

group participants. They were also significantly more likely to have positive 

activity on their credit reports, more likely to have prime credit scores after two 

years, and less likely to have any debts, such as medical or legal debts, child 

support arrears, or back taxes.

National Fund for Workforce Solutions matches funds to 

invest in Regional Funding Collaboratives that support 

local workforce partnerships to design and administer 

programs to help workers obtain the skills required to 

meet the workforce needs identified by local employers.

Health Careers Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati participants were employed 

in healthcare jobs at two to three times the rate of nonparticipants, and boasted 

50% higher earnings. Employment rates among paticipants in the Wisconsin 

Regional Training Partnership’s Construction Pathways were 67% to 72%. This 

is 9% to 22% higher than participants at matched comparison sites. Participants 

also had 56% higher earnings than the matched comparison group.

WorkAdvance boosts the earnings of unemployed and 

low-wage working adults by helping them obtain quality 

jobs in targeted sectors with opportunities for career 

growth. After placement, the program continues to 

assist participants to help them advance in their 

chosen careers.

Participants at three out of four sites saw annual earnings increase significantly 

over the control group. WorkAdvance was able to significantly increase earnings 

and employment rates for the long-term unemployed, a group that has proved to 

be resistant to many other policy interventions. WorkAdvance significantly 

increased employment in the target sector at all implementation sites.

SaveUSA encourages low- and moderate-income 

individuals to set aside money from their tax refund for 

savings. Those who maintain their initially pledged 

savings amount throughout a full year receive a 50%

match on that amount.

SaveUSA increased the percentage of individuals with any nonretirement savings 

by almost 8%, and increased the average total amount of savings held by $522, or 

30%, above the average for the group that did not have access to a SaveUSA 

account. These effects were present even after most of the SaveUSA group no 

longer had access to a 50% match on savings.

 

7 Richman, S., Anderson, M., Streke A., & Eddins, K. (2017). Evidence of Effectiveness: Intervention Evidence Across the AmeriCorps and Social Innovation Fund Programs. 

Chicago, IL: Mathematica Policy Research. Submitted to the Corporation for National and Community Service under contract no. GS10F0050L/CNSHQ16F0049.

8 The range of interventions were implemented by subgrantees of intermediaries funded by CNCS, including the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Jobs for the Future, the 

Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, and the Center for Economic Opportunity.
EVIDENCE BRIEF: EFFECTIVE CNCS-FUNDED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS February 2019 4

TABLE 2. PROGRAM BY INTERVENTION CORE COMPONENTS, OUTCOMES, TARGETED 

POPULATIONS, AND IMPLEMENTATION SETTINGS 

PROGRAM 

(SITE EVALUATED) CORE COMPONENTS OUTCOMES

TARGETED 

POPULATION9

IMPLEMENTATION 

SETTING

Financial Opportunity Centers

(Chicago, IL)

▪ Financial counseling

Employment assistance

Income support counseling

▪ Employment 

obtained

▪ Income increased 

▪ Wealth built

▪ Credit rating 

improved 

▪ Age 18+

▪ Low income

▪ Homeless

▪ Community-based 

organizations 

▪ Urban 

▪ Geographic area 

described as 

national or across 

multiple regions

National Fund for Workforce Solutions

(OH and WI)

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

▪

Job readiness training

Assistance obtaining 

employability and training 

credentials 

Industry-focused training

Job search assistance

Assistance with enrollment in 

college coursework

Specialized apprenticeships

Pre-apprenticeship training

Career advancement services

▪ Income increased

▪ Employment 

obtained

▪ Low income 

▪ African 

American, 

Hispanic

▪ Community-based 

organizations and 

employers 

▪ Urban 

▪ Midwest

WorkAdvance

(New York, NY; Northeast OH;

Tulsa, OK)

▪ Intensive screening

▪ Pre-employment and career 

readiness services

▪ Occupational skills training

▪ Job development and 

placement services

▪ Career retention and 

advancement services

▪ Certification/skills 

obtained

▪ Wage growth

▪ Nonfinancial 

advancement in 

the current job

▪ Age 18+

▪ Low income

▪ Community-based 

organizations and 

employers 

▪ Urban 

▪ Northeast, Midwest, 

and South

SaveUSA

(NJ, NY, OK, TX)

▪ Matched savings accounts for 

low- and moderate-income 

tax filers

▪ Financial 

hardship/strain

decreased

▪ Debt reduced

▪ Income increased

▪ Wealth built

▪ Age 18+

▪ Low income

▪ African 

American, 

Hispanic

▪ Community-based 

organizations 

▪ Urban 

▪ Northeast and South 

 

▪

▪

9

Target population refers to the primary groups served by the organization, but not to the exclusion of any individual with similar needs. No CNCS-funded 

program excludes on the basis of classes protected under federal law. 
EVIDENCE BRIEF: EFFECTIVE CNCS-FUNDED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS February 2019 5

TABLE 3. KEY STUDIES THAT FORM THE BASIS FOR EVIDENCE 

INTERVENTION DOCUMENT EVALUATOR

Financial 

Opportunity Centers

Roder, A. (2016). First Steps on the Road to Financial Well-being: Final Report from the 

Evaluation of LISC’s Financial Opportunity Centers. Economic Mobility Corporation. (Link)

Economic Mobility 

Corporation

National Fund for 

Workforce Solutions 

Michaelides, M., Mueser, P., & Mbwana, K. (2014). Quasi-Experimental Impact Study of 

NFWS/SIF Workforce Partnership Programs: Evidence on the Effectiveness of Three Workforce 

Partnership Programs in Ohio. Washington, DC: IMPAQ International. (Link)

IMPAQ 

International

WorkAdvance Hendra, R., Greenberg, D.H., Hamilton, G., Oppenheim, A., Pennington, A., Schaberg, K., & 

Tessler, B.L. (2016). Encouraging Evidence on a Sector-focused Advancement Strategy: 

Two-year Impacts from the WorkAdvance Demonstration. New York: MDRC. (Link)

MDRC

SaveUSA Azurdia, G., & Freedman, S. (2016). Encouraging Nonretirement Savings at Tax Time: Final 

Impact Findings from the SaveUSA Evaluation. New York: MDRC. (Link)

MDRC