Since 1994, over 40,000 YouthBuild AmeriCorps members have logged a cumulative total of over 20 million community service leadership hours while:
- Rebuilding or rehabilitating over 12,000 units of affordable housing
- Refurbishing over 10,000 computers for low-income families and nonprofits
- Earning over $35 million in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards to help pay for college expenses.
In 2021, AmeriCorps published a return on investment (ROI) study to measure the benefits of the YouthBuild AmeriCorps program against costs. The ROI analysis report found the following:
- 72.5 percent of YouthBuild AmeriCorps participants who completed the YouthBuild AmeriCorps program were placed in a job post-service.
- Of YouthBuild AmeriCorps participants who did not have a high school diploma or equivalency pre-service and who completed the YouthBuild AmeriCorps program, 67.8 percent obtained one post-service.
- 12.8 percent of YouthBuild AmeriCorps participants who completed the YouthBuild AmeriCorps program enrolled in post-secondary education post-service.
- 59.9 percent of YouthBuild AmeriCorps program participants completed the program and earned an education award post-service, which can be used to pay for additional post-secondary schooling.
The report notes that while at a YouthBuild program, “AmeriCorps members gain the experience, skills, and knowledge that result in future benefits, such as improved employment and wages, which can be sustained throughout their working years.” Additional benefits of the YouthBuild AmeriCorps program include increased tax revenue for government and reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public assistance, and social insurance. Read the full research brief here.