CUSA Board Advisory Council 2025
MISSION
Building community to end poverty through intentional friendships, personal transformation, and systemic change led by the people closest to the challenge.
VISION
All individuals live in equitable, thriving communities where poverty no longer exists.
“Circles is one of the best models for long-term poverty reduction I have ever encountered. It sets up a new dynamic that puts the families who want to become economically stable in the driver’s seat rather than being viewed as clients choosing predetermined options. All involved create a community conversation to reduce poverty regionally.”
— Lynette Fields (Executive Director of Poverty Solutions Group)
What is the Big View Policy Platform?
Circles USA’s Big View Platform frames policy recommendations within the local, state, and national scope. This Platform, informed by our original National Big View Team and authored in 2020 by Board Chair Joan Kuriansky, addresses six issues our chapters flagged as high priority.
It also emphasizes Circles USA’s commitment to addressing the structural biases that unjustly affect people of color and other historically marginalized communities. These six issues are more relevant today than ever before. Circles chapters across the nation deepened and expanded their Big View work this year, tackling systemic change with collective knowledge drawn from government, schools, nonprofits, businesses, and philanthropies.
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Healthcare
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Housing
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Transportation
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Quality Jobs
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The Cliff Effect
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Broadband Access
Check out our Podcast:
The Big View: Ending Poverty in Your Community.
Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The video version is available to watch exclusively on our Youtube channel.
What is the Cliff Effect?
As part of our Big View Policy Platform, Circles USA specially assists local chapters in identifying, bridging, and eliminating the Cliff Effect. This phenomenon (also known as a “benefits cliff”) happens when a raise or other income gain triggers the loss of benefits worth more than the wage increase. Our multi-pronged approach supports workers facing the Cliff and offers alternatives to employers and policy makers hoping to mitigate its effects.
How is Circles USA resolving
the Cliff Effect?
For seven years, Circles USA has been conducting research and developing tools to better inform families and policy makers about this barrier that too often keeps people trapped in poverty.
Circles USA recently produced a policy platform that provides local, national, and federal recommendations for mitigating the Cliff Effect.
In previous years, Circles USA prototyped a planning tool to estimate the income levels that prompt the loss of benefits. Additionally, several states commissioned our researchers to make recommendations. For Michigan, Circles USA produced a field scan of solutions nationwide. For New Mexico, our report included case studies that point to ways to resolve the Cliff Effect. Several Circles chapters also piloted an online calculator developed by Leap Fund. This tool helps recipients of public benefits understand whether they will hit a cliff, when it will happen, and how long it will take them to recover.
More recently, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Community and Economic Development department created the three tools to uncover the barriers to, and opportunities for, improved economic mobility. These tools make the data easily accessible for community planning and decision-making. Circles chapters piloted these resources to better support those who are facing the benefis cliff.
Resources for Understanding and Addressing the Cliff Effect
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Three tools to uncover the barriers to, and opportunities for, improved economic mobility
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Snapshot—Assists in understanding the potential short-term financial impact of a new job or income change.
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Dashboard—Assists in long-term career planning and flags potential financial barriers to career advancement.
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Planner—Assists in detailed career planning while creating a customized budget that helps users navigate potential financial barriers to career advancement.
Know Your Community’s Wages and Cost of Living
National Trends
For more information or to get involved, contact us.