Join Circles USA Leadership Conference, April 19-23, 2021 online for five days of powerful keynote speakers, webinars, breakout sessions, networking, and more. Final ticket sales close on Thursday, April 15th. Get your tickets here . Breakthrough Understanding: The Racial Wealth Gap Florence French Fagan from Bread for the World Monday, April 19 @ 9:45 PT / 12:45 ET How can we better understand the connections among racial equity, hunger, poverty, and wealth? Bread for the World’s Racial Wealth Gap learning simulation explores how federal policies, such as property ownership and education, have affected communities of color. (Since February 2020, this learning simulation has been facilitated at Circles USA’s quarterly Hands-On Training for new staff and volunteers.) As the Florida State organizer with Bread for the World, Florence French Fagan will reflect on how the pandemic exposed the barriers that trap people in poverty and changed mindsets about why poverty exists. She will also address how nonprofit organizations like Circles can get involved in civic engagement and policy change. Florence French Fagan is the Florida state organizer with Bread for the World – a non-partisan, faith-based advocacy organization focused on ending hunger. Florence mobilizes people across Florida to advance equitable policies for reducing hunger. As a member of Circles Central Florida’s Big View Team, she recently brought Circle Leaders to a virtual town hall to share their experiences with local policy makers. She is passionate about helping people change their understanding of why poverty exists and discover ways to make a positive difference. Breakthrough Work on the Cliff Effect: Panel Discussion with National Partners Dave Altig and Alex Ruder from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Karen Schoellkopf from Leap Fund Tuesday, April 20 @ 9 PT / 12 ET This panel will feature Circles USA’s new partnerships with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Leap Fund. The Cliff Effect occurs when a pay raise at work triggers a disproportionate loss of government assistance. This panel will provide an overview of the issue and the unique approach being pursued by each partner. The Atlanta Fed created an online planner for individuals to compare different jobs and create a long-term budget to overcome the Cliff Effect. Leap Fund created a calculator for recipients of public benefits to determine if they will hit a cliff, when it will happen, and how long it will take to recover. Dave Altig is the director of research and an executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Among his Bank responsibilities, he is an executive sponsor of the Bank’s strategic priority on economic mobility and resilience and oversees its Advancing Careers initiative. Dave is also an adjunct professor of economics in the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and is currently the vice president of the National Association for Business Economics. Alex Ruder is a principal adviser in community and economic development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. His work focuses on workforce development, economic development, and higher education. Karen Schoellkopf is the founder of Leap Fund and an end-to-end product lead with experience on projects for Samsung, Target, Verizon, Meetup, Spotify, the American Medical Association, Harvest, Justworks, and more. She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and her BA from Binghamton University. She is a fellow at Sterling Network, whose mission is to enhance economic mobility across NYC. She has spoken about benefits cliffs and fintech solutions to policy failures at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; NYS CDFI Conference; Episcopal Community Services Forum on Justice and Opportunity; and the Ideas42 Behavioral Summit. Breakthrough Change: The Power of Empathy in Creating Systems Level Change Christy Vines from Ideos Wednesday, April 21 @ 9:30 PT / 12:30 ET How can empathy help people navigate change, strengthen collaboration, promote innovation, and transform conflict? How can people master the critical skill of empathic intelligence as a catalyst for human flourishing and social transformation? Circles USA board member Christy Vines will share frameworks and resources from her work at Ideos – a community of practice working to engage the norms of empathy and justice in areas of political, ideological, and social divisions and conflict. Ideos is the founder and sponsor of the January 5th National Day of Dialogue. We look forward to our Circles chapters participating in 2022. Christy is the President & CEO of Ideos and a California-based expert on issues at the intersection of faith and social/cultural polarization and conflict transformation. Prior to Ideos, Christy founded and led the Center for Women, Faith & Leadership and served as senior vice president of Global Initiatives and Strategy at the Institute for Global Engagement. She also held several roles with the RAND Corporation, including serving as interim director of the African First Ladies Initiative and with the RAND Centers for Middle East Public Policy, Asia Pacific Policy, and Global Risk and Security. Christy earned her master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Breakthrough Sustainability: Addressing Staff Burnout Through Mindset Shifts Fran Moore from The Prosperity Agenda Thursday, April 22 @ 9 PT / 12 ET This presentation will invite the audience to interrogate the ways in which they view the families they serve in an effort to bring awareness to how their experience, bias, and organizational culture may be causing severe fatigue. For human service providers and their leaders, it offers important insights into the benefits of switching to a coaching mindset with a full family focus, as well as suggested methods for navigating case management and coaching mindsets. As the learning manager at The Prosperity Agenda, Franceria Moore specializes in designing and facilitating learning experiences for partitions across many sectors in human services. Since joining TPA in 2019, she has focused on intensifying the lens of racial equity in service delivery programs serving families experiencing poverty, as well as leading the design of online, interactive training experiences that support organizations in the actualization of establishing a whole-family, two-generational approach by working with organizations from conception to the development of a professional community of practice. She has a background in experiential learning, strategic organizational leadership, family-centered coaching, and equitable organizational training design and facilitation. Breakthrough Policies: Gender Equitable Recovery Dr. C Nicole Mason from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research Friday, April 23 @ 9 PT / 12 ET What is the impact of the economic crisis and recession on women, their families, and communities? What can we do to build toward a future of shared prosperity and equitable economic recovery? As president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), Dr. C. Nicole Mason will reflect on the challenges and opportunities of this present moment. Dr. Mason will share a blueprint for a gender-equitable recovery that is not only about meeting the immediate economic needs of women and families but lays out a long-term strategy for creating stronger systems and institutions that reflect the experiences and contributions of women in the workforce, in society, and to their families. Dr. C. Nicole Mason is the president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), a leading voice on pay equity, economic policies, and research impacting women. For the past two decades, Dr. Mason has spearheaded research on issues relating to economic security, poverty, women’s issues, and entitlement reforms; policy formation and political participation among women, communities of color, and youth; and racial equity. Dr. Mason is the author of Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey from Nothing to Something in America (St. Martin’s Press).

Congratulations to Circles Green Bay for winning the 2021 Network Award for Best Data Award. We all know that collecting data matters, to show progress and to tell the story, but doing that in reality is not always easy. Circles Green Bay has been a model of improvement when it comes to data, as their team worked to enhance their data collection methods and the accuracy of that data. They were also early adopters of the new data points Circles USA rolled out in 2020, measuring the growth of staff and volunteers. Their commitment to such data not only helps funders and community members see the value of this model, Circles Green Bay can also make data-driven decisions for the future. The efforts of Circles Green Bay has paid off as their data tells the story of their Circle Leaders moving from surviving to thriving in 18 months. As shown above, their results over time show a consistent increase in Circle Leader income. Congratulations to Circles Green Bay for showing great diligence and excellent results in data.

Congratulations to Circles Washtenaw County in Ypsilanti, Michigan, for modeling a dynamic children’s program regardless of the obstacles quarantine put in their way. From their program lead, Kaite Scott, “The Circles Washtenaw County Children’s Program is fortunate to have a group full of committed and engaged youth who show up, ready to engage with us! Our New & Good’s could go on forever with them. The relationships that our volunteers and teachers build with our children is really special. Even after being apart physically for months, we still have youth and volunteers committed to growing and learning with each other and checking in with one another week after week. Our youth are creative, thoughtful, unique citizens of our community and make our Circles program deeply enriched! I’m grateful to work with them daily and look forward to the many ways in which they continue to bring joy to our world.” Circles USA also celebrates their children’s program facilitator: Najma Treadwell. Najma teaches the elementary age class and always goes above and beyond expectations. She engages her kids with interactive lessons that apply the Circles themes to real life situations. During the theme of volunteerism, her class chose to help put away tables and chairs and clean up after the communal dinner. Then, she had her class discuss why it was important to serve their Circles community as well as the wider world. During COVID, Najma has been creative as she engages with her class in a virtual setting. Together with her children at home, Najma has offered science demonstrations as well as utilized her oldest son, Jaheem’s, knowledge to help teach the younger children. Her class has shared their projects with the rest of the program, such as their vision boards and their homemade savings jars, inspiring all the youth to participate. Najma’s dedication to Circles extends far beyond her class as well. She has facilitated classes for the Circles parents on setting up successful schedules for their children throughout the week as well as behavior management and strategies for difficult moments. Recently, Najma has also become a board member of their lead organization: Friends In Deed, taking her commitment to a whole new level. Congratulations to Circles of Washtenaw County and Najma Treadwell.

Allies are essential to the success of the Circles model, intentionally supporting Circle Leaders on the journey from surviving to thriving. One pair of outstanding Allies comes from Circles St. George, Utah: Rona and Keith Hartz. From their coordinator, Karen Todd, “They have gone above and beyond since they have been paired with Circle Leader, Adbby. Adbby is an inspiring young lady who moved from Mexico when she was 17 so she could finish her high school education here. When she graduated from high school, she got her first job and moved out on her own. She is now the legal guardian of her 15-year-old sister at the ripe old age of 25. During quarantine, Rona and Keith have stayed in contact with Adbby by Zoom and text messages every week. She recently applied for a new job posted in our chapter newsletter, so Rona did mock interviewing with her and helped her become confident with her answers. She got the job and increased her pay by about $5.00 an hour. Adbby has said that without Circles and her great Allies, she would never have had the confidence to apply for a new job. Adbby also had COVID in December, as well as her sister. She missed 20+ days of work because of contracting the virus and had no sick pay. She reached out to Rona and Keith, and together we brainstormed and found her rental assistance to get her through the month of December. Rona and Keith have been outstanding Allies for their Circle Leader, modeling the perseverance and dedication the most successful Matched Circles have.” Congratulations to Circles St. George, Rona, Keith, and of course to Adbby.

Another outstanding Ally is from Circles Troup County, GA Ally: Calvin Neely From their coordinator, Sherri Brown, “Calvin Neely has been a Circles volunteer and Ally since we began. He has been an Ally for three families, but more than that, he’s been an Ally to the Circles community. Calvin spent most of his career in management, but several years ago retired from that and began his own business with Kona Ice. His work has grown with several trucks, working at events, schools and fundraisers. In Circles, he uses his experience to help Circles Leaders prepare for job interviews and job success. He also has hired Circle Leaders who are getting back into the workforce. He has high expectations for all his employees, and all that have worked for him have gone on to successful permanent jobs. He’s also compassionate. We had a Circles volunteer who is a kindergarten teacher ask for an adult to eat lunch with one of her students. It’s customary for students on their birthday to have a parent eat with them at a special table, but one student was going to be alone on her birthday. Calvin volunteered to have lunch with her and showed up in his Kona Ice shirt with bookmarks, magnets, and stickers for the birthday girl. It was a big deal because, as her teacher commented later, “In kindergarten, the Kona Ice man is equivalent to a rockstar.” Two years ago, Calvin reached a breaking point with the exploitation he saw again and again in predatory lenders. He started researching on his own ways to combat the high interest loans that are often the only option for low-income families in our area. He found another Georgia organization that partnered with a financial institution to make low-interest secured loans to people who wanted to pay off their high interest loans. He called and got the details and was so impressed with what they did he loaded staff and volunteers in his car, drove them all 2.5 hours away to spend the day talking with leaders in this organization. It took several months, but eventually Circles Troup County was fully approved by a local bank to make secured loans to our Circle Leaders. We purchased a CD at the bank, and are now able to take applications from our Circle Leaders to pay off their high interest loans (400% APR) at 3% interest. The bank will also report to credit agencies, improving credit scores for Circle Leaders. With Calvin’s tenacity, intellect and passion, we are now able to help Circle Leaders reduce debt quickly, increase credit scores, and make future financially sound decisions. We think Calvin is not only a kindergarten rockstar, but also a Circles rockstar.” Congratulations to Calvin Neely and Circles Troup County, GA.

Congratulations to Circles Canada Simcoe County, Circle Leader Patricia Zepeda. Growing up in El Salvador, leaving an unfavorable relationship, and secretly escaping a war-torn country with three young children, aged 2, 4, and 6 was just the beginning of Patricia’s story. Fast forward to 2018, Patricia had now been living in Canada for approximately 25 years with its share of challenges. She most recently found herself living in Midland, Ontario as a single person, facing mental health challenges, and in need of Ontario Works (social assistance) as she couldn’t make her financial ends meet. Sometimes all it takes is one person, one referral, or one smiling face to change the trajectory of a person’s life. Patricia visited the local library where she started her Circles journey. Their classes gave her a purpose to get up in the morning, a place to go where others were also planning their future story. She aimed for her new career with additional English classes and training to be a certified personal support worker to help the elderly. Patricia is now employed with the county of Simcoe as a personal support worker caring for residents in a long-term care facility. She has also purchased a new vehicle and improved her living situation considerably. Patricia’s future story has become her now story, a Circle Leader success story!

Another outstanding Circle Leader is from Circles Troup County, GA: Circle Leader Deb Brown. Deb came to Circles after hearing about it at work as a school bus driver. Here’s part of her story from this last year: “One of the first things I learned in a Circles class was that I should spend 30% or less of my income on housing. At the time, my rent alone was 50% of my income. I started looking for something I could afford, but everything I found was dirty or not safe. I knew eventually I wanted to buy a house, so Circles connected me to Brandon Brooks and he helped me figure out how to increase my credit score. I started paying off my credit cards and that was some work. I made a lot of changes like giving up my daily coffee. I get up at 4:30 a.m. for work and I really like my coffee, but I learned to make it at home and save that money. Then COVID hit. I saved all my extra unemployment money toward the down payment and moving costs. When my lease was up, I stayed with my daughter for a month and saved that month of home bills. Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without Holly, our Circles coach, saying ‘You can do this! You CAN do this!’ I had other things going on in my life, too. Circles connected me with a therapist who helped me become more mentally healthy so I could focus on what I wanted to do. Without that, I wouldn’t have been able to move on. This past summer I bought a house! I can afford it on my own salary, but my son is in school for a year and my daughter just moved back to LaGrange and they are both living with me. With them helping out, I’m only spending 16.5% of my income on housing. Circles has connected me to so many people and so many resources. Sometimes it’s big, sometimes it’s just encouragement – which is really big, too. I don’t have family here and I need support. It comes from Circles and a few close friends. Circles saved my life.” Congratulations to Circles Troup County, GA and to Deb for her incredible perseverance and accomplishment.

A final 2021 award for outstanding Circle Leader goes to Circles Columbus, GA, Circle Leader Khyle Martin. Khyle and his family were living in public housing when he saw a flier for Circles in the rental office. When Khyle began Circle Leader Training, he was not employed. He soon began an entry level job working in a call center, and today he is a business analyst. He achieved that goal in a little over two years. Khyle has graduated from Circles, yet he is still very connected to his Allies. “I love my Allies. I love them in my corner.” “Circles is so different than anything else. It is such a family atmosphere. It is family oriented and was good for my kids, but it also feels like a family there. It gave me a new family. It was so helpful for my kids. They learned a lot and I really was glad they had positive people to know outside of school. I want them to learn more financial things. I wish I had had someone to teach me those things when I was their age and now I want to make sure they know.” When asked to share his successes, Khyle lists moving from public housing, starting the process on home ownership, full-time employment, reliable transportation, having healthier personal relationships, and a wider skill base for parenting and navigating the world. Khyle says “to those considering joining Circles or funding Circles or volunteering with Circles – do it. This is a good thing. This is a life-changing program. It changes families. The education and the staff and the relationships are all life-changing.”

Lives Transformed Volume 2 will introduce you to four Circle Leaders who have changed their lives with Circles even in a time of COVID-19. Here is Part 4 in a 4 part series honoring the hard work and dedication of our Circle Leaders and their supporting chapter. “Circles opened the door to finding my passions and following my dreams.” — Alyssa from Clearfield, UT My family never worried about money until 2013 when my parents divorced. I was 14. This created some big changes for my mom, my brothers, and me. We went from a six-figure income to living on government assistance of a thousand dollars a month. It was hard for my mom to ask for help, but one day while at the local food bank, she heard about Circles and decided to give it a try. My mom and I were both pretty shy, so when we first started going to Circles, we tended to hide in the corner and didn’t really talk until someone talked to us. I wasn’t old enough to be with the adults, so I played games with the kids. After awhile, I started to see a change in my mom. She saw how everyone at Circles was friendly and welcoming. Because everyone really cared about each other, she believed it was worth it to keep going. Once my mom completed the training and was matched with an Ally, she really started coming out of her shell—and so did I. I wanted to make Circles a better experience for teenagers like me. So I talked to Lamont Hampton, ourchapter director, and he encouraged me to start a program for teens. I began with the financial literacy curriculum used in my high school and quickly financial changes. I wanted teens to understand how credit works and how to get a loan or even buy a house. I looked for other teenagers who were passionate about these issues and asked them to become Allies for our youth in Circles. We even started a podcast, “Poverty from the Mindset of a Teen,” and recorded three sessions before Covid-19 struck. Even though life during the pandemic has been tough, our Circles chapter has kept going. We have actually helped our community grow closer despite the need for physical distance. Part of that included “Circles Invasions” where we offered Zoom sessions five days a ​week ​using a different theme each day. We connected online and even did yoga together. We didn’t stop with virtual connection. People from Circles dropped off fun snacks and organized surprise birthday messages in chalk on sidewalks and driveways for our Circles family. There has been so much caring and encouragement throughout this time. Last winter, my mom became the first college graduate in her family when she graduated with her RN. She became a licensed nurse this past September. I am so proud of her! I’m following her lead and have started college. I am going to be a lawyer and advocate for the wrongly accused. But just because I’m in college doesn’t mean I have stopped going to Circles. It may be a 45-minute drive, but I’d drive a lot farther than that for Circles. Circles has changed me. I’m no longer the shy kid hiding in the background. I have found my voice and know that I can be a part of creating something positive for other youth. Circles has opened up opportunities for me to lead and helped me heal from the trauma connected with poverty. I can think of nothing better than to do the same for other youth like me! Read more stories here. © 2020

At Circles, we ask participants experiencing poverty to work with us for at least 18 months. “Surviving” is where many participants begin. “Thriving” is our ultimate goal. As a first-time executive director navigating leadership in a pandemic, these past 18 months gave me a visceral experience of “survival mode.” While my education and a decade of national leadership primed me for this moment, the weight of responsibility that comes with the role humbles me every day. When COVID began, I worried: How will Circles USA survive an economic downturn? How will Circles chapters adapt their critical services from in-person to virtual? Most importantly, how will we support Circles stakeholders through such acute uncertainty and grief? Over time, the answers came from within our community. Just as Circles participants have the support and encouragement of volunteer Allies, our national network guided and inspired me as a leader during this collective crisis.  Throughout the pandemic, our staff hosted more virtual gatherings than ever before, convening our community of practice through 23 webinars and an online conference with 44 sessions. Our chapters exchanged a wealth of skill and wisdom on facilitating Circles virtually and organizing COVID-related mutual aid. Our board analyzed new national policies for COVID economic recovery to benefit Circles chapters and families. Our foundation partners unrestricted our grants, freeing funds for pressing needs. Our donors increased their annual gifts, showing such loyalty and courage during a recession. Our community supported each other through the crushing loss of lives. And, crucially, we used technology to uplift and amplify the joy of Circles participants as they achieved their goals. In a time when survival itself is most precarious, I’ve gained new appreciation for the many ways our relationships help us to thrive together. I want to share with you the stories from Circles during COVID—stories of resiliency, community care, and thriving despite hardship. Our most recent Impact Report features amazing first-voice testimonies from our participants, volunteers, and staff. Thanks to all of these Circles stakeholders, my vision of what’s possible for Circles USA is expanding. From surviving to thriving, questions we’re asking now include:  – How can Circles communities deepen the impact of their efforts toward systemic change? We’re documenting the actions being taken on issues from our policy platform : quality jobs, the “cliff effect,” broadband access, healthcare, housing, and transportation. – How can we significantly grow the number of participants achieving economic mobility? We’re culling best practices, such as newfound benefits of using technology for aspects of the Circles model, to fuel chapter expansion and scalability.  – How can we help communities name bold goals for poverty alleviation and develop cooperative plans to achieve those goals? We’re consulting on poverty alleviation systems in select sites, testing new tools and processes so they can be replicated across the country. I’ll share more about the answers to these, and other big-picture questions driving our work, in coming months. In the meantime, please accept my heartfelt thanks for being part of our network during a critical time. I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn and lead alongside you. Circles USA is poised to thrive, and that growth is a testament to you.  With much appreciation, Jamie Haft, Circles USA Executive Director

It’s critically important that communities know how to help families experiencing poverty to gain stability in the post-pandemic economy. Through the Circles model, participating communities support families to get out of poverty and remove the barriers that stand in the way. In this info session, Circles USA presenters will share ways to reduce poverty at a variety of levels. Learn how to: – Empower families of low wealth to make gains in income, education, employment, homeownership, reliable transportation, social support, and emotional/physical wellbeing – Encourage volunteers and staff to expand their knowledge of poverty, their empathy, and their engagement in their communities – Organize communities to implement initiatives that remove systemic barriers to poverty reduction – Build relationships across all sectors, including the business/economic development stakeholders and policymakers – Foster poverty reduction systems that tackle root causes of poverty This info session is for those who are NEW to the Circles network. Click here to register. Presented by Poverty Solutions Group (PSG), the lead organization for Circles Central Florida: PSG Regional Coach Addie Hartnett and Chantel L. Aquart, PSG Board Member and Circles Graduate.

“Someone I love is experiencing poverty; what can I do?” This was a question at the heart of my personal life when I first encountered Circles USA. I had witnessed how someone could work so hard but still not overcome the many barriers to financial security, from catastrophic medical bills to workplace discrimination. This experience strengthened my conviction that we must address the root causes of poverty that hurt the people we love. The Circles model showed me how to carry this conviction into action. Our chapters help families get out of poverty and remove the barriers that get in the way. Most important is that the lived experiences of poverty–our stories, memories, and hard-learned lessons–shape the approach to change. One of my priorities, as executive director, is to further document the many ways that Circles chapters are pursuing systemic change in their communities.  We Take the Big View Each Circles chapter has a Big View Team to tackle systemic change. This team includes community members drawn from government, schools, nonprofits, businesses, and philanthropies. Circles participants with first-hand knowledge of poverty share their perspectives to shape immediate, practical solutions as well as policy change.  Each Big View Team: – Analyzes the service gaps and systems barriers that limit economic mobility. (For example: How is limited access to a bus route keeping Circles participants from job interviews, and what can we do to change that?) – Builds community capacity for civic engagement. (What is preventing Circles participants from voting in the upcoming local election, and how can we prove to them that their vote matters?) – Raises awareness of the issues. (How can we amplify the voices of Circles participants in dialogue with those in the community who have inherent biases against people experiencing poverty?) – Engages local, state, and federal elected officials. (Which politicians can advance specific change on this issue? How do we mobilize them?) – Implements a community-driven action plan to achieve measurable change (What are our short-term and long-term goals?) We Advocate For Ourselves—and Each Other Whether we promote voter education, testify to government officials, or work with city planners to grow infrastructure, participants develop the skills to tackle a multitude of barriers to economic security. Once participants grow their confidence in advocating for themselves, there is no end to the issues they can tackle.  ​​”Being a part of a Town Hall meeting with three U.S. Representatives has given me a newfound confidence in the way the system works,” said Bonita Thomas, former Circles participant and now staff at Circles West Orange in Florida. “I feel like my voice was heard. I believe this gave the Representatives a look at the people that are on the ground being impacted by the decisions they make.” Circles volunteers likewise benefit from participation on their Big View Team. As volunteer Sandi Wallace from Circles West Orange reflected: “Having an opportunity to teach Circles participants about the electoral process and to provide information about candidates and issues required me to do more homework than ever before. I was way more engaged in the election this year, and I know that others from Circles were more engaged too. The information shared at Big View meetings helped us feel informed and empowered to vote. Increasing voter education and turnout reinforces in me the belief that Circles is benefiting our whole community.” We Engage in Dialogue To inspire community deliberation, Circles USA recently published a template for research and analysis on seven different issues that typically affect families experiencing poverty: quality jobs, broadband access, healthcare, housing, transportation, childcare, and credit/lending. Key questions posed include: When it comes to this issue, what are the needs of people experiencing poverty? What alternatives are available? What workarounds are people using? In what ways will solving this issue benefit the community? Do participants know the current policies related to this topic? How can we leverage this collective knowledge to find potential solutions? Designed by Jenny Lipfert, all seven of these slide deck templates are available for use in your communities. Click here to download. In Part Two , we feature Big View examples from across the country. Plus, there’s an invitation to share your story for a forthcoming publication.  With excitement about the work ahead, Jamie Haft, Circles USA Executive Director