In honor of Pride Month, CLO Kris Alexander celebrates her journey with authenticity and belonging as a member of the queer community & a treasured member of our Circles family. Wishing all of our LGBTQIA2S+ community members a safe and joyful #Pride2026! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️☀️🫂 🔗 circlesusa.org/post/proud-to-belong

We accompany people who are doing the work of leaving poverty behind permanently. The Circle Leader is the soloist, the main event, the star of their own life." — Kamatara, CUSA Executive Director 🔗 Keep reading: https://www.circlesusa.org/post/serving-as-the-accompanist

A very happy Father’s Day to all the fathers and father figures who pour so much into our families and communities! Sending a big Circles appreciation your way, today and everyday. 💙 Featuring families from Circles Scott County, Circles Indianapolis, and Circles Jackson County!

As we approach our nation's anniversary, we challenge all of our community members to ask: How do I engage with democracy? How does my organization? How does my community? We hope these resources will inspire action. As the saying goes, Democracy is not a spectator sport. ⭐️

May marked 28 years since Circles USA’s founding! 🎂💙 Since 1998, we've grown together from a seedling org in Iowa to a flourishing national network serving 60 communities. Here's to another 28 years of building community to end poverty! 💌 Support us to continue our work at circlesusa.org/donate

Especially for those who have faced traumatic life events—including the inherently traumatic experience of poverty—cultivating safe spaces for dreaming and imagination is a powerful practice of hope. 🎙️ Listen to the latest episode of #TheBigViewPod, on The Science of Hope, at circlesusa.org/spe3

What if hope isn't just an emotion we feel, but a skill grounded in science that we can understand and cultivate? New on #TheBigViewPod, we sit down with quantitative psychologist & hope expert Dr. Evie Trevino to explore the fascinating intersection of hope, resilience, trauma, and neurobiology.

We can’t support others without also tending to ourselves. In honor of #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, CUSA National Coach Addie Hartnett has written a powerful and personal reflection on the importance of mental health as something we build, protect, and sustain collectively. 🧠💙

“There is no such thing as self-made people. There are only community-made people who kept going.” —Jomaris DeJesús, The Prosperity Agenda Watch Jomaris's powerful keynote on Moving Beyond Self-Sufficiency to Self-Fulfillment: https://youtu.be/gCpQJS-siz4?si=fAYBVo9VlOwwwkZP

“When we try to categorize individuals by economic status or income level, we are reducing them to the stereotypes we have been taught and continue to carry about poverty and wealth.  This is exactly what Circles seeks to erase. We bring people together across lines of difference to end poverty.”

At Circles, we support mothers because we know that when women rise, families stabilize; and when families stabilize, communities grow stronger for generations! As we enter Mother’s Day weekend, let's all consider how we can uplift & follow the leadership of mothers in our communities and world. ❤️

A huge thank you to the Minnesota Community Action Partnership (MinnCAP) for having us at their 2026 Annual Training Conference! Grateful for this wonderful opportunity to build community in shared work to end poverty. 💙 #CirclesUSA #communitywins #MinnCAP

The Circles model nurtures leadership and growth for not only Circle Leaders, but Allies and volunteers as well! Meet Michelle Crawford, who began her journey with Circles Salt Lake as a volunteer in 2017 and today serves as the chapter’s Executive Director. 💙

Yesterday marked 20 years since our superstar Administrative Coordinator, Gena Atcher, stepped into her crucial role with Circles USA! Thank you, Gena, for who you are and all you do, and a huge congratulations on 20 years. We love you! 🎊💙 💕 Share your appreciations for Gena in the comments!

UP NOW: Executive Director Kamatara reflects on balancing urgency and humanity as a nonprofit leader. https://www.circlesusa.org/post/balancing-urgency-and-humanity-a-leadership-perspective

Circles is a transformative experience for everyone, participants and volunteers alike! #NationalVolunteerMonth

Circles Value #5 is Thriving: the opportunity to live a full, abundant, and purposeful life. Read more about our core values and how we define them: https://www.circlesusa.org/post/circles-usa-values-defined

Are you familiar with Dignity-First Language? 💭 This is just one way we at Circles reflect the inherent worth, dignity, and expertise of every person. Learn more in our latest blog post: https://www.circlesusa.org/post/the-learning-curve-chronicles-dignity-first-language

"Dignity-first language, at its heart, ensures that any individual—regardless of what may be going on in their life—is honored first as a human being."

Volunteers are the heartbeat, the hands, and the feet of Circles! We are deeply grateful for all of you and all you do. #NationalVolunteerMonth

Volunteers are the heartbeat, the hands, & the feet of Circles! We're deeply grateful for all of you and all you do. #NationalVolunteerMonth

April is #NationalVolunteerMonth! We're so grateful for the thousands of Circles volunteers across the country who are building a new story about poverty, belonging, and the power of social capital. 💙 Thank you for all you bring to your communities and our Circles family!

"Groups like @empathways.org and Circles are building collective power to help our networks access greater resources and collective action. Our collaboration is an important form of social capital…it gives our people hope to be part of a rising movement to end poverty." —Kamatara, Executive Director

It's here! Welcome to our 2025 Impact Report, Pathways of Hope. ⭐️ This year, we reflect on a tumultuous year of collective breakthroughs, renewed spirit, and deepening of our most important personal and professional relationships. View it here: www.circlesusa.org/post/2025-im...

Circles Core Value #4: Accountability is the commitment to act with integrity, responsibility, and intentionality—both individually and collectively—to create equitable opportunities for all. Explore our 5 core values at www.circlesusa.org/post/circles...

"Women’s History Month often celebrates pioneers and public figures. This year, I want to honor another kind of history-making woman." Read Executive Director Kamatara's #WomensHistoryMonth tribute to the women of Circles: www.circlesusa.org/post/women-b...

Read CLO Kris Alexander's reflections on responsibility, interdependence, and Beloved Community in the latest installment of The Learning Curve Chronicles! www.circlesusa.org/post/the-lea...

"I'm moving beyond the textbook. We're moving beyond what is written that says that we're supposed to do it this way. And I'm moving into the knowledge of what people really need." — Cheryl Williams, Circles in Columbus #MovingBeyond #CirclesUSA

We are so grateful for the leadership of incredible women all across the Circles community of practice. 💙 Thank you for your dedication, wisdom, creativity, and courage—day in and day out—that is building communities where all can truly thrive! #WomensHistoryMonth #InternationalWomensDay

Circles Core Value #3: Human Dignity & Worth Every person is inherently capable, creative, and whole. Worth is intrinsic; it is not earned through circumstance, productivity, or achievement. This recognition means all people deserve to exercise autonomy, pursue self-fulfillment, and thrive.

In the latest installment of The Learning Curve Chronicles, CLO Kris Alexander reflects on CUSA’s approach to balancing personal and communal responsibility. #barnraising Read the piece here: www.circlesusa.org/post/the-lea...

"I'm moving beyond Circles as service delivery to really looking at systemic issues in terms of how we can really, create a win-win situation for communities all around the country." — Bruce Forbes, Circles Upstate SC #MovingBeyond #CUSACONF25

Looking forward to EMPath's 2026 Disrupting Poverty conference next month! CUSA Executive Director Kamatara will be presenting on what we've seen over the last 25+ years of anti-poverty work: social capital is the key to economic mobility! #RiseTogether

As #BlackHistoryMonth closes, we honor the Black leadership behind AGOA - a policy that links trade to jobs, income, and food security. Passed in 2000 and newly extended another year, AGOA reflects how advocacy and vision can expand opportunity. Learn more: bread.org/black

SNAP reaches 41 million people. As of FY23 almost 80 percent of SNAP households had members who were children, older adults, or non-elderly adults with disabilities. Removing access to SNAP should only happen when households have stable sources of nutrition. #SOTU

We’re wrapping up our Black History Month blog series with a poetic reflection from CUSA Board Member, Peyton McCoy!

Circles Core Value #2: Transformation Transformation is the movement of healing and evolving together. It is both deeply personal and profoundly communal, inviting us to unlearn what has harmed us so we can unlock what is possible. Explore our 5 core values at: www.circlesusa.org/post/circles...

“I am moving beyond barriers towards growth. With Circles, I feel that I've overcome barriers and I'm steady growing. And now, since I'm in a leadership position, I can help other people grow as well.” #MovingBeyond #CUSACONF25

Up now on our blog, CUSA Board Member Van Green shares a moving tribute to an unsung hero in Black history: his mother (pictured). Read the full piece here: www.circlesusa.org/post/lessons... #BlackHistoryMonth #CirclesUSA #EverydayHeroes

"In 2026, I accept that America is a Continuous Improvement Project. We will always have to fight for justice, but our fight is not in vain. I believe that our youth are looking at us and seeing us not let all our progress go away." Read more: www.circlesusa.org/post/reflect...

In celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth, CUSA Board Member Jennifer Brown shares her reflections on the legacy of Harvey B. Gantt, the first African-American student at Clemson University and Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. Read her post here: www.circlesusa.org/post/reflect...

Circles Core Value #1: Community We progress when we come together with intention, mutual care, and a shared commitment to one another’s well-being. In moments of hardship and seasons of growth, we are stronger, more resilient, and more powerful together. www.circlesusa.org/post/circles...

“I am moving beyond isolation to connectedness. It is really important to do that because so many people who have experienced poverty, including myself, we just feel so isolated and alone and not part of the process, not part of the community, not part of the solution..." (cont.)

Graduated Circle Leader Patty Herndon now serves as the Big View Chair at Circles Davis County, where she supports Circle Leaders to tell their stories and influence systems change at the local level and beyond! #livestransformed Listen to her story: youtu.be/lsYd2ZH7mBo?...

Hope is practical. It is relational. It is built step by step, conversation by conversation, choice by choice. As we enter 2026, we are grounding ourselves in a theme that reflects both the reality our community faces and the promise we know is possible: Pathways of Hope.

The Circles USA community of practice has identified five core values (Community, Transformation, Human Dignity & Worth, Accountability, and Thriving) as essential to realizing our Vision: All individuals live in equitable, thriving communities where poverty no longer exists.

At CUSA, we're grateful for the leadership of MLK Jr., and his fervent call for building the Beloved Community through nonviolent social change. May we honor his legacy by considering how we can each move towards this vision of collective reconciliation and thriving… with love, justice & creativity.

If the consumerism of the holiday season has left you feeling hollow, exhausted, or guilty… you’re not alone. This month, CLO Kris Alexander explores how consumerism affects the way we build community and how we can reclaim more meaningful ways of expressing our love. Read at circlesusa.org/blog

Healing, for Arizona, has involved years of recovery from severe injury, addiction and relationship abuse. In stirring keynote, she describes how the social capital she found on her Circles journey helped transform her pain into new resolve, economic stability, and purpose: youtu.be/8WIDxsakrPk?...

Raeanna and Jason have faced some of life’s hardest challenges on their Circles journey: from addiction and recovery to homelessness and navigating the job market post-incarceration, their chapter has been there to help them transform their financial and educational reality for good.