Austin, Chicago · Since 1974
Our neighbors bring the talent, the ambition, and the care for one another. Circle makes sure access is never the thing standing in the way of a chance to thrive.
Find help today
Not sure where to start? Talk with someone at Circle and we’ll help you find the right program.
Who we are
Circle came to Austin in 1974 on the conviction that this neighborhood’s families deserved better, and we have taken on one systemic challenge per decade ever since. A charter school in the nineties. Affordable housing in the two-thousands. Healthcare and the arts in the twenty-tens. Homeownership now.
Five partner organizations share two and a half acres here, activating more than $51 million in annual resources for Austin families. An independent study commissioned by the American Medical Association found that every dollar invested in Circle returns $8.60 in social value.
A promise that families here will never have to choose between:
Our impact
Across Austin, 52% of high school students graduate. Among the eighth graders who come through Catalyst Circle Rock on this campus, 99% are on track to finish in four years. Same neighborhood, same young people. What changed was access.
Lasting change does not come from programs alone. It comes when people are met with dignity, surrounded by relationships, and given consistent access to opportunity.
people served across the campus in 2025
pounds of food distributed in 2025
housing applications and referrals
in social return for every $1 invested
A neighbor’s story
Ms. Shiela is a college graduate, a mother, a grandmother, and a leader for other women walking the road she has walked. She first came to Circle rebuilding after homelessness. She stayed. Now she is one of the people extending a hand.
See our impactWhat we do
Circle’s campus model puts partners, programs, and facilities inside a single neighborhood footprint. Nobody has to cross the city to put their life together.
Catalyst Circle Rock is a Level 1 CPS charter school serving over 520 students, K through 8. Circle 4 Success carries them further with after-school and summer enrichment.
Our outreach team meets people where they are, not with a clipboard, but with a relationship. Then we help them find the next step.
Our Daily Bread Food Pantry runs two days a week with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Thresholds brings mental health and recovery care onto the same campus.
The Kehrein Center for the Arts gives young people a stage and a studio. Rock of Our Salvation Church has stood alongside Circle since 1983.
This year, Catalyst students, some of them kindergartners, started showing up at the food pantry to sort cans and pack bags for families on their own block. Nobody framed it as charity. On Sunday mornings at Rock Church, the people who once came looking for help are the ones handing it out.
On our campus
Four partner organizations bring distinct expertise through our doors. Together they offer something none of us could manage alone.
Give
Every dollar here represents a neighbor who needs stability, dignity, and a real pathway forward. Independent analysis puts the social return at $8.60 for every dollar invested.
One family fed for a month
One young person supported for a month
One family housed and supported
One local business launched
Every gift matters, whatever its size. Monthly giving helps us plan further ahead and reach more families.