What is Community Action?
 
Prepared by the Community Action Partnership (CAP)

 Community Action Agencies (CAAs) are nonprofit private and public organizations established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to fight America's War on Poverty. Community Action Agencies help  people to help themselves in achieving self-sufficiency. Today there are approximately 1000 Community Action Agencies, serving the poor in every state as well as Puerto Rico and the Trust Territories.

The CAA Network

Community Action Agencies Across America

The service areas of Community Action Agencies (CAAs) cover 96 percent of the nation's counties. Our agencies are connected by a national network that includes the Community Action Partnership national association, regional associations, state associations, a national lobbying organization, and a national association of Community Service Block Grant administrators.

CAAs are a primary source of direct support for the more than 34.5 million people who live in poverty in the United States. The majority of CAA program participants are extremely poor, with incomes below 75 percent of the federal poverty threshold, or $9,735 for a family of three (the average family size for the client population).

The Community Action network serves more than:

• 16.2 million individuals per year
• 3 million families per year

CAAs serve all regions and populations:

• 54% of CAAs serve rural areas
• 36% of CAAs serve areas considered both urban and rural
• 10% of CAAs serve urban areas.
• The average population a CAA serves is approximately 300,000 people. The average number of low-income people within each
  service area is 37,600

Board, Staff, and Volunteers

CAA boards of directors have a unique composition of:

• at least one-third members from the low-income community
• exactly one-third public officials
•  up to one-third members from the private sector
• The average size of a CAA board is: 25 people
• The typical size of agency staff is: 115 full-time equivalent workers
• On average each CAA has: 813 people  volunteering at the agency each year

What CAAs Do?

Because each CAA is  governed locally, each provides a different mix of programs and services. The following represent the percentages of Community Action Agencies that deliver these services:

• Community Coordination - 94%       
  Citizen participation, neighborhood and community organization, information and referrals
   
• Emergency Services - 91%
  Food Pantries, energy assistance homeless shelters, domestic violence
   
• Education - 89%                    
  Head Start, youth mentoring, literacy, Adult Basic Education
   
• Food and Nutrition - 84%             
  Meals on Wheels, congregate feeding, food banks
   
• Family Development - 68%          
  Day care, case management, counseling, support, Employment
   
• Training/Employment  - 63%  
  Job readiness, job training, and job creation
   
• Income Management - 53%
   
• Transportation - 49%                  
  Rural transportation systems, on-demand transportation
   
• Housing - 46%                   
  Self-help housing, homeownership, rental assistance, Weatherization
   
• Economic Development - 39%             
  Business planning and loans, water and sewer
   
• Health Care - 29%                      
  Health Clinics, WIC, prescription assistance 

To learn more about Community Action in Missouri, please visit the Missouri Association for Community Action website.

To learn more about Community Action in the United States, please visit the Community Action Partnership website.