The North Carolina Community Action Association(NCCAA) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that advocates on behalf of North Carolina’s low-income and elderly citizens to ensure their voice is heard at the local, state and national levels.

The State Association is composed of 36 community action agencies and 6 limited-purpose agencies that provide direct human services across the state leading families to self-sufficiency and independence of public programs.

Technical assistance and training for the board of directors and staffs of these agencies is also offered to other nonprofit organizations with similar missions who may partner with community action agencies as well.

What are Community Action Agencies?

Community Action Agencies are nonprofit organizations created by President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. This Act embodies the philosophy that low-income individuals can best identify the problems their communities face and also develop solutions to help resolve the issues.

On September 30, 1981, the Economic Opportunity Act, along with its Community Services Administration expired. With this expiration, community services programs were moved to the Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families in the United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS).

Currently, 1,100 community action agencies in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Trust Territories provide direct human services to 95 percent of the nation’s counties.

Through local community action and limited purpose agencies, eligible low-income individuals and the elderly in all 100 counties in North Carolina may benefit from services offered.

The Promise of Community Action

Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.

Vision

NCCAA is the most effective, resource rich, statewide advocacy organization in NC. We collaborate to build a strong network of diverse members. We have a national reputation for our outstanding leadership, innovation and the ability to produce results.

We Believe in

• Right to self-determination and equal access to opportunities leading to economic sufficiency.

• Dynamic leaders who build community consensus to challenge/change conditions that keep people poor.

We Value

• Open communication across organizational lines and diverse opinions as we make decisions.

• Members who demonstrate ongoing dedication, perseverance, compassion and the spirit of community action.

• Professional integrity that ensures unquestionable stewardship of public assets and trust.

• Quality services that measure and achieve results.