COMMUNITY ACTION CENTER INC

Programs

1. Community resources:cac's walk-in resource centers in northfield and faribault serve as a welcoming front door for community members seeking support. No appointment is needed, and staff are dedicated to meeting each person where they are, offering trauma-responsive, person-centered assistance that connects individuals to the resources most meaningful to their circumstances. Services available through the resource centers include financial assistance, resource navigation, advocacy, mnsure enrollment assistance, employment support, recovery support, and referrals to housing and food programs. Cac also operates the northfield clothes closet, which provides discounted and free clothing and accessories to community members. The recovery support program offers free, confidential support and community resource connections to individuals who are currently using substances or in recovery. Cac's community advocacy council composed of current and former program participants provides direct input into program development, hiring decisions, and organizational direction, ensuring that participant experience remains the organization's highest priority.

   $1,397,544 spent$215,623 earned by the program
   38% of program spending

2. Food programs:community action center's food access programs serve as a critical safety net for individuals and families experiencing food insecurity throughout rice county. Cac operates a network of three food shelves two in northfield and one in faribault distributing over 1.75 million pounds of food and 150,000 diapers annually to more than 16,000 individuals from over 4,500 households, with nearly 60,000 visits each year. With a strong emphasis on fresh, healthy, and culturally specific foods, cac's food shelves are walk-in, no-appointment, and require no proof of income or identification, ensuring that access remains equitable and dignified for all. Food is available to any household as often as every other week, and home delivery is available to community members with limited mobility. In addition to food distribution, cac assists participants with snap enrollment and connections to employment, housing, and financial assistance resources at the point of food shelf contact. Cac also operates the go with the flow program, which distributes menstrual hygiene products, and a diaper bank providing diapers and wipes to families with young children.

   $1,300,640 spentof which $1,352,148 as grants
   36% of program spending

3. Housing programs:cac provides comprehensive, trauma-responsive housing services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness or housing instability across rice county. The organization supports nearly 950 community members annually including 50 youth through a continuum of housing supports that includes short-term emergency shelter, long-term supportive housing, eviction prevention, landlord advocacy, and navigation of available housing resources. Cac's housing team builds trusting, ongoing relationships with participants and offers individualized case management, goal planning, and crisis intervention to stabilize and sustain housing. In addition to direct services, cac has expanded its impact through community development initiatives, including the development of hillcrest village and ridgeview heights innovative, replicable affordable housing models designed to address the growing shortage of stable, affordable housing in the region. Cac's housing programs are inclusive and fully compliant with hud's equal access rule, ensuring services are accessible regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

   $554,858 spentof which $119,550 as grants
   15% of program spending

4. Youth programs:cac is committed to ensuring that children and youth in rice county have the resources they need to thrive academically, physically, and socially. Operation backpack provides free backpacks and school supplies to pre-k through 12th grade students in the northfield school district each fall, coordinated in partnership with the operation backpack committee and distributed through a structured registration and appointment-based event. In faribault, cac partners with supply our children, faribault public schools, and the faribault area chamber of commerce through the school supplies for all initiative, which ensures that all faribault public schools students in need have supplies available in their classrooms at the start of each school year, a critical support given that nearly 70 percent of faribault students come from low-income households. Operation joy, cac's annual holiday gift distribution program, serves nearly 400 families each year and distributes gifts to more than 1,000 children. Cac also provides activity scholarships for income-eligible families, enabling children to participate in summer camps, sports, and enrichment activities that would otherwise be…

   $406,221 spentof which $230,959 as grants
   11% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,659,263.