New York Community Action Network

About Community Action

Community Action is a local, community-based anti-poverty network that helps individuals, families, and communities address the causes and conditions of poverty through services, partnerships, advocacy, and community-led solutions.

Community Action Promise

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.

A shared commitment across the Community Action network.

What is Community Action?

Community Action Agencies, often called CAAs, are local organizations that work directly with people and communities to reduce poverty, increase stability, and expand opportunity. Their work is shaped by local needs and grounded in the belief that communities are strongest when people have the tools, resources, and support to help themselves and one another.

CAAs are more than service providers. They are community partners, conveners, planners, advocates, and problem-solvers. They connect people to immediate help while also working with local partners to address the broader conditions that make poverty difficult to escape.

The Spirit of Community Action

Community Action is rooted in hope, local leadership, and the understanding that lasting change happens when people, agencies, and communities work together.

What Do Community Action Agencies Do?

Services vary by agency and community because each CAA responds to local needs. Depending on the agency, services may include:

What Makes Community Action Different?

Community Action is designed to be local, flexible, and responsive. CAAs listen to community members, assess local needs, build partnerships, and develop services and strategies that reflect the realities of the people and places they serve.

This approach allows agencies to address immediate needs while also working toward longer-term change. A family may come to a CAA for one urgent issue, but the agency can often connect them to additional supports that help improve stability over time.

Community Action in New York

For more than 50 years, New York’s Community Action Agencies have served as a local, grassroots network of anti-poverty organizations across the state.

New York’s Community Action Agencies are catalysts for change. They test new ideas, strengthen local partnerships, respond to community needs, and develop practical strategies to help reduce the causes and effects of poverty.

With 47 Community Action Agencies serving communities across the Empire State, the network connects individuals and families to services that support stability, opportunity, and long-term economic security.

NYSCAA’s Role

The New York State Community Action Association supports the statewide Community Action network by providing information, professional development, technical assistance, resources, peer connection, and statewide coordination.

NYSCAA works to strengthen the capacity of Community Action Agencies so they can continue serving as effective, responsive community resources across New York State.

Who Can Connect with Community Action?

Individuals and families may contact their local Community Action Agency for information about available programs and services. Eligibility and services vary by agency, program, funding source, and local need.

Community partners, local organizations, public agencies, funders, advocates, and volunteers can also connect with Community Action Agencies to learn about partnerships, community needs, and opportunities to support local solutions.

Find a Community Action Agency Near You

Use NYSCAA’s directory to locate a Community Action Agency serving your community.