Community Action Organization

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson and the US Congress enacted into law the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) and the war on poverty was declared.

In May 1965, the Community Action Organization of Erie County (CAO) was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York.

The Act established the Office of Economic Opportunity, which was part of the executive branch of government and reported directly to the President. In the next two years, more than 1600 community action programs (which were recipients of EOA funds) opened throughout the nation. Today, many of these programs have stopped operating; the number is now about 900 agencies across the nation.

Since its existence, the Community Action Organization has never lost sight of its original mandate "citizen participation." Citizen participation makes community action unique and is the one ingredient that makes elected officials responsive to the needs of a community.

Explore Related Categories