In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an “unconditional war on poverty” and created the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act. Working with the poverty task force created by Kennedy, President Johnson created the Office of Economic Opportunity to administer a wide variety of poverty prevention and alleviation programs created under the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act.

Community Action Agencies were founded on the idea that local citizens were the most knowledgeable and best equipped to address problems of poverty in their communities. Community Action gave previously powerless people the means to work toward their own economic and social advancement. Community Action Agencies help people to help themselves in achieving self-sufficiency. Today, there are approximately 1,000 Community Action Agencies in the United States.

Central Florida Community Action Agency, Inc., incorporated in 1981, is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that is the sole provider of CSBG, LIHEAP and WAP funds in Alachua, Marion and Levy counties. CFCAA has also worked with local county governments to receive funding for an Aging In Place home rehabilitation initiatives that leverages weatherization assistance funds. The agency is based in North Central Florida with its headquarters located in Gainesville, Florida, home of the University of Florida Fighting Gators. CFCAA’s service area is a mix of rural and urban centers with the urban centers consisting of Gainesville in Alachua County, Ocala in Marion County and Chiefland in Levy County.

Forty years later, CFCAA remains proud of our work in reducing poverty, being a voice for those without a voice, and advocating for self-sufficiency. We continue to implement programs that focus on achieving outcomes by engaging community partners in helping people living in poverty strengthen their lives.