Agency for Community Empowerment

What Agency for Community Empowerment does

Agency for Community EmPOWERment of NEPA (ACE) is a federally chartered Community Action Agency (CAA) established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and incorporated in 1965 with an initial $430,000 budget. Headquartered at 123 Wyoming Ave, Suite 311, Scranton, Pennsylvania, ACE delivers anti-poverty programs in Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna, and Wayne Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its mission is to empower people with the skills needed to become self-sufficient through education, training, life skills, and support services. ACE is governed by a federally mandated tripartite board comprising low-income community members, public officials, and private-sector leaders, and is a member of the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania (CAAP) and the 34-agency Veterans Resource Coalition (VRC).

ACE's core service portfolio comprises five program areas: (1) Early Learning Programs, which include federal Head Start, Early Head Start, and Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts delivered through dedicated center locations; (2) a Department of Energy-funded Weatherization Program providing home energy-efficiency improvements; (3) a Workforce Initiative Program offering job training, resume building, and job placement assistance to individuals at or below 200% of the poverty level in Lackawanna County, supplemented by the Rise and Ride transportation and Vehicle Assistance programs; (4) Community Programs, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) distributed through 22+ sites and the Veterans Resource Coalition; and (5) the SLRDC (Scranton Lackawanna Resources Development Corporation) affordable housing program for low-to-moderate income families. ACE does not develop proprietary technology and operates with conventional community-service delivery infrastructure.

The organization's revenue model is grant-based rather than transaction-based. ACE does not charge clients for services; instead, it is funded through federal grants (HHS/ACF Office of Head Start, DOE Weatherization Assistance Program, CSBG), Pennsylvania state agency grants (Pre-K Counts, HSSAP), county and city grants, private donations, and corporate EITC / Neighborhood Assistance Project tax-credit contributions from partners such as Fidelity Bank and FNCB Bank. SLRDC housing development is funded through a separate mix of private donations and federal, state, county, and city grants. The go-to-market is community-led: services are delivered directly through ACE's own program staff at program sites, with referrals from coalition partners and community organizations, and visibility maintained via LinkedIn, Facebook, and an annual report series. The customer segments served are exclusively low-income residents, veterans and their families, job seekers, and income-eligible working families — all served at no direct cost.

Name

Agency for Community Empowerment

Legal name

Agency for Community EmPOWERment of NEPA

Website

https://acenepa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Agency for Community EmPOWERment of NEPA is a federally chartered Community Action Agency that delivers Head Start early learning, weatherization, workforce, food assistance, veterans support, and affordable housing programs to low-income residents across Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna, and Wayne Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services / Community Action Programs

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK)

Keywords

• Community action services
• Early childhood education
• Workforce development
• Affordable housing programs
• Home weatherization services

Headquarters

HQ city

Scranton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Grants: Primary funding from federal programs including Head Start (Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), and Department of Energy Weatherization programs. Funding is administered through grant agreements with specified programmatic and fiscal reporting requirements.
2. State Government Grants: Funding from Pennsylvania state agencies including Pre-K Counts, HSSAP (Home Investment Partnership?), and other state-administered anti-poverty programs.
3. Private Donations and Corporate Contributions: Funding from private sector partners including Fidelity Bank (EITC donations), FNCB Bank ($20,000 through Pennsylvania Neighborhood Assistance Project Tax Credit Program), and other corporate donors for specific programs like Pre-Kindergarten Center of Excellence.
4. Housing Program Funding: SLRDC (Scranton Lackawanna Resources Development Corporation) receives funding through private donations, Federal, State, County, and City grants for affordable housing development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Agency for Community Empowerment (ACE) of NEPA is a federally funded Community Action Agency that delivers a portfolio of anti-poverty social service programs at no cost to eligible low-income residents of Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna, and Wayne Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its core offerings include early childhood education (Head Start, Early Head Start, Pre-K Counts), home weatherization, workforce development and job training, emergency food assistance (TEFAP), veterans support, and affordable housing development through its SLRDC subsidiary.

Product overview

ACE of NEPA is a federally-funded Community Action Agency offering a portfolio of social service programs rather than a unified technology product. The core offerings include Early Learning Programs (Head Start, Early Head Start, Pre-K Counts) for child development, a Weatherization Program for home energy efficiency, a Workforce Initiative Program providing job training and placement services, Community Programs including emergency food assistance and veterans support, and the SLRDC Housing Program for affordable housing development. Supporting services include Vehicle Assistance and Rise and Ride programs to address transportation barriers. These programs operate independently as distinct services under the unified mission of helping people achieve self-sufficiency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SLRDC (Scranton Lackawanna Resources Development Corporation): A nonprofit arm of ACE of NEPA focusing on providing quality affordable housing to low to moderate-income families.

Products and services

• Early Learning Programs Comprehensive child development services for children from birth to school age, including Head Start, Early Head Start, and Pre-K Counts, promoting school readiness through educational, health, nutritional, and social services. Targeted at low-income families with young children in Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna, and Wayne Counties.
• Weatherization Program DOE-funded home weatherization services that lower fuel costs and reduce carbon emissions for low-income households through window insulation, furnace installation, and other energy efficiency measures. Targeted at income-eligible homeowners and renters in the four-county service area.
• Workforce Initiative Program Job training and employment assistance for individuals 18+ at or below 200 percent of the poverty level in Lackawanna County, including resume building, interview preparation, communication skills, and job placement support.
• Community Programs Intermittent anti-poverty community programs including the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) distributing food through 22+ sites throughout Lackawanna County, and the Veterans Resource Coalition providing coordinated support services to veterans and their families across the region.
• SLRDC Housing Program Affordable housing units developed and rehabilitated by the Scranton Lackawanna Resources Development Corporation (SLRDC) for low-to-moderate income working families in Scranton and Old Forge, with priority given to households with young children and an eligibility requirement of at least 16 hours/week of employment.
• Rise and Ride Program Transportation assistance program designed to help individuals overcome transportation barriers to joining the workforce. Available to eligible workforce program participants.
• Vehicle Assistance Program Program helping individuals obtain vehicles or vehicle-related assistance to overcome transportation barriers to employment. Available to eligible workforce program participants.

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Community Action Association of Pennsylvania (CAAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACE is a proud member of CAAP, the state association that connects Community Action agencies across Pennsylvania. CAAP supports member agencies in fulfilling their anti-poverty missions through networking, advocacy, and resource sharing.
• Veterans Resource Coalition (VRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA coalition of 34 member agencies addressing Veteran basic needs, employment, and other requests to avoid duplication of services and leverage funds. Members include American Legion, Army Community Services, Careerlink, Catholic Social Services, Goodwill Industries of NEPA, and many others.
• Fidelity BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGenerous EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) donation to support ACE's early learning programs.
• FNCB BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonated $20,000 through the Pennsylvania Neighborhood Assistance Project Tax Credit Program for Pre-Kindergarten Center of Excellence project.
• Community Partners (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-organizational partnerships including Johnson College, Lackawanna County, City of Scranton, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) for housing development; United Way of Lackawanna County; and other community organizations for service delivery.
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF)coreOthersFederal agency division of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that funds Head Start and Early Head Start programs through Office of Head Start grants (Grant Numbers 03CH012082-05-00 and 03HP000603).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Goodwill Industries of Northeastern Pennsylvania: Regional Goodwill affiliate operating workforce training, job placement, and human services across the same NEPA service area. Both organizations are nonprofit social services providers serving overlapping low-income populations in Lackawanna and surrounding counties, and Goodwill is a named VRC coalition partner.
• United Way of Lackawanna County: Local United Way umbrella that funds and coordinates anti-poverty programs in the same service area as ACE. Shown as an active partner on ACE's website and operates a comparable horizontal model of community social services support.
• Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton: Faith-based social services agency delivering case management, food assistance, and emergency support across NEPA. Named as a Veterans Resource Coalition partner alongside ACE and serves a substantively overlapping low-income client base.
• Pennsylvania CareerLink: State-funded workforce development network operating in the same counties. CareerLink delivers competing/parallel workforce services to ACE's Workforce Initiative program and is listed as a VRC partner.
• Keystone Community Resources Inc. NEPA-based nonprofit providing community-based services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Past employer of ACE's Controller and operates as another regional human services nonprofit in adjacent client populations.

Broad incumbents

• Community Action Partnership (National): National membership and advocacy body for Community Action Agencies, of which ACE's CAAP is the Pennsylvania state chapter. Operates as a broad incumbent across the same CAA network that grants statutory CAA status to ACE.
• National Head Start Association: National membership organization supporting all Head Start grantees, including ACE. Connected to ACE's Twitter and supports the same federally funded early-learning program space that is ACE's largest service line.
• Volunteers of America Pennsylvania: Multi-state nonprofit delivering workforce, housing, and veteran services through federal grant streams analogous to ACE's mix. Operates housing, Head Start-like, and veterans programs in adjacent PA regions, providing comparable scale and funding model.

Regional players

• Scranton Lackawanna Head Start (SLHDA): Head Start-specific entity tied to ACE (Facebook page listed under ACE's socials) delivering the same federal early-learning services in the same region. Most directly overlapping program-specific peer.

Others

• City of Scranton / Lackawanna County Human Services Departments: Local government units that both fund and overlap operationally with ACE's human services programs. Listed as an active ACE partner and represents the local-government counterparty in the CAA contracting ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NatlHeadStart?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
• Facebookfacebook.com/acenepa123
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acenepa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Agency for Community Empowerment