Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies

What Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies does

The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association founded in 1971 and headquartered at 140 E. Town Street, Suite 1150, Columbus, Ohio. It serves as the exclusive statewide convener for 48 certified Community Action Agencies that together operate across all 88 Ohio counties with a combined workforce exceeding 6,000 employees. OACAA's mission centers on poverty alleviation and member-agency capacity building, anchored by its wholly owned training subsidiary OCATO (Ohio Community Action Training Organization, established 2001), which delivers professional development, technical assistance, and the Poverty Simulation experience at no cost to member agencies.

OACAA's product surface spans member services (peer groups across Communications, Development, Fiscal, HR, IT, Young Professionals, and Executive Leadership), training delivery through OCATO, two interactive data tools (the Self-Sufficiency Calculator and Ohio's Well-Being Dashboard), recognition programs (Exemplary Programs Awards and the Philip E. Cole Vanguard Award, established 2025), a publications library (State of Poverty reports 2017-2025, annual reports, economic impact studies), and convening events (Annual Summer Conference and Winter Legislative Conference). Its technology stack is conventional: a WordPress website, Constant Contact email newsletters, and standard county-level data dashboards — no proprietary AI/ML or software products are offered.

Revenue derives from membership dues, training fees, event registrations, and federal/state grant funding, including OCS/ACF/HHS Grant 90EDA0012. Member agencies collectively administer over $500 million in resources annually, serving more than 1.7 million Ohioans living in poverty. OACAA is governed by an elected board, led since August 2025 by Executive Director Jason C. Smith (succeeding the 36-year tenured Philip E. Cole), and partners with CAPLAW, NCAF, the national Community Action Partnership, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and academic institutions including Ohio University Voinovich School and The Ohio State University John Glenn College. A material upcoming change is the July 2026 transition of Community Services Block Grant and Ohio Energy Assistance Programs from member-agency administration to ODJFS.

Name

Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies

Legal name

Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies

Website

https://oacaa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OACAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association, founded in 1971, that serves as the exclusive statewide convener for 48 certified Community Action Agencies operating across all 88 Ohio counties, providing training, advocacy, publications, and convening services to support poverty-alleviation programs reaching more than 1.7 million low-income Ohioans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership and Association Services: OACAA functions as an association serving 48 member Community Action Agencies across Ohio. Revenue appears to come from membership fees, training services, and grant funding rather than commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

OACAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association that supports 48 independent Community Action Agencies serving all 88 Ohio counties. Through its subsidiary OCATO (Ohio Community Action Training Organization), it delivers professional development, on-site training, technical assistance, and peer-group convening. It also publishes State of Poverty and economic impact reports, manages the Exemplary Programs Awards, and conducts legislative advocacy on behalf of the Community Action Network.

Product overview

The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA) is a membership association representing 48 Community Action Agencies serving all 88 Ohio counties. OACAA provides a portfolio of member services including: the OCATO Training Organization offering professional development workshops and technical assistance; the Self-Sufficiency Calculator helping families determine income needs; the Ohio Well-Being Dashboard visualizing county-level poverty indicators; an Exemplary Programs Awards recognizing innovative anti-poverty initiatives; the Philip E. Cole Vanguard Award for network excellence; a publications library with State of Poverty reports and annual reports; event management including the Annual Summer Conference and Winter Legislative Conference; a jobs board for member agencies; and an agency directory for Ohio residents. These offerings work together to support, educate, and advocate for Ohio's Community Action Network in its mission to alleviate poverty and help low-income families reach self-sufficiency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Self-Sufficiency Calculator An online calculator that determines the income needed to meet basic needs of a particular family type in a specific Ohio county, used for budgeting, career counseling, and evaluating wages for working families.
• Ohio's Well-Being Dashboard An interactive dashboard that examines four socioeconomic and poverty indicators (poverty rate, unemployment rate, Free/Reduced Lunch percentages, and high school graduation rates) at the county level to identify concerning trends in Ohio communities.
• OCATO On-Site Training Programs Professional development and facilitated workshops for Community Action Agencies covering topics including branding, board training, customer service, family development, fund development, poverty simulation, strategic planning, and volunteer management.
• Publications and Resources Library Annual reports, State of Poverty reports, economic impact studies, and resource toolkits including the State of Poverty in Ohio reports (2017-2025) and annual reports documenting Community Action Agency activities.
• Exemplary Programs Awards An awards program recognizing innovative and creative anti-poverty programs within Ohio's Community Action Network.
• Philip E. Cole Vanguard Award An award established in 2025 to recognize individuals across Ohio's Community Action Network who advance and inspire excellence.
• Annual Conferences and Events Listing and management of OACAA events including the Annual Summer Conference and Winter Legislative Conference bringing together member agencies, policymakers, and stakeholders.
• Jobs Board A job board connecting job seekers with opportunities at Ohio's Community Action member agencies, with filters for job type including full-time, part-time, internship, freelance, and temporary positions.
• Find an Agency Directory A comprehensive directory of Community Action Agencies across all 88 Ohio counties, enabling residents to locate their local agency by county selection.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $500 million in resources administered annually by member agencies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.

• Wilberforce UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2020Community Action partnered with Wilberforce University to enhance distance learning access during COVID-19 pandemic.
• National PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 January 2019National Partnership released an Impact Report highlighting Community Action network achievements.
• CAPLAW (Community Action Program Legal Services)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAPLAW is a non-profit membership corporation providing legal services to Community Action Agencies. Staff is based in Boston with a coordinator in Washington, D.C. As a member of OACAA, agencies are also members of CAPLAW.
• National Community Action Foundation (NCAF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational advocacy organization for Community Action Agencies providing federal policy support and resources.
• Community Action Partnership (National)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational association providing resources, training, and advocacy for Community Action Agencies across the country. OACAA agencies are members of this national organization.
• Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public AffairsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2019, Ohio University Voinovich School partners with OACAA to direct the Exemplary Programs Awards and evaluations.
• The Ohio State University John Glenn College of Public AffairsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreviously partnered (beginning 2015) to transition awards program to Exemplary Programs under academic guidance.
• Ohio Department of Job and Family ServicesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs of July 2026, Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and Ohio's Energy Assistance Programs transitioning to ODJFS. ODJFS demonstrating commitment to listening and engaging the network as collaborative partner.
• Office of Community Services (Administration for Children and Families, HHS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency governing CSBG programs; website supported by Grant Number 90EDA0012 from OCS/ACF/HHS.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Ohio United Way: Statewide umbrella for Ohio United Way affiliates that mobilize private charitable resources for community services. Operates as a parallel nonprofit funder and convener in Ohio, with overlap in anti-poverty program funding and advocacy.
• Indiana Community Action Association: State-level association representing Community Action Agencies in Indiana. Operates the same role as OACAA in a neighboring state, with directly comparable membership, training, and advocacy mission for poverty alleviation.
• Pennsylvania Community Action Association: State-level counterpart serving Pennsylvania's Community Action Agencies. Closely comparable model — state association training, convening, and advocacy for CAAs — with different geographic focus.

Others

• Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS): State agency taking over CSBG and Energy Assistance Programs in July 2026. A government partner and increasingly important ecosystem actor that OACAA must coordinate with on member agency funding flows — adjacent rather than directly competitive.

Direct peers

• National Community Action Foundation (NCAF): National advocacy organization providing federal policy support for Community Action Agencies. NCAF and OACAA play parallel advocacy roles at federal and state levels respectively, making NCAF the closest national counterpart peer.
• Community Action Partnership: National umbrella organization for Community Action Agencies. Listed as a flagship partner of OACAA and serves the same member-agency ecosystem with training, advocacy, and resources at the national level — a directly comparable peer with broader geographic scope.
• CAPLAW (Community Action Program Legal Services): Non-profit membership legal services corporation for CAA network. OACAA members are also members of CAPLAW, making it a tightly linked peer providing specialized compliance and legal services to the same member agencies.
• Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations (OANO): Statewide nonprofit association in Ohio that provides capacity-building, advocacy, and resources to Ohio nonprofits broadly. Comparable peer operating in the same geography and serving overlapping member segments but with a broader nonprofit scope.

Emerging players

• National Head Start Association: National membership association for Head Start grantees — many of which are operated by Community Action Agencies. NHSA serves an overlapping member base with focused early-childhood programming expertise, making it a thematically linked peer.

Broad incumbents

• National Council of Nonprofits: National network of state and regional nonprofit associations. A broader incumbent in the nonprofit capacity-building space that competes for member attention and policy influence with state-level associations like OACAA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oacaa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies