Policy Priorities
We focus our advocacy on the five elements of poverty. For Missouri, these elements are: Economic and Family Security, Education, Food and Nutrition, Health, and Housing and Energy.
With the five elements of poverty as our lens, Missouri CAN conducts grassroots and statewide advocacy and education. We offer offer leadership and advocacy training to our Network of agencies and members.
Our Impact
Community Action Agencies across Missouri help people and change lives.
Community Action programs are accountable and effective. CSBG is one of the most accountable, performance-driven funding sources that Congress has helped create. Because of CSBG, CAAs undergo regular audits and data-driven performance evaluations, ensuring measurable outcomes and strong taxpayer return on investment. 94% of funds received by Missouri’s CAAs go directly to assisting Missourians and only 6% of funds support administrative costs like ensuring compliance and accountability.
Community Action invests in local economies. CAAs partner with private-sector organizations to create impactful economic opportunities that drive prosperity and put tax dollars back into communities. CSBG continues to be one of the most valuable resources the state utilizes, with investments from partners across sectors. In 2023, this included $37,781,710 of private sector, state, and local investment into Missouri communities effectively tripling the investment of CSBG. In total, CSBG leveraged investments brought more than $315 million to local communities in Missouri.
Community Action Agencies assist your Missourians. In 2023, Missouri CAAs assisted nearly 185,000 hardworking individuals and families in striving to escape from poverty and achieve the American Dream. Nearly 73,000 served by CAAs in FY 2023 were children below the age of 17, and over 29,000 served were seniors above the age of 60. According to federal reporting, our Network served one in every four households experiencing poverty.
Check out our impact for each Congressional District and the state as a whole below.
Support CSBG Funding in Missouri
Stand with the Missouri Community Action Network (Missouri CAN) in supporting critical funding for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) in the federal fiscal year 2026 budget. As a valued partner in strengthening Missouri communities, we hope you will sign onto an open letter to the Missouri Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to support $780 million in CSBG funding for FY2026.
CSBG is essential to the work of Community Action Agencies (CAAs) across Missouri. It enables locally designed, high-impact programs that support working families, build resilient communities, and reduce dependency on government. In 2023 alone, Missouri CAAs served nearly 185,000 individuals—including over 73,000 children and 29,000 seniors—with programs that directly improved lives and boosted our local economies.
Your support matters. We are seeking sign-on commitments from community organizations, elected officials, business leaders, and other key stakeholders who recognize the value of CSBG. Adding your name will strengthen our collective voice and show Congress that Missouri cares about investing in its people.