Local community action group formalizes as nonprofit; leaders clarifying relationship to county CAC

Speakers at the meeting said the LC Community Action Collaborative (ACAC) has incorporated as an independent nonprofit and will pursue community development projects and grant applications separate from the county-sanctioned LC Citizen Advisory Committee (LCCAC).

Naomi told the group that ACAC “officially became a nonprofit” (the transcript states it “did a 5 0 1 c 3”) and that the organization will continue several projects previously handled under a fiscal sponsor. Naomi clarified that ACAC’s role is to act as a community-based organization that can apply for funding and partner with the county or other outside actors; by contrast the LCCAC is a county-recognized advisory body with specific land-use and county liaison responsibilities.

Speakers discussed examples of the kinds of work ACAC could do—fundraising, applying for community development grants that require a local nonprofit sponsor, and facilitating projects such as infrastructure, the clinic, and other locally identified priorities. Naomi and others stressed that ACAC is not intended to replace the LCCAC; rather, ACAC would act as a partner, serving as a pathway to funding and external partners while LCCAC would retain a formal planning/liaison role with Benton County.

Members asked for clarity on the relationship between the two entities and on how ACAC’s projects would be handed off to committee leadership. Naomi said that as ACAC matures, projects she has been leading would be transitioned to the community-led organization and its committees.

The discussion also included practical considerations for community-led projects—forming subcommittees, identifying chairs, and the potential for ACAC to serve as fiscal sponsor or partner on grant-funded work.