Community Action Marin
IN YOUR CORNER
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We are a community action agency dedicated to the fight against poverty. We work to promote racial and economic equity and provide direct services to individuals and families of low income on the road to self-sufficiency. Marin County is one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S.; but the realities for some here are no different than in far less affluent places. Getting by and getting ahead have become hard for many residents. For almost a third, just meeting basic needs means living paycheck to paycheck.1 With no savings to fall back on to fix a car, recuperate from illness or accidents, or find new housing or work, many are forced to make difficult choices—sometimes between putting food on the table for their families or paying rent.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Head Start
Head Start is a Federal program that promotes the school readiness of children from birth to age five from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Head Start emphasizes the role of parents as their child's first and most important teacher. Community Action Marin is the sole administrative organization managing Head Start in Marin County. We serve 362 families through 18 Head Start sites throughout Marin County
Child Development Programs
CDP offers high-quality care from infancy through 14 years of age, fostering wonder and a passion for learning by connecting children to their natural world through an emergent curriculum preparing children for success in school
Early Head Start
Early Head Start serves pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers from birth to age 3. Services are provided in developmentally appropriate environments that promote the whole development of the child.
Central Kitchen
Our Central Kitchen is an industrial-sized kitchen from which our staff prepares, cooks and delivers healthy meals and snacks daily to over 950 low-income children across Marin County.
Peer Mental Health
The Peer Mental Health program supports individuals and families with mentally ill family members of all ages in Marin County.
Economic Opportunity
The Economic Opportunity program provides a wide range of support services to individuals who are striving towards self-sufficiency and stability. This program provides both critical emergency needs like rental assistance and energy assistance, as well as longer-term planning and support like financial career and credit coaching and volunteer Income Tax assistance. The Economic Opportunity program meets individuals where they are and assists clients while they gain control over their finances and achieve their dreams.
Care Outreach Teams
The Care Outreach Teams work with the homeless population in Marin County to transition clients to mental health services and housing.
Equitable Response and Recovery
Marin County has weathered the pandemic better than many parts of the country. These successes are largely due to the coordinated response of non-governmental agencies and government at the city and county levels. However, the crisis is not over. We make it possible for people to achieve well-being by providing the education, mental health, and vital services they need. Together, we break down the barriers that get in the way of fair and lasting change in service to better outcomes for all. https://camarin.org/
Where we work
Awards
Community Justice Partner 2021
Legal Aid of Marin
Affiliations & memberships
California Nonprofit of the Year 2020
Marin Magazine, Best Food Justice Organization 2022
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of homeless participants engaged in mental health services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Care Outreach Teams
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our CARE Teams support the homeless population in the county. We serve an average of 169 people each month.
Total dollars distributed for utilities assistance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Economic Opportunity
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Our Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program is federally-funded to help ensure that people have the support they need with their utilities payments. The 2023 figure includes water assistance.
Number of donations made by board members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We seek to maintain a board of at least 12 members with 100% board participation in giving each year.
Number of new programs/program sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The agency seeks to grow its programs and sites strategically over the next 10 years to include stronger partnerships, deployment in new locations, and new initiatives aligned with our goals.
Number of policies formally established
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Social and economic status
Related Program
Equitable Response and Recovery
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Facilitated extension of renter eviction moratorium county-wide.
Number of food donation partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of families assisted with rent or mortgage to avoid eviction
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Equitable Response and Recovery
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Figure reflects housing assistance provided to 1,070 households.
Pounds of produce grown
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This is the pounds of produce grown at our farms. This produce goes into the meals we serve, emergency food boxes, and soup created in one of our partnerships.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Child Development Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of low-income households who have received utilities assistance to keep the lights, heat and/or water on in their homes
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
In 2023, a total of 1858 water and energy services worth $1.62M were provided.
Number of meals delivered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This reflects the number of meals provided as part of the county's Senior Congregate Meal program which began in 2023.
Number of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Child Development Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This figure is reflective of the number of children who received high-quality early education.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We seek to align with individuals, families, and others in community working to fight the causes and challenges of poverty in Marin County. We work to ensure access to opportunities and the supports people need to overcome obstacles and barriers to success and self-sufficiency. As an agency, we work to create and sustain social change. Whether through direct services, a whole family approach to well-being, or community building to create visibility and voice with those we serve, our efforts are:
· Increasing awareness and agency among individuals and families
· Strengthening access to resources, services, and power in community
· Changing culture and practice through both trauma-informed and equity lenses
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We focus on two levers for the creation of sustainable change. First, we work side-by-side with people to ensure their needs for high-quality early childhood education, mental health services, and economic mobility are met. Second, we work locally, regionally, and nationally to advocate for systemic change that disrupts the status quo and makes opportunity accessible for all of us.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
As an agency with more than 50 years of experience, we provide a depth and breath of experience across a range of services to ensure that those working toward self-sufficiency for themselves and their family are able to achieve their dreams.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As an agency, we serve over 5,000 households every year. We seek to improve the reach of our services to better meet the growing demand across the county. We are driving toward greater impacts across two generations, from those receiving our child care services to those parents who are seeking greater financial stability or other returns through the programs that we offer. We seek to be a stronger resource to anyone who needs hope in a time of need.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Community Action Marin
Board of directorsas of 02/01/2024
Mr. Jeff Babcok
Jennifer McInnis
Mary Donovan
Retired
Mike Smylie
Retired
Cristina Mackenzie
Retired
Alexandra Morehouse
Advocate & Speaker for DEI and Cultural Inclusiveness
Drew Ellsworth
Attorney
Robert Sindelar
Justice Outside
Violeta Krasnic
California Institute of Integral Studies
Tonya Newstetter
Salesforce
Sean Casey
Pamela Tom
HPVANDME
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/05/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.