Iowa Community Action Association - History
Iowa Community Action Association - History
Northeast Iowa Community Action Corp Operation: New View Community Action Agency Operation Threshold North Iowa Community Action Organization Upper Des Moines Opportunity, Inc. Mid-Sioux Opportunity Community Action Agency of Siouxland West Central Community Action New Opportunities, Inc. MATURA Action Corporation South Central Iowa Community Action Program Des Moines Community Action Agency Red Rock Area Community Action Program Mid-Iowa Community Action Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Community Action of Eastern Iowa Community Action of Southeast Iowa Southern Iowa Economic Development Association


Last year 1,905 Iowa families reduced their heating costs through weatherization programs, and 14,363 families received financial support for emergency energy assistance (Read More).

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History

In 1965 M. Peter Hart and other board directors wrote for the first grant of $32,000 at Mr. Hart's kitchen table. Upper Des Moines Opportunity, Inc. (UDMO) was incorporated September 16, 1965. The name was chosen because the initial four counties in the service area (Emmet, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, and Kossuth) lie in the Des Moines River Valley basin. At that time the principal office was located in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
 
Over the next several years UDMO's service area continued to expand across Northwest and North Central Iowa. Below are a few key dates in UDMO's history:
  • In 1967, Dickinson, Clay and Buena Vista Counties were added to UDMO's service area.
     
  • O'Brien and Osceola Counties were served by the organization beginning in 1970.
     
  • In 1974, coverage for Kossuth County was changed from UDMO to North Iowa Communication Action Organization in Mason City.
     
  • The final core counties were added in 1997 when the Boards of Supervisors in Hamilton, Humboldt, Webster and Wright Counties designated UDMO as the area's community action agency.

Today, some UDMO programs are able to offer services outside of UDMO's 12 core counties through new funding streams and innovative partnerships.