In Crisis
Nearly 60 Years in Our Community
Community Action Partnership (CAP) is Lancaster County’s largest anti-poverty organization focused on economic mobility. CAP offers resources that interrupt generational poverty and support families at every age and place in life.
Knowing that poverty is complex and its contributing factors vary, CAP is committed to creating innovative, person-centered initiatives, including social enterprise businesses, to augment our many long-standing and successful anti-poverty programs that advance the social and economic mobility of families. CAP is person-centered, outcomes-based, data-driven, and focused on greater sector impact and systems change.
Mission
We advance prosperity throughout Lancaster County by activating community, mobilizing resources, and amplifying partnership to ensure everyone thrives.
Vision
We envision a community that is equitable, just, and prosperous for everyone.
Values
Justice
Collaboration
Compassion
Excellence
History of Community Action
Born in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and enacted as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, a network of more than 1,000 community action agencies emerged across the country with the purpose of eliminating poverty in local communities.
Each agency is designed to meet the specific needs related to poverty within the community it serves. Upon its inception in 1966, CAP founders moved beyond simply providing assistance and integrated the community-based approach we continue evolving today that honors people where they are, supports them in realizing the life they dream, and cultivates a Lancaster community where everyone thrives.