Kootasca Community Action Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The mission of KOOTASCA Community Action, Inc. is "Building Community to End Poverty." This is done by helping low income people build assets, providing high quality early childhood education, and engaging the community through collaborative partnerships with other community resources.
- Income
- $8.0 million
- Spending
- $7.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 81%
- Reserves
- 1.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 81%
- Employees
- 120
- Volunteers
- 300
- Highest pay
- $122,071, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 66 out of 100.
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.1 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 22% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 2% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 2% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1581% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 2515 of 15 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $3.9 million spent. Education1) KOOTASCA Head Start is a comprehensive preschool program for low-income children (birth through five years old) in Itasca and Koochiching Counties. It provides children with a developmentally appropriate early childhood education. The program ensures that young children receive health checkups, medical treatment, oral health screenings, and nutritious meals every day. Parents also receive benefits when their children attend our Head Start program. The parents receive guidance from our family advocates and teachers to help support their children at home and to help eliminate barriers to self-sufficiency. Parents learn to create stimulating home environments and engage in educational activities with their children. Head Start services are provided through a variety of program options, including Early Head Start which may serve pregnant women and children up to age three. We have classroom-based programming that is 4-5 days per week for children 3- to 5-years old. Parents of Head Start children are encouraged to volunteer within the program in a variety of ways and can build leadership skills by participating in the Parent Policy Council. Policy Council members are parents of currently enrolled Head Start children. The members act as a link between KOOTASCA Head Start staff and the families that the program serves. The Policy Council must work in partnership with key Head Start management and the KOOTASCA Board of Directors to develop, review, and approve policies; create strategic program directions and decisions; develop criteria for the recruitment, selection, and enrollment of children; and approve funding applications along with personnel and other business-orientated activities that require Policy Council's approval. KOOTASCA Head Start serves 8 infant and toddlers and 187 preschool children with Federal Funding and another 19 children with State funding across Itasca and Koochiching Counties. 2) The Teenage Parent Program (TAPP) began in the Grand Rapids school district in 1971. School districts were mandated by the State of Minnesota to provide educational opportunities to pregnant and parenting teens. In 1993, KOOTASCA Community Action assumed the operation and management of the Teenage Parent Program as the funding allocations to the local school districts for the program declined. The population that TAPP serves is one of our communitys most vulnerable. Pregnant and parenting teens are the most likely to drop out of school, potentially leading to a life in poverty for the teenage parent and his or her child. KOOTASCAs TAPP program provides educational opportunities that count towards credit hours for high school graduation in a variety of settings that best fit the needs of the participant. TAPP provides additional education on topics geared to the pregnant and parenting teen, including: labor and delivery, prenatal nutrition, sudden unexpected infant death syndrome (SUIDS), shaken baby syndrome, birth control and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), cooking, nutrition, personal finances, and budgeting.3) KOOTASCA reviews and updates the community needs assessment annually to determine the greatest areas of local need and adjusts to meet those needs. The 2023 Community Assessment indicated that Koochiching County lacked childcare facilities for infants and toddlers, despite a growing number of infants and toddlers residing in the County. To best meet the needs of families with young children, KOOTASCA Head Start converted 13 Preschool Head Start slots into 8 Infant-Toddler Early Head Start slots. An Infant-Toddler classroom has been in operation since 2021 in International Falls. This has been a positive step in meeting the needs of families.
- $2.3 million spent. Asset Development and Housing: The goal is to build community and organizational capacity allowing all Low to Moderate Income (LMI) households the opportunity for safe affordable housing and increased development of assets. The accomplishments of this strategy for 2025 are as follows:1) The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides primary heat funding to reduce energy burden for LMI households through direct payments to energy vendors. As an assistance program, the payments are made to help keep the households heat on and are targeted to those vendors essential to maintaining the households primary heat source. A crisis component of the program makes additional Crisis funding available to prevent utility disconnections or disruptions in service for delivered heating fuels. An Energy Related Repair (ERR) component of the program provides emergency repair or replacement of non-functioning primary heat sources in emergency (no heat) situations or where health and safety hazards exist. In Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025/EAP PY25, 3069 households experienced reduced energy burden and safe continuous heat through primary heat funding, 1205 households avoided interruptions in service through crisis funding, and 220 households maintained safe heat through ERR emergency furnace services.2) The federal Department of Energy Weatherization Program (DOE WAP) provides funding to reduce energy burden for LMI households through building shell and mechanical system energy conservation upgrades. Insulation, air infiltration reduction, heating source(s), base loads, and indoor air quality are all addressed through a comprehensive energy audit process. The program also provides client education for low- or no-cost energy savings measures and occupant behaviors. LIHEAP Weatherization and utility-based funds are often braided with DOE WAP and occasionally used independently of DOE WAP allowing for additional unit completions. At the time of this report within the State Fiscal Year of 2025/Wx PY24, a reduced energy burden has been realized for: 14 households utilizing DOE with LIHEAP, and an additional 2 households utilizing LIHEAP only.3) The 2022 Weatherization Assistance Program Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides us additional funding (DOE BIL), which moved into the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) at the federal level in March 2025, through the Department of Energy to serve additional LMI households in reducing their energy burden through building shell and mechanical system energy conservation upgrades. Insulation, air infiltration reduction, heating source(s), base loads, and indoor air quality are all addressed through a comprehensive energy audit process. The program also provides client education for low- or no-cost energy savings measures and occupant behaviors. LIHEAP Weatherization funds are often braided with DOE IIJA funds. At the time of this report within the State Fiscal Year of 2025/Wx PY24, a reduced energy burden has been realized for: 14 households utilizing DOE IIJA with LIHEAP.The goal is to build community and organizational capacity allowing all Low to Moderate Income (LMI) households the opportunity for safe affordable housing and increased development of assets. The accomplishments of this strategy for 2025 are as follows:5) KOOTASCAs Crisis Housing services include the Transitional Housing program and Crisis Rent Assistance program. The Transitional Housing program serves homeless clients with time-limited housing, case management services, and assistance with building skills for self-sufficiency. This program consists of two separate duplex locations dedicated to families and one location dedicated to male housing. Transitional Housing program funds are provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Homelessness, Housing, and Support Services Administration (HHSSA). The Crisis Rent Assistance program provides financial assistance for unhoused or at-risk families and individuals to obtain or maintain rental housing. Minnesota Housing and the Homelessness, Housing, and Support Services Administration provide funding for this program to assist Itasca and Koochiching County clients. Minnesota DHS and the Department of Housing and Urban Development provide funding for assisting unhoused households navigate a path to obtaining a safe and affordable rental unit.In fiscal year 2025, the Transitional Housing program served 6 single men and 5 families with children. 52 un-housed households were moved into permanent housing and homelessness was prevented for an additional 69 households. The total number of households served was 121. 6) Through the MNsure program, KOOTASCAs trained and certified Health Care Navigators assist clients in navigating health care insurance options. Funding for this program is made available through MNsure, Minnesotas health insurance marketplace. In 2025, KOOTASCAs MNsure program successfully navigated health insurance option for 61 clients and assisted an additional 354 individuals with health care eligibility questions.7) In 2025, KOOTASCA helped 10 households attain housing stability through S.O.A.R (SSI/SSDI Outreach Access and Recovery program). 8) During 2025, KOOTASCAs Community Living Infrastructure navigation program housing navigators assisted 16 households with applications, referrals, and support services funded through the Homelessness, Housing, and Support Services Administration through MN DHS. With KOOTASCAs HUD Unsheltered program housing navigators assisted 6 Itasca County household with housing supportive services funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.The continued goal is to build community and organizational capacity, allowing all Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) households the opportunity for safe, affordable housing and increased development of assets. The accomplishments of this strategy for 2025 are as follows:Through Housing Development, KOOTASCA directly
- $169,294 spent. Community Engagement: KOOTASCA Community Action engages community partners to advocate for and collaborate on community strategies to fulfill our mission to end poverty. The agency's community engagement strategy includes the following programs.1) KOOTASCAs Circles of Support program provides an opportunity for people in poverty to build social assets and skills and self-empowerment through weekly and monthly meetings for individuals experiencing poverty, as well as non-poor volunteers. In 2025, a total of 238 people participated in 64 meetings and events.2) Big View programming provides education and creates community awareness of poverty-related issues and systemic barriers that make leaving poverty more difficult. In 2025, 98 individuals attended Big View programming across 11 separate events.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 1966.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.