Everyone deserves to be able to support themselves
COMMUNITY ACTION MARIN’S MISSION: We make it possible for people in Marin 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.
We hold a shared vision for equity: Those who live, work, and visit Marin, including all racial and ethnic groups, experience fair and just inclusion. We act together to rectify historic patterns of racial, class, and gender marginalization, ensuring that all see themselves reflected in decision making and that all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.
Community Action Code Of Ethics
We, as Community Action professionals, dedicate
ourselves to eliminating poverty in the midst of plenty in
this nation by opening to everyone the opportunity for
education and training; the opportunity for work; and the
opportunity to live in decency and dignity; and with respect
for cultural diversity, commit ourselves to:
- Recognize that the chief function of the Community Action movement at all times is to serve the best interests of the poor, thereby serving the best interests of all people.
- Accept as a personal duty the responsibility to keep up to date on emerging issues and to conduct ourselves with professional competence, fairness, impartiality, efficiency, and effectiveness.
- Respect the structure and responsibilities of the board of directors, provide them with facts and advice as a basis for their making policy decisions, and uphold and implement policies adopted by the board of directors.
- Keep the community informed about issues affecting the poor; facilitate communication by the poor with locally elected public officials and the private sector.
- Conduct our organizational and operational duties with positive leadership exemplified by open communication, creativity, dedication, and compassion.
- Exercise whatever discretionary authority we have under the law to promote the interests of the poor.
- Lead the Community Action movement with respect, concern, courtesy, and responsiveness, recognizing that service to the poor is beyond service to oneself.
- Demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty, and fortitude in all our Community Action activities in order to inspire confidence and trust in the Community Action movement.
- Serve in such a way that we do not realize undue personal gain from the performance of our professional duties.
- Avoid any interest or activity that is in conflict with the conduct of official duties.
- Respect and protect privileged information to which we have access in the course of official duties.
- Strive for professional excellence and encourage the professional development of our associates, including those seeking to become certified Community Action professionals.
Approved by Community Action Partnership Board of Directors
September 6, 2002
Many people consider Marin County to be one of the most beautiful places to live in the United States. It has some of the highest incomes per capita and one of the lowest unemployment rates. It also has the widest gap between rich and poor and one of the greatest racial inequities in the State of California. In this county of plenty, the face of poverty is often invisible. The numbers are not.
The cost of living in Marin has risen 48% in just the past four years, and families are struggling to make ends meet. Right now, a family of four with two adults, one infant, and one preschooler would need to earn $149,545 annually, an amount 82% greater than the federal poverty level of $26,500, to cover all of the family’s basic expenses, such as housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, and taxes without public or private assistance.
$20K
What 20% of people in Marin earn a year; this is even worse for people of color
1/3
Number of children in households living paycheck to paycheck
1,174
Marin students identified as homeless or with precarious housing
We fill in the gaps and lift people up
At Community Action Marin, we cover unexpected financial emergencies so people can keep a roof over their heads and the lights on at home. We make sure kids can do well in school by making early childhood education and care affordable for everyone. We try to remove the stigma of mental health, and get people and their loved ones through times of crisis. We help people take charge of their money and grow their income so they can have a more secure future, creating a pathway from crisis to thriving.
20K
Number of children, families, and individuals we partner with every year
30K
Number of children that have graduated from our childcare centers
2.5M
Number of meals we’ve served to children, often their most nutritious of the day
Building Educational Equity makes us stronger
Working with partners committed to racial equity, we amplify our efforts across the educational spectrum, from early learning to higher education and careers. Together, we are driving important change in the county to promote fair, just, and lasting outcomes for all that eliminate race-based disparities in our educational systems.
Racial equity for students in Marin will be achieved when race and ethnicity no longer predict the outcome of a young person’s educational future. As a Marin Promise Partner, our organization commits to identify and dismantle racial inequities, and to provide equity-based supports, so that our most vulnerable children can achieve their full potential.
Transforming lives and building brighter futures
At Community Action Marin, aside from key stabilization services, we also provide high-touch career coaching and job training, supporting individuals with attaining employer-recognized certificates and credentials, and obtaining employment in high-demand professions. Learn more here.
Our agency has earned a Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency.