Upper Des Moines Opportunity, Inc. (UDMO) is one of 18 community action agencies (CAAs) in Iowa and one of approximately 1,000 community action agencies across the United States. CAAs are nonprofit private and public organizations that were established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to fight America's War on Poverty. CAAs provide services to more than 13 million low-income people annually in 96 percent of the nation's counties. During the 2006 fiscal year, UDMO served 23,450 individuals in 9,442 households in Northwest and North Central Iowa. Sixty-four percent of those households (5,998 households) had incomes below 100 percent of the federal poverty level ($20,000 per year for a family of four in FY06).

Community action agencies across the nation share the common goal of self-sufficiency for the families they serve. UDMO promotes self-sufficiency by providing a variety of programs to fight poverty, improve health and increase educational attainment for family members of all ages. UDMO provides these services to families in 12 Northwest and North Central Iowa counties.

UDMO is governed by an 18-member board of directors, composed of one third public officials, one third who represent the interests of our program participants, and one third who represent faith, business and other private community interests. This structure provides for input from all sectors, allowing UDMO to create programming that best meets the needs of citizens in the counties we serve.

“Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.”