Act! (Albany Community Together!), Inc.

Act! (Albany Community Together!), Inc., doing business as Harris & Associates, is a Black American-owned nonprofit community development corporation and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) based in Albany, Georgia, that functions as a federal grant recipient delivering community economic development, small-business lending, and rural healthcare and workforce initiatives through competitive federal grants rather than contracts.

Act!'s federal footprint centers on five distinct agencies, with the Department of the Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund anchoring 10 of 16 total awards across 62.5% of the portfolio. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, the Department of Agriculture Rural Business Cooperative Services, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency complete the customer set. The Treasury CDFI Fund awards span three tranches: a base CDFI Program award (February 28, 2023, through December 31, 2026), a CDFI Equitable Recovery Program award (April 10, 2023, through December 31, 2028), and a second CDFI Program award (September 26, 2024, through December 31, 2027), collectively building Act!'s financial capacity to lend to low- and moderate-income borrowers and communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services.

Act!'s capability portfolio spans community revitalization finance, workforce development partnerships, and rural economic development. Representative work includes an $800 thousand Community Services Block Grant Discretionary Award (HHS Administration for Children and Families, awarded September 30, 2025, through September 29, 2028) deploying a below-market-rate loan to the Harlem Legacy Wellness Center in Albany to finance medical equipment and create 29 jobs (22 filled by low-income individuals) through an integrated healthcare facility addressing high-poverty conditions (Albany's poverty rate is 29.26%, more than double the state and national average). A $500 thousand Rural Business Development Grant (USDA Rural Business Cooperative Services, awarded June 29, 2026, through June 29, 2028) funds economic development initiatives and small-business support in rural Georgia. Act! also serves as a sub-recipient under the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute MBDA Business Center Rural Supplement (Georgia Tech Research Corporation prime, October 28, 2024), providing administrative support and outreach to rural minority business enterprises across Georgia through partnership with Albany State University, the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Southern Black Chambers of Commerce.

Act!'s award activity remains episodic: three awards in 2021, two in 2023, two in 2024, one in 2025, and one in 2026, with four awards (unspecified combined value) facing ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The organization operates as a prime recipient on 94% of its federal portfolio (15 of 16 awards), with a single sub-recipient arrangement under the MBDA supplement. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $8.8 million.