Highland County Community Action Organization, Inc.

Highland County Community Action Organization, Inc. (doing business as Hccao), a tax-exempt non-profit based in Hillsboro, Ohio, operates as a prime recipient and sub-recipient of federal grants focused on early childhood development, nutrition assistance, energy support, and maternal and child health services for rural Appalachian communities. The organization does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles; it operates exclusively within the federal grant space, where 91% of its recent award footprint consists of sub-grant work passed through state agencies.

Hccao's capability portfolio centers on community action and social services delivery in rural Ohio. As a prime recipient, the organization holds a $2,057,212 Head Start program grant (CFDA 93.600) from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, awarded July 1, 2026, to deliver early childhood development services through December 31, 2026. The organization also received a $275,000 Community Facilities Loans and Grants award (CFDA 10.766) from the USDA Rural Utilities Service for community infrastructure improvement, with ultimate completion in August 2025. A third prime award from the Appalachian Regional Commission funded workforce training activities from October 2022 through September 2025. The overwhelming majority of Hccao's federal funding flows through state-agency sub-grants: the organization serves as a sub-recipient on Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) grants from the Ohio Department of Development, Community Services Block Grants (CSBG) administered by the same state agency, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) distributed through the Ohio Department of Health, child care food programs routed through the Ohio Department of Education, maternal and child health services, safe sleep programs, and opioid response initiatives coordinated through state health and mental health agencies. The pattern reflects a community action agency structure: the organization receives federal funds via state pass-throughs and delivers services in Highland County and surrounding rural areas.

Customer concentration is heavily skewed toward the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (49 awards) and the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (16 awards across two separate food-service lines), which together account for 79% of the award count. However, this count includes duplicative state-agency intermediate recipients (Ohio Departments of Development, Health, Education, and Mental Health) that funnel federal dollars to Hccao as a sub-recipient. Only nine awards in the portfolio are prime grants; the remaining 92 are sub-awards flowing through state agencies. Activity peaked in 2023 with 30 awards and has moderated to 3 awards year-to-date in 2026. The recompete cliff in the next twenty-four months shows minimal exposure, with only one award reaching ultimate completion in that window. The organization has obligated approximately $116 million across 101 awards since 2006, grounding its position as a stable, community-rooted provider within the federal nutrition and early childhood development grant ecosystem.