Inter-County Community Council

Inter-County Community Council, doing business as Iccc Head Start, is a Minnesota-based nonprofit providing early childhood education, homelessness prevention and intervention, energy assistance administration, and social services to low-income and vulnerable populations as a prime recipient on federal grants (22% of awards) and predominantly as a sub-recipient under state and federal grant programs (78% of awards).

Iccc Head Start operates as a tax-exempt nonprofit entity headquartered in Oklee, Minnesota, serving rural communities across multiple federal funding streams. The organization's capability portfolio centers on early childhood education through the Head Start program, youth homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing under the Continuum of Care program, energy assistance eligibility and benefits administration, SNAP administration, community services block grant delivery, and supportive housing case management. Representative prime work includes a $439,702 recipient award from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (CFDA 14.267, Continuum of Care Program) issued October 1, 2025, funding youth homelessness intervention and prevention activities under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program component for the period October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, with performance in Oklee, Minnesota. Iccc Head Start also holds a Head Start and Early Head Start prime grant (CFDA not specified) awarded April 1, 2024, running through March 31, 2029. The bulk of the organization's activity sits in the sub-recipient role, where it administers federal funds flowing through state intermediaries: the Minnesota Department of Commerce awards multiple sub-grants for energy assistance program administration and weatherization assistance for low-income families, the Minnesota Department of Human Services allocates Community Services Block Grant and SNAP administration sub-awards, and the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families channels SNAP administration funding.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward federal programs delivered through state administration. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families accounts for 50 awards (39% of the 127 total awards), the Department of Energy for 45 awards (35%), the Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development for 22 awards (17%), and the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service for 6 awards (5%), collectively representing 97% of the award footprint. This concentration reflects Iccc Head Start's operational model as a rural community action agency channeling federal social services and energy programs through state intermediaries rather than contracting directly with federal agencies. Activity has fluctuated substantially — seven awards in 2021 declining to five in 2022, surging to 48 in 2023, then moderating to 37 in 2024 and 11 in the current year — tracking the multi-year grant cycles and annual renewals characteristic of Head Start, weatherization, and homelessness prevention funding. The organization has obligated $46.4 million across all 127 awards in the source data, though the limited detail on dollar magnitudes in most sub-award records obscures the true revenue base of individual grants and sub-grants.