Kootasca Community Action, Inc.

Kootasca Community Action Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient and subrecipient across homelessness prevention, early childhood education, energy assistance, and community services programs. The organization operates entirely in the grant-recipient space rather than as a federal contractor; it holds no federal contracts or IDVs and does not compete under set-asides.

Kootasca's federal footprint is dominated by two grantor agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) accounts for 47 awards including a Head Start and Early Head Start program grant running through February 2029. The Department of Energy accounts for 44 awards, predominantly weatherization and energy-assistance sub-awards flowing through the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development is the third-largest customer with 16 awards spanning Continuum of Care (CoC) homelessness programs. Kootasca has received seven CoC program grants as prime recipient — most recently a June 2026 award with completion set for May 2027, and prior awards dated June 2025, July 2024, June 2024, June 2023, June 2022, and earlier cycles — each structured to support permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, and supportive services under the CoC framework.

Kootasca operates predominantly in the subrecipient role: 101 of 124 awards (81%) are sub-awards rather than prime grants. The organization has administered well over one hundred energy-assistance and weatherization sub-awards from the Minnesota Department of Commerce since 2021, conducting participant eligibility determinations, processing benefit payments, and coordinating with local energy vendors. It also manages multiple sub-awards from the Minnesota Department of Human Services for Community Services Block Grant funding (fiscal years 2021–2025) and holds sub-awards from the Minnesota Home Ownership Center for comprehensive housing counseling services. A single sub-award (awarded December 2025) involves project delivery and financial assistance to low-income households under the Northeast Minnesota HOME Consortium home-ownership assistance program.

Recent activity shows sharp growth through 2024, with 37 awards that year, followed by a contraction to 11 awards in 2025 and one award to date in 2026. Only two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal near-term recompete pressure. Combined federal dollars obligated across all awards total $71.5 million over the source period. Kootasca has served six distinct federal agencies and operates across multiple award streams without federal contract vehicles or competitive procurement; its role is that of a community-action nonprofit executing federally funded social services and housing programs at the local level in northeast Minnesota.