New River Community Action

New River Community Action, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization headquartered in Radford, Virginia, is a federal grant recipient that delivers community action and social services to underserved populations across the Appalachian region and adjacent areas. The organization operates as a prime recipient on direct federal grants (85% of recent awards) and as a sub-recipient on pass-through awards from state and federal intermediaries, with no federal contract footprint.

New River Community Action's federal work centers on four core program areas. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program from the Internal Revenue Service represents the largest recurring commitment—the organization holds VITA grants covering October 2025 through September 2026 and has held continuous VITA funding since 2021, serving low-to-moderate-income taxpayers, persons with disabilities, non-English speakers, Native Americans, rural populations, military families, and the elderly through volunteer-staffed filing sites. The organization also holds a Head Start program grant from the Office of Head Start running through May 2029, delivering early-childhood development and family support services. New River Community Action has received recurring funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development under the Continuum of Care Program (homelessness prevention and housing services) with awards spanning 2022 through 2024. The organization holds a rural housing grant from the Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service and an organizational capacity-building award from the Appalachian Regional Commission (March 2023 through March 2024).

Customer concentration reflects New River Community Action's roots in federal community-action programming. The top five funding agencies account for 63% of recent awards, led by the Internal Revenue Service (8 awards), the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (5 awards), the Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service (4 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (4 awards), and HUD's Assistant Secretary for Housing (4 awards). The organization serves twelve distinct federal agencies across the portfolio. As a sub-recipient, New River Community Action has drawn pass-through funding from the Virginia Department of Social Services (Community Services Block Grant and child abuse and neglect prevention work), the Virginia Housing Development Authority (HUD Housing Counseling), and the Virginia State Board of Health (Child and Adult Care Food Program).

Activity shows growth in recent years—three awards annually in 2021 and 2022, four in 2023, seven in 2024—though only one award reaches ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, indicating stable multi-year funding across the active portfolio. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $96.6 million.