The mission of Bucks County Opportunity Council, Inc. is to empower low-income people in Bucks County to achieve their goals for sustainable improvement in economic self-sufficiency by a personalized case management approach founded on education and partnership with the community.

 

Guiding principles

What we believe:

• Our success depends on our clients' commitment.
• We are stewards of the community's invested resources.
• Education is the key to diminishing poverty.
• Our clients, stakeholders, and employees deserve our integrity and respect.
• Significant change happens within a relationship based in mutual respect.

How we act:

• Treat every client with respect and compassion, with an aim to build hope and trust.
• Our core strength is education, and we build everything from that core.
• We support our mission with a focus on long-term outcomes avoiding short term opportunities that are inconsistent with our mission.
• We set high standards, deliver on high expectations and always look to improve through innovative approaches.

History of the organization

Bucks County Opportunity Council, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit human service organization established in 1965 in response to the Federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. The act and subsequent legislation recognize that while poverty is a national issue, its roots are local and require community action to develop local solutions.

The act created Community Action Agencies to empower people with the education, skills and resources to succeed. There are forty-three Community Action Agencies in Pennsylvania and hundreds more throughout the country. We are the Community Action Agency designated to serve Bucks County. The services offered by Community Action Agencies vary depending on the unique needs of each community and the organization’s approach to service provision.

The organization is governed by an eighteen-member Board of Directors primarily responsible for the following:

• Empower staff to accomplish mission.
• Developing policies, procedures and regulations for the governance of the agency.
• Monitoring the finances, programs and performance of the agency.
• Overseeing the accomplishments of the agency.

The services and programs we offer have varied throughout history depending on funding, needs within Bucks County and other factors. Our current services include food assistance, emergency energy and housing assistance, free tax preparation for low-income filers, a matched-saving asset development program, a home weatherization and energy conservation program, self-sufficiency related education and training for program participants as well as community members, and our Economic Self-Sufficiency Program, the cornerstone of our service provision.

Our Economic Self-Sufficiency Program is nationally recognized for its effectiveness at empowering low-income families with the education, skills and resources to permanently leave poverty. Our definition of economic self-sufficiency has been the basis for standards adopted locally by the Workforce Investment Board – Bucks County and the Bucks County Women’s Advocacy Coalition, and as the statewide standard by the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania.