Each year, the Community Action Partnership of North Alabama spends about $30 million on Head Start programs.

The programs employ 300 teachers and benefit hundreds of children across 15 counties, said Tim Thrasher, CEO of the Community Action nonprofit.

“Those dollars go back to that community because of the health care that we’ve provided those kids and the dental care that we provide those kids,” Thrasher told AL.com, “and in the connection with those providers within those communities for families, and the nutrition, it goes back to those families.”

Between 2019 and 2024, the number of Head Start beneficiaries rose from 282 to 1,669, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That’s a nearly five-fold increase.

Thrasher has been the CEO of the Decatur-based nonprofit since 2018.

During that period, revenues went from $42 million to $60 million — a 44% increase — and total assets more than doubled from $61 million to $129 million, according to the organization’s IRS filing in 2024.

“All of it is really to better the lives of individuals within that community, provide a greater tax base for those communities so that people can give back and not be so dependent,” said Thrasher, whose compensation has increased from $152,000 to $195,000, or by 28%.

The nonprofit, according to the CEO, helps people achieve self-sufficiency.

”And we try to do it with integrity and we try to do it with compassion,” he said. “So very proud of some of those that have been impacted not only financially, but also in the ability to contribute back to society.”

The organization, which is in its seventh decade of existence, began as part former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It utilizes a community-based model to address issues in the Appalachian region. And every three years, assessments identify community needs, which guide the deployment of resources from federal sources and others.

The nonprofit employs about 500 people and has an annual operating budget of approximately $50 million.

Assistance with affordable housing, health care, utilities and food are some of the other services the organization provides through the partnerships it has forged. Its affordable housing program comprises 28 complexes, each with an average of 50 units, accommodating around 1,500 families.

Thrasher touts the regional economic impact of the nonprofit’s work, specifically the $30 million spent on Head Start, which pays the salaries of hundreds of teachers and trainers.

He is “very proud” that the teachers can earn an associate or bachelor’s degree at minimal cost, through collaborations with community colleges.

“We also work with the state, and we have 17 pre-K classrooms,” Thrasher said. “We provide the quality of pre-K and Head Start programming within child care agencies.”