The mission of the Mid America Assistance Coalition is to improve the lives of economically vulnerable populations through innovative client services, public policy advocacy, and by developing information systems that help other assistance organizations serve clients more efficiently and comprehensively.
History
The Mid America Assistance Coalition was created on October 1, 1985 when the Emergency Assistance Coalition merged with the Warmth and Light Coalition and formally changed its name to Mid America Assistance Coalition.
Dedication to Nonprofits
The Emergency Assistance Coalition was founded in October 1979 “to serve as a coordinating center of services, to serve as a referral service for, and to serve as the information and education arm for two hundred assistance agencies in the Jackson, Clay and Platte County areas.” The Warmth and Light Coalition was established in January 1985 “to solicit, collect and distribute funds, assets, objects, articles and equipment of every kind for assistance to needy or indigent individuals in securing heat and light.” These two entities merged in October 1985 and at that time the surviving entity, the Emergency Assistance Coalition, changed its name to Mid America Assistance Coalition.
Over the years since its inception MAAC has evolved significantly. From initially a direct client service agency for emergency assistance services to an intermediary agency by providing a software platform for working through other nonprofits to provide and record these critical services. MAAC even answered the call from the Kansas City community to provide the local Homeless Management Information System which was active and HUD compliant from October 2005 through June 2020.
Energy Assistance
In 2019 MAAC again answered the Kansas City community call to take on the administration of the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, for Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties in Missouri.
Today MAAC is both a direct service agency providing LIHEAP energy assistance directly to clients and an intermediary agency working through our various MAACLink data environments assisting other nonprofits to provide utility assistance and other critical emergency assistance services to their most vulnerable clients.
