Almost three years after Community Action of Minneapolis shut down in the wake of a scandal involving CEO Bill Davis, a neighboring nonprofit has taken over its work and rebranded it as a charity serving needy residents across both cities and suburbs.
This month, Community Action Partnership of Suburban Hennepin County dropped the suburban from its name and announced its "relaunch."
The nonprofit's fresh start comes just as Davis is about to be sentenced in federal court for theft and fraud convictions, for which he may do prison time.
Executive Director Scott Zemke will remain in charge of the newly named Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County (CAP-HC), which uses mostly federal grants to offer energy assistance and other services to low-income families.
Zemke, who has worked for the nonprofit in various roles for nearly two decades, said he will focus on expanding services and good governance.
"Everyone is very concerned we are doing this right and clients are served," he said.
CAP-HC, based in St. Louis Park, has seven Minneapolis representatives on its expanded 21-member board of directors and three Minneapolis service locations. With more than 50 full-time staffers and a $6 million annual budget, it helped 63,000 people last year.
"Board meetings are longer now. We spent a lot of time reviewing our financials," he said.