What is a CBO?

What is a Community–Based Organization (CBO)?
The following definition of a CBO was created during the 2002 and 2003 planning meetings and adopted by NCBON members at the NCBON Organizational Meeting at the APHA Annual Meeting in Washington DC in 2004.

A Community–Based Organization is one that is driven by community residents in all aspects of its existence. By that we mean:

• The majority of the governing body and staff consists of local residents,
• The main operating offices are in the community,
• Priority issue areas are identified and defined by residents,
• Solutions to address priority issues are developed with residents, and
• Program design, implementation, and evaluation components have residents intimately involved, in leadership positions