Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is a community-based organization that advocates for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues. ACORN has over 350,000 members and more than 850 neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities across the United States, as well as in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and Peru. ACORN was founded in 1970 by Wade Rathke and Gary Delgado.[1] Maude Hurd has been National President of ACORN since 1990.
ACORN's priorities have included: better housing and wages for the poor, more community development investment from banks and governments, and better public schools.[2] ACORN pursues these goals through demonstration, negotiation, legislation, and voter participation.[2] ACORN is made up of several legally distinct parts including local non-profits, a national lobbying organization and the ACORN Housing Corporation.[3] ACORN is a non-partisan organization. However, it often advocates for policies championed by liberals. This political alignment sometimes involves ACORN in partisan conflict.