GCCAC was incorporated in 1965 as a private non profit corporation and started operation in 1966. The founding board hired Brad Rinard as its executive director, a role that he maintained until 1980. The organization’s first activities focused on identifying interests and needs of six target communities and implementing a Head Start program for preschool age children and their families. The Mainstream job training project and an economic development initiative to attract jobs to the area soon followed. Funding for the new organization came primarily from the U.S Office of Economic Opportunity, Department of Labor and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare