The original five participating organizations were: The National Urban League, The National Council of La Raza, the William C. Velasquez Institute, the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum and the Americans for Indian Opportunity (replaced by the Native America Public Telecommunications).
For more than a decade, from 1988 to April 2000, the CIC program did not grow beyond the original 5 organizations and languished due to a lack of funding and support.
In April 2000, the Census Bureau renewed its commitment to close the minority and economic gap in data access by expanding the CIC Program to include 54 additional organizations representing under-served communities, bringing the number of Program participants to 59 organizations.
Funding was made available for training, data products, postage and staff to ensure the success of the Program.
In September 2006, the Census Bureau admitted an additional 13 organizations.