<![CDATA[Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has increasingly shifted from charitable assistance toward sustainable community empowerment, requiring active local participation and strong grassroots leadership. This study aims to explain the role of local heroes in sustaining the Cakra Lumaku CSR-based community empowerment program of PT PLN Indonesia Power UBP Kamojang PLTP Gunung Salak Unit, with particular attention to Ade Iwan as a local institutional entrepreneur. The research employed Participatory Action Research (PAR) combined with a qualitative single-case study design. Data were collected over six months through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, focus group discussions, documentation, and document analysis involving CSR facilitators, community leaders, village government representatives, and beneficiary groups. Data credibility was strengthened through triangulation of sources, methods, and participant perspectives. The findings show that Ade Iwan’s role developed gradually through social mapping, capacity building, and delegated responsibility. He created opportunities from local institutional gaps, mobilized material, social, cultural, and financial resources, and institutionalized new practices through organizational structures, standard procedures, leadership regeneration, and the Raksamala Learning Center. The study concludes that sustainable CSR empowerment depends not merely on corporate funding, but on strengthening legitimate local leaders who can embed collective change within community institutions and sustain it beyond corporate intervention over time.]]>
