This summer, United Way for Greater Austin awarded a total of $112,000 in one-time grant funding to 23 qualified community organizations delivering effective programs and services that advance the goals of the community coalitions we convene as part of our collective impact work to fight poverty.
Here at United Way for Greater Austin we’re working hard alongside our community partners to ensure that all families are financially stable. That’s why we lead the 2-Gen Coalition, a coalition of service providers focused on increasing economic opportunity for whole families and ensuring that families with children in Travis County are financially stable. A 2-Gen approach to social services serves parents and children simultaneously and leads to better financial outcomes for both generations.
To help advance this goal, United Way put out a call for proposals to fund programs and services that are advancing the 2-Gen Coalition’s goals with a focus on racial justice transformation and digital equity.
We’re thrilled to announce that the following organizations were awarded mini-grants, up to $7,500, to support their programs and services that are creating greater opportunity for children and families in our community!
Racial Justice Transformation
American Youthworks: engage YouthBuild participants in co-creating collaborative power-sharing structures, designed and run by youth and adults
Austin Voices for Education and Youth (AVEY): as part of the St. John Equity in Education Project, AVEY will survey parents, teachers, and community partners about the strengths and challenges they see in their local schools, hold a series of community planning dinners, use existing parent community block leaders to recruit and train an expanded team of community block leaders, and host an Equity in Education tent at the HopeFest Community Resource Fair
PelotonU: host a shared learning experience for students, staff, and board members to norm language and understanding around issues of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) that will serve as a springboard for students and staff to create an inventory of our programming — guided by a JEDI council — to ensure we are upholding an anti-racist and anti-bias methodology throughout
Todos Junto Learning Center: create structured pathways for English as a Second Language students and graduates to become early childhood education teachers and prepare for future service on boards of directors
Digital Equity
Jeremiah Program: purchase materials for a new science and technology center in the child development center that will provide STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) instruction
Congratulations to all the organizations that received funding for their programs and services, and thank you for standing United with us to ensure that all families are financially stable!
During this grant cycle, United Way also provided funding to organizations advancing the goals of our other two community coalitions: the Austin/Travis-County Success By 6 (SX6) and Greater Austin Reading (GARC) Coalitions. Check out this blog post to learn more about funding for SX6 initiatives and this one to learn more about funding for GARC initiatives.