We are excited to award $2.2 Million to 70 Austin-area nonprofits working to support communities experiencing economic and health-related hardships caused by COVID-19 in Central Texas. This funding comes from All Together ATX, the COVID-19 relief fund we created in partnership with our friends at Austin Community Foundation. The nonprofits receiving grants are working to address domestic violence and child abuse, digital equity, mental health, aging populations, and utility assistance. The grants range in size from $70,000 to $5,000 and will be distributed electronically by August 11. Meet the grantees here. Data consistently shows that Black and Hispanic residents in Central Texas are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 compared to their white neighbors. According to Austin Public Health, Hispanics make up 52% of confirmed cases in Travis County. Similarly, the Black community comprises 10% of hospitalizations and 9% of deaths in Travis County but is less than 8% of the population. To ensure the communities most impacted by COVID-19 are supported and funded, equity was a guiding principle in the All Together ATX grantmaking process. The intent of this round of funding was to enhance and increase existing services to individuals of historically under-resourced communities in the five-county Central Texas region (Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson). All Together ATX distributed an initial round of funding in April 2020. During that phase, we awarded grants totaling $1.8 Million to 97 nonprofits. Funding from All Together ATX has helped dozens of Central Texas nonprofits meet the high demand for services and […]
Read MoreWe all have a part to play: Meet Emerging Leader Emily Gonzales
As an Emerging Leaders member, you’ll have opportunities to network and collaborate with a diverse group of influential business leaders all while making an impact. We are proud to celebrate young professionals as philanthropic leaders and are honored to have so many amazing individuals in our community — like Emily Gonzalez, an Emerging Leader, and amazing community advocate! What do you love most about Austin? The diverse and spirited people! Austin is overall a great environment for young professionals to thrive. The city offers a vibrant space to be creative and do good. As an Emerging Leaders Executive Committee member, what do you hope the group will accomplish in the next year? Our shared goal is to grow our membership and a positive influence throughout Austin. I believe mentorship opportunities with United Way partners such as Family Pathways are a great way to achieve a strong community impact. What has been your favorite volunteer project with United Way? I’ve enjoyed all of our projects! I’d say my favorite has been the MLK Day of Service because it allowed me to meet other volunteers while getting some fresh air cleaning up East MLK Jr Blvd.
Read MoreFamily Leadership Council: Your story matters
At United Way for Greater Austin, we bring people, ideas, and resources together to fight poverty. We know that real change happens when we Live United and we value the lived experience and extensive expertise of parents & caregivers. One of the ways we make this happen is through our Family Leadership Council led by Paola Silvestre Porras, Director of Family Pathways at United Way ATX. The Family Leadership Council aims to create a pipeline for parents with lived experience to become community leaders and serve on commission boards, city council, and more. It is important for parents to be part of the decision-making process that affects them directly. The Family Leadership Council is designed to help these parents be agents of change in their own communities. One of these parents from the inaugural cohort of the Family Leadership Council is Amina Makamba. Immigrating from the Congo in 2016, Amina gave birth to her triplet daughters three months early, the very next day after arriving in Austin, Texas. “I came here in December of 2016. When I got to Austin, the next day I had the triplets. One of my girls was one pound when she was born and stayed in the hospital for five months,” Amina said. “When my kids were born I didn’t have any family here, so I had to stay in the shelter and work to go through the [social service system].” Parents are nominated to participate in the Family Leadership Council by our Community Investment […]
Read MoreEmbodying grace: A Tribute to Jacquie Porter
Written by// Sue Carpenter, Chief Programs Officer Over the weekend, I learned about the passing of Jacquie Porter, Austin’s beloved early learning leader. This week has been a profoundly sad one, but I can’t help but reflect on the many wonderful experiences that I – and everyone in the Austin early education community – shared with this extraordinary colleague and friend. I first met Jacquie over a decade ago, when she was the Principal of AISD’s Lucy Read PreK Center. Even though her focus was on building and growing an exemplary early learning model for the district, she immediately stepped into a leadership role for the broader community coalition focused on school readiness. Having Jacquie at the table meant everything. If I could sum her up in one word (impossible!) – it would be “grace.” She was incredibly kind, thoughtful, and unstinting in the amount of time and counsel she was prepared to give to make our community better for young children and families. Very few people are both visionary and practical, but Jacquie dreamed of what could be and figured out the steps needed to make the vision a reality. One of my first conversations with her was about how the district could partner with community-based child care centers to deliver high-quality pre-K. She listened, asked questions, and then created plans to put this into action. Several pilot projects followed until the model was truly functioning, but she persisted across years despite all the challenges. Today, because of her […]
Read MoreKeeping the movement going together, even when we’re apart
At United Way ATX we are committed to doing the hard work, internally and in our community, of confronting racism. Our mission is to bring together people, ideas and resources to fight poverty in our community, and we we can most effectively fight poverty when we stand up for racial equity. Internally, we are 18 months into a deep dive on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and have been doing hard, introspective work on our shortcomings as an organization and finding innovative and inclusive solutions to continue moving forward in an open and equitable way. During this time, our team has been committed to transformation and growth, to keep learning and unlearning and to create safe spaces for our team to thrive. Since transitioning to working in the virtual space we’ve enjoyed staying connected on our DEI goals through resource sharing. #BlackLivesMatter to us, every single day, and our team is committed to the movement, not the moment. Three members of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee have volunteered to share some of their favorite resources that have made an impact on them. _______________________________________________________________________ Jordan Gutierrez-Ramirez | Corporate Volunteer Manager, United Way for Greater Austin Resource: In Bold Company, a community “Let’s be honest, the past few months haven’t been easy. Whether we are aware of it or not, systemic racism is something we live with every day, and as a brown woman it has been heartbreaking to see what is happening to the Black community both right now and […]
Read MoreTexas Gas Service: Where philanthropy is a core component of culture
Carmen Luevanos, Community Relations Manager at Texas Gas Service, shares about how and why she is involved with United Way for Greater Austin with Corporate Account Manager, Chauncey LeGrand. Texas Gas Service has been partnering with United Way to end poverty in Austin for more than a decade. Last year alone nearly 300 employees raised more than $65,000. Texas Gas is a unique and impactful campaign because it is an organization that matches $1 for $1 when its employees donate to the United Way campaign each year – and we couldn’t be more grateful! Historically, the Texas Gas campaign lasts the entire month of October and they have various activities to raise money throughout the year with paired with fun social activities that include a chili cook-off, ice cream social, breakfast tacos, and more! Thank you Texas Gas Service, we couldn’t fight poverty without you! If you or your organization is interested in getting involved or starting a United Way giving campaign learn more here.
Read MoreMeet Laura, a proud advocate dedicated to ending poverty in Austin
Women United educates, engages, and empowers women in Greater Austin. Each month we will spotlight and bring you a closer look into the lives of one of your fellow Women United Members. We are proud to celebrate women as philanthropic leaders and are honored to have so many amazing women in our community. 1. What do you love about Austin? I love our natural beauty. I love to see our community coming together to stand up against injustices and call out wrongdoing. I love seeing our community come together in peaceful protests and in support of those in need. I love feeling confident walking into any restaurant in this town and knowing you’re not going to be underdressed or overdressed, you’re going to fit in just as you are. 2. How did you become involved with United Way for Greater Austin/Women United? When I first joined Mayor Adler’s administration, I attended the committee meetings the United Way convened focusing on the Pay For Success model for interventions supporting early childhood development and ending homelessness. I was impressed with the way they were able to gather many people and organizations focused on the same goal and help lead the group to get things done. I became more involved when a good friend, Kerry Tate, introduced me to David Smith, their new CEO. David has a passion and enthusiasm about him that draws you to help him achieve big audacious goals for our community. 3. As a Women United leader, […]
Read MoreMeet Nico Ramsey, Emerging Leader & Philanthropy Champion
As an Emerging Leaders member, you’ll have opportunities to network and collaborate with a diverse group of influential business leaders all while making an impact. We are proud to celebrate young professionals as philanthropic leaders and are honored to have so many amazing individuals in our community — like Nico Ramsey, an Emerging Leader, and all-around rockstar! What do you love most about Austin? The feature I love most about Austin is the abundance of young people and the room to grow. As an Emerging Leaders Executive Committee member, what do you hope the group will accomplish in the next year? My hope is that we cultivate a diverse group of people who genuinely care about systemically changing our community for the better. What has been your favorite volunteer project with United Way? My favorite volunteer opportunities are the seasonal days of caring because it brings so many first-timers out, it’s inspiring.
Read MoreParents, here are 5 things to do before going back to child care
Going back to work will be different for everyone, including people who work in child care. Because of COVID-19, teachers have changed how they care for and educate children to follow new health and safety standards. Parents, here are 5 tips to get ready for going back to care outside the home. 1. Practice wearing your mask at home Early childhood teachers are asked to think about wearing masks while caring for children. Seeing people in masks and wearing a mask may be difficult for many young children. You can help your child adjust to this by: Practice wearing masks at home, and taking them on and off. Let your child touch and hold your mask before you put it on. Talk about why we wear masks in simple terms like: wearing a mask helps keep people from getting sick because it covers their nose and mouth. Children learn through play, so include masks in silly “peek-a-boo” games or in pretend play – or make little paper masks for your child’s stuffed animals or dolls. Make children’s masks individual and unique for them. Allow your child to ask questions and express their feelings. Note: Masks should NOT be worn by children under age 2. Read more guidance from Austin Public Health here. 2. Understand tuition and fees Since March, you may have paid a part of child care fees even if your program was closed. This may seem unfair, but it helps keep your child’s spot at the center and […]
Read More3 Steps to Catalyze Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Momentum
Guest Blog by: Rachel V. Rosen, Founder of S.P.A.R.K Equity in Action. Rachel is United Way for Greater Austin’s DEI Strategist Right now, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are more important than ever. Studies continue to illuminate the importance of prioritizing Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DEI), yet many organizations still have not made DEI a priority, which can have big implications. With all that’s going on in our country, this is a crucial moment to make a commitment to both DEI and anti-racism in our communities. With the discourse shifting AND changing demographics in the global workforce (51% women, 54% new workers identifying as People Of Color, 68.6% non-Christian, and 5 generations in the workplace) countless studies show that prioritizing DEI increases productivity, innovation, morale, and creativity. This McKinsey study notes that “companies in the bottom quartile for both gender and ethnic/ cultural diversity were 29% less likely to achieve above-average profitability than were all other companies in our data set,” and “companies in the top-quartile for ethnic/cultural diversity on executive teams were 33% more likely to have industry-leading profitability.” As a DEI strategist, there are two types of inquiries I receive: A. Organizations wanting quick fixes, immediate solutions, or needing to put-out fires such as: Someone said something racist/sexist/homophobic/microaggressive There was a complaint and it’s impacting the culture B. Proactive organizations committed to creating conditions for DEI and preventing fires Leaders committed to innovation and creating an inclusive culture Leaders committed to addressing root causes, learning, […]
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