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Business is built on relationships. A company’s success is directly related to its people. These are just two reasons why a company might flinch at the thought of loaning their very best talent out to the community. Yet State Farm, a company that puts great emphasis on its people, does just that. They select among their top talent and send them to join United Way staff in raising much needed resources for the community. It is a national program, with State Farm Loaned Executives joining local United Way’s in nearly every community all across the nation each autumn. Loaned Executives gain exposure to community needs and solutions, key business and social leaders, public speaking, and the opportunity to participate in critical work that affects the lives of those in our community. Loaned Executives sharpen different skill sets in a new environment, and in the process gain a new perspective on community and leadership. They leave behind a lasting impact on United Way and the community. Tracy Dove, PHR, the 2007 State Farm Loaned Executive, was an incredible gift to United Way and to our community. Tracy has been with State Farm for six years, and has over 15 years of experience in Human Resources. Reaching out to local market leaders, working with dozens of volunteers and speaking to numerous organizations, Tracy helped to deepen relationships and raise many thousands of dollars to address root causes of our community’s most pressing issues. In addition, Tracy used his Human Resources expertise to […]

On Saturday, December 1, 2007, members and friends of the Women’s Giving Network (WGN) came together at The Allan House to celebrate the holiday season and to give back to those in need. The holiday party was a wonderful time to visit with old and new friends, fill up on hot apple cider and peppermint cookies, and experience a joyful ‘Ho, Ho, Ho” from Santa Claus! But, this event was also a time for the Women’s Giving Network to support the Success By 6 Play and Learn Groups. In the Play and Learn Groups’ inaugural year, WGN has committed both financial and volunteer support of the project that will enable low-income children and parents to receive early childhood education. Members of WGN brought an assortment of school supplies to donate and assembled gift bags to be passed out to the students in the new year. The generosity of the guests was overwhelming. The assembly table was full of crayons, markers, and Play-Doh galore! In total, the gifts allowed for the initial 30 gift bags, one for each family, and plenty of extra supplies to be used throughout the program. In fact, all the donations would have provided for more than 50 gift bags! A big THANK YOU to the Women’s Giving Network! The Play and Learn Groups will surely benefit from the generosity!

United Way Capital Area recently became a proud Mayor’s Fitness Council Certified Partner. Learn more about the mission of the Mayor’s Fitness Council here. Read the official certification letter from Mayor Will Wynn here.

This recent article in the Austin Business Journal on a report from United Health Foundation confirms what was found in last year’s research on the most pressing social issues facing the ten counties that comprise Central Texas: health must be a concentrated area of focus in order to close the opportunity gap in Central texas. Austin may be one of the healthiest cities in Texas, but the state as a whole is not faring well compared with the rest of the nation when it comes to health. Texas ranks 37th among the states in terms of healthiness, unchanged from last year, according to the latest report from the United Health Foundation. That’s 5.5 percent below the national norm, making the state one of the least healthy in the country. Among the challenges facing Texas are the high rate of uninsured individuals, currently 24.5 percent, and a high percentage of children in poverty at 22 percent.

Today an article appeared on the front page of the Austin American Statesman entitled “Local United Way changing direction.” We were excited to see our new approach to community building get such attention. And I want to take this opportunity to expand upon some of the information from the article. I hope this brief overview gives you a clearer sense of what our new direction is, how it addresses the basic needs of our community, and helps close the growing “Opportunity Gap” between those who are getting ahead and those who are falling behind. While it’s true that we are interested in creating sustainable, long-term change in the Central Texas community, I’d like to reiterate we are not pulling away from helping people in crisis. Rather we are working to invest in programs that stabilize families and individuals. We are funding a number of basic needs services in our new approach, and are, in fact, expanding the spectrum of what constitutes “basic needs.” We see basic needs as a piece of the overall puzzle. We want to (a) empower people with the tools and knowledge to reduce their reliance on basic needs services, and (b) help move people from basic needs services into self-sustaining environments through affordable housing, meal delivery, workforce development, etc. Although we are in the middle of an open, volunteer-driven proposal (funding) process, in which a record number of organizations have applied for community dollars, I’d like to provide a few examples of basic needs services we […]

I attended the Capital City African-American Chamber’s 25th Anniversary Luncheon a few weeks ago. I wanted to write about it, not so much to tell you about the event but more about the experience. From the beginning, it made me feel good inside. They kicked it off with a great singer, Ms. Judy Arnold who blew everyone away with her rendition of the National Anthem & the African-American National Anthem and an invocation by Reverend Joseph C. Parker from David Chapel Baptist Church. What a great way to start the celebration of African-American contributions to the Greater Austin community! There was a feeling of community, of camaraderie and a true respect for the history of the chamber and those that helped build it. The program included founding board members, past executive directors and a transition to the future with the current President, Dr. Chiquita W. Eugene. My favorite parts were the history, stories and lessons, all combined together. I’m a strong believer that before we move forward, we must look back and learn from our past. And speaking of the next wave of leaders….I’ve had the opportunity to work with Arron Brooks, Membership & Tourism Manager at the Chamber. Arron is a great person to work with and I wanted get to know him a little more. I asked him a few questions about his work, the chamber and a glimpse into the importance of culture. Here’s what he had to say….. Tell me about yourself and what you do?I’m […]

United Way Capital Area has a team for the 2007 Komen Austin Race for the Cure®. We hope to see you at the race on Sunday! (Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour.) Click here to support the United Way team. Click here to get involved with the race as a volunteer or participant.

A few weeks ago, Robert Egger, CEO of the DC Central Kitchen, founder of the Nonprofit Congress and winner of the 2007 Non Profit Times 50 Most Powerful and Influential Leaders was in town to give us his insights on the nonprofit sector in Austin. Here’s what he had to say….. We are working in a nonprofit sector that isn’t “rockin”, which is why minorities and young, energetic employees aren’t “knockin!” In order for our sector to grow and remain viable in the not-so distant baby-boomers-retired future, we need to not only create new ideas, but stand up for them and believe in them. We, as young people in the sector need to demand a voice at the table with our sector’s leaders, as well as our country’s leaders. We are 10% of the workforce with an economic share greater than the GNP of India – we deserve that voice, but aren’t given that respect by our nation’s leaders. We need to get past the notion of nonprofits as “charities that do random nice things” and see ourselves as a common movement. We need to shed the “make them come to us” model and start going to them – the volunteers and resources are out there and excited to work with us. Young Nonprofit Professional Network (YNPN) has the opportunity and obligation to work towards revolutionizing the state of nonprofits to work for us and future generations, because the current system has gotten bigger, but not better. Or better yet, […]