AUSTIN, Texas – United Way for Greater Austin announced their 2018-2021 Community Investment Grant funded partners. United Way will collectively award twenty-eight agencies a total of $1.4 million under two distinct funding opportunities.
The path to poverty starts at an early age when low-income children do not have access to the same opportunities as their more advantaged peers. In Travis County, 42 percent of all children under six years of age are living in low-income families. That is almost 40,000 children who wake up each morning in homes where economic insecurity forces families to choose between paying their ever-rising rent or purchasing groceries.
United Way’s Community Investment Grants (CIGs) support their partner organizations to tackle the community’s greatest challenges. Through high-quality, data-driven programs, United Way seeks to ensure that Austin’s youngest, most vulnerable children and their families have the support and resources they need to break the cycle of poverty.
United Way focuses funding in two priority areas:
- Success By 6 (SB6) – Early Childhood Development: Through the Success By 6 initiatives, CIGs support programs to ensure that children are happy, health and set up for success in school and life.
- 2-Gen – Wrap-Around Family Support: 2-Gen CIGs address two generations in each family by supporting programs that provide families with equitable access to economic and social opportunities and ensure families in Central Texas are physically and mentally healthy.
With these two areas, United Way lifts up the resources to address holistic family needs to fight the root causes of poverty.
2018-2021 CIG funded partners include:
| · American Youthworks
· Any Baby Can of Austin · Austin Child Guidance Center · Austin Voices for Education and Youth · AVANCE-AUSTIN · BookSpring · Child Inc. · Communities In Schools of Central Texas · E3 Alliance · Foundation Communities · Goodwill Industries of Central Texas · Jeremiah Program · KLRU |
· LifeWorks
· Literacy Coalition of Central Texas · Mainspring Schools · Mount Sinai · Open Door Preschools · Saint Louise House · St. George’s Episcopal School · Texas Association for the Education of Young Children · The SAFE Alliance · Todos Juntos Learning Center · Trinity Child Development Center · Workforce Solutions Capital Area · YMCA of Austin |
Selecting and Awarding CIGs:
From January to March, a group of 40 reviewers evaluated agency proposals before settling on the final 28. Reviewers came from diverse backgrounds with equally diverse ties to United Way. The majority of reviewers were involved in employee giving through corporate campaigns and United Way affinity groups, however, a handful of reviewers were new prospects and University of Texas students. Differing perspectives, backgrounds and ties to the community are an important aspect of the review process, ensuring that proposals are given diverse consideration.
United Way chooses partners that have proven results and address the unique needs of the community. These awards are designed to build capacity locally so that United Way can help to create sustainable infrastructure. By intentionally focusing on both generations and supporting both the parents and their children, families are more likely to break the cycle of poverty.
Click here for more information.
Have questions? Email Madyson Russell at madyson.russell@uwatx.org