Impact Austin awards $446,000 to area nonprofits through high-impact grants powered by collective giving of 446 women philanthropists
Four new Community Partners are improving lives of single mothers, abused and neglected children, and families in need Check presentations at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 11 at Austin City Hall
AUSTIN, TEXAS – June 8, 2018 – A growing community with great needs requires great resources, and the 446 women of Impact Austin are awarding four high-impact grants to their 2018 Community Partners whose programs will change the lives of Central Texas youth and families: Jeremiah Program, CASA of Travis County, Helping Hand Home for Children, and Communities In Schools of Central Texas. Each organization will receive a grant of $111,500 during a presentation at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 11, 2018 at Austin City Hall.
The four 2018 Community Partner grants total $446,000, bringing the organization’s to-date investment in Central Texas to nearly $6.5 million awarded by Impact Austin’s members since 2003. Impact Austin is one of the largest women’s philanthropy organizations in the United States.
“For 15 years, the women of Impact Austin have diligently reviewed more than 1,500 grant applications, made countless site visits and selected the most qualified and worthy finalists, all before our members select our newest Community Partners by live vote,” says Lauren Paver, board president, Impact Austin. “Our collective giving has injected close to $6.5 million in grant dollars into the local community, and we could not be more proud of our women members and our Community Partners who work so tirelessly serving Central Texas.”
Chosen from more than 100 applicants, Impact Austin’s 2018 grant recipients include:
Community:
Jeremiah Program – Empowerment and Life Skills Classes for Single Moms Jeremiah
Program helps transform families from poverty to prosperity two generations at a time. The nonprofit provides single mothers and their preschool-aged children with safe affordable housing, support for college, high-quality early childhood education, empowerment and life skills classes, all within a supportive community on the Jeremiah Program campus. The grant will support empowerment and life skills classes, which aim to build confidence, competence, and community among young single mothers in Austin. The life skills curriculum is offered on a rotating calendar which runs 26 weeks a year and focuses on Health & Wellness; Financial Literacy; Parenting & Child Development; and Career Development & Education.
Education: Communities In Schools (CIS) of Central Texas – ASPIRE Family Literacy Program
Communities In Schools (CIS) of Central Texas supports students in 66 schools, meeting immediate needs such as food or clothing and more complex ones like emotional support or counseling, empowering public school students to stay in school and achieve in life. For 23 years, the CIS-ASPIRE Family Literacy Program has provided integrated two-generational services—including comprehensive early childhood, adult, and parenting education—to high-need families with very young children. The Impact Austin grant will support ASPIRE’s core operating costs which will help CIS provide services to a minimum of 100 families in southeast Austin, preparing children for kindergarten and equipping their parents with the skills and education to help their entire family succeed.
Health and Well-Being: Helping Hand Home for Children – Families First Helping Hand Home for Children provides nurturing and therapeutic homes for children who have suffered abuse and neglect. The nonprofit’s goal is to heal these children and ultimately return them to healthy and permanent families. The Impact Austin grant will be used to expand the capacity of the Families First Program which recruits, trains and supports families that will foster and adopt children with complex trauma in the foster care system. The grant will allow Helping Hand Home for Children to hire staff to recruit an additional 25 families and place an additional 30 children in highly trained homes.
Catalyst: CASA of Travis County – Increasing Volunteer Diversity Through Targeted Marketing & Recruitment CASA of Travis County speaks up for children who’ve been abused or neglected by empowering the community to volunteer as advocates for them in the court system. When the state steps in to protect a child’s safety, a judge appoints a trained CASA volunteer to make independent and informed recommendations in the child’s best interest. CASA of Travis County will use the Impact Austin grant to help address the critical challenge of diversifying CASA’s base of volunteers to better represent the community and the children CASA serves. They will be hiring a dedicated staff position focused on this need, and will launch an intensive marketing and outreach campaign to recruit more African-American and Latino community members to serve as CASA volunteers.
Impact Austin awards the Catalyst Grant to a well-qualified nonprofit organization that previously achieved finalist status during Impact Austin’s diligent grant review process.
On June 11, Girls Giving Grants (g3), the youth initiative of Impact Austin, will award its largest grant in its history, $8,200, to Foster Angels of Central Texas. g3 is comprised of 82 young women in grades 8 – 12, from 18 area schools, who each donate $100 to create a meaningful grant and award it to a Central Texas nonprofit of their choice. g3 is a model of collective giving designed by Impact Austin to educate and engage young philanthropists.
Girls Giving Grants: Foster Angels of Central Texas Foster Angels of Central Texas helps meet the many unfulfilled needs of children in foster care. Through its partnership with Child Protective Services and other nonprofit agencies, Foster Angels identifies the gaps and quickly responds to children’s circumstances so they, too, can have supportive, loving childhood experiences, with long-felt positive impact. g3’s $8,200 grant will be used to assist approximately 80 children and youth in foster care with much-needed beds, cribs, mattresses and bedding items.
National research supports the idea that women will give more when they know the impact of their dollars. More than 80 percent of women philanthropists (n=911) surveyed by Brown University reported that they donate to giving networks because they understand how their gift can make a difference. And, 78 percent said their reason for giving was to make a difference in their community. Impact Austin membership is open all year, and 2019 members are currently being welcomed. Membership is open to all women for an annual donation of $1,250. Members may participate in the grant selection process including reviewing grant applications and making site visits. Other volunteer opportunities are available here.
Impact Austin is a 501(c)(3) public charity comprised of women seeking to transform lives in the Greater Austin area through high-impact grantmaking and lifelong giving. Its only membership requirements are to be female and donate $1,250 each year. Impact Austin combines the annual donations from its members and awards large grants each year to local worthy causes selected by its members. Grant applications are accepted in each of the following areas: community, education, and health and well-being. The Catalyst Grant is awarded to organizations to improve their infrastructure and sustainability.
