Austin Tenants Council, Mainspring Schools, Austin Diaper Bank and Ecology Action of Texas Awarded Impact Austin Grants
AUSTIN, TEXAS – June 8, 2021 – We are thrilled to announce that 432 women of Impact Austin and 74 girls of Girls Giving Grants (g3) are awarding a total of $203,800 to 5 Central Texas nonprofit organizations. The organization will continue the practice it began last year of granting 80% of the award in each grant category to the applicant with the highest number of votes, with the other finalist receiving 20%. Impact Austin has historically conducted voting and announced winners during its Annual Meeting in June. For the second year in a row, all of the votes were cast remotely and winners were announced June 8 during Impact Austin’s live streamed Annual Meeting.
“Nonprofits are more in need than ever for funding to stay afloat and continue their vital operations in our community,” said Christina Canales Gorczynski, Executive Director of Impact Austin. “While we are beginning to see the light as more Central Texans are vaccinated and beginning to venture out, we know that many of our neighbors are facing an uphill battle.”
A recent survey by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) showed that 48% expect to see continued loss of fundraising sources in the near term. And according to an October 2020 Harris Poll for Fast Company, one in five respondents said they had given less to charity recently compared to before the pandemic; in households that saw a loss of income or experienced a job loss since March 2020, that number jumped to 36%.
“We look forward to meeting in person again as a group during our annual Town Hall Meeting in November,” Gorczynski said. “While we are all eager to see each other, we felt that it was too soon to plan and execute a large event that many would not be comfortable attending in person for various reasons,” she said.
This spring’s Impact Austin Community Partners are:
· Austin Tenants Council and Austin Diaper Bank (Community Grant)
· Mainspring Schools and Ecology Action of Texas (Education Grant)
· Center for Survivors of Torture (g3)
The fall grant cycle begins on June 30 with a workshop for nonprofits, with grant applications for Impact Austin’s Health & Well-Being Grant and Equity Grant (modeled on last year’s Social Innovation Grant) open for submission from July 8 - Aug. 3. On Nov. 16, the grant awards will be announced and new Community Partners introduced during Impact Austin’s Town Hall meeting. More information about upcoming grant opportunities can be found at https://www.impactaustin.org/grantmaking.
Impact Austin welcomes new members year-round, and identifying as female is the only requirement. Each member contributes $1,250 through an annual payment, monthly payments, or a scholarship to fund the organization's grants and operations. Impact Austin Community Partners are also invited to join at no cost. Members can get involved by voting on grants, joining a committee, participating in the review process, attending social events, learning philanthropy education, and more. Information is available at https://www.impactaustin.org/membership.
About Impact Austin and g3’s 2021 grant recipients:
Austin Tenants Council
$78,500 Community Grant
Austin Tenants Council (ATC) was established in 1973 to help residents avoid homelessness and to promote fair access to safe and decent housing. It is the only organization in Central Texas addressing this issue. Its programs focus on housing discrimination, tenant-landlord education and information, and housing repair and rehabilitation.
This grant will help fund the Central Texas Housing Stability Initiative, expanding the geographic reach of ATC housing education and counseling services to underserved areas in Bastrop, Hays, and Williamson counties. Within Travis County, ATC will develop and activate a team of Community-Based Housing Advocates to provide easily accessible peer-to-peer housing rights education within communities at high risk of housing loss.
Austin Diaper Bank
$19,600 Community Grant
Austin Diaper Bank (ADB) is dedicated to providing diapers to Central Texas families who need a clean, reliable supply of diapers for a healthy and comfortable quality of life. Austin Diaper Bank serves six counties in Central Texas and provides diapers, wipes and period supplies to over 25,000 families each year.
This grant is unrestricted and awarded in support of the mission and programs of Austin Diaper Bank.
Mainspring Schools
$78,500 Education Grant
Mainspring Schools is a best-in-class nonprofit preschool that eliminates the early childhood school readiness gap. Their mission is to deliver the highest quality early education and care to Austin’s most economically disadvantaged children – along with services so each child and parent have tools for success in school and life.
The grant will focus on the crucial early stages for at-risk children and their families. The goals of the multi-month intervention program are to identify toxic stress and prevent impaired brain and physical development. The grant will fund a full-time licensed therapist to develop and implement a parenting boot camp for Mainspring families to include pregnant moms, infant moms, and all newly enrolled moms.
Ecology Action of Texas
$19,600 Education Grant
Ecology Action of Texas has spent 45 years recycling and processing materials. Sixteen years ago, it began reclaiming an abandoned landfill in Montopolis. For the past six years, it has focused on transforming this site into a nature preserve, with the vision of expanding restoration learning opportunities into a comprehensive on-site environmental education program.
The grant is unrestricted and awarded in support of the mission and programs of Ecology Action of Texas.
Center for Survivors of Torture
$7,600 Girls Giving Grants (g3) Award
The Center for Survivors of Torture (CST) exists to facilitate healing, ease transition into new beginnings, and foster hope in survivors of trauma, by providing specialized services addressing their comprehensive psychological, medical, and social needs; generating legal referrals; providing training opportunities for state-of-the-art professional service delivery; and collecting outcome measurements.
The grant will be used for the Center’s Healing Children Program, which provides access to web-based telehealth and virtual counselling services for child victims of torture. The funding will ensure that upwards of 200 refugees and asylum seekers have the technology and internet service needed to connect with therapy sessions, art classes, legal advising, and other essential CST programs.
Related Links
· 2020 Town Hall: Impact Austin Awards $40,000 Social Innovation Grant to Black Mamas ATX
· 2020 Annual Meeting: Impact Austin Doubles the Number of Nonprofits Supported
About Impact Austin
Impact Austin’s mission is to cultivate the collective wisdom and strength of women to transform ourselves and our communities through philanthropy. Since its inception in 2003, Impact Austin has awarded 99 high-impact grants and invested over $7.64 million to nonprofit organizations and collaboratives in Central Texas. Impact Austin’s youth initiative, Girls Giving Grants (g3), creates learning and leadership opportunities for Central Texas girls in grades 8-12. The organization has awarded $98,000 since 2006. Learn more at www.impactaustin.org and www.impactaustin.org/girls-giving-grants.
Media Contact
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