Impact Austin gives 4 local nonprofits $226,200 in grants with focus on equity

Nicole Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman
·4 min read
Con Mi Madre, which created a leadership camp with Project MALES in 2017, has received an equity grant from Impact Austin to expand its program to encourage young Latinas to go to college.
Con Mi Madre, which created a leadership camp with Project MALES in 2017, has received an equity grant from Impact Austin to expand its program to encourage young Latinas to go to college.

Impact Austin has awarded $226,200 in grants to four local nonprofit organizations during its fall giving cycle this month.

The philanthropy group, a collective of local women, each contributing $1,250 annually, focused on two areas in this grant cycle: health and well-being, and equity. All of the projects were voted on by the members, and the top two in each category received grants.

In health and well-being, Texas Advocacy Project was awarded $90,500, which will allow it to fund a full-time equivalent social worker for a year. Texas Advocacy Project provides legal help to people who have experienced domestic violence, sexual abuse or stalking. Most of its clients are at or below the poverty line, and they are often women of color.

This grant is providing the 40-year-old nonprofit "a significant tidal change," said Heather Bellino, its chief executive officer.

"The justice system can be retraumatizing," Bellino said. "Being able to provide those legal services while tandemly providing social services support through a local social worker, they are going to get through the court system easier. ... It's going to be a better experience to go through."

The grant will fund a year of this pilot program in Central Texas, and then Texas Advocacy Project will seek other money to keep it in place and spread it throughout Texas.

Philanthropy at work: How to help families through the Statesman Season for Caring Program

Also in its health and well-being category, Impact Austin gave $22,600 in unrestricted funds to the Asian American Community Health Initiative. The initiative provides bilingual health navigation services for local Asian-Americans.

Impact Austin gave a $90,500 grant to Texas Advocacy Project in November to help the nonprofit hire a social worker.
Impact Austin gave a $90,500 grant to Texas Advocacy Project in November to help the nonprofit hire a social worker.

In equity grants, which focus on improving equity for women and girls of color, Impact Austin gave $90,500 to Con Mi Madre to help more Latinas go to college by providing staffing, materials, campus tours, individual coaching and workshops for mothers and daughters to encourage college enrollments.

Jolt Initiative, which focuses on helping young Latinas gain skills to become advocates and leaders, received $22,600 in unrestricted funds as an equity grant.

The equity grant started as a pilot program last year and has become a regular part of Impact Austin's grants.

"The need in the community is deep," said Christina Gorczynski, executive director of Impact Austin.

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Even with a specific grant for equity, the Impact Austin grant committee and members "are seeking to embed equity across all of our areas of giving," she said.

The group now considers diversity in the makeup of organizations and the people they serve. The group is actively recruiting organizations to apply for grants and has streamlined the application process.

"We're really trying to build up organizations and build champions for their organization," Gorczynski said.

Impact Austin also has focused on its own diversity as part of a strategic plan started three years ago.

"As an organization, we are very self-aware about our reputation," she said. "We had not engaged women and donors of color in Central Texas. ... Over the last three or four years, we've worked together to reimagine our organization."

Impact Austin has done training about race and racism for its members and has done diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging training for its grant review committee members.

"They are not learning about just philanthropy," Gorczynski said. "They are learning about advancing equity."

Local giving: Impact Austin awards $200K in grants to 5 Central Texas nonprofits

Impact Austin now provides a membership to each organization it has funded to help diversify its membership and provides scholarships for memberships for women. The makeup of Impact Austin's board has been a focus, too.

"We've made a lot of strides about who's in leadership and building a pipeline of leaders to better represent our community," Gorczynski said.

The next round of Impact Austin grants will open up in January and be awarded in June. Those grants will focus on community and education. Find out more at impactaustin.org.

Giving Tuesday

It's Giving Tuesday, a day to find your favorite organizations and make a donation. A good place to start is I Live Here I Give Here, which represents many local nonprofit organizations. This year it's offering Giving eCards, which allow you to make a donation to a local nonprofit in honor of someone. Information: amplifyatx.org

You also can make a donation to the Statesman's Season for Caring program, which is benefiting 11 local nonprofit organizations this year. All donations up to $500,000 are being matched by the Sheth family through Christmas. Information: statesman.com/seasonforcaring

Local philanthropy: Donate to Statesman Season for Caring

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Impact Austin gives equity, health grants to 4 local nonprofits