Agencies indicated by a star have been thoroughly audited for both efficiency and outcomes by one of the following large grantors: Austin Community Foundation, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, Glimmer of Hope Foundation, Impact Austin, Junior League of Austin and/or United Way Capital Area within the last two years.
Partners
A+ Education Foundation is devoted to providing grants for educators in the ten Central Texas counties in the field of membership of A+ Federal Credit Union. The grant program begins in February each year with a postmark deadline in May. Check out aplusfcu.org/grants for more information.
Ascend Center for Learning strengthens the community by providing a supportive and encouraging educational environment for personal and professional growth. We serve motivated adults in the Central Texas community who require economic, academic and personal assistance. We offer GED Preparation, adult basic education, computer literacy and job readiness training as well as counseling and professional partnerships.
Austin Can Academy is a dropout recovery charter school for high school students who are seeking a non-traditional opportunity to earn a high school diploma as the first step to a fulfilling a productive life.
Our mission is to provide the highest quality education for all students, especially for those who have struggled in a traditional high school setting, in order to ensure their economic independence.
Our Services include:
• Flexible AM/PM classes, small student, teacher, and counselor ratio.
• Ready To Work provides post-secondary options by assisting students with financial aid and college applications. Students also attend workshops for practical money skills, professional etiquette, interview preparation, resume and cover letter development, job-shadowing, excursions, college tours, and on-site seminars & fairs.
• One-on-one and group tutoring helps to improve poor TAKS test scores, poor student attendance, high drop- out rates and a low graduation rates.
• Classroom Learning Assistants help to create a co-teaching environment.
• Student activities and clubs.
The Austin Community College Foundation was established in 1991 to expand higher education and training throughout the Austin Community College District. Its mission is to raise funds to ensure student success and develop community support for the college.
The Austin Cycling Association (ACA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that serves as Austin’s premier cycling organization. The group has been in existence for 24 years. The ACA is dedicated to furthering bicycle access, safety and education, and cycling enjoyment in Central Texas.
ACA sponsors bike rides, bicycle training and cycling skills classes, defensive cycling classes, informational programs related to cycling and an annual charity bike ride, the Armadillo Hill Country Classic (AHCC). The AHCC benefits bicycle safety education and free helmets for children.
Membership is open to adults and families, and includes a one-year subscription to Southwest Cycling News, access to online ride maps featuring great area ride routes and free classified ads.
Austin Partners in Education (APIE) provides 3,500 Austin ISD students with personalized support by recruiting, training and placing a critical mass of more than 850 volunteer Classroom Coaches and 800 mentors into Austin ISD campuses weekly. APIE fosters effective community and school partnerships that prepare students for college and careers.
The mission of the Austin Public Library Foundation is to support and strengthen Austin's libraries.
Austin Youth River Watch is an after-school mentoring program for high school students, combining peer learning and empowerment with intensive environmental education.
Our students learn professional methods for collecting, analyzing, and publishing water-quality data from waterways in the Austin area. They report their data to local and statewide agencies.
Guided by an all-volunteer Board of community leaders, the mission of Austin Youth River Watch is to promote community-based environmental monitoring, awareness, and education while inspiring and advancing personal and scholastic achievement.
Aware Awake Alive prevents loss of life to alcohol poisoning by educating teens, young adults and parents on the dangers and symptoms of alcohol overdose, generating awareness and dialogue around amnesty-based policy and legislation and creating an atmosphere of partnership in which young people, parents, educators and like-minded organizations share responsibility for supporting and educating one another.
Breakthrough is a nonprofit organization, founded in Austin in 2001, that builds a path to college for low-income students, starting in middle school, who will be first generation college graduates. Breakthrough admits students in 5th or 6th grade and provides six-weeks of intensive programming during the summer taught by exceptional college and high school students who serve as outstanding role models. Breakthrough’s core services include school year support and advocacy, individualized case management, after school tutoring and homework help, Saturday academic programs, test preparation, mentors, college counseling and guidance, and college persistence support . Breakthrough works because we provide support that is intensive, comprehensive, personalized and sustained. We believe that by providing innovative, educational programs to children and their families, we can break the cycle of poverty in their lives forever.
Today’s children are the first generation in two centuries facing a shorter life expectancy than their parents. This shortened life span stems from poor physical and mental health and education deficiencies. Cyberways and Waterways develops programs that make learning and taking action around personal health, sustainability and STEM subjects fun for children, so we can reverse this alarming trend. By donating to Cyberways and Waterways, you help keep all of our programs and resources free to any public or private K-12 school.
The Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (FLCCT) offers free financial education classes and financial literacy resources to the low-income community within Central Texas. Participants in FLCCT's classes gain a better understanding of the consumer marketplace and the economic environment while learning skills necessary to take charge of their financial situations, plan for the future, and avoid financial predators. As an unbiased provider of financial education, FLCCT's mission is to foster community prosperity by enhancing the knowledge and skills Central Texans need for improved financial decision-making.
FLCCT's volunteer instructors can provide 38 distinct one-hour modules of instruction from several nationally recognized financial education curricula. FLCCT works closely with its partners to design a series of classes that meet the specific financial literacy needs of class participants. In 2012, FLCCT volunteer instructors provided 144 hours of financial education to 1,395 individuals.
The Free Minds Project provides Central Texas adults living on low incomes with a chance to fulfill their intellectual potential and to jumpstart their college education. A program of UT’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, in partnership with Austin Community College and Foundation Communities, Free Minds offers a free two-semester college course in humanities to adults who have faced significant barriers to education. Top faculty from UT Austin and ACC lead students in lively discussions and help to improve their skills in writing, communication, and critical thinking. Tuition, books, and child care are provided without charge. Students who complete the course receive six credit hours from ACC.
• By making intellectual community available to all, regardless of income or educational background, Free Minds provides Central Texas adults with the tools and confidence to build better lives for themselves and their families.
GENaustin’s mission is to support and guide girls to make wise choices as they navigate the unique pressures of girlhood. We offer innovative, confidence building programs, utilizing best practices for working with ALL girls. We also provide education and awareness about the state of girls to teachers and parents.
Girlstart's mission is to empower girls in math, science, and technology. Since its inception, in 1997, Girlstart has served 16,000 girls, teachers, and parents though summer camps, Saturday camps, after-school programs, teacher trainings, workshop series, and community events.
HSC’S MISSION
The Hispanic Scholarship Consortium collaboratively leverages resources to provide scholarships to Central Texas Hispanic students and offers a network of support that mentors and empowers scholars to graduate from college as workforce ready leaders engaged in our community.
HSC’S $1 FOR $1 MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM
The Hispanic Scholarship Consortium partners with local nonprofit organizations that value access to higher education. HSC catalyzes investments by matching the first $1,000 a Consortium Member raises with another $1,000 to jointly offer a $2,000 renewable college scholarship.
EVERY STEP OF THE WAY
While a $2,000 renewable college scholarship helps student and families to an extent, HSC maximizes its efforts by providing every scholar with invaluable one-on-one advising and referrals to key campus and community contacts. Services include: case management, leadership and professional training, community service, mentoring and internship opportunities.
KIPP Austin Public Schools is a network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools that empowers students to thrive in and graduate from four-year colleges and universities.
In East Austin, the path to college has traditionally been impeded by a lack of educational opportunity. Our elementary schools, KIPP Austin Comunidad and KIPP Austin Connections currently serve grades Kindergarten through first and will be adding second grade in the fall of 2012. KIPP Austin College Prep and KIPP Austin Academy of Arts & Letters are middle schools that serve grades five through eight. KIPP Austin Collegiate is a high school serving grades nine through twelve. All five schools provide academically rigorous programs where students successfully climb the mountain to and through college.
In the fall of 2012 we will open two more middle schools, KIPP Austin Beacon Prep and KIPP Austin Vista Middle School, in the Dove Springs neighborhood of Southeast Austin.
With the Hispanic population booming in Austin and a continued expectation of growth, we need to put the focus on how to assist those coming from Latin countries that need a helping hand. While Manos serves people of all cultural and racial background, there is no denying that Latinos are moving further away from being the minority in Austin and could utilize services offered by places like Manos. With more exposure, Manos can continue to help those in need with ESL classes, a food pantry, clothes closet and a dental clinic. These services help people gain the confidence and skills they need to contribute fully to society.
The Testicular Cancer Foundation (TCF) provides education and support to young men to raise awareness about testicular cancer, the #1 cancer among men ages 15 – 35.
Additionally, TCF invests significant time helping families, speaking to groups and sharing its mission and resources with the medical and healthcare communities, schools and wherever groups of young men can be reached.
Texans Standing Tall is a statewide leader in evidence-based, environmental community change strategies. We keep you updated on state level proposed policies and policy implementation, educate on the latest research and reports and teach how to implement evidence-based prevention strategies. We help develop skills through training and technical assistance. And, we provide support to create community and state level change to protect youth.
The mission of the TRA Education Foundation is to provide educational opportunities for restaurant careers in Texas.
The Global Human Progress Foundation was conceived to promote and assist the development of basic human rights for individuals and groups currently living in conditions considered unacceptable and lacking basic human needs.
Texas River School uses our Rivers as classrooms to teach and reinforce traditional subjects with under-served youth and to introduce important personal growth initiatives like leadership, self discipline and civic responsibility, while fostering a life-long connection to and affection for Texas waterways. Programs include the “Discover the Source” trip where students canoe on Lady Bird Lake to Barton Springs. After visiting the Splash Exhibit, they learn to snorkel and are taken to the actual spring within the Barton Springs Pool. Another program includes the “Down River Colorado Trip” – a trip below the dam on the Colorado River. Students get to experience the rural setting and natural river, and frequently camp overnight at our River Camp on the “Overnight Camping Trip,” where they fish, sing campfire songs, learn nature photography, and more. Students often exclaim that their day on the river is their favorite field trip ever!
Our motto is "Human-powered transportation through community participation" Our goal is to get more people on bicycles and out of their cars. We promote bicycle transportation because it is cheap, accessible, quiet, clean, and healthy. Cars are destroying our city; now is the time to do something about it. We provide free training in bike repair at our workshop in East Austin, and donate bikes to schools and shelters for the homeless and abused, refurbish inexpensive bikes for sale, and have a great time doing it. Come volunteer sometime.
The mission of TCDC is to provide quality, affordable early care and education to children within our economically and ethnically diverse community. We strive to provide stability and support to the children in our care and to their families, so that together we can truly impact future generations.
Registered
The mission of A Legacy of Giving is to empower children through philanthropy education and youth philanthropy programs to become more engaged in improving their communities and world.
American YouthWorks, an empowerment organization, that transforms young people into self-sufficient adults through education, job training and community service. AYW operates a charter high school, offers job training programs and has created a strong support network offering counseling, health care, and career placement services.
The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders is a public college preparatory school for girls grades 6-12, founded to give young women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds the skills and confidence necessary to pursue college educations and careers.
As the support organization for Zilker Botanical Garden, the AAGC promotes the education of citizens of all ages in the art of gardening. This includes conservation of flowers, trees, and the protection of wildlife. The AAGC’s programming includes school tours of Zilker Botanical Garden, as well as public seminars on diverse gardening and preservation subjects.
To assist African Americans and all other under-served Austin area residents in the achievement of societal and economic equality by focusing on educational improvement, employment readiness, health and wellness, and the preservation of affordable housing.
We work to end violence and discrimination in all sectors of society. We place special focus on working alongside young women and children because, given the opportunity and proper education, young women and children can help create a better world for all beings.
Children should have an opportunity to get a great education regardless of their financial situation. Grants of $1000 per year for three years for at-risk students provide a school choice not normally available. Families contribute to the tuition. Parents are now invested with a strong commitment to their child's education.
Austin Discovery School is a creative learning environment open to all students and their families, providing an individualized, hands-on curriculum that develops confident, environmentally aware, critical thinkers. Our program features organic gardening, lifetime fitness activities, along with emphasis on social/emotional learning and community service.
AIBA promotes locally owned businesses by providing them with marketing, educational, and networking opportunities. We also inform Austinites about the economic, cultural and environmental benefits of shopping locally.
The purpose of Austin LifeGuard Character and Sexuality Education is to empower teens in the Austin area with accurate information and practical tools to help them make healthy decisions, build strong relationships, and fully experience the benefits of saving sex for marriage.
Our values include a life-long love of learning, creative thinking, self-confidence, a sympathetic interest in the world, and an abiding sense of moral purpose. By creating a school environment that balances academic, artistic, and practical disciplines, Austin Waldorf School cultivates the faculties that allow our students to develop these qualities.
The BIATX is the leading association in Texas providing information, advocacy, and professional education regarding brain injury. Our membership is made up of people with brain injuries, family members and professionals.
The BIATX provides many significant services to those in need, including:
Information and Referral Sources
Connecting to Local Support Groups
Education for Survivors and Families
Prevention Strategies
Public Policy Issues
Coalition Building
Media Outreach
Educational Opportunities
CASACA has operated since 1972 and consists of healthcare professionials and volunteers to include: recreation therapists, activity directors, social workers, admission/marketing directors, and many others. We represent senior centers, assisted and independent living, long term care, and other facilities within the continuum of care.
Capital IDEA lifts working families out of poverty by sponsoring educational services that lead to life-long financial independence. Capital IDEA funds qualified participants' tuition, books and childcare and works with them to find employment with good salaries, benefits and opportunity for career growth.
FLL is an international program that introduces children to the fun experience of solving real-world problems by applying math, science, and technology. Guided by adult mentors and their own imaginations, FLL participants solve real-world engineering challenges, develop important life skills, and learn to make positive contributions to society.
Citizen Schools was founded in 1995 to bring new solutions to the challenge of young adult education. Now a growing national network of after-school education programs for students in middle school, our programs complement classroom learning by engaging students in hands-on learning projects led by adult volunteers and supported by a staff of professional educators.
The mission of the Cleantech Open is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental and economic challenges. Cleantech Open is a volunteer run organization. We mentor, provide business plan assistance, educate about Clean tech industry, entrepreneurship and expose clean tech startups to investors. Our participating companies are focused on air, water, waste, renewable energy, green building, energy efficiency, transportation and smart grid.
College Forward provides college preparatory services to motivated, economically disadvantaged students, in order to facilitate their transition to college and make the process exciting and rewarding. We currently serve over 500 students across five school districts and believe that access to higher education is the right of every young Texan.
The E3 Alliance is a regional collaborative to create a research-based “blueprint” to align our education systems to better fulfill the potential of every citizen. We are the region’s P-16 Council, breaking down barriers and building alignment across disconnected institutions to strengthen student success—and ultimately, the competitiveness of the region.
Our mission is to empower church leaders to act against the stigma and discrimination of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
English at Work's mission is to provide English language instruction to limited-English-proficient individuals at the workplace. Our vision is to use language proficiency to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency and contribute to their community.
The Foundation promotes the value of education and advocates to eliminate the achievement gap. Through its collective partnerships, the Foundation leverages business resources and cultural insights to address the educational needs within the Greater Austin community.
The Griffin School is a college preparatory high school empowering a community of learners through a focus on the arts.
Hill Country Hill Tribers provides marketable skills to artisans in Austin’s refugee population. By weaving and sewing in their homes, refugee women are able to contribute to their families’ financial stability while caring for their children. HCHT also offers English language skills and basic educational opportunities to the artisans.
The mission of Khabele Education is “to cultivate learning communities in which each and every student, parent and team member realizes their profound beauty, falls in love with learning, and lives with courage and authenticity.” In a culture of acceptance and empowerment, students learn to develop their natural potential.
Latinitas is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young Latinas through media and technology. Latinitas Magazine is the first digital magazine made for and by Latina youth. Since 2002, we have offered media enrichment programs aimed at empowering girls to express themselves and gain confidence to succeed.
Marbridge provides a safe, loving community where adult residents with cognitive challenges can achieve their full potential through Abilities Centered Training with the opportunity for lifetime care.
The mission of the Open Door is to provide a quality, inclusive preschool program to children of diverse abilities and backgrounds in a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment that promotes respect and acceptance.
At Parkside Community School our goal is for each child to become an independent, self-reliant person with the skills necessary to achieve their own goals, the ability to make a positive contribution to society, and to have an awareness of the interrelated nature of all life. To achieve this goal, we base our educational approach on the developmental philosophy and educational methods of Dr. Maria Montessori.
To provide a comprehensive educational program for professionally diagnosed dyslexic students by using research-based methods to meet the educational needs of each child in a supportive environment. Additionally, the Rawson-Saunders School serves as a unique and valuable resource to individuals affected by dyslexia through outreach, advocacy, and awareness opportunities.
St. James' Episcopal School inspires thinking that leads to academic achievement and prepares children for life as leaders, problem solvers, and self-reliant individuals. St. James' is one of the few school in Austin offering exceptional learning in a culturally economically diverse environment, where children feel loved, accepted, and supported.
The mission of the Texas Association of Partners in Education is to provide leadership and expertise for schools, families, businesses and communities to build partnerships that enhance student success.
The mission of the Texas Civil Rights Project is to promote racial, social, and economic justice through community education and litigation. We strive to foster equality, secure justice, ensure diversity, and strengthen communities, having been originally founded in 1978 as Oficina Legal del Pueblo Unido, Inc. (OLPU).
A non-profit organization providing resources and programming that contribute to an enhanced quality of life for retired Texas teachers and school personnel, and supporting public education in Texas.
The mission of the TSD Foundation is to enrich and maximize the quality of education available to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Texas and beyond.
The African Leadership Bridge provides scholarships for outstanding students from developing nations to attend UT Austin. They must demonstrate leadership, intellectual ability and financial need.
Saving Children's Lives, One Heart at a Time.
The Children’s Heart Foundation is the only organization that was created to exclusively fund congenital heart defect (CHD) research. CHD's are America’s and every country’s #1 birth defect. Nearly one of every 100 babies is born with a CHD.
Truth Be Told provides transformational tools for women behind and beyond bars. Our programs provide respectful listening and creative tools for personal and spiritual growth for incarcerated women. We encourage in them a deeper sense of personal responsibility and help them face the truth of their pasts and embrace the hope of their futures.
Ventana del Soul provides training and vocational mentoring to disadvantaged and hard to employ persons so that they can build a career, attain financial stability and establish a higher quality of life as active citizens.
We work with a diverse group of unemployed individuals, including persons with disabilities, seniors, and persons who have had contact with the foster care, military, or welfare systems, but we specialize in helping those who are homeless, have a criminal background, and/or suffer from drug and alcohol addiction.
Ventana’s innovative, sustainable, and green project includes the purchase of two hotels in the Austin area. One hotel houses up to 400 students. The other is a fully-functioning hotel where individuals from faith-based and community organizations cross train students in every position, including bookkeeping, meeting planning, culinary arts, foodservice, retail, floral, warehouse, and much more. All training includes environmental awareness and green practices, products and technologies.
The YWA Foundation awards $2,500 scholarships annually to women enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs and has recently expanded to provide grants to organizations dedicated to empowering, educating, and enriching the lives of young women and children in our community.
The mission of Zephaniah Community Development Corporation is to economically empower those from low-income neighborhoods through small business development and mentoring projects. Our first project is the Texas Pie Kitchen Employment and Job Training Program, which provides job training to low-income adults with barriers to employment.
