AUSTIN, Texas — The TEGNA Foundation, the charitable foundation sponsored by TEGNA, and KVUE, TEGNA’s ABC affiliate in Austin, announced they will award seven nonprofit organizations community grants totaling $25,000 in the greater Austin community.
The grants aim to address pressing needs in the Austin community, including affordability, transportation, nutrition and housing. KVUE is working to effect positive change in our community, including through charitable contributions, employee volunteerism, reporting and raising awareness of urgent issues such as our Boomtown 2040 series on Austin's affordability and transportation issues.
The grant recipients are:
This organization received $4,000 to support affordable homeownership in Austin. The grant is to support the spring 2020 House that Tech Built, creating an affordable home for a hardworking, low-income family who would not otherwise be able to afford their own home in the region.
Since 1985, Austin Habitat has been providing housing and home repair solutions to low-income individuals and families. This money is to help to create homes for more than 20 families in the Austin region. You can learn more about them here.
This organization was awarded $2,500 to support the purchase of gas vouchers, bus passes and registration, insurance, maintenance and fuel costs for the residential passenger van that will enable the agency to provide transportation and support services to residential clients. Transportation is crucial to this organization as the clients can have an additional form of autonomy and a way to safety without worrying about the cost. Learn more about the Family Crisis Center here.
This organization is using the $5,000 to support the museum's K-12 arts education programs in 2019-2020. The grant will help the Blanton continue to develop innovative, distinctive programming that serves thousands of diverse students from across Austin each year. As the principal art museum for the City, the Blanton is committed to being accessible to the community as it continues to grow.
The K-12 programs serve an average of 13,000 students each year, focusing on literacy, cultural proficiency, dual language education, social and emotional learning and other themes. The Blanton offers to fund bus transportation and waives museum admission to Title 1 schools or others that demonstrate financial need – more than 60% of visits are from Title 1 schools. This reflects the museum's commitment to serving diverse audiences and removing financial barriers to the arts. Here's more about the Blanton.
This nonprofit was awarded $2,500 to pursue their mission to nourish and enrich the lives of the homebound and other people in need through services that promote dignity and independent living. By providing transportation support through their Groceries to Go program they are able to directly improve the low-income homebound clients' ability to consistently maintain their health.
Meals on Wheels Central Texas implemented their Groceries to Go program in 1994, and they provide grocery shopping to more than 300 clients each year. In their annual survey, they found that 70% of their clients would have to leave their home and move in with family members or into an assisted living facility without the program. You can learn more about Meals on Wheels here.
This organization will receive $5,000 to foster job-creating investment in Central Texas' five-county region. Opportunity Austin (OA) works with at least 500 existing companies to create approximately 25,000 new jobs in the Austin area.
Opportunity Austin is designed to support job creation, employability and economic advancement for all. The organization strives for an inclusive and innovative economy, an education, credentialed and career-ready workforce and affordable and accessible communities.
Opportunity Austin is a part of the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
This organization received $5,000 for their Bright By Text platform, which provides families with children access to free, bilingual parenting tips and information on free, family-friendly events and opportunities tailored to the age of their children and the ZIP code they live in.
There are approximately 3,500 served by this project. Though Bright By Text is for all families, United Way ATX specifically targets families that may experience barriers to other services due to geographic isolation, immigration concerns, lack of transportation, or language barriers. This project expands on the proven practice of public outreach campaigns as an awareness-raising tool to directly deliver needed and tailored information to parents of young children.
You can learn more about United Way here.
This nonprofit organization received $1,000 to help fulfill their commitment to educating and training women and minority contractors to be able to participate in local transportation projects.
The Association of Women and Minority Contractors of Texas (AWMCTX) is dedicated to educating, promoting and supplying business development services to women and minority-owned businesses in the construction industry. They offer the services of providing certifications, safety training, project opportunities and mentoring. Learn more about them here.
Congratulations, grant recipients!
“The KVUE team has spent a lot of time reporting on the biggest issues facing Central Texas including affordability and transportation,” said KVUE's General Manager Kristie Gonzales. “This year, we want our giving to align with our reporting, and these seven organizations do a wonderful job of helping alleviate some of the biggest problems in our community.”
TEGNA Foundation Community Grants are distributed within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal framework, with the majority of grants supporting four categories: Good Health & Well Being (43%), Quality Education (25%), Zero Hunger (12%) and No Poverty (10%). Since 2015, TEGNA Foundation and stations have distributed more than $7.5 million in community grants. A summary of the TEGNA Foundation’s 2019 grant awards can be found here.
About TEGNA
TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) is an innovative media company that serves the greater good of our communities. Across platforms, TEGNA tells empowering stories, conducts impactful investigations and delivers innovative marketing solutions. With 62 television stations and four radio stations in 51 markets, TEGNA is the largest owner of the top 4 affiliates in the top 25 markets among independent station groups, reaching approximately 39 percent of all television households nationwide. TEGNA also owns leading multicast networks Justice Network and Quest. TEGNA Marketing Solutions (TMS) offers innovative solutions to help businesses reach consumers across television, email, social and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, including Premion, TEGNA’s OTT advertising service. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.