Austin Black Pride (ABP)
Austin Black Pride, a 501 (c) 3 organization, was recreated in 2016 with queer people of color in mind. The founders of Austin Black Pride (ABP) saw that Austin was lacking in spaces and programming that catered to the unique needs of its Black LGBTQ community. ABP was not created to further divide, bash, or belittle non-Black LGBTQ communities; but to instead preserve the culture and history, while also celebrating the evolution of Black LGBTQ folk. 

She was first introduced to Austin Black Pride in June 2018 when Out Youth was asked to volunteer at one of their events. When I attended the event as a volunteer and heard that they were looking for board members she jumped at the chance. As a queer, black woman living in Texas, she knows how important it is for queer people of color to have safe spaces where they can be themselves.

Conspirare
Established in Austin, Texas in 1991, Conspirare is a Grammy-winning and internationally recognized choir with a reputation for “expanding the boundaries of choral performance” (Wall Street Journal). Conspirare, which translates from Latin as “to breathe together,” is led by founder and Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson, and is comprised of soloists from around the country. Conspirare’s extensive discography includes The Hope of Loving (Delos), 11 releases on the Harmonia Mundi label, and an annual live recording of Conspirare Christmas. The 2014 album The Sacred Spirit of Russia won the Grammy for Best Choral Performance. Conspirare’s ambitious mission is to engage the power of music to change lives. Through its artistic excellence, creative programming, commissioning, and educational endeavors, the organization has established itself as an agent of change and a bedrock of the Texas arts community and beyond.

Embrace Austin (RA)
Embrace Austin is a coalition of LGBTQIA2+ individuals, organizations, and businesses in Austin. We aim to build bridges between queer people and queer initiatives, boost Austin’s queer economy, and set a new standard for cultural competency in LGBTQIA2+ Austin*. We do this through hosting collaborative events, offering a robust membership, and leading with multiply-marginalized** LGBTQIA2+ people.

Keep Austin Fed (KAF)
Keep Austin Fed is a heavily volunteer based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that gathers wholesome surplus food from commercial kitchens and distributes it to area charities that serve people in need. Their mission is to reduce hunger and help the environment by connecting surplus food with our neighbors in need.

Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project (LSVAP)
Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project provides advocacy, education, and free legal services for immigrant victims of abuse. By improving the resources available to abused immigrants, we can empower victims to leave abusers and reduce the amount of domestic violence in rural Texas communities.

Mama Sana Vibrant Woman (MSVW)

A collective of Black and Brown mamas determined to make a change. They provide culturally resonant and quality prenatal and postnatal care in Austin and Travis County.

MEASURE
MEASURE was founded in 2015 by, Jameila “Meme” Styles when she challenged the Austin Police Department to “show me the
numbers” they were using to report the results of agency performance measures. Realizing the disconnect between the department’s
big data reporting and the community, Ms. Styles was prompted to create a methodology to measure community policing.

​Today the organization has grown to not only address community policing but health, education and economic disparities.

New Leaders Council Austin (NLC - Austin)
New Leaders Council (NLC) is the hub for progressive Millennial thought leadership. Soon to be the largest voting bloc in American history (~83 million voters) and possessing significant economic power, Millennials will be the generation to truly change our institutions in American society.

Anchored by its six-month training program, the NLC Institute, NLC equips our leaders with the skills to run for office, manage campaigns, create start-ups and networks of thought leaders. NLC leaders take their activism back into their communities and workplaces to impact progressive change.

Unlike most leadership development organizations, NLC isn’t a one-weekend boot camp, but rather six-month intensive learning environment and a lifetime alumni commitment. NLC creates lasting infrastructure in communities, states and nationally to support our fellows and alumni as they become agents of change. NLC provides our community members with opportunities to engage with – and challenge – current policymakers, to create blueprints to tackle current and future policy issues, and to support one another along their individual path to a more progressive political and cultural landscape.

NLC has 50 chapters across the country in red and blue states with nearly 8,000 alumni. NLC is a true reflection of the Millennial generation with 63 percent of our NLC community self-identifying as people of color and 61 percent women. NLC is one of the few organizations focused on building a new governing coalition.

Out Youth (OY)
Out Youth serves Central Texas LGBTQIA+ (lesbian/gay/bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, intersex, and asexual) youth and their allies with programs and services to ensure these promising young people develop into happy, healthy, successful adults.

Founded in 1990, Out Youth has grown and changed over the years, but they’ve always retained their most important facet – providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to come together, receive support, and make friends who understand who they are.

They host a variety of programs and services for youth, and provide trainings and resources for parents, teachers and community members.

Random Acts (RA)
Random Acts was founded in 2010 by actor Misha Collins after an earthquake hit Haiti, causing massive damage. Collins, who had been involved in charitable projects since college, decided to harness the energy and resources of the followers he had gained during his acting career in order to raise funds for the UNICEF disaster relief program. Within days, over $30,000 was raised. Using this momentum, Random Acts was created to inspire kindness in Haiti and beyond. 

As a first big project, the organization focused on the construction of an orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti. Construction for the Jacmel’s Children’s Center was completed in 2013. Today it houses up to 80 children and provides them not just with a place to live but also to play, learn, and grow. 

In 2015, after the organization’s success in Haiti, Random Acts embarked on another big project —- building a free high school in San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua. The aim is to provide education for people who would not otherwise be able to attend school, such as students over 18 or women with children. To this end, the free high school also includes a daycare center. 

In the meantime, Random Acts has grown into a global organization run by more than 150+ volunteer staff, with millions of supporters from all walks of life. Annual events such as Class Act have become established and a large number of partnerships with other charitable organizations have been formed —- such as with the Legacy of War foundation or the IMAlive crisis support network. Furthermore, programs such as the Childhood Hunger Campaign and Random Acts Support Program allow a focussing of efforts on a particular issue. True to its name, Random Acts also provides the opportunity for anyone to perform a random act of kindness by funding small-scale, community-level projects. 

Truth Be Told
Truth Be Told provides transformational trauma-responsive programs for women who are or have been incarcerated to promote healing and empowerment, and break the cycle of incarceration for themselves, their families, and their communities. They envision a society where all justice-involved women are healed of their trauma, thereby breaking the cycle of incarceration.

Zach Theatre
A non-profit organization, ZACH creates intimate theatre experiences that ignite the imagination, inspire the spirit, and engage the community. As Austin’s leading professional producing theatre, ZACH employs more than 250 actors, musicians, and designers annually to create its own diverse array of nationally recognized plays and musicals that are timely and relevant to Central Texas audiences, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Each year, ZACH serves over 125,000 Central Texans – over 55,000 of which are children and youth who participate in our education and outreach programs, as well as inspiring camps and classes.