The Forever Austin Fund is a permanent community resource that enables ACF to invest in Austin’s most pressing needs and greatest opportunities.
Donor Name: Austin Community Foundation
State: Texas
County: Bell County (TX), Bosque County (TX), Burnet County (TX), Coryell County (TX), Hays County (TX), McLennan County (TX), Travis County (TX), Williamson County (TX)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/25/2025
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Forever Austin Fund supports the giving of a collection of field-of-interest funds, unrestricted funds, and donor advised funds at the Foundation. The ACF team manages grantmaking from these funds, thoughtfully balancing the intent of each fund with the evolving needs of Central Texas.
Funding Areas
In 2025, the grants will focus on the following areas:
- Economic Mobility: Ensuring paths to economic mobility for Central Texans is a critical strategy in ACF’s focus on closing the opportunity gap. By partnering with and funding organizations that tackle immediate and systemic economic challenges, they aim to eliminate wealth disparities and create lasting change. Grants in this category will focus on four key areas:
- Housing Stability: Stable housing is the anchor of economic mobility. When individuals and families have access to safe, affordable housing—whether renting or owning—they can build assets and work toward long-term economic mobility. ACF will invest in strategies that support housing stability and/or create asset-building opportunities through homeownership.
- Career Pathways & Resources: For many Central Texans, limited job opportunities, lack of affordable childcare, senior care, and unreliable transportation make finding and keeping stable employment difficult. Earning a living wage is essential for building financial security and weathering economic ups and downs. ACF will invest in programs that support access, sustainability, and mobility among living-wage careers.
- Small Business & Entrepreneurship: Owning a business can offer a strong path to financial security and upward mobility. Entrepreneurship is a critical way to build personal wealth and assets that can benefit future generations. ACF will support programs and investment vehicles that give undercapitalized entrepreneurs and small business owners the support they need to achieve their goals.
- Addressing Systemic Barriers: Systemic inequities have led to ongoing wealth disparities, disproportionately affecting women and people of color. Closing these wealth gaps is vital to improving individual lives and boosting the regional economy. ACF will support initiatives that increase savings or reduce debt for communities that have experienced historic wealth inequality to build generational wealth.
- Health and Humanities: The future of the region is inextricably linked to the health of the people and the growth of the creative community. Grants in this category will focus on:
- Health & Wellness: Improving health outcomes by connecting people to quality health resources, culturally competent health education and reducing health disparities. Health is broadly defined to include mental and physical health and wellness.
- Arts & Culture: Catalyzing work that champions the diversity of the community, expands access to arts and cultural experiences for residents, and/or increases opportunities for artistic expression.
- Nurturing The Region: Preserving and protecting the rich ecosystem ensures generations of Central Texans can live and thrive. Grants in this category will focus on:
- Environmental Sustainability: Bolstering environmental efforts that support a healthier, cleaner, and more resilient region.
- Green Spaces: Encouraging the preservation and enjoyment of green spaces (e.g. parks, trails, preserves) in Central Texas.
- Animal Welfare: Promoting the well-being of animals and/or defend against abuse or neglect.
Funding Information
Through the Forever Austin Fund grant cycle, they anticipate awarding 50-75 grants between $5,000 – $50,000 each. Award amounts will be determined by application scores, donor priorities, and individual endowment budgets. Grants may be approved for full or partial funding of the requested amount, which cannot exceed 30% of the organization’s budget.
- Additional information per funding area:
- Economic Mobility: 20-30 grants, up to $1,250,000.
- Health and Humanities: 15-20 grants up to $550,000.
- Nurturing the Region: 10-15 grants up to $200,000.
- All awards will be considered general operating support, with the intention of building organizational capacity and sustainability to execute an organization’s mission.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) public charities in good standing with the IRS, religious organizations, and governmental entities that are serving the Central Texas region. Projects with an established IRS 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor are also eligible to apply.
- They welcome proposals from organizations from across the spectrum including those providing direct services, advocacy, community organizing, partnerships, and other approaches as appropriate.
- Location: The proposed work must serve the Central Texas region, defined to include the following counties: Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, or Williamson
- Compliance: If you have a current grant through any ACF program, you must be in compliance with that grant to apply. Contact us if you have questions about this.
- Number of applications: Each applicant may submit only one application to only one category.
- Partnership applications: They encourage collaboration. For collaborations between two or more nonprofits, the partners should select one nonprofit to serve as the lead applicant. Any awarded funds are to be used for the sole purpose of the partnership’s work, and the lead applicant will be responsible for managing the funds on behalf of the partners. The lead applicant organization—and any partner organizations—may also submit a separate individual application.
- In general, the Forever Austin Fund does not award grants for:
- Endowment funds
- Fundraising activities or events
- Individuals
- Political lobbying or legislative activities
- Religious organizations for religious purposes
- Scholarships
- Umbrella funding organizations that intend to distribute funds at their own discretion.
For more information, visit ACF.
