14 nonprofits to split $20M in Project Connect anti-displacement funding

A screenshot of part of the System map for the Project Connect plan in Austin.
(Courtesy: Capital Metro)

KXAN
by: Kelsey Thompson
Posted: Sep 29, 2022 / 04:18 PM CDT
 

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin City Council approved awarding 14 Central Texas nonprofits with funding Thursday to support Project Connect’s anti-displacement efforts. Project Connect is the city’s multi-billion-dollar transportation system upgrade in the works, with $300 million of the project’s total budget allocated to anti-displacement initiatives.

The Austin City Council earmarked $65 million in anti-displacement funding in its fiscal year 2020-21 and FY 2021-22 budgets. That $65 million pool is broken down into $23 million for land acquisition for affordable housing; $21 million in rental housing and ownership housing development efforts; and $20 million for community-initiated solutions.

The $20 million for community-initiated solutions is the funding that will go toward the following 14 nonprofits in their anti-displacement initiatives:

• Goodwill Industries of Central Texas: $2 million
• Interfaith Action of Central Texas: $256,650
• Meals on Wheels Central Texas: $900,000
• Austin Voices for Education and Youth: $1,268,000
• Workers Defense Project – Building and Strengthening Tenant Action: $2 million
• Catholic Charities of Central Texas: $1,924,000
• Business & Community Lenders: $2 million
• El Buen Samaritano: $2 million
• Del Valle Community Coalition – Homeowner: $1.1 million
• Communities in School of Central Texas: $1.5 million
• Austin Cooperative Business Foundation Asociacion de Residentes: $516,206
• Life Anew Restorative Justice Inc.: $2 million
• Austin Tenants Council: $997,310
• Mama Sana Vibrant Woman: $1.5 million

The nonprofits selected were ranked based on several criteria, including:

• Balance between program priorities (expansion, home ownership preservation, rent tenant stabilization, etc.)
• Aligns with proposal of overall funding goal to address “transit-induced displacement pressures along Project Connect high-capacity lines)
• The numbers of households, people impacted or served by proposal
• Review of applications, assessments of organization’s ability to deliver on its initiatives within funding period
• Funding request (including ability to fund the program partially, if there are overall funding constraints)

Beginning in FY23, budget priorities for Project Connect’s anti-displacement funding will be established every three years. There will be community engagement initiatives to help get a pulse check on what investments and funding allocations should be prioritized, along with public feedback opportunities.