2023 Resilience Mini Grants Program Recap

The 2023 Resilience Mini Grants Program awarded $78,000 in funding to support community organizations that play key roles in community preparedness, recovery, and response to extreme weather events. The program aimed to support the important work of community organizations and build bridges between the City and community-facing groups. Recipients were selected based on their project proposal, past success in building resilience in Austin, and their lived experience connecting them to their work.

After one year, recipients reported the results of their awards. Overall, 26 projects were funded, and over 20,000 community members benefited. Examples of awarded projects include restoring waterways, workforce development programs, building community networks around flood preparedness, and providing translation services at community clinics.

Mini Grants recipients were invited to join a community building awards ceremony, where City staff met resilience champions.

View all 2023 recipients and the program impact

Projects Funded	Community Members Served
2023 Recipients: Asian Texans for Justice Austin Vietnamese American Medical Professional Society Austin Youth River Watch Black Lives Veggies the Nonprofit Black Women Who Building Promise USA Central Texas Mycological Society Community Acupuncture Collective CooperationEngine Dove Springs Proud El Buen Samaritano Forklift Danceworks Fruitful Commons Go Austin/Vamos Austin	Good Work Austin ICC Austin Jail To Jobs Keep Austin Fed KT Klean Energy Consultant (The DEI Guy) Luz de Atabey Midwifery Project Mission Accomplished Organization Red Heart CPR St John Faith Community Garden Sunrise Community Church dba Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center The Healing Project YWCA Greater Austin
Project examples include: Teaching CPR Holding gardening classes Providing free health assessments Educating students on the environment Waterway restoration events Keeping tons of organic waste out of our landfills Improving our local soil microbiome Hydroponics classes Workforce development training Proving medical tools for community clinics Expanding BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) representation in outdoor recreation	Improving confidence and hygiene through laundry services for people experiencing homelessness Laptops purchased for college freshman Grocery access Healthy food access Building community networks around flood preparedness Making translators available for community clinics Strengthened connections between the City and community organizers

Project Spotlight: Keep Austin Fed

While the original goal of this project was to purchase a solar generator to use as a power backup for their cooler, Keep Austin Fed had to pivot when they discovered the generator’s capacity wouldn’t meet their needs. Soon after, they were met with another challenge when their primary cooler, which moves around 330,000 pounds of food per year, stopped working. In a pinch, Keep Austin Fed had to get creative. 

Forced to rely on their backup cooler, they recognized the importance of having multiple levels of preparedness. This led them not only to repair the East Austin location and maintain the backup cooler but also to purchase an additional backup AC unit and create a new South Austin hub! Keep Austin Fed now has the geographic diversity needed to continue providing food rescue services in the event of localized power outages.

"I can count on [the food] being very healthy and good every week. And it gives me a lot of variety." 

— Ruby, recipient of services

Project Spotlight: Austin Vietnamese American Medical Professional Society

The Austin Vietnamese American Medical Professional Society (AVAMPS) has been working for 24 years to provide primary health care to Austinites who face language and financial barriers. In 2023, AVAMPS hosted the 23rd Annual Community Vietnamese Health Fair, five Asian Community Vaccine Events, and two wellness events that served over 900 Austinites. AVAMPS used their mini grant for event logistics and hiring additional translators to provide services to community members who speak Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Burmese, and Hindu. AVAMPS is continuing to grow, expanding its reach and improving access to health services for an increasing number of individuals in the Austin community.

“The AVAMPS team and Dr. Luan Tran's unwavering dedication to our community's health, especially our aging population, inspires us. The measurable success of the AVAMPS Community Health Fair, including high attendance, positive participant feedback, and impactful health outcomes, reinforces the importance of this event.” 

— Lucy Nguyen, CHW, Program Manager, Austin Asian Community Health Initiative

An evolving program

Recognizing the interconnected nature of food justice, climate equity, and resilience, the offices of Sustainability and Resilience collaborated in 2024 to combine grant programs, simplifying the application process for community leaders seeking support for their initiatives. The Resilience Mini Grants Program and Food Justice Mini Grants Program were combined to create a new initiative called Food and Climate Equity (FACE) Grants.