GIVING N E W S
Not Enough? $1.4 Million Donated for Wildfire Recovery The last of the $1.4 million donated to the Central Texas Wildfire Fund was granted in May, but the need continues. With damages estimated at $300 million, the generosity of Central Texans and people from across the country may not be enough to help the communities affected by the wildfires recover. The good news is that grantees organizations are making the most of the funding, which was administered and granted by the Austin Community Foundation. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the FEMA-designated agency for survivor assistance services, received $90,000 of that funding to pay case workers. It’s that funding that helped the organization stay on to help the families in between funding from FEMA, and helped it receive the official FEMA designation. “We were able to leverage our grant to provide over $900,000 in direct services for clients across Central Texas,” says Elizabeth DiscoShearer of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The organization has helped more than 1,800 families recover from the wildfires. Learn more at AustinCF.org
6 GivingCityAustin.com
events
Do-Gooders Get Goofy The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network’s “Do-Gooder Games” can be hard to explain. It’s teams of nonprofit staff in costumes, answering trivia questions, sculpting their nonprofit mission in Play-Doh, having dance-off tie-breakers… ¶ Well, it’s complicated, but it’s a lot of fun. Monica Williams of GivingCity Austin was a judge again this year. ¶ “It’s about team spirit,” she says, “but it’s also about cutthroat competition, and I like that in a nonprofit event.” This year’s winning teams were from GenAustin, Literacy Coalition and Austin Pets Alive!. Learn more at YNPN.org/Austin
Teamwork counts! From top: Life savers from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Meg Ellis of Literacy Coalition, neon nerds from World Adult Kickball Association and spicy costumes from Salsa Labs.
P h o t o g r aphs by A RLE N N Y D A M
DISASTER RELIEF