
2024 has been a powerful year for Central Texas Interfaith:
- CTI worked with the City of Austin this year to ensure on-going investment for Capital IDEA’s groundbreaking work to move families into living wage jobs. Hays County leaders leveraged Capital IDEA funding from County Commissioners, resulting in an investment of $100,000 to lift families out of poverty. CTI hosted two of the largest community candidate accountability sessions within Hays county this cycle.
- CTI leaders from the Woodview Mobile Home Community engaged their city council member to ensure the site’s property owner replaced a bridge that served as the only entrance to/exit from the area. This action safely reconnected the community to the wider neighborhood, allowing first responders and school buses to safely resume service.
- Student leaders continued support for the Texas HBCU Legislative Caucus. They met with legislators to prepare for the upcoming 2025 session and advocated of increased appropriations to their institutions. CTI has partnered with member institution Huston-Tillotson University in sustaining a statewide Texas HBCU Conference in its third expansion year.
- CTI trained 250 new leaders across a six-month series of institutional leadership training. Sessions covered how to build a strong institution, how to conduct 1:1 relational meetings, organizing core teams and civic academies.
- Five leaders and organizers attended eight-day national training with the Industrial Areas Foundation, where they engaged with others IAF leaders from across the country and learned new concepts for organizing within the central Texas community.
- CTI hosted multiple Know Your Rights training sessions after the passage of SB4, Texas’ new “show your papers” law, assisting community members to identity civil liberty violations and to constructively engage with law enforcement to ensure neighborhood safety.
- Leaders conducted an intensive voter engagement effort in east Austin neighborhoods (historically the lowest area of Austin voter turnout) in advance of the 2024 fall election. CTI hosted five large multi-institution walks during which leaders talked to neighbors about their community and confirmed voter registration status and intent to vote. This foundational work boosted voter participation in a low turnout year.
- CTI launched an organizing initiative for more equitable parks and green space in East and South Austin by building and sustaining relationships with Austin Independent School District parents, teachers, and staff. Through CTI’s organizing efforts, East Austin institutions Huston-Tillotson University and East Austin Soccer Club are exploring a shared use partnership of Tillery Field, with financial support from the City of Austin for needed upgrades.
While funding from major foundations supports leadership development, institutional recruitment, and special projects, CTI relies on individual contributions and dues to support our non-partisan political work. If you would like to support structural change and the careful development of a nonpartisan constituency of voters, please consider making a monthly recurring donation to Central Texas Interfaith. Individual contributions are one of the few ways available to fund our Get Out The Vote efforts and non-partisan candidate engagement.