Austin Interfaith Victory Pages A newsletter on the successes of Austin Interfaith member institutions January 26, 2011 New Member Institution: Austin Interfaith proudly welcomes St. John’s Lutheran Church as our newest member institution. St. John's has both English and Spanish worship services, and is located just south of Ben White near S. 1st street. They join St. Ignatius, Wildflower Unitarian, Prince of Peace Lutheran, San Jose, and Travis Heights Elementary as part of our Southside cluster. We look forward to our collaboration. Leadership Development – During January-March of 2011 Austin Interfaith institutions will be focused on leadership development through house meetings, civic academies, and local trainings. So far in the past three weeks over 200 leaders attended trainings and civic academies…and 30 house meetings were held with 300 people. Below are some of the highlights: Education Organizing Institute – On Saturday, January 8, 40 leaders from Austin Interfaith congregations, AISD schools, and Education Austin attended the first Austin Interfaith Education Leadership Institute. The focus was on equipping a collective of parents, educators, and community members with the skills necessary to improve student achievement by addressing issues facing families and schools. Austin Police Commander Pedraza attends AI safety action in Dove Springs with 30 leaders – San Jose Catholic Church hosted small group “house meetings” with APD commander Pedraza and 10 other officers as well as a county deputy and constable and 30 members of the Dove Springs Community. This was in response to yet another vandalization of a San Jose parishioner’s car the previous week. The purpose was for APD and the county to hear stories of crime incidents in this southeast Austin neighborhood. A follow up meeting is set for February 3, at 6:30 pm at Widen Elementary School. Chamber of Commerce official speaks at San Jose Civic Academy on Scholarships – San Jose Catholic Church hosted a “Civic Academy” on college scholarships on January 10. Access and affordability to college was addressed this past year through a small group “house meeting” campaign at San Jose. Gilbert Zavala from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce presented on financial aid availability. College affordability has been identified a pressing issue by several Austin Interfaith member congregations, many of which offer scholarship programs of their own from fundraisers. AISD Budget 101 workshop presented to AI leaders by top brass at school district – Fifteen leaders talked with Austin Independent School District Superintendent Meria Carstarphen and Assistant to Superintendent, Chief Human Capital Officer Michael Houser about the drastic budget reductions for 2011/2012. In the current proposal, full day pre-k is maintained, which was an item Austin Interfaith leaders have been advocating for. They also discussed next steps for the Innovation School project, a joint-initiative with Education Austin to partner with AISD schools. 40 leaders attend AI leadership training at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church – On December 18th, 40 leaders from Austin Interfaith institutions attended a leadership training focused on the scriptural basis for social justice and the elements of a Broad-Based Organization. We plan to offer these trainings on a monthly basis for new and experienced leaders. Next Steps: 1. AUSTIN INTERFAITH MONTHLY LEADERS MEETING – CHANGED TO 4TH THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH. NEXT LEADERS MEETING THURSDAY, JANUARY 27TH AT 7pm AT SAN JOSE CATHOLIC CHURCH (2435 Oak Crest, Austin 78704) 2. AUSTIN INTERFAITH CLERGY CAUCUS – Thursday, January 27th, 12:00-1:30, St. David’s Episcopal Church (301 E. 8th Street, Austin 78701). Please RSVP to Austin Interfaith office as St. David’s will be providing lunch.

AUSTIN INTERFAITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES 2008-09
Austin Interfaith, with a budget of under $250,000, leveraged an investment of over $18,000,000 in 2008-09 in human development and neighborhood initiatives created through its organizing
 JET FUND: Austin Interfaith worked to create a $10,000,000 competitive state grant program for proven,
long-term job training programs such as Capital IDEA, started by Austin Interfaith. Austin Interfaith worked with a bipartisan group of elected officials, including Comptroller Susan Combs, Lt Governor David Dewhurst, Rep Mark Strama and other legislators, to create the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Fund Grants for Innovative and Successful Programs, which will match local investment.
 CAPITAL IDEA: $2.5 million in direct investment in Capital IDEA by the City of Austin, Travis County
and federal government. Capital IDEA was started by Austin Interfaith and the business community.
 ACCOUNT FOR LEARNING: Over $3,200,000 in resources for low-income schools in AISD through
the Account for Learning Program, including the funding of Parent Support Specialists for these schools.
 ESL PROGRAMS: $222,000 City/County investment in adult ESL programs started by Austin Interfaith
 AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS: Over $800,000 for after school enrichment programs for 28 AISD
through the Prime Time Program, created by Austin Interfaith.
 INVESTMENT CAPITAL FUND: $200,000 in state grant money to AISD schools for parent and
teacher training through the Investment Capital Fund Grant created by Austin Interfaith and its Texas IAF Network sister organizations. To date, AISD schools have received over $2,000,000 in funding through this grant.
 SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT: $600,000 in City and County funding for the Summer Youth
Employment Program.
 WATER INFRASTRUCTURE: Over $500,000 in public and private investment to connect 40 families
in East Travis County to running water for the first time in five years.
 TRAFFIC SAFETY: $100,000 for a traffic light at the dangerous intersection of Metric and Bittern
Hollow, near St. Albert the Great Catholic Church.
 

AUSTIN INTERFAITH’S WORK HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED THIS PAST YEAR BY:
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University: In a just released study of Austin Interfaith’s work with East Austin Schools over a six year period, Austin Interfaith’s work with AISD schools increased student achievement on standardized tests by an average of 15-19%, improved professional culture and parent involvement, and yielded substantial new resources to all high poverty, low-performing schools.
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs: In her Texas Works Report, recognized Austin Interfaith for its work in creating Capital IDEA, long term job training initiative started by Austin Interfaith which prepares low-earning adults for careers in living wage jobs.
The Governor’s Select Committee on Global Competitiveness: This committee chaired by businessman Woody Hunt called on the legislature to invest money in successful workforce strategies, singling out Austin Interfaith’s Capital IDEA as successful example.

Austin Interfaith “Let justice pour down like waters”….Amos 5:24 1301 S. IH 35, Suite 313 Austin, Texas 78741 Phone (512) 916-0100 Fax (512) 916-0251 December 30, 2009 Dear Austin Interfaith Clergy, Leaders, and Supporters: We wish you and your families a Happy New Year as we enter 2010. We especially want to recognize all the hard work that you have done to make 2009 an important and successful year for Austin Interfaith. In 2009, our organization along with the Texas IAF sister organizations, worked with Comptroller Susan Combs to create and pass the $10 million JET Fund for successful long term job training programs. Capital IDEA received two of the first JET funds this fall…$500,000 for the Austin area and $250,000 to start a satellite of Capital IDEA in collaboration with our sister organization TMO in Houston. The collaboration of Austin Interfaith congregations and schools was featured in a landmark study by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. In the first nationwide study to measure the impact of education organizing, Austin Interfaith’s work in AISD schools was shown to have a dramatic impact on test scores, professional culture, parent-teacher collaboration, and resources for all low income schools. Their final conclusion was that all low-income schools in AISD benefited from the programs and resources created by Austin Interfaith. As you can see from the list of accomplishments in this letter, in 2009 Austin Interfaith with an organizational budget of under $250,000, leveraged $18million in funding for original programs it has created through its organizing. That is a return of 72 to 1 for programs like ESL, Prime Time After School Program, water infrastructure at Santa Barbara Catholic Church, the Summer Youth Employment Program and Capital IDEA. This does not include our advocacy for existing programs and initiatives like CHIP, AISD employee compensation, and statewide funding for schools. Austin Interfaith itself does not accept public money, and is funded primarily through institutional member dues, corporate investment, and foundation support. Austin Interfaith also held a successful Economic Summit with the Central Texas Business Community in February, as well as an Accountability Session in April which again was the largest event of the municipal election season. This work, and the resulting accomplishments, was the result of hundreds of one-on-one relational meetings, house meetings, research actions, training sessions, civic academies, and meetings with public officials. Two issues have come to the forefront in 2009 and will be major initiatives in 2010. Austin Interfaith has begun an intensive collaboration on immigration organizing with the Catholic Diocese of Austin. This is in response to increasing political pressure on immigrant families trying to work and live in Central Texas. Additionally, the issue of Living Wages is at the center of our work given the economic situation and growing inequality in Austin. Specifically, Austin Interfaith is working to hold the Mayor and all City Council members to their pre-election commitments that companies receiving public tax subsidies to move to Austin must provide jobs that pay living wages of $18/hr with benefits, a career track, and have a strategy to hire locally. Again, we wish to recognize your investment in Austin Interfaith, in terms of your institution’s leadership development, financial investment, and time. Obviously this commitment has paid off for Austin and the Central Texas region as a whole. But renewing our commitment to this work is more important now than ever. Austin has a poverty rate, child poverty rate, and uninsured rate that is higher than the national average. Travis County has the fifth highest inequality in the country. And although we have worked with Santa Barbara Catholic Church to raise over $600,000 in public and private investment in water infrastructure, over 30 families are still without running water because of government delays. We must continue to challenge ourselves to have the imagination, perseverance, and tenacity to organize effectively for the families in our communities. This happens through in an investment in leadership and an investment in people. We look forward to continuing this important work together in 2010. Please put on your calendar the following two important events coming up in the New Year: 1. On Saturday, January 9th 2010 the TX IAF will hold an Economic Conference in San Antonio starting at 10am and ending at 3pm. (Leaders will be traveling down on a bus. Please check with the Austin Interfaith office for further information) 2. On Tuesday, February 23rd at 7pm Austin Interfaith will hold its delegates assembly. Location to be announced. Again, congratulations on organizing effectively for all families in Central Texas. Sincerely, Austin Interfaith Executive Team