jmvcortez's blog

FuturoFund Austin is excited to announce the launch of the You + 1 Membership Campaign. When FuturoFund Austin grows, so does its impact in the Latino community. Help us grow in 2012 by sharing your commitment to impacting the Latino community with friends, colleagues and family members.

Only those who were members of FuturoFund in 2009, 2010 or 2011, and have also pledged to be 2012 FuturoFund members, are eligible to participate in the You + 1 Campaign. Each time you recruit a new member, your name will be entered into a drawing to win an iPod touch.

FuturoFund will publish the names of all who recruit new members on its website and in regular Member Updates and a special announcement will be made at FuturoFiesta, our annual celebration and member vote event in the fall. To be counted toward the You + 1 Campaign, current members must make sure their name is clearly printed on the new member’s submitted pledge form.

The 2012 You +1 Membership Campaign runs from February 1 - March 31, 2012. Learn more here.

Join us as we make this year a record-breaking one!

Last year, FuturoFund received numerous applications from incredible organizations making a difference in our community. We are committed to raising more funds in 2012 in order to provide even more funding for these outstanding organizations!

In preparation for the 2012 grants cycle, FuturoFund is hosting a Grant Applicant Feedback Session. The purpose of the session is to obtain feedback from grant applicants on how we can improve the application process, as well as to provide some advice on applying for FuturoFund Grants in 2012.

We hope you can join us!

Grant Applicant Feedback Session
Tuesday, February 7th from 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Carver Library, Room 1
1161 Angelina
Austin, TX 78702

RSVP on Facebook

Already broken all your 2012 resolutions? Make a new resolution worth keeping at our first FuturoFund Happy Hour of 2012. Join us for a cold drink at one of Austin’s most storied watering holes, and learn about how you can resolve to make a difference in your community through FuturoFund Austin. This is going to be a great year and FuturoFund is going to make a huge impact in our community – join us!

*Stick around after happy hour to watch the Longhorns take on Iowa State Cyclones. Not a Horn’s fan? Don’t worry, we won’t hold it against you.

Are you tired of failed new year’s resolutions? Even with the best intentions, promises to lose weight or quit smoking can be hard to keep. In 2012, try a different approach. Pledge to do something meaningful, not just for yourself, but for others, too.

FuturoFund Austin invites you to join their unprecedented effort to make an impact in our community through philanthropy and leadership. The new year marks the beginning of FuturoFund’s membership cycle, and it is the perfect opportunity to make - and keep – a commitment to give back.

FuturoFund brings people together to support the needs of Austin’s rapidly growing Latino community. FuturoFunders are artists, nonprofit leaders, lawyers, elected officials, accountants, professors, social workers, graduate students and more. We are multi-ethnic and diverse in age, occupations and backgrounds. When you join FuturoFund, you become part of a network of talented and passionate leaders with a shared vision to be part of the solution and strengthen our community.

Every year, FuturoFund members collectively contribute to a charitable fund and together we decide which deserving organizations will receive our grants. Since 2008, FuturoFund has awarded $135,000 in grants, and developed more philanthropists and community leaders. Every dollar raised by FuturoFund goes directly back into our community to support incredible organizations like the Workers’ Defense Project, Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, Frameworks Community Development Corporation and Anthropos Arts. Most recently, FuturoFund awarded $40,000 in grants to AVANCE-Austin and the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition to support their critical work in the Latino community.

This year, go ahead and join a gym, but make sure you also become involved in something that makes a difference in someone else’s life. It can be as easy as joining FuturoFund, and it just might be the secret to keeping this year’s resolutions.

*article originally published in January 2012 issue of TODO Austin

What an amazing and inspiring evening! FuturoFund members gathered this past Friday evening at City Hall for the culminating event of our year - FuturoFiesta. After months of hard work by the FuturoFund Grants Committee, our membership was presented with 6 finalists for our 2011 Grants. Finalists each had 5 minutes to convince FuturoFund members why we should invest our funds in their organization. Votes were cast, and after all votes were tallied, the following organizations stood out among their peers:

Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition will receive a $10,000 grant to strengthen and expand its Human Rights Leadership Development Program, which provides basic human rights education and promotes racial and social justice.

AVANCE-Austin will receive a $30,000 grant to expand its services to Latino families living in the North Austin area. Families will have the opportunity to participate in the Parent-Child Education program, an intensive 9 month program which includes sessions on parenting, educational toy-making, ESL, and accessing community resources.

One of the highlights of the event was the fantastic music by the recipient of our 2010 FuturoFund small grant, Anthropos Arts.

It was a wonderful evening of celebrating our coming together to make an impact in our community. We can do even more if YOU join us for 2012!

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors of FuturoFiesta 2011!