Texas Interagency Coordinating Group (ICG) highlights best practices for government & nonprofit collaboration to strengthen the public sector and better support vulnerable Texans. To effectively reach all communities, ICG recognizes the importance of building partnerships and sharing resources with the Texas nonprofit sector and identifies best practices for collaborating with faith-based and community organizations.

In 2022, ICG highlighted best practices of collaboration that centered on community resilience and education.

• The Office of the Attorney General partners with Texas community organizations to promote educational messages in the fight against human trafficking. The agency partnered with the high school students through Project Protect Our Children to highlight statewide efforts in the fight against human trafficking, discuss the current climate and concerns for youth in schools today, and discuss how students can involve more youth in advocacy. This collaboration gave students the opportunity to answer the call to action and created a platform to advance key messages.
• The Public Utility Commission of Texas works with Texas faith and community-based organizations to disseminate educational materials on energy conservation and customer assistance programs. PUCT conducted outreach events that distributed school supplies to student alongside tips and resources for community members on available assistance programs.
• Texas Department of Agriculture amplifies key initiatives by partnering with educational institutions. Their Farm to School program improves access to local foods in schools through procurement assistance and agricultural education. Additionally, the agency collaborated with Share Our Strength to provide texting tools to help families find federally funded meals throughout the summer.

For more examples of how nonprofit organizations and government collaborate, check out the 2022 Interagency Coordinating Group Legislative Report.

Texas Nonprofit Council works alongside the Interagency Coordinating Group to strengthen the nonprofit sector and build equitable collaborations. Check out the 2022 Texas Nonprofit Council Interim Report to the legislature to learn more of their efforts as a council.

The Interagency Coordinating Group highlights effective models and best practices for government & nonprofit collaboration. By working together, we can share resources, build capacity for organizations, and increase overall support for the nonprofit sector in Texas. Maintaining open communication and a strong network is critical to achieving the goal of the ICG – to build a strong public sector that ensures social services and resources are reaching Texas communities.

In 2021, the ICG highlighted best practices in collaboration with faith-based and community organizations to ensure a coordinated and widespread response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are three Texas state agencies that took unique approaches to working with fellow public sector organizations to extend their impact.

• Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) excels at building bridges for organizations and providing information and resources to community members. As capacity boosters, TDEM recognizes each organization has its own mission and conducts outreach to consider all perspectives when responding to emergency situations. One of the ways TDEM accomplishes this is by engaging Voluntary Organizations in Disaster (VOAD), a network of faith-based and community organizations that have made disaster work a priority. When a disaster happens, they support VOADs in understanding the needs and facilitate partnership with local organizations to discuss the availability of vital resources. As a result, TDEM brings diverse efforts together and fosters conversations on how the network can collectively serve Texans.
• The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) works with Texas faith-based and community organizations to promote vaccination in local communities. DSHS operates the Texas Vaccine Outreach and Education Grant Program, which addresses vaccine hesitancy in communities. Community organizations were awarded funds to engage their community in COVID-19 vaccine education and other activities to increase the number of vaccinated Texans. The program advises organizations with strategies to increase knowledge of and access to COVID-19 vaccines for those who have been disproportionality affected by COVID-19. DSHS relies on the community expertise of these nonprofits to build stakeholder buy-in within individual communities to best address Texans’ needs.
• The Texas Department of Family Services (DFPS) partners with the faith community, foundations, advocates, and volunteers to improve service delivery for children, families, and adults. The agency has partnered with CarePortal, an interdenominational network of churches that collaborate for the benefit of children and families in their communities. Through the online platform, caseworkers identify needs and submit them through careportal.org, which enables greater reach to local faith communities equipped to fulfill the requests. To date, resources through the CarePortal have helped serve more than 16,000 children across 51 counties Texas, with an estimated economic impact of $4.4 million. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform was expanded include to families in Adult Protective Services to ensure that needs are being met for all Texans.

For more examples of how nonprofit organizations and government collaborate, check out the latest 2021 Interagency Coordinating Group legislative report linked here.

Dinorah Lopez
Program Specialist, Nonprofit Strong

The nonprofit sector in Texas is a unique and powerful force that is integral to improving the quality of life for all Texans and making our state a vibrant place to live and work. However, since much of the work of Texas’ incredibly diverse nonprofits happens behind the scenes, the value of the sector is often underestimated and misunderstood—when, in fact, nonprofits are an essential asset to our state’s economy as well as the very fabric of our communities.

Last year, OneStar partnered with with United Ways of Texas to produce an eye-opening analysis on the enormous impact of Texas’ nonprofit sector. The resulting report, Built for Texas: The Impact and Opportunity of Our Nonprofit Sector, reveals compelling insights and data on the vital role nonprofits play in our state’s economic landscape and contributes to a fuller, more informed understanding of the nonprofit sector in Texas. While there is no typical nonprofit size, service, or business model, all nonprofits are dedicated to three core principles: building community to connect people to opportunities and strengthen our Lone Star State’s social fabric through broader civic engagement, stimulating economic development while advancing the common good and investing significant financial and human resources throughout the state, and serving as a critical partner to business and government to deliver services and develop innovative solutions to create a prosperous Texas where we can all live, work, and thrive.

It is crucial to understand the significant impact that nonprofits have on our state’s economy:

• The sector employs 600,000 Texans at 110,000 organizations, all working hands-on, every day in their communities;
• Driving over $110 billion towards the state’s GDP;
• Leveraging almost $5 billion in government dollars as the state contracts with over 100,000 nonprofits;
• It is responsible for 1 out of every 8 (private) Texas jobs;
• Nonprofits account for $1 out of every $16 dollars changing hands across the state.

Nonprofits are resource-efficient and business-minded problem solvers in our state—and that’s just taking the economic perspective. So much of our sector’s impact is made the hearts and minds of the individuals and communities we serve:

• We promote values and ideals that support the quality of life in our communities.
• We lift people up, helping Texans and communities to be their best.
• We take the time to get to know our communities—their characteristics, challenges, and solutions—and take those to scale.
• We are local leaders, resources, and experts who are trusted in our communities to drive impact and make change.

Every Texas community is a better place to live and work due to the endeavors of nonprofits. But as a young and structurally underdeveloped sector, nonprofits are in need of support and resources if they are to meet the future needs of Texans. Our hope is that this report serves as a vehicle to unite, rally, and strongly articulate the added value (as well as the capacity limitations) of the overall sector and leads to deeper exploration of how nonprofits can drive collaborative solutions to local community challenges.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

Upcoming Built for Texas Regional Convenings

We are committed to strengthening and supporting the nonprofit sector in all regions of Texas. Part of this commitment is educating and empowering nonprofit leaders at the local level about the important role they play in improving our communities.

In partnership with OneStar, United Ways of Texas is bringing leaders from our sector together for regional nonprofit educational opportunities. We invite you to the table as we explore this newly released data on the state’s nonprofit sector, and what it says about the power of our sector and the role we must play on behalf of those we serve. Join a regional nonprofit convening near you to join the conversation (list will be updated as registration links become available):

Most of the Built for Texas regional convenings have been postponed due to public health concerns around the coronavirus. For details about your region, please contact your local host organization. OneStar encourages all Texans to adhere to state and federal guidelines to practice social distancing and avoid large public gatherings. This page will be updated once new convening dates have been identified – stay tuned!

As 2019 draws to a close, OneStar reflects on 10 notable highlights from the past year. We are so grateful for our wonderful partners who are committed to promoting service and volunteering in Texas and are proud of everything we have accomplished together. We look forward to seeing how the seeds we planted this year strengthen our communities in the new decade!

1. Texas Strong Summit

In January, OneStar launched the inaugural Texas Strong Summit, which brought together nearly 200 partners from the local, state, and federal levels to explore creative, community-based solutions for dealing with post-disaster resource constraints. We engaged representatives from Long-Term Recovery Groups, community and voluntary organizations, and government officials across Texas in highly interactive discussions and group simulations, which attendees described as “enlightening” and “great networking” opportunities.

Click here to download the presentations, materials, and resources from the Texas Strong Summit.

2. National Commission for Military, National & Public Service

In March, OneStar was invited to testify before the National Commission on Military, National & Public Service to discuss ways to improve current national service policies and processes—ensuring access to, awareness of, and aspiration for national service. We recommended streamlining and simplifying national service grant programs to engage smaller and more rural organizations, increasing the living allowances to promote access and equity among prospective national service participants, and creating more part-time service opportunities to develop a pipeline of quality AmeriCorps members.

The commission has conducted public hearings throughout the country and will be making final recommendations for the Congress, the President, and the American public in March 2020. You can submit your ideas and comments to the commission through the end of the year!

3. Joint VISTA Training

In March, we hosted a joint training that brought together OneStar AmeriCorps VISTA Intermediary Project members with their counterparts serving with Texas Association of Charitable Clinics, Texas Homeless Network, Feeding Texas, and the CNCS Texas State Office. This event helped VISTAs from around the state grow professionally and gain skills with a variety of workshops covering social media marketing, event planning, interoffice communication, partnership development, asset mapping, project management, and so much more. VISTAs are often the only members serving at their site, so this opportunity provided valuable space to network with their VISTA colleagues and other nonprofit professionals.

If you are passionate about eliminating poverty while also honing your own professional skills, check out our current VISTA openings.

4. Resilent Response Forum

In June, OneStar, Good360 & All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response co-presented the Resilient Response Forum, which convened industry leaders to share disaster recovery best practices and identify ways to implement a more resilient response to natural disasters. Business, nonprofit, and government leaders explored and committed to the Resilient Response pledge, which outlines principles for thoughtful and purposeful giving for disaster response and recovery.

You can take the pledge for a more resilient response to natural disasters!

5. Rebuild Texas Fund Two-Year Progress Report

As we commemorated the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall in August, the Rebuild Texas Fund, a collaborative project of OneStar Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, announced that all $100 million in donated funds are at work in community rebuilding projects!

Over the past couple years, we have encountered creative ingenuity, inspiring resilience, and boundless generosity from Texans supporting their neighbors in need. We are grateful to the volunteers and donors who have been instrumental in the rebuilding and recovery process, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside local communities as they complete their funded projects in 2020.

To learn more about the incredible progress made over the past two years, read our 2-Year Community Progress Report.

6. ASC Innovation & Leadership Award

America’s Service Commissions named OneStar Commissioner Mary Grace Landrum as 2019 Outstanding Commissioner of the year during their Innovation and Leadership Awards reception this September in Washington, D.C. This awards program is held each year to recognize the leadership and accomplishments of state service commissions from across the nation.

Mary Grace has served on the OneStar National Service Commission since 2011 and has drawn from her extensive political and professional connections to educate and advocate for national service. She represents the state of Texas on ASC’s States for Service Public Policy Coalition and advocates for service and volunteerism at the local level. Click here to learn more about Mary Grace and this well-deserved honor.

7. New OneStar Leadership

OneStar was excited to welcome Chris Bugbee as our new President and CEO this year! Chris has been with OneStar for 13 years—most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer—and was appointed to the position of President & CEO by Governor Greg Abbott in October. In the months since his appointment, Chris has been meeting with our partners and stakeholders to learn how we can foster better collaborations and exploring new strategies and approaches to promoting service in Texas.

Chris fills the role of President & CEO following the departure Elizabeth Darling, who led OneStar for 10 years before being appointed and confirmed as Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this fall. We are so grateful to have amazing leaders committed to strengthening Texas communities through service and look forward to this new chapter!

Click here to check out a welcome letter from Chris.

8. 25 Years of National Service

In October, OneStar commemorated the 25th anniversary of AmeriCorps with lively and exciting celebrations across the state. This milestone was an opportunity for OneStar look back at the extraordinary accomplishments of AmeriCorps members over the years, and to look forward by welcoming a new class that will be carrying on the enduring legacy of national service in the coming year.

At OneStar’s flagship event in Austin, about 400 AmeriCorps members and friends of national service gathered for a celebration powered by AmeriCorps alums. The event featured with a ceremony showcasing stories from current and past members, a panel of AmeriCorps alums spanning 25 years, remarks from Director of AmeriCorps VISTA Desiree Tucker-Sorini, and the AmeriCorps pledge led by Austin Mayor Steve Adler. In addition, guests enjoyed networking at the AmeriCorps Festival, where AmeriCorps alums hosted interactive activities and resources as a living showcase of career paths stemming from national service.

You can check out our 25 Years of AmeriCorps Alums video series for inspiring examples of how national service can change lives. If you are interested in applying to become an AmeriCorps program, please review our notice of funding to learn more!

9. Governor’s Volunteer Awards

In October, we honored another group of inspiring Texans at the prestigious 36th Annual Governor Volunteer Awards, which recognizes the extraordinary service of individuals and organizations that have made a difference in local communities through service. This year, we added a new category for community colleges, which was awarded to the Austin Community College Student Life Food Pantry and Resources Program for creating on-campus food pantries maintained and operated by student volunteers. Award recipients were celebrated at a reception hosted by Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott at the Governor’s Mansion, and Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs also offered remarks of encouragement and thanks to the honorees.

Click here to learn more about the innovative accomplishments of these Texas volunteers, and consider volunteers in your network who you can nominate in 2020!

10. Texas Nonprofit Summit

After years of hosting smaller regional nonprofit summits, OneStar returned the Texas Nonprofit Summit to a statewide format that brought together about 300 nonprofit professionals, board members, funders, business leaders, and government and academic representatives this October in San Antonio. This year’s theme was Finding a Common Thread: Strengthening the Fabric of our Communities – and we did just that by networking and engaging in interactive learning. We were able to highlight the amazing collaborative community engagement efforts of SA 2020, screen the powerful documentary Community First, A Home for the Homeless, gather inspiration from our keynote speaker Edie Lutnick of Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, and participate in hands-on, research-driven workshops. It was a remarkable opportunity to connect with colleagues around the state and build resilience by strengthening our networks.

You can check out the photos and download event materials here, and stay tuned for details coming soon on the 2020 Texas Nonprofit Summit!