United Way of the Brazos Valley announces the new Community Impact Partners for 2021-2023. The Community Impact Partners were each awarded a Community Impact Grant from United Way to support measurable efforts towards health, education, and financial stability in the Brazos Valley. During this grant cycle, United Way of the Brazos Valley will invest $350,000 annually, an increase of $25,000 per year from the previous grant cycle. Funds for the grants are raised through annual campaigns, sponsorships, and one-time giving events.
“Community Impact Grants are the primary mission of United Way of the Brazos Valley, and that is to support programs that make an impact in our communities,” Vice President of Community Impact Peggi Goss says.
Each year, over 56,000 people in the Brazos Valley region are impacted by the efforts of United Way of the Brazos Valley and its Community Impact Partners. To collaborate and discuss common problems in the area, United Way and the grant recipients attend regular meetings and trainings together.
“The main thing that we do well together is that we discuss difficult and challenging issues and try to find solutions together,” Goss says.
Thirty-four programs applied for Community Impact Grants this year, and some were selected to participate in a site visit during the grant review process.
“It’s a way to find like-minded people who have different and unique ways to solve the problems of the community and it’s a way to give them a microphone, to give them exposure, to give them resources, funding,” Max Crawford, a grant reviewer and a meteorologist at KBTX Media, says. “It is absolutely a springboard for those organizations to continue doing the good work that they set out to do.”
Crawford has been a member of the board of directors for United Way of the Brazos Valley for a year and a half and serves on United Way’s Campaign Cabinet. He chose to become a grant reviewer because he wanted to become more involved with the organization and to learn more about its partner agencies.
“One of the reasons why I feel like I will do it as long as I can is I got a real breath of fresh air just from meeting the people involved in the process, whether that was grant reviewers who were taking out their time to be involved with the whole process or the actual applicants that showed the passion for the organizations that they supported and just the passion that they all seemed to have for making the community a better place to live in,” Crawford says. “It was a real inspirational couple of months for me, just listening to these people’s stories and how much they care about the organizations that they are a part of.”
The Community Impact Partners differ in their individual purposes, but each was selected to receive a grant for its measurable contribution to the United Way of the Brazos Valley mission.
“It was clear that these organizations had a passion for serving the community,” Crawford says. “That’s what they all had in common, a passion for people and for helping people in their own unique ways.”
The nonprofits chosen to receive Community Impact Grants for 2021-2023 are Adult & Teen Challenge of Texas, Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach Inc., American Red Cross Heart of Texas Chapter, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living, Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center, Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity, Catholic Charities of Central Texas, Family Promise of Bryan-College Station, Grimes County Health Resource Center, Health for All, Madison County Health Resource Center, NAMI Brazos Valley, North Bryan Community Center, OnRamp, Project Unity, Save Our Streets Ministries, Scotty’s House Brazos Valley Child Advocacy Center Inc., Son-Shine Outreach Center Inc., Texas Ramp Project, The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley, The Prenatal Clinic, The Salvation Army Bryan/College Station, The Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), and Twin City Mission Inc.
The 2021-2023 Community Impact Grant recipients will be formally recognized at the United Way of the Brazos Valley’s Campaign Kickoff Tailgate in September.
United Way of the Brazos Valley fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in the Brazos Valley. To learn more about the Community Impact Partners and support United Way of the Brazos Valley’s mission, visit uwbv.org.
