As we settle into 2025, a new era for the Austin community, it’s crucial to reflect on our progress and acknowledge the tremendous momentum we’ve built along the way. This past year has seen significant achievements in implementing the Quality- of-Life Plan, most notably the introduction of the Highlighted Agenda. Since then we have been able to strengthen our approach to implementation and refine our objectives, ensuring we effectively serve the residents and the community.
Looking ahead, while celebrating Austin’s progress, we must remember our starting point. Seven years ago, nearly 500 Austin residents and community stakeholders collaboratively identified the community’s most glaring needs and priorities. This powerful display of community ownership led to the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan. This plan, created by and for the community outlines 23 strategies with 84 total actions across seven Issue Areas between 2019 and 2024: Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement, spanning 2019-2023.
2024 marked a year of immense progress and growth for our organization, our impact, and the Austin community. We welcomed new AFT leadership to drive collective action and collaboration, saw the near completion of the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation, launched our first Culinary Grantmaking effort through the Austin Eats initiative, and concluded the year with the release of the Central Avenue Corridor Plan. As we enter this new era, we must continue to work together as a community, making decisions and taking action collectively. We are striving for stability and ultimately a thriving community, but there is still work to be done.
“I believe we can own this transformation of our community into the community that, not only we’ll be proud of, but generations beyond us and to come will always be proud of.” – Darnell Shields, Executive Director, Austin Coming Together