The Austin Artist Life Alliance seeks to address the lack of affordable housing and studio space for artists in Austin, Texas due to gentrification. The nonprofit will provide housing location assistance and additional programs to help artists live stable and fulfilling lives. It will serve artists located in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood and collaborate with other local housing nonprofits. The board will include local artists, arts administrators, and community members.

1. My Dream Nonprofit Assignment
Jessica Kindrick
NPM 500 - Professor Tresser
Austin Artist Life Alliance

2. As the phenomenon of gentrification spreads in Austin, Texas, local artists and musicians are
being forced to move further and further to the outskirts of the city due to the sky-rocketing cost of
rent in downtown Austin and the ripple effects of this gentrification throughout the entire
Metropolitan area.
In fact, Cunniffe penned an article for Nonprofit Quarterly addressing this exact topic,
focusing on a project of a nonprofit called ArtSpace that seeks to build affordable living and studio
spaces for artists. She makes note of the benefits seen when artists move into neglected buildings or
areas, a revitalizing effect is seen and the community is often reshaped for the better (2016). She also
points out the largest influencing factor in the creation of this need: gentrification of areas that used
to be the home to these artists. This is the exact issue at play in Austin, Texas.
The Need

3. This issue of lack of access in Austin has received various coverage
in the local media this year (Weidaw & Ricke, 2016 and Freeman, 2016).
City officials have recognized this community need and in attempt to
preserve a very large aspect of Austin culture, art and live music, have
begun to attempt to address these issues (Shaughnessy, 2016). The Austin
Artist Life Alliance seeks to assist in these efforts.
The Need

4. Situated in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood of the artistic hub of South Austin, the
Austin Artist Life Alliance assists local artists in locating and securing affordable housing
and studio space in order to live more stable, creative, and fulfilling lives.
We offer programming that encourages self-sustainability and empowers artists to
take control of their careers and lives through educational, financial, entrepreneurial, and
healthy lifestyle resources. We collaborate and partner with other local and national
nonprofits to better serve our community.
Mission Statement

5. • The primary program of the organization will be the housing location assistance
offered to local artists.
o addresses the main goal of my dream nonprofit: helping artists find affordable places to live and create
o addresses the social justice issue of affordable housing access
• Other programs offered will involve providing other support services that assist our
clients in living secure and healthy lives.
o entrepreneurial and small business consulting and resource locating services for artists
o builds upon the work of the main program, and benefits the clientele by offering services and resources to
help enrich their lives once they have an affordable and stable place to live
o Youth support services and activities, peer led ideally
Programs

6. • While serving artists in the Austin area, Austin Artist Life Alliance is situated in
the Bouldin Creek neighborhood of the historically cultured (musically and
artistically) South Austin.
o Reasoning: there has always been a high concentration of “creatives” living in this neighborhood
• Clients will have to show proof of their work as an artist to be eligible for services
o “Artists”, for the organization’s purposes, encompasses a variety of creatives from across the spectrum
including visual artists, musicians, and designers.
Clients/Community Served

7. At AALA, we recognize the universal human value that each of us possesses. Our efforts
in social justice revolve around philosophical ideas of Rousseau and others that
emphasize individual liberties and equality of opportunity, rights and outcomes
(National Pro Bono Research Center, 2011). We view these as innately American and
democratic values and strive to work with public and private entities and organizations
to better serve our community by ensuring that those without access to affordable
housing have the assistance and support they need not only to find and keep a home,
but to thrive in their creative lifestyle through other services and resources we offer.
Furthering Social Justice

8. Getting the community on our side is a very important first step to serving them.
Letting them know we’re here to help and engage them in the ways in which they
need is a very imperative message to get across as early on as possible. We
believe inviting the community to an open forum to engage with them and their
exact concerns is a nice gesture before throwing some sort of “grand
opening”/”meet your new local nonprofit” kind of bash.
Community Engagement

9. Additionally, once established in the neighborhood, keeping the community
engaged will remain a priority. We hope to keep engagement through
maintaining volunteer recruiting efforts, facilitating community improvement
projects that involve staff participation as well as community members, and
creating an environment of transparency especially in regard to activities related
to the Board of Directors.
Community Engagement

10. Types of people to solicit for service on the Board:
• Local “creatives”: artists, musicians, designers
• Arts administrators from the community
• Civic engineers, architects, and planners
• Realtors
• Volunteers of the organization (who will bring varied experience)
Board of Directors

11. AALA will work and collaborate with other local
nonprofits like Foundation Communities and HousingWorks
Austin that offer affordable housing location services for a
variety of vulnerable demographics (not artists specifically) to
better assist and tailor our services to our artist clientele.
The (nonlocal) nonprofit ArtSpace offers consulting
services to organizations and communities wishing to establish
affordable housing options for artists, and this is another
collaborative resource for the program.
Possible Partnerships

12. ArtSpace, http://www.artspace.org/
Foundation Communities, https://foundcom.org/
HousingWorks Austin, http://housingworksaustin.org/
Possible Partnerships

13. Berkovitch, E. (2014, February). New Affordable Housing, When the Working Poor Are Artists. Retrieved
September 18, 2016, from http://adobeairstream.com/art/new-affordable-housing-cities-working-
poor-artists/
Cunniffe, E. (2016, February 12). What Is Hip? Affordable Housing for Struggling Artists| Nonprofit
Quarterly. Retrieved September 18, 2016, from https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/02/12/what-
is-hip-affordable-housing-for-struggling-artists/
Freeman, D. (2016, May 27). We Can’t Make It Here Anymore. Retrieved September 18, 2016, from
http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2016-05-27/we-cant-make-it-here-anymore/
National Pro Bono Resource Center. (2011). Occasional paper 1: What is social justice? Retrieved from
http://www.nationalprobono.org.au/ssl//CMS/files_cms/Occ_1_What%20is%20Social%20Justice_
FINAL.pdf
Shaughnessy, E. (2016, March). Projects to address affordable housing for teachers, artists. Retrieved from
https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/development-
construction/2016/03/23/projects-address-affordable-housing-teachers-artists/
Weidaw, K., & Ricke, C. (2016, March 3). Affordability could stop the music, Austin musicians can’t afford to
stay. Retrieved from http://kxan.com/2016/03/03/affordability-causing-issues-for-musicians-and-
food-access/
References