20 YEARS MESSAGE

LETTER FROM MADGE VÁSQUEZ

This year, 2021, marked Mission Capital’s 20th anniversary. For over two decades, we have equipped and connected mission-driven leaders, organizations, and networks as we seek to advance equity and opportunity in Central Texas. 

In some ways, our region looks and feels very different from the Central Texas of 2001. In other ways, we see the same scenes replayed time and again. In both cases, the social sector, and the communities we serve continue to play a critical role in our collective wellbeing. Likewise, Mission Capital continues to evolve as we respond to the changing needs of nonprofits and our partners – all in service of a stronger, thriving region for all.  

Twenty years ago, Mission Capital first opened its doors as the Austin Nonprofit Resource Network, soon renamed Greenlights for Nonprofit Success. At the time, Central Texas was undergoing rapid growth on the heels of the technology boom. Our region was full of possibilities…until the tech bubble burst, and we began seeing the consequences of rapid growth, gentrification, opportunity gaps, and the growing socioeconomic divide, particularly for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and the Global Majority communities. 

Today, we witness another explosion of technology growth and investment in Central Texas, with potential for economic uplift along with the rising cost of living, gentrification, and demographic shifts. Twenty years ago, Texas’s first official State Demographer remarked on the rapidly growing diversity of Texas. Today, Central Texas’s economic growth is not shared equally among different communities, specifically low-income, BIPOC, and the Global Majority communities.  

In today’s climate of change and transition, Mission Capital sees an opportunity to double down on our role as a place-based nonprofit capacity builder, strategic planning consultant, leadership development resource, and membership hub for our Central Texas nonprofit region – with a focus on race equity. We serve those who serve our communities, and the timeline over the past two decades illustrates how our work has evolved to meet our community’s urgent needs.  

In the past two years, we worked hard to mobilize as Central Texas (along with our country and globe) weathered multiple crises. From the COVID-19 pandemic to widespread racial reckonings, to an economic slump and catastrophic winter storm Uri, we witnessed the power and struggle of collective action for the public good. Mission Capital cultivated community and rapidly responded to the needs of our partners, funders, and neighbors through the COVID-19 pulse survey data collection and reporting, convenings on mental health and digital equity, and new trainings focused on racial equity. 

We also seized this moment of disruption to revamp our programs and services, while continuing a process of learning and growth in service of our race equity journey. In the last two years, we deepened our commitment to participatory and community-led approaches, while building our team’s stamina for the race equity work required to show up differently in our community. We began to critically examine our role in perpetuating disparities in the communities we serve and to shift mindsets, practices, and systems that embrace community wisdom and advance community potential.  

As we look ahead at the next 20 years, Mission Capital will continue to provide individuals with knowledge, skills, and connections, help teams develop organizational resiliency, and collaborate with key players to create cultural shifts in our sector. For decades, we’ve witnessed the impact of historical, structural, and systemic racism, where BIPOC and Global Majority communities fare worse than their white counterparts across most social and economic conditions. The Central Texas social sector must lean into its role undoing past harms and imagining new, equitable structures that support local communities – in partnership with those working on the ground and those we serve. Mission Capital is proud to support nonprofits, their leaders and staff, funders, community partners, and our allies in the corporate and government sectors – ensuring that our collective efforts make certain all Central Texans have access to opportunity and can thrive. We look forward to another twenty years of growth, learning, and transformation in partnership with you.  

Madge Vásquez
Mission Capital CEO 2018 - 2022