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COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY City of Austin Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting Presented by Christy Copeland Moffett, MSSW Travis County EDSI, Planning & Budget Office September 17, 2025 AGENDA Workforce/Job Creation Small Business Long-term Economic Planning 2 Travis County Economic Development & Strategic Investment • Located in the Planning & Budget Office • Areas of Responsibility: • Economic & Strategic Planning • Investments Management • Public Improvement Districts • Community & Strategic Engagement • Corporations Economic Development & Strategic Investments Travis County Economic Development - Travis County Financial Transparency V2 3 WORKFORCE & JOB CREATION TCHHS Workforce Development Funding Overview County Goals: Community Goal: Travis County allocated $2,608,238 for a continuum of adult education and workforce development services for Travis County residents in the Workforce Development issue area àHelp individuals improve workplace skills, obtain employment, & succeed in the workplace (succeed in the workplace includes retaining employment, advancing in employment, & increasing earnings and access to benefits); and àHelp employers secure a skilled workforce Support the Hire Local Plan by improving economically disadvantaged residents’ access to better economic opportunities Source: https://www.wfscapitalarea.com/community-workforce-plan-2/ 5 TCHHS Workforce Development Investments Program YouthBuild American YouthWorks Career Expressway Capital IDEA Educational Pathways Foundation Communites Supported Training and Employment Program (STEP) Goodwill Industries of Central Texas Workforce and Education Services LifeWorks Gateway Skillpoint Alliance Adult Education Todos Juntos Learning Center Workforce and Education Readiness Continuum—Travis County (WERC TC) Workforce Solutions Capital Area Workforce Board TOTAL Funding Level $229,850.00 $829,840.00 $229,850.00 $129,850.00 $329,850.00 $339,840.00 $209,158.00 $200,000.00 $2,608,238.00 6 TCHHS Portfolio Strengths • Broad low-income population targeting • County-wide geographic access • Some service types we’ve funded before • Vendors that have been County contractors before • Support to existing services as well as program expansion • Collaborative programs with a prime contractor and one or more subcontractors • Brand new contractors for the County • Smaller and/or newer nonprofits 7 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS • 8 Active Agreements • 2 Completed Agreements • $97,057,725 total rebated/abated to date for active agreements • 14,662 jobs created or retained by companies with active agreements to date • $24,960,949,945 total capital investment made by companies with active agreements to date • Compliance for 4 agreements completed jointly with the City of Austin 8 SMALL BUSINESS 9 TCTX Thrive 1.0 program • Budget: $10 million allocated from the CARES Act • Program: Business coaching and reimbursement grants of up to $40,000 • Beneficiaries: Small businesses in Travis County, outside City of Austin • Travis County Commissioners Court priorities included: • Minority- and Women-owned businesses • Section 3 business concern • Located in Opportunity Zone or CDBG low- to moderate-income census tract • Did not use a contracted professional to assist with their application 10 TCTX Thrive 1.0 results • $9,435,898 spent • 224 businesses assisted: • Average reimbursement: $37,688 • 66% Woman-owned • 51% Minority-owned • 13 Diverse business types • 94 businesses remaining on the waitlists • Approximately 50 businesses turned away due to receiving unemployment payments 11 TCTX THRIVE 1.0 BUSINESSES FUNDED: INDUSTRY TYPES 35 35 26 28 23 15 14 13 3 5 A G RIC ULTU RE A UTO M OTIVE C O NSTR U CTIO N/U … B USINESS SVCS 9 CREATIVES ENTERTAIN M ENT/… ED U CATIO N FO O D/H OSPITALITY HEALTH PR OFESSIO N AL SVCS PERSO N AL SVCS 10 8 RETAIL TRA NSP O RTATIO N 12 TCTX Thrive 1.0 businesses funded: 12 months post-assistance 1% 2% 97% Still in Business Pending Closed Due to Health 13 Research • DECA Summit Small Business Opportunity Summit (Aug. 2023) • Supply Chain Vulnerability Assessment (City of Austin, 2023) • City of Austin 2022 Small Business Needs Assessment (City of Austin, 2022) • A Decade of Growth: Austin Population and Demographic Shifts (City of Austin, 2023) • Boosting Financial Health in Travis and Williamson Counties: A Study of Individuals and Organizations in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic (Financial Health Pathways, 2023) • Fed Small Business (Small Business Credit Survey, Federal Reserve Banks) • MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index (Q2, 2023) • The Economic State of Black America: What Is and What Could Be (McKinsey & Company, 2021) • International Economic Development Council trainings • Neighborhood Development Strategies • Entrepreneurial & Small Business Development Strategies 14 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Late Summer 2022 - Early Summer 2023 Surveyed TCTX Thrive 1.0-related businesses Reached out to 35 community stakeholder organizations Met or consulted with 20 different organizations 15 Aggregated Results: Key Challenges – 1 Ø Rising costs Ø Loss of customer base, spending unpredictability Ø Supply chain Affordability issues Ø Rising cost of living/rent Ø Hiring, retention challenges Ø Access to Covid tests & PPE* Ø Access to healthcare insurance, paid sick leave, other benefits Staffing Challenges *many food, personal services, manufacturing, assembly line industries have reported the need for continued access to Covid tests, masks, sanitizer, other PPE to avoid staff/operational disruptions Aggregated Results: Key Challenges– 2 Ø Lack of grants, forgivable loans Ø High interest rates Ø Lack of Credit Readiness Access to Capital Ø Lack of awareness (not reaching target audience) Ø Barriers (location, cost, language, childcare, etc.) Ø Lack of specialized coaching/training Access to Business Training & Coaching Disaggregated Results: Geography In Travis County but outside the City of Austin u Distance, Transportation, Time u Education and Networking Needs in Outlying Areas u Variable, place-specific challenges: u Manor: lack of commercial space u Jonestown & Lago Vista: staffing challenges due to lack of affordable housing and rising cost of living Inside the City of Austin • Displacement & Gentrification Disaggregated Results: Diversity, Ethnic Differences • Disproportionately impacted • Lack of credit-readiness • Language accessibility • Need for culturally relevant outreach, marketing, & educational offerings • Need for supports to enable participation: childcare, transportation, grants 19 TCTX THRIVE 3.0 PROGRAM PRIORITIES Geographic Focus for Programs Serving Businesses: Programmatic Features: Reduce Barriers: • In Travis County but outside the • Basic business 101 training City of Austin (examples: financial management training; creating a business plan) • Help businesses be better prepared to access capital available to them (examples: navigating the capital landscape; credit readiness) • Help businesses plan for and navigate ownership transition (examples: succession planning; co-op conversion) • Affirmative outreach & marketing • Offer program supports (e.g. childcare, transportation) 20 TCTX THRIVE 3.0 PeopleFund is administering the program. Program Benefits: • Personalized business coaching • Capital readiness support • Opportunity to access one of PeopleFund’s Small Business Accelerators • Flexible, low-interest loans TCTX3.0 Thrive - PeopleFund 21 LONG-TERM ECONOMIC PLANNING NORTHEAST AREA DISTRICT PLAN Collaboration between City of Austin and Travis County Craft a 20-year vision with community led prioritized list of projects for future investment 23 OTHER INITIATIVES PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS COUNTY CORPORATIONS & AFFORDABLE HOUSING 24 THANK YOU Christy Copeland Moffett Director, Economic Development & Strategic Investments Travis County Planning & Budget Office 512-854-1161 christy.moffett@traviscountytx.gov