The Concilio has been a part of Dallas for nearly 42 years, working to build stronger communities by unlocking opportunities for Latino families in the areas
of health, wealth and education. In that time, the organization has impacted more than 250,000 families.

But AnaChrista Robles, former vice president of education, says The Concilio has been “on a rocketship” since going through the Accelerator in 2021 and then becoming a United Way community impact partner. She says the Accelerator taught them how to be better listeners—to understand what will truly benefit their community.

As a result, since 2021 the organization has launched a variety of targeted initiatives, including critical needs programming that provides wraparound services
and community outreach; child development curriculum and parent engagement classes; a diversity, equity and inclusion program for corporations; and a partnership with UNT Dallas focused on increasing language development and literacy for young children. Meanwhile, The Concilio added a development team and grew from a $2 million organization to a $5.3 million organization in about 18 months, “which helped us expand our reach and deepen our impact in the community,” AnaChrista said.

Readers 2 Leaders seeks to develop and grow the reading skills of Dallas children from underserved areas. Since the nonprofit went through the Accelerator in 2019, the team has significantly scaled their impact, according to Norma Nelson, president and CEO.

The organization joined the Accelerator with a goal to use what they learned to launch a coaching program in which they train adults—including teachers, parents and nonprofit professionals—to support students with high-quality instruction and early literacy best practices. This was a strategic pivot from their original direct tutoring approach, which limited the number of students they could impact.

In the years since the Accelerator, the coaching program has become a success. By building the initiative with scalability in mind, Readers 2 Leaders is now able to serve triple the number of students compared to 2019—and that growth is expected to continue.

Principal Impact Collaborative (PIC) was a brand-new organization when it went through the Social Innovation Accelerator in 2016. The nonprofit, which is part of UNT Dallas, seeks to provide adult learning opportunities to leaders in the education and public sector to strengthen our public schools.

Amanda Dudley, former executive director of PIC, said in the years since the Accelerator, the organization has expanded its Principal Fellowship—a two-year fellowship for North Texas school principals—to seven local districts. Meanwhile, PIC has created new programming for district leadership teams in its Leadership Lab. These programs include development and support unique to the needs of specific school districts, enabling principals and their teams to be even more effective.

Dudley explains that having United Way as a “first-in investor” gave PIC credibility with other funders and partners, just as the organization was getting off the ground. “This allowed PIC to quickly establish itself as a critical partner in leadership development for school principals,” she said. 

Southern Dallas Link has experienced transformational change since founder Curtis Corbins went through the Accelerator in 2020. “We have literally blown up, because mobility is just a huge thing here in North Texas,” he says. “Even though our main focus is getting people to living-wage jobs, impacting their ability to come out of poverty, we’ve also been able to expand to other areas.” Their new initiatives include partnering with AARP to provide transportation for seniors, with Texas Workforce to transport special needs workers and with TR Hoover to pick up low-income kids for summer programs.

Curtis credits the Accelerator with showing him how to “stay in his lane” by focusing on transportation. That focus has enabled his organization to grow from serving around 1,500 clients per year in 2020 to about 6,500 in 2023. Southern Dallas Link has also become a United Way community impact partner, which Curtis says has enabled them to hire more drivers and serve more transportation deserts.

One of the biggest benefits of his partnership with United Way, Curtis says, is the number of doors it has opened.

Cheri Garcia, founder of Cornbread Hustle—the 2020 Social Innovator of the Year—says the second-chance hiring agency has both expanded and deepened its impact since going through the Accelerator. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, the organization did six figures in direct-hire placements, enrolled 1,500 inmates in a 12-week starting over program that sets people up for success after being released from prison, and partnered with the Regional Black Contractors Association to launch a program that pays workers to learn construction. As a result of these and other new initiatives, Cornbread Hustle has more than doubled the number of individuals it serves in just two years.

“Since the Accelerator, we’ve been more focused on programs that make a more sustainable difference and more of an impact,” she says.

Meanwhile, Cheri and her team have also launched initiatives to make employers feel more comfortable and compassionate with their decision to hire people who may be in a transition in their lives, whether they are unhoused, justice-impacted, or in recovery from drug- or alcohol-use disorder.

United Way: Cafe Momentum was the first Accelerator fellow back in 2013. What did that support from United Way mean for your organization and for you as a founder?

Chad Houser: Our organization was truly birthed through the support of United Way in 2013. As a start-up organization that is built on the premise of working with justice-involved youth in a restaurant environment, there were plenty of doubters as to the efficacy of our program. Having United Way show their support and commitment to our program created a ripple of validation that allowed us to build the foundation for the program we have today. I can never say it enough times: Cafe Momentum exists because United Way believed in us when no one else did.

United Way: After your experience in the Social Innovation Accelerator, what has changed for you as the leader of your organization?

Chad: The Accelerator taught me the importance of building a network of support. I’ve used that lesson to continue building a network across the country as we work to change the juvenile justice system.

United Way: What’s next for your organization?

Chad: A few years ago, we created a national organization called Momentum Advisory Collective (M.A.C.), with a vision to launch 30 restaurants and programs over the next 10 years. The M.A.C. team recently launched Cafe Momentum programs in Pittsburgh and Nashville while also creating a national conversation about juvenile justice.

When Aideé Granados, founder and CEO of Supervive, applied for the Accelerator in 2018, the organization had about $47 in the bank and had served fewer than 250 women. The nonprofit, which makes wellness and cancer prevention accessible to Hispanic women and their families, was the smallest organization to go through the Accelerator that year—but the experience kicked off four years of steady growth.

“It was a game-changer; an opportunity to learn how the nonprofit sector operates and to connect with other organizations, mentors and funding opportunities,” she explains. “Thanks to the Accelerator, we formed alliances that brought us more participants and families to serve.”

During the Accelerator, Aideé and her team gained funding, insights and support that led to the nonprofit’s signature program, The Rojo Way. The wellness education course just graduated its 10th class, with a total of 1,290 women served. The nonprofit has also continued to leverage innovative thinking: For example, post-COVID they launched an online community, Super Vide Communidad, which is expected to grow to 500 members by the end of 2023.

Aideé says the Accelerator also raised her organization’s profile, which drew additional support that is fueling their growing impact. From those early days with just $47 in funding, Supervive is now attracting investment from organizations like the CDC Foundation and The Addy Foundation—in addition to becoming a United Way community impact partner.

When Bonton Farms went through the Accelerator in 2017, the organization was “still in its infancy,” according to Helena Banks, who served as director of development and external affairs through 2024. “Being a part of the Accelerator really opened a lot of doors,” she said. “Mostly, it impacted our trajectory—being able to network with the United Way community and the people and organizations involved.”

As Helena explained, “We’re out to disrupt the system. When you talk about changing people’s trajectory, you really have to dive deep. Ultimately our goal is that the change in Bonton becomes the change in the world. We want to take these same principles and expand them across the nation, because we all know that there are Bonton communities everywhere.”

Helena offers a few examples: In the early days of Bonton Farms, the area had limited utilities. Through the Accelerator, founder Daron Babcock formed a connection with AT&T, which enabled him to bring Wi-Fi to the community. The United Way network also connected him to Deloitte, which planted the seeds of an initiative that will offer first-of-their-kind banking products in Bonton through nine financial partners.

These types of deep connections have helped Bonton Farms grow well beyond their roots as an urban farm. Now the team works to address what they call the “seven human essentials”: health and wellness, economic stability, safe and affordable housing, transportation, a sense of belonging, education and access to fair credit. They’ve launched initiatives like an apprenticeship with wrap-around services and a housing program that includes everything from tiny homes to lease-to-own houses.

Meanwhile, Daron and his team are also expanding their impact across Texas. In 2021, they worked to get the Bonton Farms Bill passed. The resulting law gives citizens returning from prison the opportunity to wipe fines from their records, so that when they’re released, they get a blank slate financially.