In March 2025, St. David’s Foundation launched the Pathways to Economic Stability for the Healthcare Workforce  funding opportunity focused on supporting collaborative, region-wide efforts to create pathways to employment opportunities in the healthcare sector that foster economic stability for those struggling to make ends meet. The goal is to increase opportunities for Central Texans to enter financially sustainable healthcare careers and find meaningful work in high-demand healthcare careers, enabling them to earn a wage that supports both themselves and their families. 

A total of $10,090,000 was awarded through 10 grants. Learn more about the goals of this funding opportunity and grant recipients. 

Funding Opportunity Overview

Advancing health equity in Central Texas requires a thriving, diverse, and locally rooted healthcare workforce capable of addressing both individual and systemic barriers to health in the region. A strong healthcare workforce pipeline not only supports better health outcomes but also creates pathways to stable employment and economic stability for Central Texans seeking careers in the state’s largest industry.

The Pathways to Economic Stability for the Healthcare Workforce funding opportunity builds on the Foundation’s significant history of investment and action in healthcare workforce development, which has helped us recognize that there are structural barriers that prevent many Central Texans from accessing pathways to healthcare credentials. This open call supports the Foundation’s efforts to increase opportunities for students from marginalized communities to enter financially stable careers through collaborations with workforce development programs, employers, philanthropy, and the local education pipeline.

The grants awarded represent organizations in the regional healthcare workforce infrastructure across Central Texas. Supported by the Foundation’s investments, their work will increase opportunities for Central Texans – particularly those from historically marginalized communities – to enter financially sustainable healthcare careers.

Over the next two years, grant investments will:

• Increase the capacity of collaborative, region-wide pathways to support Central Texans receiving credentials from traditional and non-traditional programs in healthcare that lead to self-sufficient wages.

• Increase the number of Central Texans entering and completing traditional and non-traditional healthcare credential programs.

Collectively, the 10 grants anticipate enrolling more than 1,200 new students in healthcare certification or credentialing programs annually with the majority trained in clinical and community health settings. The funding will support the establishment of six new collaborative partnerships and the expansion of four existing collaborations – together representing nearly more than 30 organizations – all of which work at the intersection of clinical training and social services, community health, and health education.

These investments will allow the funded organizations to scale their operations and services to address critical workforce shortages and structural barriers that prevent many Central Texans from accessing pathways to economically viable healthcare careers across the workforce ecosystem.

Grant recipients received a flexible, one-time, 24-month grant and have discretion on how the funds are spent as they carry out the grant purpose. Award size was based on the scale and sustainability of the proposed project, the organization’s potential for long-term impact, and the organization’s annual budget.

Watch the informational webinar for this funding opportunity here. 

Eligibility Requirements

• Located and operating in one or more of the following Central Texas counties: Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, or Williamson.
• A tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, a public or government entity (county, municipality, health department, university, school), or using a fiscal sponsor that is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
• Serving historically marginalized high school youth and/or adults in Central Texas.
• Create collaborative and/or region-wide pathways for the above communities to enter high demand, financially sustainable healthcare careers.

Grant Recipients

10 grants totaling $10,090,000 in funding were awarded as part of the Pathways to Economic Stability for the Healthcare Workforce funding opportunity. We invite you to learn more about these organizations and collaboratives, and the work each grant will support.

• • Austin Black Physicians Association
    Stronger pathways to credentials as physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners for underrepresented individuals in Central Texas.

• • Bastrop County
    A collaboration between Bastrop County Public Health Department, the healthcare training program Career Tracks, and broad community representation from six different nonprofit organizations serving Bastrop County to create pathways for seven different healthcare credentials that earn a living wage.

• • Capital IDEA
    A collaboration between Capital IDEA and Austin Community College, alongside other community partners, to expand their model that removes barriers and offers support for low-income adults to achieve certifications such as Registered Nurses, Dental Hygienists, and other healthcare careers.

• • E3 Alliance (Education Equals Economics)
    A collaboration between the E3 Alliance and Texas Health Institute to apply E3 Alliance’s Advanced Manufacturing career model to the healthcare sector and to coordinate partnerships between school districts, higher education institutions, and employers.

• • El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission
    El Buen Samartino will pilot a Community Health Worker certification program as a pathway to obtain other stackable credentials including Medical Assistant, Dental Assistant, and other Associate Degree programs.

• • Healing Hands Community Birthing Project
    Expanded access to training for Central Texans from Black and Spanish-speaking communities to become Board-Certified Lactation Consultants.

• • Huston-Tillotson University
    Increased access to doula training and a certified midwifery program for communities most affected by maternal health disparities through a partnership between Huston-Tillotson University and community-based maternal care nonprofit organizations.

• • Social Finance, Inc.
    A collaboration between Social Finance and Western Governor’s University that removes financial barriers and resolves clinical placement bottlenecks for students completing their RN degrees through loans. The model provides a compelling opportunity for healthcare employers to invest in a renewable loan fund, that has potential for long-term sustainability.

• • United Way for Greater Austin
    United Way of Greater Austin will test the viability of a centralized billing hub for non-profit partners to receive Medicaid reimbursement for the work of Community Health Workers. With a sustainable source of revenue, non-profit organizations could hire Community Health Workers with reliable funding and offer wages that have the potential to pay a living wage.

• • Workforce Solutions Capital Area
    The Central Texas Healthcare Partnership, a partnership convened by Workforce Solutions Capital Area and Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area, including Austin Community College, Hays CISD, Pflugerville ISD, and our three largest healthcare systems to enroll high school students in dual-enrollment healthcare programs designed to expedite certification in sustainable careers while meeting employer needs.

Data Snapshot

A look at the Pathways to Economic Stability for the Healthcare Workforce grant recipients

We believe that data can serve as an instrument for accountability regarding who we are and who we serve through our investments and programs. Through this data snapshot, we invite you to learn more about the grant recipients of the Pathways to Economic Stability for the Healthcare Workforce open call and our commitment to health equity.

Note, the below reflects data from the 10 lead organizations awarded grants and does not reflect data from organizations within collaboratives. Organizational demographic data is not a component of the Foundation’s grantmaking rubric and is not used in determining grant eligibility or selection.