The downtown you will always love.
Everything you love about Austin is downtown: live music, public art, parks, history and small businesses. Investing now preserves what came before and shapes what comes next. The Downtown Austin Foundation is how philanthropic partners, companies and individuals invest in keeping it here, for everyone.
Who We Are
The Downtown Austin Foundation is the 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of the Downtown Austin Alliance. Downtown is the heartbeat of Austin and a driving force behind the city's economic and cultural vitality. The Foundation amplifies the Downtown Austin Alliance’s work by preserving what makes downtown feel like Austin.
Because the Downtown Austin Alliance supports the Foundation's administrative and overhead costs, your investment goes further, into the programs that make downtown a place that is interesting, active and embraced by everyone.
Why Invest Now
Property owners already invest in downtown through the Public Improvement District. Their annual assessments fund the Downtown Austin Alliance's work to keep downtown clean, safe and welcoming. The Downtown Austin Foundation is how philanthropic partners, companies and individuals invest in the rest: the culture, parks and public spaces, small businesses and everyday experiences that make downtown feel like Austin.
And the timing matters. Downtown is in its biggest rebuild in a generation. New towers, a new convention center and I-35 construction are reshaping downtown. That is hard on the small businesses, live music and street life people love. Investing now preserves what came before and shapes what comes next, so the downtown we hand to the next generation still feels like Austin.
Where Your Investment Goes
Your investment supports Arts & Culture, enhances Parks & Green Spaces and preserves and grows Small Businesses & Economic Vitality. Direct your investment to an area or a program, or leave it open for the area of highest need.
Arts & Culture
Your investment brings live music, art and cultural heritage into streets, parks and plazas, free and open to everyone.
Learn More⟶Parks & Green Spaces
Your investment helps care for shared spaces like Republic Square, expands shade and greenery and keeps downtown’s parks vibrant, welcoming and full of life.
Learn More⟶Small Business & Economic Vitality
Small businesses and active streets make downtown worth the trip. Help businesses hold on through construction and bring people back to streets like Historic East 6th.
Learn More⟶Ways to Invest
Whether you are an individual, a company, a foundation or a community partner, there are ways to meaningfully invest in the downtown you will always love:
- Make an individual gift
- Invest as a company
Leadership & Accountability
The Downtown Austin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity governed by an independent Board of Directors. Charitable contributions are recorded, managed, and reported in accordance with donor intent and applicable nonprofit standards. The Downtown Austin Alliance supports the Foundation’s administrative and overhead costs, so your investment goes further, into approved Foundation programs, projects and priorities.
Foundation EIN: 74-2862219
Keep downtown Austin Austin.
Downtown is changing fast. Now is the time to invest in the arts and culture, parks and green spaces, and small businesses that make it feel like Austin.