Our Biggest Year Yet: BBATX's 2019 Impact Report

Women, and particularly women of color, continue to push the envelope by starting companies, launching their own initiatives and building their own tables, but money and resources are still primarily relegated toward white, male-led circles. And that’s why we exist. At BBATX, our team works hard to make sure that there are more opportunities, money and visibility for women and nonbinary creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders in Texas.

In 2019, we outdid ourselves. From conferences to festivals to markets to workshops, our programs served 20,000 community members over the last year thanks to your support. Read on for an overview of BBATX’s 2019 Impact Report (and bump this playlist by one of our resident artists, DJ Shani, while you read).

IN 2019, #BOSSBABESATX (BBATX) HOSTED 61 EVENTS WITH MORE THAN 20,000 ATTENDEES.

On top of creating community spaces, our programs also provided low-cost, affordable exhibition and educational opportunities to 1500+ women and nonbinary creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders. This looks like:

  • 27 showcases featuring work by emerging women and nonbinary interdisciiplinary creatives, artists, musicians and makers through craftHER Market, The Residency and BABES FEST

  • 48 workshops and dialogues exploring personal and professional curiosity, creative entrepreneurship and collaboration (providing 250% more educational programming than we did in 2018)

  • 10 community meet-ups and networking events for women and nonbinary artists, creatives, thought leaders and entrepreneurs to share resources, information and learn more about how to support each other’s initiatives

  • 17 workshops and dialogues on strategies and tactics to create systems that better support gender equality, intersectionality, diversity, inclusivity, anti-racism and anti-abuse in the workplace and in our communities

  • 24 partnerships with nonprofits in our network to amplify diversity and equality (including Brown State of Mind, ATX Bookstore Crawl, Collegiate Mom Coalition, Doula Trainings International, Sex Positive Families, Abortion Care Network, the KIND Clinic, Y2K Technologies, Austin School of Film, Austin Film Festival, RAS Day, the Elisabet Ney Museum, the Blanton Museum, Landmarks at the University of Texas at Austin, Six Square: Austin’s Black Cultural District, CHATROOM, Austin Design Week, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, IMMEDIATE Fashion School, Women’s Empowerment Conference, Texas Tribune Fest, Book People, Missfits Fest, Unbounded Agency)

Through these events, our consulting services for institutions and businesses interested in inclusivity and diversity, as well as our digital programs, we accomplished the following:

IN 2019, WE ALSO HAD SOME MAJOR WINS.

  • We completed the first year-long iteration of our programming committee and welcomed 15 incredible people from the community as ongoing collaborators, curators and leaders on our programs.

  • We introduced a second day to craftHER Market Fall 2019, extending 50 more booths to makers and small business owners in our community.

  • We celebrated one year in our first-ever headquarters (916 Springdale Rd. Bldg. 4 Unit 102), which helped us increase our availability of workshops, exhibitions and community dialogues.

  • We created our first-ever State of the Uterus guide to create actionable items and next steps for leaders invested in inclusivity and human rights.

  • We transformed our Residency program to include $8000 in commissions to women and nonbinary artists.

  • We launched our Creative Entrepreneur Resource Guide, a free digital manual for Austin creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders in our programs seeking financial planning tips, new opportunities and leadership skills.

  • We collaborated with our friends p1nkstar and Y2K Technologies to throw our first-ever femme and queer showcase, CYBERBABES.

  • We introduced a micro-grants across our programs, which gave three leaders in our community access to all of our programs and $2500 in financial support.

  • Through strategic partnerships and support from our sponsors and community, we increased our annual operational budget from $140,000 in 2018 to $200,000 in 2019. This allowed us to hire a Communications Assistant and Merchandising Lead, invest in program expansions across craftHER Market, BABES FEST and our workshops, as well as begin the hiring process for a grants consultant in 2020.

 

next year, WE'RE SAYING HELLO TO SOME NEW ENERGY.

With additional staff and financial support from our community, 2020 will be a big one for BBATX. We plan to introduce:

  • our first-ever membership and training program for women and nonbinary creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders invested in leadership development (launching May 2020)

  • rentals at our headquarters for community members seeking low-cost and affordable space for workshop and discussions

  • additional expansions to craftHER Market’s opportunities to women and nonbinary artists, creatives, makers and small business owners

  • at least 25% more financial opportunities for women and non-binary creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders through our exhibitions, showcases and residency program

How can you help us in 2020?

  • Attend an event. Seriously—every time you attend an event of ours, you’re putting your dollar, attention and time toward women and non-binary creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders. Showing up counts.

  • Join a program. Applying to participate in BABES FEST or craftHER Market is a great way to get involved with #BBATX and benefit from the community we cultivate. (You can also become more embedded in the community by attending our intimate workshops and smaller meet-ups.)

  • Become a partner. Partners donate between $500 to $20,000+ to our programs. They give us the foundational, financial strength we need to employ our staff, hire artists, book venues and invest in community outreach.

  • Donate to our programs. It takes $250,000 per year to what we do, and every dollar (yes—every dollar) toward those expenses helps us survive. No donation is too small, and any donation gets you on our annual donor thank-you list.

  • Buy from our shop. Everything in our store benefits our programs, by directly contributing to our staffing and administration costs. (Plus, it's all cute and for the most part eco-friendly and sustainable.)

  • Subscribe to our bimonthly newsletter. Opening our emails and tuning into what we do beyond social media helps us become less dependent on Instagram’s and Facebook’s biased algorithms, while ensuring you stay in the loop.

  • Read our blog. Knowing more about our community and our values helps you become a better advocate for #BBATX’s values and ideas.

  • Contribute to #BBATX’s Fall / Winter 2019 Creative Leadership Survey.
    By putting your thoughts in this survey, you help us collect accurate data on the barriers that women and nonbinary leaders face in Texas, which helps us fight back decision-makers in our communities and governments who don’t prioritize our needs.

  • Volunteer with us. When you donate your time to #BBATX by volunteering at an event, you help us reduce the cost of our programs and keep both ticket prices, booth fees and other things that our community pays for more affordable.

Thank you for supporting us in 2019.

Women and nonbinary leaders deserve more than lip service—and you help us get shit done. We would not exist without you and we are grateful for your support. See you in 2020.

Stay resilient,
Jane Hervey (Founding Executive and Creative Director) and the BBATX team

Photo of the Fall 2019 BBATX staff by FiFi Mar

Photo of the Fall 2019 BBATX staff by FiFi Mar

Future Front TexasComment