Carolyn's Nonprofit Blog

This September, I moved from my longtime home of Bee Cave, a suburb on the western edge of Austin, to North Austin. The move was hard but it has been rewarding. Everything I own got a good cleaning, I shredded quite a few old hard copy documents, Goodwill and the Salvation Army received donations of gently used but perfectly fine items (I am a proponent of the circular economy), and I moved into a modern new home with exceptionally strong Internet service and easy access to a CapMetro Rail station.

When I was touring various properties last month and reviewing my options, I was struck by how attractive the one I now call “home” is, but also how diverse the resident population appears to be. The zip code 78717 includes one of the largest Asian American populations in the region. “In fact, the zip code 78717 (Brushy Creek) is 29% Asian.”

The Central Texas Asian Impact Project also notes, “What is the Asian economic impact in Austin? Initial analyses reveal that the Austin MSA AAPI workforce consists of 96,179 jobs, generates $8.8 billion in labor income, and is responsible for $14.8 billion in value added to the Austin MSA economy.”

• Growth between Asian Ethnic Groups is not homogeneous: Asian Indians, for example, added over 22,000 people to Central Texas from 2015 to 2021, more than 5 times that of any other Asian Ethnic Group.
• Growth among Indians is concentrated in Williamson County (Round Rock, Cedar Park). These zip codes saw the Indian population more than double between 2015 and 2021.
• A smaller Asian ethnic group, Nepalese, saw over 350% growth in Central Texas between 2015 and 2021.

If you visit the main menu on Carolyn’s Nonprofit Blog, you will find a section of posts, “Connecting With Diverse Communities.” One article in my series focuses on Asian Americans and you can read it by following the link. Needless to say, I am pleased to be living and working in 78717.

Moving also means updating my social media. Visit my YouTube channel and see my new introductory video @CarolynAppleton! I have also updated my Linktr.ee. Included are:

• Recent articles and projects
• A list of my primary social media platforms
• My 2024 social advocacy organizations (Citizens’ Climate Lobby, ONE Campaign and TechSoup)
• This year’s charitable donations (I firmly believe to be a successful fundraising professional requires you to be a donor yourself)
• And a new section, “Recommended Products.”

Linktr.ee is a perfect reflection of where I am at the present time.

I have been active in the nonprofit technology sector since 2010. From 2016-2021, I spearheaded the local nonprofit technology club in partnership with NTEN, TechSoup and Capital Factory (Austin). Through that initiative I have come to know innovators in the field, and those I endorse at the present time are listed on Linktr.ee. If you have questions at any time, email is best.

Bear with me as I regain my bearings and settle in my new home and home office. And don’t forget: I continually update Carolyn’s Nonprofit Blog with new links. Return to visit often! More than 1,500 partner links help broaden the usefulness of my articles and posts, old and new.

In closing, I wanted to share an insightful quote from Klaus Schwab, which sums up change perfectly for me, too.

Change can be frightening, and the temptation is often to resist it. But change almost always provides opportunities – to learn new things, to rethink tired processes, and to improve the way we work.

Klaus Schwab, German economist (b. 1938)

Have a delightful and successful fall 2024.

Carolyn M. Appleton