The City of San Antonio’s Community Action Advisory Board is seeking five representatives from private organizations to fill out its 15-member board.
The advisory board guides the City’s Department of Human Services on how to use federal funding from the Community Services Block Grant, which aims to alleviate poverty. Those dollars pay for City programs such as financial empowerment counseling, the emergency utility assistance program, and training for job success program, said Minerva Hernandez, family support coordinator with the Department of Human Services and the liaison to the advisory board.
Any organization applying to serve on the advisory board must be a legal entity and can be:
- An advocate organization
- A private foundation
- A private business or industry, or an association representing business or industry
- A religious organization
- A legal association
- A nonpartisan political organization
- A labor, education, or health organization.
In 2020, the board also will help guide the City of San Antonio’s Head Start program, Hernandez said, so educational organizations serving as members would be valuable.
“Because the board is comprised of 15 members, the five vacancies we have are for private organizations and nonprofits that are transitioning out of our board,” Hernandez explained. “We look for organizations that may have a good fit, that work with low-income families in our community.”
Hernandez added that the board is looking for organizations that do work “that ties into that gamut of services we provide.”
Five board members are representatives from elected officials’ offices and another five are low-income residents.
Organization applicants must have at least 25 members, and representatives of the organization must be at least 18 years old.
Applications should be submitted by 4 p.m. on Dec. 12 to the city clerk’s office and can be found here. For more information on the vacancies or board, contact Minerva Hernandez at 210-207-5917 or Minerva.Hernandez@sanantonio.gov. Call Alicia Beckham at 210-207-7523 for help with the application.
