Nonprofit Austin started in 2000 with a class of six nonprofit professionals learning how to support volunteers online, and 25 years later has evolved into an essential hub for nonprofits across Central Texas.

After leading Jewish federations for 23 years, Barry Silverberg, the founder of Nonprofit Austin at ACC (NPA), noticed that
there was a consistent gap in the nonprofit sector – passionate professionals often lacked the support of strong
professional capability to back it up. He found there was an expectation of nonprofit leaders to demonstrate accountability,
effectiveness, and impact, yet they had no access to the skills to do so. Wanting to solve this problem, Barry quickly got to
work planning a trusted place that would allow leaders to grow their professional toolbox with a special focus on serving
smaller and midsized organizations that have access to fewer resources. Many leaders around Austin were skeptical of his vision, but then fate introduced him to Linda Young of Austin Community College (ACC). In November 2000 they launched their first class at ACC, Cyber Volunteer Management, and Nonprofit Austin at ACC was born.

Since then, NPA’s passion continues to burn bright and their ACC partnership even more so. With shared core values of inclusion and connection, the school is the perfect home for Nonprofit Austin. ACC’s classroom space, technology,
and credibility provide the high-quality, affordable education Barry wanted to share with the nonprofit community. And in
its 25 years, Nonprofit Austin has served more than 7,000 individuals across 750 nonprofits, and expanded to
offer six certificate programs with 1,400+ graduates so far: Effective Fundraising, Nonprofit Financial Management, Grant
Writing, Measuring Social Impact and Effective Storytelling, Nonprofit Leadership and Management, and Project Management for Nonprofits.

RecognizeGood presented Nonprofit Austin at ACC with a Lighthouse award on August 17th, 2026, which marked both the 25th anniversary of the organization as well as National Nonprofit Day. The recognition included a $1,000 donation and a
special certificate. In a celebration of Austin’s nonprofit community, the focus was on Barry and his team and Red Oak
Ballroom was packed with influential nonprofit leaders to help mark the occasion. Sean Hale of Nonprofit CFOs co-chaired the event with Nonprofit Austin’s deputy director Roz Gutierrez, and along with RecognizeGood the crowd heard inspiring remarks from both ACC’s vice chancellor Dr. Chris Cervini and Dr. Rosamaria Murillo, founder of El Buen Samaritano and co- chair of One Voice Central Texas.

“It’s really important that we continue to recognize ourselves in the nonprofit community,” said Barry in his remarks. “There’s a real hunger in our community to come together, to share experiences in a noncompetitive way, and just enjoy each other’s company.”

“We believe in compassion and human dignity,” he continued. “We believe that suffering, inequality and unmet human need require a response. We believe in civic participation – that people strengthen communities when they volunteer, serve on boards, organize, educate, donate and participate. We believe in trust, integrity and accountability. And perhaps most remarkably in our increasingly transactional world, we believe that sometimes people should share their time, talent
and resources without expecting an equivalent economic return. This is really a radical idea when you think about it, yet it’s
at the heart of everything we do.”

At its core, Nonprofit Austin at ACC has always been about strengthening the community by focusing on strengthening
the village of people who serve it – and that commitment remains unchanged even after all this time. Their mission is
simply to empower nonprofits while inspiring and preparing ACC students for fulfilling careers in the nonprofit sector.
NPA still chalks up its “competitive advantage” to walking together with students as colleagues and equals,
and continuing to provide a safe place for the nonprofit community to bring their concerns and seek guidance.

At the heart of who they are, Nonprofit Austin simply exists to serve!