Impact Hub Houston

We Empower People With Purpose

Houston, TX   |  https://houston.impacthub.net

Mission

Impact Hub Houston is a locally rooted, globally connected 501c3 nonprofit organization that inspires, connects and empowers people working to solve some of the most pressing issues in our region and around the world...especially those that impact historically disadvantaged communities. A member of the Impact Hub global network—the world’s largest community recognized by the United Nations for accelerating entrepreneurial solutions towards measurable and scalable impact for the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—Impact Hub Houston intentionally designs places, platforms and programs to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem and equitably empower diverse changemakers, social entrepreneurs, and impact supporters to create the change they wish to see in the world.

Ruling year info

2019

CEO / Executive Director

Grace Rodriguez

Deputy Director

Michelle Avalos

Main address

1801 Main St Suite 1000

Houston, TX 77002 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

83-2379449

NTEE code info

Economic Development (S30)

Business, Youth Development (O53)

Leadership Development (W70)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Code for Houston

Impact Hub Houston serves as Houston’s "Code for America" brigade through Code For Houston: An initiative that offers opportunities for people to get civically engaged and help develop real solutions to our region's most pressing issues, regardless of their design and/or technical ability. We work at the intersection of impact and innovation to facilitate community-led solutions and evidence-based decision making through technology usage and development, data gathering and analysis, and civic engagement. Our community of 3,800+ designers, developers, data scientists, policy experts, community organizers, scientists, journalists, activists, government representatives and more put their talents to work regularly on monthly Open Project Nights*, public policy, and the City of Houston Hackathon and Climathon Houston every year.

*Presented under the umbrella of Code for Houston, Open Project Night is a monthly event convening Houston’s changemakers and collaborators around ideas for improving Houston. Through this event, people working on impact-oriented projects, ventures and solutions can connect with a mix of civic-minded designers, developers, hackers, advocates and organizers to share ideas, get feedback, and work together to achieve greater impact.

Population(s) Served

Impact Hub Houston Community Membership is for people starting—or interested in starting—and growing Impact Ventures, also known as Social Ventures or Social Enterprises. We aim to empower, connect and inspire local entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses, and supporters through monthly events that allow us to gather, share ideas, be in good company and support one another. We welcome all impact innovators, from those aspiring (still employed, unemployed, or in school) to those who have already started a business and are ready to scale their operations. Anyone who is interested in creating a viable and potentially scalable solution to a pressing issue they or their communities face is invited to join!

Population(s) Served
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Sexual identity
Economically disadvantaged people
Work status and occupations

Impact Hub Houston’s Accelerate Membership offers purpose-driven entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to grow your venture by leveraging our region’s resources while accessing global markets, mentors, experts and ongoing support.

Accelerate Members go through a diagnostic, mentor-matching, curated curriculum, and thematic peer-to-peer support process that connects you with like-minded changemakers and stakeholders around the world.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Economically disadvantaged people
Work status and occupations
Sexual identity
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Economically disadvantaged people
Work status and occupations
Sexual identity

FF-START is designed to help female founders take their startups to the next level. From Business Model Validation to Investment Readiness, FF-START provides early-stage women entrepreneurs with a step-by-step methodology to rapidly and systematically validate their business model, and to understand the fundraising process while putting in place the elements they need to get their venture ready for funding and investor capital. We want women-led startups to attract as much investor capital as necessary, so we take no equity from participants to help them maintain as much ownership in their companies as possible. Instead, we charge a small fee to ensure accessibility and accountability, and offer them the opportunity to continue incubating their startup at Impact Hub Houston -- or to graduate into other locally- and nationally-recognized accelerator programs -- to help them continue getting the support they need as they progress to later stages.

Population(s) Served

With 44% of Houstonians reporting Hispanic heritage, we developed the “Emprende Impacto” pre-accelerator program to provide the relevant, culturally competent, and accessible startup training and education they need to launch new paths to wealth creation, grow their businesses, create new jobs and opportunities in their communities, and thrive.

Leveraging our relationships with the dozen+ Impact Hubs in Latin America and Spain, Impact Hub Houston offers expert entrepreneur and startup education and mentorship in Spanish along with materials in English, so participants can learn in a culturally-sensitive environment while building competency in common startup terminology and best practices.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Sexual identity
Economically disadvantaged people
Work status and occupations
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Sexual identity
Economically disadvantaged people
Work status and occupations
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Sexual identity
Economically disadvantaged people
Work status and occupations

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of people engaged in our mission through social media

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Ethnic and racial groups, Adults, Gender and sexual identity, Work status and occupations

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Total number of interactions generated through mentions and comments on messages and campaigns in our social media accounts, as audited by a third-party platform.

Number of unique website visitors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Ethnic and racial groups, Gender and sexual identity, Work status and occupations

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

2020 website traffic data is gathered via Google Analytics. We did not have this installed on our website prior to 2020, which is why there is no data for the previous years.

Number of clients participating in educational programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Self-employed people, Victims and oppressed people, Women and girls

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

These are annual totals from registration for our programs, as calculated via Eventbrite. Total numbers went down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 due to decreased programming, overall.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Impact Hub Houston is a locally rooted, globally connected, impact innovation incubator that inspires, connects and empowers people working to solve the most pressing issues of our region and beyond…especially those that impact historically marginalized communities. Working alongside ~100 Impact Hubs with 17,000+ members spanning over countries around the world—the world’s largest community recognized by the United Nations for accelerating entrepreneurial solutions towards measurable and scalable impact for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—we offer intentional, inclusive, and international support to help diverse innovators and idea- to early-stage startups create the change they wish to see in their communities.

We believe Houston can be a role model for how the world solves its most pressing issues. Impact Hub Houston serves our region as an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder and changemaker champion, to help our diverse communities come together to rally around and realize that vision.

We work to:
- Inspire, connect, and empower diverse changemakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators with mentorship, meaningful content, thought-provoking talks, hands-on learning opportunities, and vibrant community conversations.
- Create inclusive and equitable spaces where people can easily plug in, experience belonging, and actively collaborate with, support, and celebrate each other.
- Deepen and strengthen collaborative relationships among stakeholders and build an ecosystem where people work together across industries, cultures, identities, geographies, and generations.

We design and offer Inclusive and Equitable Spaces:
Impact Hub Houston is building an innovation ecosystem that inspires, connects, and empowers all people working on solutions towards any of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We welcome problem solvers from all areas and at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey — even those who may not have had exposure or effective training in modern technologies and business practices before. With respect to SDGs 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 (Reducing Inequalities), and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), we especially seek to support changemakers who come from and/or wish to serve historically disadvantaged, overlooked or underserved communities. Wherever you are on your impact journey, we want to meet you there and help you get to the next level. We can help you connect with peers and mentors, ideate and validate potential solutions, and build sustainable models around your idea so you can forge your own path to economic resilience and wealth, create jobs and opportunities for others, and successfully participate in the innovation economy.

We develop and activate Authentic and Collaborative Communities:
Impact Hub Houston engages and connects vibrant communities of entrepreneurial changemakers who are passionate about building a better future and are dedicated to creating positive impact in our city.
We screen Impact Hub Houston members and partners for:
– alignment of purpose and impact orientation
– ability to support other members with respect as true peers
– willingness to contribute to our culture of collaboration and servant leadership
– genuine effort to learn, share ideas and develop social ventures

We foster and facilitate Intentional Programming and Placemaking:
We champion inclusive, impact-driven innovation by providing an integrated platform and thoughtful programming that meets problem solvers where they are, shares entrepreneurial knowledge, connects diverse communities, and bridges resource gaps. We host collaborative programs and events in our space and at partner venues across Houston in order to inspire and inform innovators with meaningful content, thought-provoking discussions, expert-led talks, hands-on learning opportunities, and facilitated community conversations.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

Impact Hub Houston
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Impact Hub Houston

Board of directors
as of 05/31/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Phillip Yates

Law Office of Yates & Associates

Term: 2021 - 2023

Erik Ibarra

ORDRS.io

Lee D. Mayfield

Owlfa, LLC

Shiroy Aspandiar

Dreambound

Kevin Doffing

Everpoint Services

Brandy Guidry

G&G Consulting

Jeff Reichman

January Advisors

Reda Hicks

GotSpot Inc.

Brenda Rios Brombacher

Houston Baptist University

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 5/31/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Asian/Asian American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/31/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.