SAN ANTONIO FOR GROWTH ON THE

Significant markers sage commissions the installation of historical markers throughout the eastside, commemorating significant events, locations, and individuals, in turn helping residents and visitors connect with the areas history.

Community engagement sage hosts community and special events throughout the year, including: meet the ceo event - sage hired a new chief executive officer, james nortey, in january 2024. In may 2024, sage hosted an event that allowed the ceo to introduce himself to community members and donors, as well as share his vision for sage. Halloeast halloeast is a free family-friendly community block party celebrating halloween. This event is more than just trick-or-treating -- its an opportunity for residents to connect with neighbors and share valuable community resources. This event attracts over 700 attendees and more than 50 vendors from the community. Collaboration with prosper west - over the course of two evenings in october 2024, local business development organizations (bdos), prosper west and sage, jointly facilitated community focus groups in san antonios westside and eastside. These gatherings created a space for residents to express their hopes, concerns, and visions for the future of their neighborhoods. Discussions revolved around key topics such as community development priorities, missing amenities, the preservation of cultural character, and the potential for transit-oriented development. Participants explored critical questions about community needs, local business opportunities, and ways to ensure that new development projects benefit current residents while preventing displacement. The conversations highlighted unique neighborhood qualities, equitable development practices, and strategies to engage residents in future planning. Focus groups regarding community crisis - in the summer of 2024, sage conducted community focus groups to uncover how a community responds to a crisis with specific examples concerning the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (covid-19) pandemic. The purpose of this study was to: (1)gather feedback from eastside community members regarding their experiences throughout the covid-19 pandemic and similar economic crises; 2) determine the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on businesses and workers (including their experiences at home and within the community); 3) discover what strategies, policies, and resources were most helpful to the community, and to what extent people are prepared for a similar future crisis; and 4) utilize community voice to help improve sages programs that support the needs of the eastside small business community. In 2024 sage was awarded a 150,000 community economic development (ced) planning grant from the u.s. Department of health and human services, aimed at building the administrative capacity needed to develop a public market complex on san antonios eastside. This planning project marks a significant step forward in sage's commitment to fostering economic vitality in this minority-majority area, which has long grappled with systemic poverty, high unemployment, and the lingering effects of historical disenfranchisement through redlining, racial segregation, and governmental disinvestment. Through the ced planning funds, sage will develop a comprehensive, community-informed business plan to establish a public market complex that will serve as an economic anchor for the eastside. This vibrant community space is envisioned to address the critical shortage of grocery stores, dining, and entertainment options in the area, and create a central hub where residents can support local businesses, enjoy community events, and access essential goods and services. Sage directly engages more than 6,000 community members through its website, semi-monthly newsletter, and social media engagement.