Over the last year, Austin Interfaith leaders publicly pressured the City Council to increase funding for successful programs including job training project Capital IDEA. They eventually held face-to-face meetings with public officials in efforts to get it back to current funding levels of $1 Million, but only after clearing City-imposed legal hurdles.

On the morning of October 6th, Austin City Council passed the Public Health and Human Service budget and two other items that moved additional funding to Capital Idea, keeping the program at 2011 level funding, $1.08 million, for FY 2012. Leaders also leveraged money from the Travis County Commissioners Court which voted not only for the continuation of level funding ($700,000) for Capital Idea, but an additional $97,000 to supplement cuts from the state.