The Austin City Council on Thursday approved an allocation of nearly $1 million to a new homelessness endowment fund, advancing a long-term strategy to bolster services for people experiencing homelessness. The move comes one month after voters rejected Proposition Q, a ballot measure that would have generated millions of dollars annually for homelessness services.
The House Our People Endowment (HOPE) Fund, created in 2023, is designed to establish a sustainable revenue source for homelessness initiatives without increasing property taxes. The initial contribution will come from excess hotel occupancy tax revenue — money collected to promote tourism, which in turn produces additional tax income for the city. Under the plan, surplus tourism revenue will now be redirected into the HOPE Fund to support housing navigation services, permanent supportive housing, and rapid rehousing programs.
“It became clear very early on that there was always going to be more need for homeless service funding than the dollars we have,” said Council Member Ryan Alter, who proposed the allocation.
“We only have the ability to spend the money we have, so I was trying to figure out what might be a way for us to generate new money in order to pay for homeless services in the long term.”
City officials expect the fund to receive more than $4 million next year, reflecting a full year of tourism-related income. The long-term intention is to diversify the fund’s revenue streams so it can eventually generate interest and ongoing returns to support services.
“My hope is that this is a way to reduce our reliance on local property taxes while still being able to provide the homeless services that we need to provide,” Alter said.