ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE OF AUSTIN
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Alliance Française of Austin is the premier destination for French language and culture in central Texas, recognized for delivering exceptional language instruction and engaging programs and events that enrich the lives of our members and students. Alliance Française is part of the fabric of Austin, a longtime contributor to the status, prosperity, relevance, diversity and culture of the city, and an important internationally connected resource for Austin residents.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
AFA French School
The AFA School offers a wide variety of classes for adults and youth. All classes are taught by native French-speaking teachers. Class offerings include regular core classes at all levels, Conversation, Grammar, Cooking, Literature and Music, Creative Writing, News in the Francophone World, and French Art History.
Club de Lecture
Alliance Française d’Austin’s Club de Lecture is a French Book Club for reading enthusiasts who wish to read French and participate in French discussion of French literature. Club de Lecture meets monthly and participation is for current AFA members.
Pétanque & Potluck
Enjoy Pétanque, a favorite French past-time, on 2nd and 4th Sundays with Alliance Française in Austin. Share food & drinks while you speak French with your Alliance Française friends & neighbors. No previous experience is necessary, families are welcome and all equipment is provided. Food and drink are potluck. Members and nonmembers are welcome and there's no charge to participate. Enjoy fresh air, friends, French and friendly competition during AFA's bi-monthly Pétanque matches.
AFA Events Program
Alliance Française offers a year-round calendar of French-themed events that connect residents of Austin to their neighbors here and around the world. Offerings include a Beaujolais Nouveau celebration, and one of Austin's premier summer celebrations, the AFA's annual Bastille Day Celebration. The organization also runs a monthly Book Club and quarterly Murder Mystery events conducted in French.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Fondation Alliance Française de Paris 1970
Federation Alliance Françaises USA 1985
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of students who receive scholarship funds and/or tuition assistance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Age groups
Related Program
AFA French School
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We offer two scholarships a year of for three consecutive sessions each to two applicants. Applicants must complete an application and submit an essay. Details on our website.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
In August of 2020, the Strategic Committee of Board of Directors of the Alliance Française d'Austin (AFA) collaborated with the organization's leadership to establish the AFA'S Strategic Objectives through 2023 Q4. These objectives emanated from the organization's current vision, mission, and values. As stewards for the organization's guiding principles, the governing body is committed to the support and regular review of these strategic objectives, including a strategic review and planning process in 2023.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
OBJECTIVE 1 (Communication). The Alliance Française d'Austin will offer
a comprehensive catalog of French language classes that serves the
interests of the AFA community.
OBJECTIVE 2 (Culture). The Alliance Française d'Austin will offer
opportunities for engagement related to Francophone cultures to AFA
students, AFA members, and the community at large.
OBJECTIVE 3 (Connection). The Alliance Française d'Austin will establish
connections of mutual support with other French and Francophone
cultural organizations and programs that share in the vision, mission, and
values of the AFA.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In 2019 and 2020, the AFA Board focused on building a structure of permanent staff, including a Business Manager who manages all staff and operations, to ensure the stability and continuity of the organization. This structure is now complete, allowing the Board of Directors to focus on oversight and forward-looking strategy.
The stability in automation in the operational structure as well as full staffing we achieved in 2019 and early 2020 allowed us to pivot our operations successfully to a fully online operation when COVID impacted our classroom structure in 2020 and 2021. The organizational goals of Communication, Culture and Connection remain the while modification in the delivery had to be altered based on elements out of our control. Surveys with our membership and students are crucial in our monitoring of how we can best meet our organizational goals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Following is a list of the AFA Board's goals for the fiscal years of 2018 and 2019. The AFA reached every one of these goals:
-Create an organizational structure plan and hire staff for all positions
-Modernize, update, and automate; move to online event and class registration and payment
-Exercise oversight and establish checks & balances
-Approve an annual budget and track financial actuals vs. budget throughout the year
-Improve school and overall organizational record-keeping and reporting
-Ensure compliance: IRS, Texas Workforce Commission, Dept of Health & Human Services, Alliance Francaise
Fondation, AFA bylaws
-Expand awareness of AFA in Austin
-Create and develop relationships with French-centric organizations in Austin
-Improve member communications via email, social media, and a redesigned website
Update for 2020 and 2021
COVID challenges impacted our chapter like so many other businesses in the US. Meeting our goals in 2018 & 2019 with moving to increased automation and online accounting allowed us to move in March 2020 to exclusive online training and registration when COVID shut down our classrooms. 99.7% of all our registrations and memberships in 2020 & 2021 are now done online with integration to our software that allows us real-time view into our class and member activity. Should we have not made the automation improvements we did in previous years, this transition to online learning would have been much more difficult to achieve.
- Moved all courses online to deal with COVID concerns. Enabled us to continue our Communication and Connection with our students during a time when it was critical.
- Provided feedback loop with all members and students via surveys to better anticipate how we could best serve them during the pandemic to meet their needs. We moved to exclusive online events initially which then blended into both online events as well as in-person events as survey results changed.
- Increased communication via Social Media and Newsletters.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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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 strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To adapt our offering to the COVID 19 era
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, 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 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
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE OF AUSTIN
Board of directorsas of 03/01/2022
Richard Alexander
Ellen Cartsonis
Kathy Keils
Christina Aimard
Jacques Weber
Heather Barfield
Meri Krueger
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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 ? Not applicable -
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
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
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data