Our History
Throughout the years UP Partnership has had one goal: to create alignment in policies, practices, and strategies that affect young people in the community. Here’s a look at where we’ve been and what we’ve accomplished.
The City of San Antonio announces the creation of P16 Plus Council of Greater Bexar County, an initiative to improve the educational success of children.
Separate from P16 Plus, Diplomás launches as a collective for Latinx success through funding by the Lumina Foundation.
Separate from P16 Plus, Excel Beyond the Bell SA, a network focused on out-of-school time youth development programs, launches under the umbrella of the San Antonio Area Foundation.
The City of San Antonio accepts a call to action from the Obama Administration to create a network focusing on boys and young men of color.
UP Partnership becomes the backbone organization to Diplomás.
In partnership with P16 Plus, the City of San Antonio launches an action plan to launch My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio.
In partnership with P16 Plus, the City of San Antonio launches an action plan to launch My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio.
Excel Beyond the Bell merges with P16 Plus.
P16 Plus rebrands as UP Partnership, an abbreviation for “unlocking potential.”
Our Tomorrow, a network building leadership and working groups around issues young people care about, launches at the annual Youth Voice Summit.
National philanthropic funder, Blue Meridian Partners, makes an $8 million commitment to ensure continued economic mobility and equity for the San Antonio community. Approximately $2.1 million was provided to the San Antonio Area Foundation, with the remaining going to UP Partnership. UP Partnership was tasked to create a strategic plan informed by the power of its convening spaces of Excel Beyond the Bell, Diplomás, and My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio.
With more than 90 institutional partners committed to the Future Ready Bexar County Plan, Blue Meridian Partners pledged a $50 million funding match over seven years. The match came about through coordinating and aligning $64 million of existing funding from the San Antonio Area Foundation, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County and the Charles Butt Foundation, the H. E. Butt Foundation and additional support from USAA, the Greater Texas Foundation and the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas Inc. to the Future Ready Bexar County movement. The funding pledged by Blue Meridian is contingent on meeting yearly milestones. Six anchor partners were also named to drive the Future Ready movement alongside UP Partnership, including United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, San Antonio Area Foundation, H. E. Butt Foundation, Communities In Schools of San Antonio, CAST Schools Network, Charles Butt Foundation, and Alamo Colleges District.