TFN’s Advocacy Spotlight Series, spearheaded by the network’s Mobility and Access Collaborative, lifts up the work of nonprofit grantees making an impact in their communities and beyond. We asked funders to nominate a stellar grantee to be featured in this series. We’ll share these Advocacy Spotlights TFN’s Blog and social media platforms as part of our commitment to amplifying community-led sustainability solutions and building the field of philanthropy through shared learning.
Advocacy Spotlight: LINK Houston
Nominated by: Elizabeth Love, CEO, Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation
LINK Houston Community Action Network gathering. Photo Credit: LINK Houston
About LINK Houston
“LINK Houston advocates for a robust, equitable transportation network so that all people can reach opportunity. LINK focuses on ensuring inclusive mobility so that people can move around our region affordably and sustainably by walking, rolling, biking and riding transit; keeping communities united in the face of public infrastructure projects like highway expansions; and increasing transit access to housing.
LINK empowers residents to engage with decision-makers at agencies such as Houston METRO and the City of Houston, and serves as a powerful watchdog across our region. The Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation supports LINK because the organization maintains influence among residents, public officials and the media, having shaped and now watchdogging the implementation of a $7.5 billion METRO bond package so that it boosts transit in low-access areas with a history of disinvestment.
LINK partners with fellow advocates to mobilize opposition to the I-45 expansion, culminating in a voluntary resolution agreement between the Federal Highway Administration and TxDOT to address community concerns. Link also ensures that community voices have seats on our Metropolitan Planning Organization’s powerful Transportation Policy Council.”
LINK Houston staff surveying bus riders for the 2025 Equity in Transit report. Photo Credit: LINK Houston.
About Their Impact
LINK Houston’s “Equity in Transit 2024” report emphasizes the need for increased bus service frequency and improved on-time performance, which are crucial for those who rely on public transit for work, education, healthcare and other necessities. The organization focuses on equity by prioritizing advocacy to benefit low-income and communities of color, which experience chronic disinvestment. LINK Houston uses data analysis and works with community members to survey bus riders to inform their recommendations. This approach helps them identify the most pressing needs and advocate effectively for changes that will have the greatest impact.
Over the years, LINK Houston’s Equity in Transit report recommendations resulted in additional and improved services in neighborhoods like Gulfton, Kashmere Gardens and Trinity Houston Gardens. The latest report in 2024 called for increased frequency on routes that were reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of those routes are now on the frequent network.
Featured Image: LINK Houston staff with former Federal Highway Administrator speaking at the announcement of the Voluntary Resolution Agreement for the North Houston Highway Improvement Project. Photo Credit: LINK Houston.
About this series: TFN invited funders to nominate a stellar grantee to be featured in the Mobility and Access Collaborative’s Advocacy Spotlight series. The stories in this series were submitted by funders and shared with nominees in advance for fact-checking and further clarification when needed. If you have any questions about this series or TFN’s Mobility and Access Collaborative, please contact Martha Roskowski martha@fundersnetwork.org