Dreams Over Dollars — Civic Futures Platform

Focus Areas

Where We
Direct Our Work

Five mission categories guide every program, partnership, and research initiative we undertake.

Civic Infrastructure

Designing and sustaining the systems, spaces, and institutions that make civic life possible — from public health pipelines to community ownership models.

PolicySystems DesignPublic Assets

Education & Opportunity

Expanding access to pathways — credential programs, mentorship networks, workforce pipelines, and skill-building ecosystems built around community needs.

WorkforceMentorshipAccess

Cultural Authorship

Centering community-produced narratives, art, and media as policy tools — ensuring that cultural identity is a structural advantage, not an afterthought.

NarrativeMediaIdentity

Public-Interest Research

Generating evidence that communities actually control — from needs assessments to participatory action research that drives real decisions.

DataAnalysisEvidence

Community Impact

Coordinating direct service, neighborhood-level activation, and collective action — translating institutional strategy into lived improvement on the ground.

Direct ServiceMobilizationOutcomes

Operating Model

How We Work:
Research. Build. Mobilize.

Three interlocking disciplines define how Dreams Over Dollars moves from insight to infrastructure to community impact.

Research

Rigorous analysis of civic systems, community conditions, and structural barriers — transforming raw data into actionable intelligence that drives every initiative.

Build

Designing programs, platforms, and partnerships that translate research into durable civic infrastructure — built with communities, not for them.

Mobilize

Activating community members, institutional allies, and public partners around shared goals — generating the civic energy that makes systems actually change.

Programs & Initiatives

Field-Facing Action
at Scale

Dreams Over Dollars operates programs through its action arm — Undercover Superheroes — bringing institutional strategy directly into community life.

Undercover Superheroes — Community Action

Action Arm

Dreams Over Dollars → Undercover Superheroes

Undercover Superheroes

The field-facing initiative of Dreams Over Dollars — mobilizing everyday community members as agents of civic change. Undercover Superheroes transforms institutional strategy into grassroots activation, service delivery, and neighborhood-level impact.

Where Dreams Over Dollars sets the systems agenda, Undercover Superheroes puts it into motion — in schools, neighborhoods, events, and communities across Texas and beyond.

Get Involved

Mentorship & Youth Development

Direct engagement programs pairing young people with civic-minded professionals and community leaders who invest in their potential.

Community Events & Activation

Curated gatherings — from resource fairs to cultural celebrations — that build social capital and translate values into collective action.

Resource Navigation

Connecting residents to housing, employment, health, and civic services through trusted relationships and structural know-how.

Institutional Partnerships

Brokering relationships between community organizations, funders, public agencies, and civic institutions to multiply impact on shared priorities.

Proof & Impact

Measured Work.
Real Outcomes.

Our impact is documented through community relationships, partner trust, and observable change — not vanity metrics.

Rooted in community. Driven by systems thinking. Committed to outcomes that last.

Austin-Rooted, Texas-Wide Reach

Headquartered at 5900 Balcones Dr., Austin, TX — with programs and partnerships extending across Central Texas and beyond.

Fiscally Accountable Organization

A registered 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 88-2187078) with transparent governance and community-first financial stewardship.

Cross-Sector Partnerships

We partner with corporate sponsors, community foundations, local institutions, and civic organizations — building coalitions that outlast any single initiative.

Sustained Community Trust

Years of field presence have built the relational infrastructure that allows us to move quickly when communities need it most.

Partners & Supporters

Governance & Values

Institutional Principles
We Don’t Compromise

How we operate is as important as what we do. These values shape every decision, partnership, and program.

Transparency

We publish our governance structure, financials, and program outcomes. Accountability to community is built into our operating model, not bolted on afterward.

Systems Thinking

We address root causes, not just symptoms. Every initiative is designed with an eye toward structural change and long-term civic capacity.

Measured Impact

We track what actually matters — community-defined outcomes, relationships built, and systems shifted. Not just activity, but demonstrated change.

Community-First Logic

Communities are co-designers of our work, not recipients of it. Their priorities drive our research, programs, and resource allocation decisions.

Legal & Registration

Dreams Over Dollars Foundation
5900 Balcones Dr. #16077
Austin, TX 78731
EIN: 88-2187078
501(c)(3) Public Charity

Contact & Inquiries

General: [email protected]
Programs: [email protected]
Phone: (512) 200-3069
Website: dreamsoverdollars.com

Leadership

The People Building
This Institution

Our board and leadership team bring civic expertise, community trust, and field experience to the work of building durable public-interest infrastructure.

Joseph Reyna

Executive Director

Ryan Gonzales

Board Member

Christopher Howard

Board Member

JoeCat

Community Advisor