Health Innovations: A total of $9.2 million was awarded to 707 organizations and programs in the areas of health, healthcare, medical research, and various human services. This stands as particularly timely given the upcoming changes to Medicare and Medicaid from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Community Improvement & Development: A total of $3.6 million was awarded to 187 programs in this category, which includes housing, community and neighborhood development, financial literacy training, legal assistance, and crime prevention programs.
Environment & Sustainability: A total of $1.2 million was awarded to 108 organizations and programs in the areas of environmental education, renewable resources, conservation, and animal welfare. Recent action in this area of impact has led to a partnership with the City of Phoenix and others for a cooled water fountain installation in the park of a community hit particularly hard by extreme heat.
Arts & Culture: A total of $8.5 million was awarded to 157 artistic and cultural organizations across Arizona.
Quality Education: During this quarter, a total of $11 million was awarded in scholarships and education-related grants.
“I almost broke down in tears at work. I didn’t even tell anyone that night. It was the day before my birthday. I thought, finally. I get to make a choice. I don’t have to settle,” said scholarship recipient Mario Ortega Ocampo when he was notified of his scholarship to ASU.
College scholarships accounted for $209,043 of the quarter’s total and were awarded for the benefit of 141 students pursuing higher education. College scholarships are awarded to Arizona students to attend a wide range of colleges, universities, and technical schools in Arizona and across the United States. ACF continues to be the largest independent provider of scholarships in Arizona.
In addition to these grants, 61 nonprofit organizations with agency endowments managed by ACF received their annual distributions during the first quarter of the fiscal year, accounting for $3.4 million distributed during the quarter.
The $36.8 million awarded across all categories represents 1,672 grants and scholarships. Some grants are awarded at the discretion of ACF with input from board committees and diverse community panels, while others are awarded through donor advice. All grants are approved or ratified by ACF’s Donor & Community Engagement Committee, whose members include ACF board representatives and other community leaders.
Established in 1978, the Arizona Community Foundation is a statewide philanthropic organization dedicated to bringing donors together to build an Arizona where everyone can thrive. With five regional offices serving communities across Arizona, ACF is among the top 25 community foundations in the nation with more than $1.4 billion in trust and endowment assets and is certified under the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. Since inception, ACF has awarded more than $1.5 billion in grants, scholarships, and loans to nonprofit organizations, schools, tribal entities, and government agencies. More information is available at azfoundation.org.