Phoenix AZ (May 7, 2020) – Thanks to the generosity of foundation and corporate partners, families, and individual donors, the Arizona COVID-19 Community Response Fund and affiliate relief funds at the Arizona Community Foundation have grown to over $7.9 million in just over a month.
The first major gift came from Bank of America Charitable Foundation and was quickly followed by major gifts from Intel and the Phoenix IDA. These organizations entrusted their charitable donations to ACF in order to quickly distribute dollars to nonprofits across the state.
Other large gifts have been received from local businesses including the Maricopa County IDA, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, APS, Vitalyst Health Foundation, BHHS Legacy Foundation, Helios Education Foundation, Carlisle Companies, Flinn Foundation, Southwest Gas, SRP, Steele Foundation, Thunderbirds Charities, Wells Fargo, and more. Visit azfoundation.org/covid19 for a current list of corporate and foundation funders.
In addition to support from local businesses and partner foundations, individual donors have contributed a combined total of nearly $1 million to the fund.
Since March 31, the fund has awarded grants totaling over $4.5 million to address the immediate needs of more than 440 nonprofit organizations across the state. Grant applications are being collected and reviewed on a rolling basis. The fund has received over 1,100 requests totaling $43.1 million. A grant review committee comprised of ACF staff and funding partners review applications weekly. ACF is also collaborating with Valley of the Sun United Way to help ensure grants within Maricopa County are leveraged and effectively distributed.
Regional funds have been set up to match donations for each of ACF’s six affiliates to encourage gifts and grantmaking in Cochise and Eastern Santa Cruz counties, Flagstaff and northern Arizona, the Gila Valley including Graham and Greenlee counties, Sedona and the Verde Valley, Yuma and western Arizona, and Yavapai County.
“It is heartening to see our community coming together in this time of great need,” said ACF Board Chair Steve Evans. “The most important thing we can do right now is support our state’s most vulnerable by adding to these funds while urgently moving dollars out the door to keep vital services operational.”
“The generosity of our donors and partners is of greatest importance; however, more will be needed to keep the state’s nonprofit sector intact through this crisis and beyond,” said ACF President & CEO Steve Seleznow.
Donate to the Arizona COVID-19 Community Response Fund at azfoundation.org/covid19.
Established in 1978, the Arizona Community Foundation is a statewide family of charitable funds supported by thousands of Arizonans. With five regional offices serving communities across Arizona, ACF is among the top 25 community foundations in the nation with more than $960 million in trust and endowment assets, and is certified under the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. Since inception, ACF and its affiliates have awarded more than $783 million in grants, scholarships, and loans to nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies. More information is available at azfoundation.org.