Phoenix AZ (May 14, 2020) – The Arizona Community Foundation and its donors are pleased to announce grant, scholarship, and loan distributions for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2020. A total of $74,191,251 was awarded from funds of the Arizona Community Foundation and its six statewide Affiliates in Cochise, Flagstaff, the Gila Valley, Sedona, Yavapai County, and Yuma.
Funds totaling $67,191,251 in both discretionary and advised grants and scholarships were awarded in five strategic priority areas: Health Innovations, Community Improvement & Development, Environment & Sustainability, Arts & Culture, and Quality Education.
In the area of Quality Education, the Arizona Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $19 million during the year, including $4 million in college scholarships for the benefit of 1,458 Arizona students. The Arizona Community Foundation is the state’s largest private provider of college scholarships.
At nearly $27 million, grants in the area of Health Innovations received the largest share of distributions, which were awarded to 2,825 organizations and programs in the areas of health, health care, medical research, and a variety of human services.
Over $6.5 million went to 695 programs in the category of Community Improvement & Development, which includes economic development, law, justice, public safety, housing, and neighborhood programs.
A total of $3 million went to 509 organizations and programs in the areas of Environment & Sustainability, including environmental education, renewable resources, conservation, and animal welfare.
Just over $5.1 million was awarded to 565 Arts & Culture organizations across Arizona, including artists, music, and cultural institutions.
The total distributed across all categories represents over 7,000 individual grants and scholarships.
In addition to these grants, 116 nonprofit organizations with dedicated agency endowments managed by the Arizona Community Foundation received their annual distributions, accounting for the remaining $6,209,456 distributed during the year.
ACF has emerged as a national leader in impact investing with its Community Impact Loan Fund, through which the Arizona Community Foundation and partners invested an additional $7 million in below market loan funding to four organizations in fiscal year 2020. These loans were comprised of $1 million to Desert Botanical Garden to renovate their onsite restaurant; $4 million to Foundation for Senior Living to construct the Glendale Adult Day Care Center for Seniors; $1.5 million to Native American Connections to construct the Dunlap Wellness Center; and $550,000 to Lost Our Home Pet Rescue to renovate their existing site.
This charitable vehicle works alongside traditional grantmaking accomplishing two important goals: producing measurable social impact; and building resources for future investing. Working together with a variety of capital partners, grantmakers, and nonprofit leaders, the $23 million Community Impact Loan Fund produces capital solutions that are more robust than grants alone.
DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF THE 2020 FISCAL YEAR, the Arizona Community Foundation distributed $19,468,769 in grants and scholarships. These dollars were awarded between January 1 and March 31, 2020 in five strategic priority areas: Health Innovations, Community Improvement & Development, Environment & Sustainability, Arts & Culture, and Quality Education.
Health Innovations: A total of $8.2 million was awarded to 721 organizations and programs in the areas of health, health care, medical research, and a variety of human services. Among the distributions for the quarter were: $40,000 from the Victor and Katherine Piccoli Endowment Fund to Southwest Behavioral Health Services for the South Mountain W.O.R.K.S Coalition community health and resiliency project and $100,000 from the David E. Reese Family Fund to Native American Connections, Inc. to support the Patina Wellness Center. The Hickey Family Foundation Anti-Human Trafficking Support Fund also granted $269,000 to Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network to support the activities of TRUST (Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking) and their efforts to educate the community about human trafficking and support local law enforcement in their efforts to rescue victims and arrest perpetrators.
When the COVID-19 crisis began unfolding across the nation at the end of the quarter, numerous ACF donors immediately stepped up to support nonprofits and community organizations as they struggled with dramatic increases in the demand for their services, unexpected closures, and the cancellation of fundraising events critical to their operations.
Many COVID-19 specific distributions provided general support for organizations, including $5,000 from The Walter M. Wick Family Foundation to Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. and $20,000 from the Carstens Family Funds to Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS). The Jeff & Debbie Andrews Fund granted $10,000 to Helping Hands for Singles Moms to support their response to the COVID-19 crisis, while the Lucking Family Fund provided $25,000 to HonorHealth Foundation for a fever scanner. The distributions also included $15,000 from Forest Highlands Foundation to Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona, Inc. to support foreclosure counseling, rental assistance, and general support.
DONOR HIGHLIGHT:
When the impact of the COVID-19 crisis began to take shape in late March, The Walter M. Wick Family Foundation granted $5,000 to Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. (CCHCI) to support the health center’s general operations. CCHCI is a community nonprofit that offers primary healthcare in southeastern Arizona. In order to provide uninterrupted healthcare services throughout the pandemic, CCHCI made several temporary operational changes, including introducing telehealth options for all services and clinic locations, as well as offering curbside pharmacy services at its Sierra Vista, Benson, and Bisbee pharmacies to promote social distancing.
Community Improvement & Development: A total of $1.8 million was awarded to 134 programs in this category, which includes housing, community and neighborhood development, financial literacy training, legal assistance, and crime prevention programs. Among the grants awarded this quarter were: $30,000 from The Pakis Family Foundation to support Local First Arizona Foundation’s Fuerza Local program; $50,000 from the Ernest V. Athos Fund to support Year Up Inc.’s 2020 cohorts; and $10,000 from Maxlee Foundation to support Midwest Food Bank.
DONOR HIGHLIGHT:
Carstens Family Funds provided $20,000 to Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) to support the organization’s work during the COVID-19 outbreak. CASS is an emergency shelter provider serving homeless adults and families in the Phoenix metropolitan area. CASS shelters have remained open throughout the crisis. Front-line staff quickly enacted social distancing in the shelters, increased the frequency of cleaning and sterilization, and found alternative housing options to protect those at higher risk of contracting the virus. Through partnerships with local government and other community organizations, CASS has also provided screenings for COVID-19 symptoms to its clients. With shelters continuing to reach maximum capacity each day, CASS is actively searching for new public and private partnerships to provide more permanent, affordable housing options to those experiencing homelessness.
Environment & Sustainability: A total of $440,979 was awarded to 92 organizations and programs in the areas of environmental education, renewable resources, conservation, and animal welfare. Among the distributions for the quarter were: $20,000 from the Arizona Horse Lover’s Foundation to Healing Hearts Animal Rescue and Refuge; $10,000 from the Reed Fund to support Grow Education Outdoors; and $1,000 from the Dan and Kathy Grubb Family Foundation to Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation to help with the large influx of wildlife being dropped off.
Arts & Culture: A total of $1.4 million was awarded to 136 artistic and cultural organizations across Arizona. The grants included $5,000 from the Newton and Betty Rosenzweig Fund for the Arts to support Littlewood Fine Art & Community Co-op in Yuma. The Naomi Craig Fund granted $7,270 to the Arizona Museum of Natural History Foundation to support increased accessibility at the museum, and granted $7,000 to ArtabilityAZ for a captioning upgrade.
Quality Education: During this quarter, a total of $5.1 million was awarded in scholarships and education-related grants. Among the grants were: $25,000 from Phoenix IDA Collaborative Fund to support Jobs for Arizona’s Graduates, Inc. and its JAG College Access and Success Initiative and $143,100 from empowerkidsSouthSudan! to Arizona State University Foundation in support of the SolarSPELL project. The Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust also distributed $400,000 to PEN American Center to help identify and advance transformative solutions to the crisis facing American journalism and increase understanding of the importance and fragility of local news ecosystems.
College scholarships accounted for $223,693 of the quarter’s total and were awarded for the benefit of 87 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.
In addition to these grants, 23 nonprofit organizations with agency endowments managed by the Arizona Community Foundation received their annual distributions during the fourth quarter of ACF’s fiscal year, accounting for the remaining $2.5 million distributed during the quarter.
The $19.5 million awarded across all categories represents 1,377 grants and scholarships. Some grants are awarded at the discretion of the Arizona Community Foundation 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 Philanthropic Services Committee whose members include ACF board representatives and other community leaders.
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.
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