Piper Trust Announces $1 Million in Community Relief Grants for Maricopa County Arts and Culture Organizations
PHOENIX (November 13, 2009)—The trustees of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust announced today a $1 million fund for arts and culture organizations strapped by the effects of the economy.
“Economic distress has hit our anchor institutions as well as smaller community organizations,” said Judy Jolley Mohraz, Ph.D., Piper Trust CEO and president. “The drop in support for arts and culture threatens to undermine the community fabric of support for arts education for children, cultural opportunities for families and creative experiences of all types for residents and visitors.”
Thirty-seven visual and performing arts and culture organizations, all grantees that have won competitive Piper grants in the past, will receive one-time unrestricted grants. (See the list of recipient organizations that follows.)
“Arts and culture nourish the economic vitality of the community and help sustain our reputation nationally,” said Mohraz. “We hope this effort will encourage others to dig deep and support financially nonprofit organizations that are so vital to Maricopa County.”
A year ago, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust committed $1 million in Community Relief Grants to aid Maricopa County nonprofits providing direct emergency assistance to the community.
List of Grantee Arts and Culture Organizations
Actors Theatre
Childsplay
The Phoenix Symphony
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
Desert Botanical Garden
Phoenix Theatre
Arizona Museum for Youth
East Valley Children’s Theater
Phoenix Zoo
Arizona Musicfest
Fountain Hills Community Theater
Red Rocks Music Festival
Arizona Opera
Heard Museum
Rosie’s House
Arizona Science Center
iTheater Collaborative
Scottsdale Cultural Council
Arizona Theatre Company
Liberty Wildlife
Southwest Community Players/Greasepaint
Audubon Arizona
Mesa Arts Center Foundation
Sonoran Desert Choral
Ballet Arizona
Southwest Shakespeare
Bead Museum
Phoenix Art Museum
Theater Works
Black Theatre Troupe
Phoenix Boys Choir
Valley Youth Theatre
Chandler Cultural Council
Phoenix Chorale
West Valley Fine Arts
Children’s Museum
Phoenix Conservatory of Music
About Piper Trust
A private independent foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust honors Virginia Galvin Piper’s philanthropic commitment to changing lives and strengthening community in Maricopa County (Arizona). By investing in nonprofits and encouraging strategic planning for the future, Piper Trust strives to make Maricopa County a stronger, more nurturing and vibrant community. The Trust is completing its 10th year in operation.
Piper Trust focuses on healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education and religious organizations. For more information, visit www.pipertrust.org.
Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $250 million in local nonprofits and programs. The Trust reported total grants paid of $23 million in fiscal year 2009 (ending March 31). Even with a drop in the Trust’s assets with the recession, Piper Trustees will hold grantmaking steady and approved grant allocations of $22 million both for fiscal years 2009-2010 and 2010-1011.