11 Arizona Funders Contribute More than $1 Million for Second Year of Basic Needs Funding

PHOENIX (March 23, 2010) — For the second year in a row, Arizona foundations and funding organizations have pooled their resources to help meet critical emergency housing and food needs in Maricopa County.

Eleven funding organizations created a fund of more than $1 million for nonprofit agencies providing critical services in the continuing economic crisis. Grants will go to 15 agencies in April:

A New Leaf, Inc., $85,000
Association of Arizona Food Banks, $150,000
Catholic Charities Community Services (Project HELP—Housing and Emergency Assistance Links for People), $25,000
Central Arizona Shelter Services, $140,000
Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc., $20,000
Chrysalis, $35,000
Community Information and Referral, $50,000
Lodestar Day Resource Center, $55,000
New Life Center, $35,000
Phoenix Rescue Mission, $50,000
Sojourner Center, $50,000
The Salvation Army, $95,000
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, $90,000
Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development, $40,000
UMOM New Day Centers, Inc., $95,000

"These dollars will be distributed to food banks and homeless and domestic violence shelters that are the first responders in helping people deal with the difficult economy," said Edmund Portnoy, Ph.D., Arizona grants programs director for the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

The grantmaking collaborative includes Arizona Community Foundation, The Bidstrup Foundation, Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, St. Luke's Health Initiatives, Steele Foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, Valley of the Sun United Way, Wells Fargo, Whiteman Foundation and Martha Jane Youngker Foundation.

"The economic crisis has not abated and, in fact, is exacerbated by increasingly drastic state budget cuts," said Carol Kratz, Piper Trust program director. "Foundation grants cannot solve the problem but hopefully will help ease some of the pain Arizonans and the organizations serving them are facing today."

According to Brian Spicker, senior vice president of community impact for Valley of the Sun United Way, "The grant program is a great example of the philanthropic community coming together in collaboration around the same goal of improving hunger and homelessness here in the Valley."

For more information, contact:
Jane Ferguson, Piper Trust, 480-556-7125;
John Hogg, Valley of the Sun United Way, 602-631-4822;
Lisa Shover, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, 602-315-3151.