20 Maricopa County Nonprofits Awarded Grants Totaling Nearly $3.8 Million

Funds Support Expansion of Domestic Violence and Child Crisis Facilities, Launch Human Services Campus Endowment, Contribute to Phoenix Performing Arts Center

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. (October 10, 2006) – The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust announced today grants totaling nearly $3.8 million to 20 nonprofit organizations serving Maricopa County residents. These grants address a range of issues, including expanding facilities for victims of domestic violence and child abuse; establishing an endowment to support operations at the Human Services Campus; and renovating the Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Phoenix.

Beds fill quickly at the Valley’s domestic violence shelters, forcing staff and volunteers to turn away 14,000 women and their children every year, according to the Department of Economic Security. Child crisis centers also experience demand for services beyond their capacity. Three grants totaling nearly $1.2 million will support capital projects underway to expand facilities for Sojourner Center, New Life Center and Child Crisis Center East Valley.

Sojourner Center received $600,000 to build housing for domestic violence victims and their children as they transition from the shelter to their own homes. New Life Center in Goodyear received $325,000 to construct a child development center and add 40 domestic violence shelter beds. Child Crisis Center East Valley, which provides child abuse prevention and intervention services in addition to operating a 30-bed emergency crisis shelter, was awarded $250,000 toward its $5 million campaign to build a family resource center that centralizes its services.

The Trust also awarded a $1 million grant to the Human Services Campus to support an endowment campaign to provide operating funds for the Day Resource Center.

“The Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix serves as a national model and illustrates how nonprofit and governmental organizations can work collaboratively to provide state-of-the-art support services for the homeless,” said Judy Jolley Mohraz, president and CEO of the Piper Trust.

“As Maricopa County’s population explodes, it is essential that nonprofits, government and philanthropy forge strategic solutions to the major challenges our community faces.”

A grant to The Black Theatre Troupe, Inc. also reflects that collaborative spirit. The Trust awarded $170,000 to support renovation of the Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts. Supported by the City of Phoenix, the facility will become home to The Black Theatre Troupe as well as several small arts organizations including The Multi-Ethnic Theatre of Youth, The Stray Cat Theatre Company, The Nebellen Dance Company and The Senior Class Theatre Company.

In another collaborative project, the Trust joined with other foundations, corporations and individual donors to establish a fund to enhance and expand summer programs for youth in Maricopa County. Partnering with the Arizona Community Foundation, the Summer Youth Program Fund will enable nonprofits that offer summer youth programs to apply for funding support.
Enhancing Arts & Culture Organizations

The Trust supported several grants to help arts organizations develop strategic business plans for larger projects. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix received an $18,200 grant to develop a new business plan for the museum, which is scheduled to open in 2007. The Phoenix Boys Choir, with a $50,000 grant, is developing a business plan to determine strategies for diversifying its Neighborhood Training Choirs. A $50,000 grant to the Scottsdale Cultural Council will support hiring an executive director to develop a business plan for the potential Museum of the West.

Other grants to arts organizations include $250,000 to Arizona Theatre Company to establish a permanent cash operating reserve, a $150,000 award to support an expansion that will triple the size of the Desert Foothills Library and a $6,500 grant to North Valley Community Playhouse for a marketing campaign.

Supporting the Needs of Children

To help the United Phoenix Fire Fighters Association build pool fences for low-income homeowners with children age 6 and under, the Trust awarded a $100,000 grant for the second year. The Trust also awarded a $75,000 grant to the Assistance League of Phoenix to provide school clothing or uniforms to children from low-income families; a $4,500 grant to supplement a prior grant to the Chandler Education Foundation; and a $10,000 grant to the Greater Phoenix Urban League to fund an innovative teen pregnancy prevention program.

Programs for Older Adults

Sparked by the June announcement of a Piper grant to train doctors in palliative and end-of-life care, Hospice of the Valley identified strong interest in the training among healthcare workers. To support expansion of the program, the Trust awarded an additional $118,000 for Hospice of the Valley to provide training to community nurses.

As part of the Trust’s initiative to prevent falls in older adults, the City of Phoenix Human Services Department received a grant to develop a strategic plan for a communitywide fall prevention program.

A planning grant awarded to Beatitudes Center D.O.A.R. in June helped the agency add a computer program for homebound older adults, and the Trust awarded $99,000 to implement the program. Another grant will assist Mesa Community College introduce Experience Corps, a program that places older adults in afterschool programs in three Mesa elementary schools as tutors and mentors. MCC joins the City of Tempe as the first organizations in Maricopa County to offer the program, which has 1,800 volunteers in 14 cities across the United States.

The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is committed to honoring Virginia Piper’s legacy of making grants to nonprofit organizations whose work enhances the lives of people living in Maricopa County. By strengthening nonprofits in our community and encouraging strategic planning for the future, the Trust strives to make Maricopa County a stronger, healthier and more livable community.

The Piper Trust began awarding grants in 2000. To date, the Trust has invested more than $151 million in nonprofits and programs that serve the people of Maricopa County. The Trust focuses its grantmaking on healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education and religious organizations.