Piper Trust Supports Social Entrepreneurship, Other Community Initiatives

Announces $1.4 Million in Grants

PHOENIX (Feb. 15, 2010) — Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has awarded 20 grants to Maricopa County nonprofits since mid-September, totaling nearly $1.4 million. These awards are in addition to $1 million in Community Relief Grants to arts and culture organizations previously announced.

Two proposals for Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) and Jewish Family and Children's Service are designed to generate new revenue for the nonprofits.

"The movement to develop new revenue streams, known as social entrepreneurship, has been gaining considerable interest in nonprofit circles," said Judy Jolley Mohraz, Ph.D., Piper Trust president and CEO. "Given the current economic conditions, these innovative projects become even more important to support."

The SARRC project will create a social venture to provide autistic youth with job training in every aspect of the culinary business, beginning with a project to develop and distribute quality soups.

Denise D. Resnik, co-founder of SARRC, said: "CulinaryWorks is an entrepreneurial venture of our Vocational & Life Skills Academy, and is designed to offer hands-on job training through the preparation, packaging, distribution and sale of gourmet, chef-inspired soups and complementary items.

"Piper Trust's investment in CulinaryWorks advances a business model that supports young people and adults with autism to learn skills that enable them to live and work more independently within our community."

Jewish Family and Children's Service will introduce Family Matters to provide fee-for-service care management to older adults to help them remain in their homes. This goal becomes particularly difficult when an older adult has limited family support, and the project will market initially to out-of-state children of Jewish older adults in the Scottsdale area.

In addition, Piper Trust awarded grants to:

• Greasepaint Youtheatre to support marketing, technology and management systems to enhance performing arts services for children and youth.

• Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest to support the PASSAGE Transition Coalition to help youth successfully move from foster care into adulthood.

• Raising Special Kids to develop and pilot new training workshops for parents of children with disabilities.

• Rehoboth Community Development Corporation to support programming for at-risk minority youth in the West Valley.

A complete listing of grants awarded from Sept. 15, 2009, through Feb. 8, 2010, follows.

ARTS AND CULTURE
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, Inc.
To support upgrades of communications, ticketing and marketing technology.
$8,230/12 months

Greasepaint Youtheatre
To support marketing, technology and management systems to enhance performing arts services for children and youth.
$62,000/12 months

Great Arizona Puppet Theater, Inc.
To support the renovation of the theater's historic building.
$20,000/12 months

The Phoenix Symphony
To support planning to increase collaboration with Ballet Arizona.
$20,000/12 months

CHILDREN
Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families, Inc.
To enable BUILD to conduct an assessment of Arizona's readiness to create a comprehensive early childhood system.
$10,000/6 months

Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest
To support the PASSAGE Transition Coalition to help youth successfully transition from foster care into adulthood.
$110,000/24 months

Raising Special Kids
To develop and pilot new training workshops for parents of children with disabilities.
$40,000/12 months

Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center
To support an innovative social venture to provide autistic youth with hands-on job training.
$125,000/24 months

EDUCATION
Arizona College Scholarship Foundation
To support scholarships for the American Dream Fund.
$200,000/7 months

Arizona State University Foundation
To build a communications platform to advance ideas surrounding a new model for Arizona's economic future.
$175,000/12 months

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
To upgrade computer hardware and enhance recording facilities.
$20,000/12 months

HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAL RESEARCH
American Red Cross
To support relief efforts in Haiti.
$20,000/12 months

Keogh Health Foundation
To develop a sustainable volunteer base to expand healthcare coverage for uninsured children.
$70,000/12 months

Science Foundation Arizona
To support the Competitiveness Research Forum.
$100,000/12 months

OLDER ADULTS
Area Agency on Aging, Region One, Inc.
To support the Fall Prevention Coalition for Maricopa County that was transitioned from the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging.
$90,459/12 months

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
Jewish Family and Children's Service
To develop and implement a public-private model for care management and in-home services for older adults.
$126,000/24 months

Rehoboth Community Development Corporation
To support programming for at-risk minority youth in the West Valley.
$75,000/24 months

PIPER FELLOWS
Foundation for Blind Children
A Piper Fellows Organizational Enhancement Award to support team development and identify measurable outcomes.
$50,000/12 months

Mountain Park Health Center Foundation
A Piper Fellows Organizational Enhancement Award to build a training program for Mountain Park Health Center's management team.
$50,000/12 months

OTHER
Arizona Town Hall
To support the 95th Arizona Town Hall.
$25,000/12 months

TOTAL OF ALL PUBLISHED GRANTS: $1,396,689