Skip to Content
Collage of COVID grantees carrying out their work during the pandemic

CFSA Awards $2.1 Million in Grants to Nonprofits

Posted April 10, 2020
Donor News, Nonprofit News, Stories of Impact

The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA), in collaboration with our generous donors and community partners, has granted over $2.1 million to provide immediate relief to our nonprofit partners during this crisis.

The most recent round of grants includes $120,000 from CFSA’s COVID-19 Response Funds, $720,000 in general operating grants through our 2020 CORE Grants, $5,500 to support members of the LGBTQ+ community, $25,000 to provide grocery gift cards for employees of local restaurants and bars, and $18,000 to support arts organizations in rural Arizona communities.

This first round of grants from our COVID-19 Response Funds supports ten nonprofit organizations serving southern Arizona’s most vulnerable community members; these grants will continue to be released on a rolling basis as fundraising continues throughout the outbreak and recovery phases of COVID-19.

“We understand this crisis will have lasting effects on our community. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is committed to supporting those organizations and individuals affected by the pandemic and creating a more equitable and vibrant community for ALL,” said Clint Mabie, CFSA’s President and CEO. “We understand that there is an immediate need and we are working diligently to provide financial resources quickly, while also adapting to the evolving needs of our community and recognizing that there will be a continued need for support in months ahead.”

Funding from CFSA’s COVID-19 Response Funds will directly support those most affected by the crisis with access to basic necessities like food for families, legal services for low-income community members, and protective equipment for first responders.

COVID-19 relief funds were awarded to the following organizations:

“Civil legal services for low-income residents are critical under normal circumstances, but the need is even more acute during a crisis such as the present one spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic,” shared Michele Mirto, Executive Director at Step Up to Justice. “The assistance of a lawyer can mean the difference between housing and homelessness, safety or insecurity, and work or unemployment.”

At the Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center (PYEC), a COVID-19 grant will make healthy, take-home dinners available for the youth who typically rely on the meals provided to them during the Center’s afterschool programming.  “Currently, the youth center is closed, but the need for meals is increasing as time passes,” shared PYEC’s Director Anna Coleman.  “We have been preparing and serving over 400 to-go meals per week in our small rural community.”

Major contributors to CFSA’s COVID-19 Response Funds include Tucson Electric Power, UniSource Energy Services, Thomas R. Brown Foundations, The David and Lura Lovell Foundation, South32, Helios Education Foundation, Southwest Gas, The Stocker Foundation, Wells Fargo, Vitalyst Health Foundation, and generous CFSA donors.

In addition to its first round of COVID-19 Response Grants, CFSA awarded $720,000 in CORE Grants this week to support the fundamental operating needs of our local nonprofits. CORE grant funding increased by 44%, and the number of nonprofits receiving CORE grants increased by 30% compared to 2019.

“Thanks to increased support from our donors and a generous challenge grant from the Connie Hillman Family Foundation, we were able to significantly increase both the amount of grant funding and the number of organizations supported through our CORE Grants this year,” said Kelly Huber, Director of Community Investments at CFSA. “CFSA is committed to supporting our nonprofit partners with general operating support, particularly now when the need in our community is increasing daily.”

2020 CORE Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

CFSA’s COVID-19 and CORE grant recipients were rigorously evaluated by committees of both staff and community representatives.  Click here for more information regarding CFSA’s COVID-19 relief efforts.

About the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona

Since 1980, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) has been a trusted philanthropic partner helping individuals, families, businesses, and non-profits work together to create a stronger community. These funding partnerships allow CFSA to improve the quality of life throughout Southern Arizona by stewarding donor and community resources to measurably affect change. CFSA has awarded over $200 million in grants and scholarships to non-profits and educational institutions. For more information, visit www.cfsaz.org or call (520) 770-0800.