In partnership with The David and Lura Lovell Foundation and Vitalyst Health Foundation, Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is pleased to announce that a total of $105,000 was recently awarded to advance the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) work of Southern Arizona nonprofits. The intent of this grantmaking is to help local nonprofit organizations move forward in their IDEA journey.
Funded organizations include:
- Arizona Theatre Company
- Boys to Men Tucson, Inc.
- Pima Council on Aging
- Social Venture Partners Tucson
- Southern Arizona Senior Pride
- Tucson Jewish Community Center
- YWCA of Southern Arizona
YWCA of Southern Arizona has been fighting for social justice in Southern Arizona since 1917 and works towards eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
Madalena Verdugo, CEO of YWCA Southern Arizona, shared, “Here at the YWCA of Southern Arizona, we will be using this generous funding to strengthen our ongoing IDEA work, by shoring up our internal policies, procedures, and culture relating to IDEA, eventually followed by building a comprehensive IDEA program for our community. Eliminating racism is part of the YWCA’s mission, and we know how important it is for us to be an example and leader in IDEA work. We know this work isn’t quick or easy, and we are grateful for this support to help make sure we have what we need for the journey.”
The Tucson Jewish Community Center (The J) creates a community based on Jewish values by providing the highest quality programs and services in a safe and secure environment for people of all ages.
Todd Rockoff, President and CEO of The J, stated, “The J is honored and grateful to have received funding to advance and deepen our work in the IDEA space. The J is proud of the work we have done to date, and these additional resources will help us invest time in policy development and enhancing our training protocol. We appreciate the collective vision and support of CFSA, Lovell Foundation, and Vitalyst Foundation.”
Boys to Men works to strengthen communities by calling men to step up to mentor teenage boys on their journey towards healthy manhood. They recruit, train, and empower communities of men to mentor teenage boys through on-site circles, adventure outings, and contemporary rites of passage.
Michael Brasher, Executive Director of Boys to Men, shared, “As a young, grassroots response to the problems associated with toxic masculinity and fatherlessness, our goal at Boys to Men Tucson has been to build a movement for intergenerational men’s work that is accountable to the communities that we serve. We know that problems related to masculinity today are compacted by white supremacy, colonialism, and classism, amongst other things.”
Brasher further detailed, “For us to build a truly transformational community-based response, it is imperative that all of the volunteer mentors that we recruit and train become capable of confronting the intersecting forms of oppression that impact our communities. These IDEA funds will provide urgently needed resources to build our capacity as an organization to sow seeds of justice throughout all of our work, especially in the 18 Title 1 schools where we deliver weekly group mentorship programming.”
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About Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Since 1980, Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) has been a trusted philanthropic partner helping individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits work together to create an equitable and vibrant community for all Southern Arizonans. To date, CFSA has awarded over $200 million in grants and scholarships. For more information, visit www.cfsaz.org or call 520-770-0800.
About The David and Lura Lovell Foundation
Over the past 27 years, The Lovell Foundation has awarded more than $ $33.6 million in grants to more than 100 nonprofits in the areas of Integrative Health and Wellness, Mental Health, Youth Access to the Arts, and Gender Parity. For more information, visit www.lovellfoundation.org or call 520-325-3656.
About Vitalyst Health Foundation
Vitalyst is on a mission to connect, support, and inform efforts to improve the health of individuals and communities in Arizona. Over its history, the foundation has invested more than $100 million and established itself as a key thought leader, convener, and catalyst of key initiatives – ranging from statewide health policy and systems to the development of local community gardens. More information is available at http://vitalysthealth.org/.