$117,000 Granted to Local Nonprofits through IDEA Funding Partnership

Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona strives to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Kristen Garcia-Hernandez, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, shared, “We are thrilled and thankful for this funding as it will allow us to bring to scale the foundation we have built around diversity and equity to encompass robust, high-quality, interactive, on-line training around inclusion and access and include our volunteers, girls, and their families as we work to create systemic change in the culture of our organization. With this funding our reach is so much greater, with a powerful impact on our thousands of members and beyond.”

The Drawing Studio’s mission is to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to embrace art practice as a pathway to personal growth and healthy community. They are embracing cultural appreciation, raising their collective consciousness, and creating spaces of rejuvenation for the future through their “Be READI” equity-based art curricula standing for “Race, Equity, Access, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

Emiel Martin Brott, Executive Director of The Drawing Studio, shared, “We are tremendously grateful for generous IDEA funding from the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in partnership with the David and Lura Lovell Foundation and the Vitalyst Health Foundation. This funding will help us deepen and expand the Be READI Equity Arts program, which includes among other things – free and culturally relevant courses taught by artists from underrepresented backgrounds (BIPOC, veteran, LGBTQIA, people with disabilities, etc); as well as free bilingual and Spanish-only courses.”

Brott further detailed, “We deeply believe that since art is about reflecting back what we see, feel, and know – transformational community art experiences can help us all see, feel and know one another better. The ultimate outcome of the funding will be to help The Drawing Studio expand the breadth, content, and most importantly access of diverse arts education throughout the community.”

Scholarships A-Z provides resources and scholarships to students, families, and educators through online and community interactions, in order to make higher education accessible to all regardless of immigration status. They envision a society where students receive mentorship, educational, and financial resources needed to successfully pursue a degree that aligns with their abilities and career aspirations. With this funding, Scholarships A-Z will make progress on their Liberation through Education & Representation project.

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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/.