The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) is thrilled to share that the inaugural Impactful Philanthropy Bloom Award recipient is John Amoroso!
At the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, we recognize that philanthropy takes many forms. We are here to support the generosity of our community members drawn to collective impact, joining together to fund solutions that support a thriving community for all. We are honored to recognize John Amoroso whose philanthropy embodies CFSA’s values of Generosity and Trust and contributes to creating a vibrant and equitable community for all Southern Arizonans.
John is passionate about helping solve community problems and creating systematic change. He is a pioneer in creating a healthy, equitable community for Southern Arizona that offers social, physical, and mental well-being for all. His work with the Arizona End of Life Care Partnership addresses one of the most complex and sensitive topics, death, and is recognized as one of the most comprehensive models in the country. John’s empathy, authenticity, and ability to listen are demonstrated in all aspects of his involvement in our community. His ability to connect with others and demonstrate his care for our community, paired with his judgment and competence makes him an ideal candidate for building trust. John shows his concern and care for issues that oftentimes are the most challenging to change and improve.
John shared, “Over the last 30 years, The David and Lura Lovell Foundation helped make life better for thousands of people across the country in a few specific areas. My job was to accelerate and amplify that impact in our last few years, and while we did fund nationally, we always knew that you could also change the world from right here in Southern Arizona. When you learn to trust the dedicated and knowledgeable people in our local nonprofit ecosystem with their lived experience, and then sustainably support their innovative solutions, beautiful things can happen.”
From supporting grassroots organizations to sit at the Arizona End of Life Care Partnership table, to looking at ways funders could help grantees assess and address gender and racial disparity issues, he is constantly looking for ways to address equity and inclusion. John has successfully changed policy around youth mental health education in schools and addressed gaps in services across behavioral health care systems and access to care for families. He looks for ways to streamline processes for grantees, bring more people to the table, and name and find ways to address the power differential inherent in the funder/grantee relationship. He admits when he’s wrong, gives credit to his partners and co-workers, and looks for ways to bring other funding partners together -regardless of the size and nature of their contributions to the benefit of the community.
“John Amoroso has been a beacon of light in the philanthropic world since arriving in Southern Arizona. He not only led the Lovell Foundation with gratitude, grace, and incredible expertise, but he openly shared his knowledge with all those interested in having a mentor who truly sees the good in the world. For me, his thoughtful and realistic advice changed my perspective on so many things. His skill and true partnership have made an exponential impact on organizations, communities, and so many human beings. Making this world a better place is something that John has done tenfold by leveraging philanthropy to do exactly what it is intended to do, create change for the better. How lucky that we have gotten to hold John so close to us, and learn from and with him, may his impact continue to ripple in our community for decades to come,” says Jennie Grabel, Vice President of Programs at Social Venture Partners- Tucson.
“I count John among the most important mentors of my professional life. His counsel on grants we submitted to Lovell had a large and quantifiable impact on Lead Guitar’s trajectory and his patient advice, generosity of time and spirit, and suggested reading taught me valuable lessons, concepts, and even vocabulary that allowed me to grow as a nonprofit leader,” says Brad Richter, Executive Director/Co-founder of Lead Guitar.
Join us in celebrating John Amoroso at CFSA’s Community Celebration on Thursday, April 25. Learn more here.