Since 2017, CFSA has granted over $6 million to 142 nonprofits in Southern Arizona through its CORE Grants program.
CORE Grants provide nonprofits with the flexible working capital necessary to maximize their impact and improve the quality of life in Southern Arizona. CORE Grants provide flexibility for organizations to use dollars as they see fit to address emerging issues, boost salaries and benefits, invest in technology and infrastructure, and build communication and fundraising strategies, all leading to a healthier, innovative, and robust organization. Lastly and most importantly, CORE grants are rooted in mutual trust with the philosophy that organizations understand their unique needs and can demonstrate and achieve impact.
CORE Grant applications are open through March 3, 2025, at 5:00 PM Arizona Time!
Want to learn more? Watch our Information Session from January 23, 2025.
Application Information
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicant must be a 501(c)3 in good standing and have been operating for at least 2 years or apply using a fiscal sponsor.
- If applying with a fiscal sponsor or as a program of a more prominent university or university foundation, the fiscal sponsor or university must be 501(c)3 in good standing.
- Applicant must be based in Southern Arizona (we welcome applicants from all counties south of the Gila River, including Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma, and some of Pinal County.)
- Applicant must be current in all reporting to CFSA.
- Applicant must have an annual operating budget between $100K and $2M.
Grants are generally not made to individuals, for-profit organizations, government entities, capital fund drives, agency endowments, debt reduction, individual schools, religious organizations for sectarian purposes, or pure sports teams.
Grant Rubric
CORE Grants are scored according to a rubric representative of the following CORE characteristics.
- Community: Nonprofits play an integral role in their local community, have a keen awareness of its needs, and continuously evolve and grow to meet those needs.
- Organizational Sustainability: Nonprofits have a business model that provides ongoing financial support for their organization. They have boards and staff that are skilled, diverse, and knowledgeable and have shown longevity and a desire to move the organization forward to achieve the best results.
- Results: Nonprofits utilize different methods of evaluation and information-gathering to inform decision-making and organizational improvement, develop appropriate services for the community, or expand organizational knowledge of advocacy issues (if relevant).
- Effective Programs: Nonprofits can clearly speak to the importance of their missions and programs and strategically align their programmatic or advocacy work with the larger good of their communities.
Application Opens: January 21, 2025
Application Closes: March 3, 2025, at 5:00 PM Arizona Time
Application Reviewed: March 2025 – May 2025
Award Notifications: May 2025
Grants Funded: June 2025
Grantee Celebration: June 3, 2025
The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona has moved to a new and improved grant portal! To apply, all applicants must create a new account on the portal.
Watch this tutorial for assistance applying.
Desde 2017, CFSA ha otorgado más de $6 millones a 142 organizaciones sin fines de lucro en el sur de Arizona a través de su programa de Subvenciones CORE.
Las Subvenciones CORE brindan a las organizaciones sin fines de lucro el capital de trabajo flexible necesario para maximizar su impacto y mejorar la calidad de vida en el sur de Arizona. Estas subvenciones ofrecen flexibilidad a las organizaciones para utilizar los fondos según lo consideren adecuado para abordar problemas emergentes, aumentar salarios y beneficios, invertir en tecnología e infraestructura, y desarrollar estrategias de comunicación y recaudación de fondos, lo que conduce a organizaciones más saludables, innovadoras y robustas. Finalmente, y lo más importante, las subvenciones CORE están fundamentadas en la confianza mutua bajo la filosofía de que las organizaciones comprenden sus necesidades únicas y pueden demostrar y lograr un impacto.
Para obtener más información sobre el proceso de solicitud de este año, acompáñanos en una sesión virtual informativa para solicitantes el jueves 23 de enero a las 11:00 AM. Esta sesión será grabada y enviada por correo electrónico a todos los inscritos. Haz clic aquí para registrarte.
Criterios de elegibilidad
- El solicitante debe ser una organización 501(c)3 en regla y haber estado operando durante al menos 2 años o aplicar a través de un patrocinador fiscal.
- Si aplica con un patrocinador fiscal o como un programa de una universidad o fundación universitaria más grande, el patrocinador fiscal o la universidad deben ser una organización 501(c)3 en regla, con sede en el sur de Arizona.
- El solicitante debe estar basado en el sur de Arizona (aceptamos solicitantes de todos los condados al sur del río Gila, incluyendo Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma y parte del condado de Pinal).
- El solicitante debe estar al día con todos los informes requeridos por CFSA.
- El solicitante debe tener un presupuesto operativo anual entre $100,000 y $2,000,000.
- Generalmente, no se otorgan subvenciones a personas, organizaciones con fines de lucro, entidades gubernamentales, campañas de recaudación de fondos para capital, dotaciones de agencias, reducción de deudas, escuelas individuales, organizaciones religiosas para fines sectarios, o equipos deportivos.
Fechas importantes
- 21 de Enero de 2025 – Apertura de solicitudes
- 3 de Marzo de 2025 – Fecha límite para enviar solicitudes (5:00 PM MST)
- Marzo 2025 – Mayo 2025 – Revisión de solicitudes
- Mayo 2025 – Notificaciones de premios
- Junio 2025 – Fondos otorgados
- 3 de Junio de 2025 – Celebración para los beneficiarios
Para aplicar
La Fundación Comunitaria del Sur de Arizona ha migrado a un nuevo portal de subvenciones. Para aplicar, todos los solicitantes deben crear una nueva cuenta en el portal haciendo clic aquí.
CORE Donor Collaborator Information
To expand the impact of the CORE Grant Program, CFSA partners with generous community members we call Donor Collaborators. These Donor Collaborators make a gift to the CFSA’s Community Impact Fund and then work with staff to observe our competitive grantmaking process, to learn about community needs and the nonprofits providing critical services, and to connect with others. Donor Collaborators amplify the impact of CORE Grants, providing nonprofits the critical unrestricted support they need.
Are you interested in learning more? Click the Donor Collaborator Interest Form to share your giving interests and connect with staff.
I think non-profit organizations are smart. They know the best ways to promote their missions. They just need the resources to do it. By being a Core Collaborator, I believe the resources I provide will be used in smart ways to support the people, the programs, and the causes I care about.
This will be my 3rd year as a Collaborator. As a relative newbie to Tucson, my goal was to gain an overview of our charitable landscape and perhaps uncover a few new nonprofits to support. Collaborator training has shown me depth to the grantmaking process that has been valuable in defining and refining my charitable choices.
Previous CORE Grant Recipients
- Ability Dogs of Arizona*
- Administration of Resources and Choices
- Arivaca Coordinating Council-Arivaca Human Resource Group Inc.
- Arizona Luminaria*
- Arizona Pet Project *
- Assistance League of Tucson, Inc. *
- AZ Cyber Initiative*
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona (BBBSSA)
- Border Community Alliance (BCA)*
- Border Youth Tennis Exchange
- Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sun Corridor
- Cihuapactli Collective
- Community Gardens of Tucson*
- Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona
- CommunityShare*
- Compass Affordable Housing, Inc.
- Construyendo Circulos de Paz/Constructing Circles of Peace
- Coyote TaskForce
- Douglas Arc*
- Friends of Aphasia
- Friends of the Tubac Presidio and Museum, Inc.*
- Greater Tucson Leadership*
- Groundworks Tucson*
- Homicide Survivors
- International Sonoran Desert Alliance
- Iskashitaa Refugee Network
- Junior Achievement of Arizona – Southern District
- Keep Tucson Together*
- KXCI (Foundation for Creative Broadcasting)
- Kyah Rayne Foundation*
- Liberty Partnership Kino Neighborhoods Council (LPKNC)*
- Living Streets Alliance
- M.I.K.I.D. Mentally Ill Kids in Distress
- MicroCare Community Development Solutions*
- Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona
- Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson*
- National Alliance for Mental Illness Southern Arizona*
- National Center for Youth Law
- Native Seeds/SEARCH
- Patagonia Regional Times
- Pinal County Historical Society*
- Planned Parenthood Arizona*
- Roots & Roads Community Hospice Foundation
- Santa Cruz Valley Art Association/Tubac Center for the Arts
- Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area*
- Soldier’s Best Friend
- Sonoran Glass School*
- Southwest Center for Economic Integrity
- St. Luke’s Home*
- Step Up Bisbee/Naco
- Sunnyside Foundation
- The Centers for Habilitation/TCH*
- The Drawing Studio
- The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre
- Tooth B.U.D.D.S., Inc.*
- Tucson Girls Chorus
- University of Arizona Foundation fbo Center for the Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers
- University of Arizona Foundation fbo Family Medicine Mobile
- Valley Assistance Services
- Willcox Theater and Arts, Inc.
- Administration of Resources and Choices*
- Adult Literacy Plus of Southwest Arizona
- Amerind Foundation, Inc.
- Amistad y Salud Clínica Amistad
- Amphitheater Public Schools Foundation, Inc. (Amphi Foundation)
- Arts Express
- Autism Society of Southern Arizona*
- Bisbee Science Exploration & Research Center
- Border Youth Tennis Exchange
- Boys & Girls Club of the Sun Corridor
- Children’s Museum of Yuma County*
- Cihuapactli Collective
- Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona (CHRPA)
- Compass Affordable Housing
- Contruyendo Circulos de Paz/Constructing Circles of Peace
- Coyote TaskForce*
- Desert Survivors, Inc.*
- Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona
- Educational Enrichment Foundation*
- FosterEd Arizona (an initiative of National Center for Youth Law)*
- Friends of Aphasia
- Friends of Pima Animal Care Center*
- Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
- Homicide Survivors*
- Inside Out Network*
- Iskashitaa Refugee Network
- Lead Guitar*
- MIKID Mentally Ill Kids in Distress*
- Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona Inc.
- Native Seeds/SEARCH*
- Patagonia Regional Times
- Patronato San Xavier*
- Roots & Roads Community Hospice Foundation*
- Sahuarita Food Bank
- Santa Cruz Valley Art Association*
- Santa Theresa Tile Works*
- Scholarships A-Z
- Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre*
- Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers of the Green Valley District, Inc.
- Sierra Vista Volunteer Interfaith Caregiver Program (VICaP)
- Sister Jose Women’s Center
- Sky Island Alliance
- Southern Arizona Area Health Education Center, SEAHEC*
- Southern Arizona Senior Pride
- Southside Presbyterian Church/Southside Worker Center
- Spreading Threads Clothing Bank*
- Step Up Bisbee Naco*
- Step Up to Justice
- Sunnyside Foundation
- The Inn of Southern Arizona
- Willcox Theater and Arts, Inc.
- Act One*
- Adult Literacy Plus of Southwest Arizona*
- AGR Foundation, Inc.
- Amerind Foundation, Inc.*
- Amistad Y Salud Clínica Amistad*
- Amphitheater Public Schools Foundation, Inc. (Amphi Foundation)*
- Arivaca Coordinating Council – Arivaca Human Resource Group Inc.*
- Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors*
- Arizona Sonora Border Projects for Inclusion*
- BICAS*
- Bi-National Arts Institute — El Centro Community Center*
- Bisbee Science Exploration & Research Center*
- Border Youth Tennis Exchange*
- Boys & Girls Club of Bisbee*
- Boys to Men Tucson*
- Children’s Museum Tucson (CMT)*
- Cihuapactli Collective*
- Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona (CHRPA)*
- Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona*
- Friends of Aphasia*
- Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal*
- Greater Tucson Fire Foundation*
- Green Valley Assistance Services, Inc. dba Valley Assistance Services*
- Growth Partners Arizona*
- Higher Ground a Resource Center*
- Integrative Touch for Kids*
- Iskashitaa Refugee Network*
- Junior Achievement of Arizona*
- Just Communities Arizona (formerly AFSC-Arizona)*
- Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona Inc.*
- Our Neighbors Farm and Pantry*
- Parent Aid Child Abuse Prevention Center*
- Patagonia Regional Times*
- Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center*
- Sahuarita Food Bank*
- SARSEF*
- Scholarships A-Z*
- Sister Jose Women’s Center*
- Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc. (SERI)*
- Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports
- Southern Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children (SAZAEYC)*
- Southern Arizona Senior Pride*
- Southside Presbyterian Church/Southside Worker Center*
- SW Center for Economic Integrity*
- Southwest Fair Housing Council*
- Step Up to Justice*
- Sunnyside Foundation*
- The Drawing Studio*
- The Inn of Southern Arizona*
- Tucson Jewish Free Loan*
- Tucson Youth Music Center*
- University of Arizona Foundation f/b/o Community and School Garden Program*
- University of Arizona Foundation f/b/o Tucson Regional Educator Collaborative (TREC)*
- Watershed Management Group*
- Willcox Theater and Arts, Inc.*
* These grants were made possible thanks to our generous 2022 CORE collaborators.
- 3rd Decade*
- Adult Literacy Plus of Southwest Arizona*
- Amerind Foundation, Inc.
- Arivaca Coordinating Council-Arivaca Human Resource Group Inc.*
- Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors*
- Arts Express
- BICAS*
- Borderlands Restoration Network*
- Boys & Girls Club of Sun Corridor*
- Boys To Men Tucson, Inc.*
- Campesinos sin Fronteras*
- Cochise Family Advocacy Center aka Lori’s Place*
- Construyendo Circulos de Paz/Constructing Circles of Peace
- Felicia’s Farm*
- Grace St. Paul Episcopal Church
- Greater Vail Community ReSources*
- Growth Partners Arizona*
- Imago Dei Middle School*
- IMPACT of Southern Arizona*
- KXCI*
- Live Theatre Workshop
- Living Streets Alliance
- Make Way for Books*
- Native American Advancement Foundation*
- Our Neighbors Farm and Pantry
- Parent Aid Child Abuse Prevention*
- Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center*
- Ronald McDonald House*
- Sahuarita Food Bank & Community Resource Center*
- SARSEF: Southern Arizona Research, Science, & Engineering Foundation*
- Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers of Green Valley District, Inc. (SAV)
- Sky Island Alliance*
- Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports*
- Southside Workers Center*
- Step Up to Justice*
- The Child and Language Center, Inc.*
- The Dunbar Coalition Inc.*
- The International Sonoran Desert Alliance*
- Tucson Girls Chorus*
- UA Community and School Garden Program*
- Volunteer Interfaith Caregiver Program
- Watershed Management Group*
- Amphi Foundation
- BICAS
- Border Youth Tennis Exchange
- Borderlands Restoration Network
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Casa Grande Valley
- Campesinos Sin Fronteras
- Cochise Family Advocacy Center
- Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona
- Compass Affordable Housing, Inc.
- Circulos de Paz/Circles of Peace
- Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona
- Green Valley Assistance Services
- Imago Dei Middle School
- Integrative Touch for Kids
- Jewish History Museum
- JobPath, Inc.
- KXCI
- Live Theater Workshop
- Native American Advancement Foundation
- Raising Special Kids
- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona
- SARSEF: S. AZ Research, Science & Engineering Foundation
- Sister Jose Women’s Center
- Sky Island Alliance
- Therapeutic Ranch for Animals and Kids
- True Concord Voices & Orchestra
- Tucson Girls Chorus
- Cooper Center for Environmental Learning
- Watershed Management Group
- Willcox Theater and Arts, Inc.
- Adult Literacy Plus of Southwest Arizona
- Amerind Foundation, Inc.
- Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County, Inc.
- Campesinos Sin Fronteras
- Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona
- Construyendo Circulos de Paz/Circles of Peace
- Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona
- Higher Ground
- Imago Dei Middle School
- Integrative Touch for Kids
- International Sonoran Desert Alliance
- Jewish History Museum
- Job Path, Inc.
- Lori’s Place – Cochise Family Advocacy Center
- Make Way for Books
- Native American Advancement Foundation
- Sahuarita Food Bank
- Sister Jose Women’s Center
- Sky Island Alliance
- Tu Nidito
- Tucson Girls Chorus
- UA Center for Recruitment and Retention of Math Teachers
- Volunteer Interfaith Caregiver Program
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson
- Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona
- Higher Ground a Resource Center
- Interfaith Community Services
- Job Path, Inc.
- Literacy Connects
- Make Way for Books
- Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona
- Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation
- YWCA Southern Arizona
*These grants were made possible thanks to our generous CORE Donor Collaborators.
CORE is made possible in part by a grant from the Catalyst Fund, a grantmaking program of Fidelity Charitable ®