The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona began supporting end-of-life care as an original funder of the community-wide Elder Initiative (now the ELDER Alliance) from 2010-2016, from which the Arizona End-of-Life Care Partnership developed.

After the tragic and sudden death of Shaaron Kent, a portion of her estate came to CFSA to support three areas that she felt passionate about, including End-of-Life Care Services.  The Shaaron Kent Endowment Fund was established in 2012 to honor her wishes.

Through Shaaron Kent’s legacy, CFSA is interested in supporting the following:

  • Programs that provide or enhance direct end-of-life services to low-income community members and people of color and their families.
  • Programs that provide or enhance end-of-life care services to individuals and their families (for example, programs that provide services to the elderly at the end of their lives or programs that offer ancillary services to children in hospice).
  • Programs that help educate individuals, caregivers, medical personnel, family members, and the community about end-of-life care/services, including palliative care and hospice (for example, programs that educate people about the possibility of using hospice services or how to have end-of-life conversations with their families).

Applications to the 2023 grant round are now closed and will reopen in 2026.

Grant Guidelines

The Shaaron Kent Endowment Fund will grant up to $25,000 a year for up to 3-years. General operating support may be considered for organizations with missions and programming dedicated solely to one of the above areas.

We welcome applicants from Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal (south of the Gila River only), Santa Cruz, and Yuma counties (statewide organizations should have a headquarter/location/charter conducting charitable work in one of the aforementioned counties).

Awards made by CFSA’s various grant committees support organizations that do not discriminate in their employment practices, volunteer opportunities, or delivery of programs and services on the basis of race, religion, gender or gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), gender expression, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, citizenship, ethnicity, familial status, socioeconomic status (economic circumstances), color, creed, sex (including pregnancy), phases of parenthood, national origin, marital status, veteran status (past, current, or prospective service in the armed forces), genetic information, physical characteristics or appearance, mental or physical disability, or any other status prohibited by applicable law.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Applicant must be a 501c3 in good standing.
  • The applicant must be current in all reporting to CFSA.
  • 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.
  • Please note schools with 501c3 status and individual colleges within universities using their foundation as the agent may apply.
  • Organizations may apply using a fiscal agent but must be able to provide the required documents relevant to the applicant organization.
  • Must be able to demonstrate and clearly articulate programmatic alignment with Shaaron Kent Endowment Fund priorities.
  • Have a clear commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access and encourage board and staff to reflect the communities they serve.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact: 

David Gardner
Program Manager
dgardner@cfsaz.org
520-382-9203