Valley of the Sun United Way is honored and humbled to be the recipient of a transformative Legacy Gift from Art Cunningham. Art was President and founder of Fountainhead Equity Partners, a value-add commercial real estate investment firm located in Phoenix. He was a Phoenix native with over 25 years of experience in hotel, office and land investment and development. Through Fountainhead, Art successfully invested in and/or developed thirty-four properties.

Art was one of five children. He attended Brophy College Preparatory and graduated from Arizona State University. He was involved with a number of organizations including: Fiesta Bowl Committee, Friends of Compass, Leukemia Society, Men’s Art Council, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Phoenix Symphony, Tumbleweed and Valley of the Sun United Way.

As a member of United Way’s Tocqueville Society, Art was among our most generous donors. Recently, United Way shared an intimate conversation with Art’s brother, John Cunningham, to learn more about Art’s extraordinary life, his love of Phoenix and his strong desire to leave a legacy.

Q & A with John Cunningham -

Q: Art was a Phoenix native. Do you think his deep roots in this community may have inspired his philanthropy? If so, in what way?

A: “We were both born in Phoenix. Art was deeply passionate about his community and always had a level of pride for Phoenix. My brother never met a stranger and was welcoming to everyone. Early on, he created friendships that carried on throughout his life. Art was a genuine human being, who focused on relationships over everything else. When it came to Art’s real estate business, he somehow navigated his career in a way that everyone was treated fairly. Art once said, ‘I want to do business but I want it to help the community also.’ Everything Art did focused on community.”

Q: Art was very involved with Brophy College Preparatory. Beyond graduating from Brophy, what do you think inspired Art to continue giving back to the students of Brophy?

A: “Brophy’s model is ‘Men for Others.’ I can’t think of a human being who instilled this into his life more than Art. Those were his roots. Brophy students just ‘get it’ about helping others. Art believed in this educational model and never let human kindness off his radar.”

Q: What area(s) or elements of United Way’s mission was Art passionate about?

A: “It was the local focus of United Way and its focus on helping children. Art wanted kids to get a leg up with help from the community.”

Q: United Way is honored to be a part of Art’s legacy. What do you think inspired Art to leave a Legacy Gift to our organization?

A: “For Art, his money or time had to be related to the local community. This value was instilled in him by our grandfather, who believed in giving to people locally. Art valued the nature of your organization and how United Way gives back to the local community. A unique combination – our family, his experience at Brophy and our Catholic faith – created Art’s giving nature and drew him into philanthropy.”