This week Valley of the Sun United Way and Arizona Community Foundation coordinated efforts to distribute more than $410,000 to Maricopa County nonprofits meeting urgent needs due to COVID-19.
PHOENIX, Arizona, April 3, 2020 — For a growing number of Maricopa County families and individuals, the health and economic pressures of COVID-19 continue to mount. This in turn, leads to increased demands on local nonprofits working to help them meet their most basic needs while also experiencing significant challenges themselves as a result of event cancellations and other revenue loss due to COVID-19.
Today, Valley of the Sun United Way, in cooperation with its partner Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), issued its first round of grants from its United for the Valley COVID-19 Fund to help nonprofits meet this growing demand.
The initial organizations receiving grants today are:
Child Crisis Arizona — Providing food, diapers, wipes, cleaning and sanitizing supplies as well as ‘Learn at Home’ kits for families and children living at or below the federal poverty level.
Homeward Bound — Providing housing assistance, food, diapers, baby wipes, cleaning and sanitizing supplies for families experiencing or transitioning out of homelessness, and basic learning supplies for their children.
UPWARD for Children and Families — Providing food to children with special needs and their families, program staff assistance and organizational utilities and insurance support.
Valley of the Sun YMCA — Providing childcare programs and staff assistance for essential workers, first responders, and other working families at seven Valley locations.
“Today is a special day for United Way and our donors as we begin turning their generosity into much needed support for our nonprofit partners at the front lines of the COVID-19 response and for our Valley neighbors most impacted,” said Carla Vargas Jasa, Valley of the Sun United Way President and CEO. “We are thrilled so many of the Valley’s leaders stepped up quickly to support our community at this critical time, including individuals, corporations and foundations.”
Earlier this week, ACF distributed the first grants from its COVID-19 Community Response fund to nonprofits in Maricopa County and throughout Arizona. Combined, United Way and ACF have raised more than $8 million and will continue fundraising efforts to meet the escalating immediate needs, as well as prepare for a long term community recovery.
Both United Way and ACF will continue to accept and review grant applications on a rolling basis and coordinate funding support in Maricopa County as community needs evolve. Organizations that did not receive funding this round need not apply again; they will be added to ongoing funding rounds.
“While we continue to work on the immediate relief needed within the community, we recognize the importance of the long term recovery for our nonprofits across the state,” said Steve Seleznow, Arizona Community Foundation President and CEO. “We will continue to work with our donors and philanthropic partners to address these needs in the coming months.”
For 95 years, United Way has partnered with businesses and their employees to solve the most pressing issues facing our community. This time is no different, and many of those businesses are supporting the United for the Valley COVID-19 Fund, providing in kind donations and leadership to keep our community strong. To date, corporate contributors to the United Way fund include: APS, American Family Insurance, Desert Financial Credit Union, Freeport McMoRan Inc., Helios Education Foundation, Intel Corporation, Nationwide, Salt River Project, USAA, Walmart Foundation and Wells Fargo.
To learn more about Valley of the Sun United Way’s United for the Valley COVID-19 Fund, or to make a contribution, visit vsuw.org/covid19fund or text Unitedfund to 51555.
To learn more about ACF’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund, or to make a contribution, visit azfoundation.org/covid19.
About Valley of the Sun United Way
Established in 1925, Valley of the Sun United Way is celebrating 95 years of meeting the most pressing needs of Maricopa County. United Way unifies diverse partners, donors, business supporters, nonprofits, government and faithbased communities to build a stronger Valley for us all. United Way and its 90,000 donors, 400 business supporters and 5,000 volunteers fight to break the cycle of poverty by ensuring children and youth succeed, ending hunger and homelessness, and increasing the financial stability of families. Join the fight, visit vsuw.org.
About the Arizona Community Foundation
Established in 1978, the Arizona Community Foundation is a statewide family of charitable funds supported by thousands of Arizonans. With five regional offices serving communities across Arizona, ACF is among the top 25 community foundations in the nation with more than $960 million in trust and endowment assets, and is certified under the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. Since inception, ACF and its affiliates have awarded more than $783 million in grants, scholarships, and loans to nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies. More information is available at azfoundation.org.
Media Contacts
For Valley of the Sun United Way:
Kelli Fawcett, 602.677.3052 kfawcett@vsuw.org
For ACF:
Lisa Dancsok, 602.682.2053 ldancsok@azfoundation.org
