Serving immediate community needs during COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust is collaborating with fellow philanthropic organizations and community partners in Indiana and Arizona to serve the immediate needs of individuals and families facing hardship.

In Indiana, the Trust is participating in the COVID-19 Community Economic Relief Fund, led by the United Way of Central Indiana and serving organizations in Boone, Hancock, Hamilton, Hendricks, Marion and Morgan counties. C-CERF is prioritizing funding for organizations that provide childcare for healthcare workers and first responders, food access, housing assistance and shelter care, resources for seniors and immigrants, disaster planning and infrastructure support. To donate to the fund, learn more about available funding and see the list of participating funders, visit www.uwci.org/covid-19-cerf/. 

In Arizona, the Trust is part of the Arizona Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund, which is providing financial resources to nonprofit agencies across the state facing an increased demand for services from clients and communities as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Trust funds are targeting Maricopa County agencies providing food access, senior services, homeless services and crisis intervention, such as domestic violence shelters. For more information and to donate, visit www.azfoundation.org/covid19.  

The Trust is mindful the pandemic is affecting our grantee partners’ daily operations, so where possible, we are offering flexibility with our current and pending grants, including altering restrictions on funding uses and adjusting grant deliverables.

While we distribute additional resources toward meeting basic human needs, we remain committed to our animal welfare and environmental initiatives. With key partners, we have achieved significant gains in reducing pet euthanasia in Marion County, Indiana and Maricopa County, Arizona and in conserving critical waterways, including the Verde River in Arizona and the White River in Indiana. We continue to support these initiatives and will maintain momentum in protecting animals and nature.

Stewards of our communities’ companion animals

By working closely with animal welfare agencies in Maricopa County, Arizona and Marion County, Indiana, we are significantly reducing pet overpopulation and euthanasia. Since the Trust began its animal welfare initiatives focused primarily on spay/neuter and adoption in 2012, euthanasia rates among cats and dogs in both counties have dropped dropped 86 and 73 percent, respectively. Vigilance is critical for continuing to maintain these reductions and improve the quality of life for our communities’ animal companions.

Learn more about the Trust’s animal welfare initiatives  

The Verde River – securing water, habitat and community

The Verde River supplies drinking water to 14 communities and millions of Arizonans, and supports critical streamside and wildlife habitats; yet in recent years, the river’s flow has reached historic lows. With The Nature Conservancy and Friends of the Verde River, the Trust is supporting development of the Verde River Watershed Report Card to evaluate and track the social, ecologic and economic health of the watershed. The Report Card will bring together the U.S. Forest Service, municipalities, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and conservation organizations and stakeholders to help protect and restore the Verde River, while driving important conversations around water conservation and community.

Learn more about the Trust’s environmental initiatives