Latest Blog

Helping People in Need | Protecting Animals and Nature | Enriching Community Life
Helping People in Need | Protecting Animals and Nature | Enriching Community Life
Helping People in Need | Protecting Animals and Nature | Enriching Community Life
Helping People in Need | Protecting Animals and Nature | Enriching Community Life

THE LATEST

Heat hits Phoenix early, but cooling centers aren’t ready yet

Under a mid-morning sun, huddled beneath tents and silver tarps, doctors and nurses handed patients at a homeless outreach clinic

New Indiana law bans some green programs. Indy found a loophole

After state lawmakers passed a bill essentially blocking an Indianapolis initiative designed to guide the city toward a carbon-zero energy landscape by

Colorado River outlook was bleak, but the heat is making it worse

The West’s mid-March heat wave and deepening drought are worsening the outlook for Colorado River flows this year, according to

2024 Annual Report
In 2024, the homelessness and housing crisis worsened throughout the United States. To help those in need, our grantees came together to support one another and better assist people and communities of Arizona and Indiana.

Protecting Nature

Protecting Nature

Trust wraps up five-year environmental roadmap

The Trust dedicated $19.5 million to protecting the flow, improving water quality, preserving wildlife habitats, developing water policy, and creating economic and conservation collaborations for the Verde and White rivers. For the next three years, the Trust has outlined a new roadmap to help maintain the rivers and expand support of wildlife corridors and shade initiatives. Additionally, the Trust continues to underwrite environmental reporting at The Arizona Republic and The Indianapolis Star, and annual state and international environmental reporting awards, to keep people informed about pressing environmental concerns of our time.

Learn more about the Trust’s environmental initiatives  

Innovative projects with The Nature Conservancy and others have saved 15 billion gallons of water in the Verde River.
Indiana farmers planted a record amount of cover crops in 2021, keeping over 1.6 million tons of sediment out of Indiana waterways.

Helping People in Need

Helping People in Need
Helping People in Need

A better future through higher education

Achieving a college degree can be challenging, even under ideal circumstances, but consider if you were a former foster youth, an adult with dependents or an individual with physical disabilities trying to complete a degree. The Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars program embraces students with barriers to higher education – and those students are thriving. Nina Scholars graduate at rates equal to or greater than their peers. Eighty-five percent of scholars who graduated in the past five years are employed in a field related to their degree. The Nina Scholars program offers personalized supports and services, intensive coaching, financial assistance and extended graduation timelines. Nina Scholars are inspiring examples of overcoming to achieve. If you know someone who may qualify to be a Nina Scholar, encourage them to apply.

Learn more about the Nina Scholars program  

Over 400 Nina Scholars have earned college degrees since the program began in 2001.
85% of Nina Scholars who graduated in the past five years work in a field related to their course of study.

Protecting Animals

Protecting Animals

Celebrating tremendous gains for companion animals

In 2012, nearly 37,000 dogs and cats were euthanized in shelters in Maricopa County, Arizona; in Marion County, Indiana, it was over 6,600. After 12 years of dedicated collaboration and investment, companion animals face a far better fate today. In 2012, the Trust and partners in the animal welfare community in both states helped establish collaborative initiatives to reduce the number of unwanted dogs and cats through increasing spay and neuter surgeries, adoptions, and public education about responsible pet ownership. Since then, euthanasia rates in Maricopa County dropped over 83%, and Marion County decreased 84%. The Trust continues to champion the cause by investing more than $20 million in animal welfare in Arizona and Indiana in the last decade.

Learn more about the Trust’s animal welfare initiatives  

A single pair of cats and its kittens can produce up to 420,000 kittens in just 7 years.
From 2012 – 2021, the Trust invested $19.6 million in animal welfare in Arizona and Indiana.

Grants

Home

Grantee Spotlight

Banner Olive Branch Senior Center

Banner Olive Branch Senior Center is a hub for social connection, nutrition, education and health care for seniors in Sun City, Ariz. During the pandemic, Olive Branch adapted to safely serve its housebound clientele with increased home meal deliveries, volunteers to connect with seniors and assess needs, and Olive Branch Without Walls, providing online yoga classes, nutritional advice, virtual tours and trivia games to combat isolation.

Home

Grantee Spotlight

Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis

Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis inspires girls to be strong, smart and bold by delivering engaging, empowering programs online and in-person at schools, youth organizations and community centers. The program curriculum focuses on issues that all girls face – conflict management, college and career planning, and body image. The Trust supports Girls Inc.’s desire to help girls be healthy, educated and independent.

Home

Grantee Spotlight

Friends of Indy Animals

Friends of Indy Animals is helping raise funds for a long-awaited, new Indianapolis Animal Care Services facility. The new shelter will provide the city with greater capacity to care for Indy’s stray dogs and cats and assist pet owners with low-cost pet care. Friends of Indy Animals provides funding to promote adoptions, support shelter volunteers and fosters, assist with medical costs and make animal stays at city shelters more comfortable.

Are you seeking a grant?

Application Process

Frequently Asked Questions