Press Release

$1,840,000 Awarded to 22 Arizona Oganizations

Children, Families, Elderly Education, Healthcare Benefit 88 Percent Pulliam Trust Funding Goes to Underserved

(Phoenix) — The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust announced $1,840,000 in grants to 22 Arizona nonprofit organizations Thursday, March 24. Grant recipients gathered at the Nina Mason Pulliam Auditorium at the Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N. Central Avenue, at 3 p.m. for an hour-long reception with the Trust’s Trustees, staff and representatives from grantee organizations.

“With $1,618,500, or 88 percent of total grants awarded today, going to organizations assisting families in crisis, supporting housing and employment programs, enhancing healthcare and protective services, and providing educational opportunities for youth, the Trust continues to fulfill a significant community role during these challenging economic times,” said Edmund H. Portnoy, Ph.D., Arizona grants programs director for the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. “Although things appear to be improving, the Valley’s nonprofit organizations are still experiencing a higher demand for basic need services, as well as continuing to provide programming under the strain of federal and state budget cuts.”

“The Trust continues to support protection and restoration of Arizona’s open space and provide greatly needed funding to companion animal spay/neuter programs,” Portnoy added.

“In response to these difficult times, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has remained strong in its support of organizations on the front line, providing basic human services to families and individuals in the greatest need,” Harriet M. Ivey, Trust president and CEO, stated.

“The grants we are distributing today represent all areas of the Trust’s mission of helping people in need, protecting animals and nature and enriching community life in metropolitan Phoenix. And, of the 22 organizations receiving funding today, six are first-time Trust grant recipients.” Ivey added.

In this first of three rounds of grants for 2011, the Trust awarded $1,099,500 to 13 organizations providing medical and social services for homeless families and individuals, abuse preventive programs for children, elderly housing and healthcare support, and programs and services for disabled youth. Grantees include Child Abuse Prevention Fund, Civitan Foundation, Exito, Habitat for Humanity Desert Foothills, Interfaith Cooperative Ministries, Justa Center, Lodestar Day Resource Center, St. Joseph the Worker, Scottsdale Training and Rehabilitation Services, Tanner Community Development Corporation, Tempe Community Action Agency, Valley of the Sun United Way, and WellCare Foundation.
The Trust continues its support of educational programs that range from early education outreach, mentoring children of incarcerated parents, bilingual programming for medical interpretation, musical outreach support for youth, and after-school and summer programming for underserved and at-risk youth. A Stepping Stone Foundation, Asian Pacific Community in Action, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix, Educare Arizona, and Rosie’s House: A Musical Academy for Children received $579,000 in grants.

The Trust completed its grantmaking with $45,000 to Friends of Saguaro National Park for environmental preservation programming, $62,500 to FACCS—Friends of Animal Care & Control for its Spay Neuter Assistance Program, and $54,000 to Experience Matters’ volunteer recruitment, training and retention workshops for 60 local nonprofit organizations.

“These are extraordinary times. And, our grantees are doing an exceptional job of serving their communities and furthering Nina Pulliam’s legacy in her hometown through their daily work and ongoing commitments to their life-changing missions,” Trust Chairman Frank E. Russell stated.

Since the Trust began its grantmaking in 1998, it has awarded more than $91.5 million to 406 Arizona nonprofit organizations.

The Trust also makes grants in Indianapolis and as of December 31, 2010, had assets of approximately $353.6 million. Visit www.ninapulliamtrust.org for more information about the Trust and its programs