OVERVIEW: The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation is the philanthropic entity of the major league baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. This funder addresses homelessness, indigent healthcare, and children's programs in Arizona. It also gives back for education and youth sports throughout the state.
IP TAKE: This is one of the most accessible and well-established sports team funders in the country with programs for community, youth and sports organizations. Each funding program maintains a webpage with clear application instructions. Arizona nonprofits should check out this funder, regardless of who they root for on the field.
PROFILE: Established in 1997, the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation (ADF) existed before the team played their first Major League baseball game in 1998. The foundation is focused on three giving areas: homelessness, indigent healthcare and children's programs of all types. The foundation currently makes grants through five separate grantmaking programs.
The foundation’s Ken Kendrick Grant Slam Award Grants are named for the team’s general managing partner and award grants of $25,000 to $250,000 to community organizations based in Arizona. These grants typically support construction projects, large purchases or programs that “increase the capacity or efficiency” of grantees operations. Applications for this program are typically due at the end of November for disbursement in April of the following year.
Program Grants support organizations serving people in Arizona with smaller grants of up to $5,000 for programmatic expenses. Grant applications are due in early August for disbursement in December.
The Mike Kennedy Diamonds Back Field Building Program helps communities build or refurbish baseball and softball fields with the goal of increasing children’s participation in these sports throughout the state of Arizona. Funding is usually used for lighting, scoreboards, fences, backstops, grass, dirt and watering systems. Applications for this program are usually due at the end of July, with grants awarded by December 1.
The foundation’s School Challenge grants support Arizona’s public, private and charter K-12 schools with $5,000 for innovative projects. Schools are invited to “make their best pitch” for a special program or pilot during the open application period, which runs through August and September of each year. Examples of funded projects include “vocational activities for special education students, digital sculpting for animation art classes, community gardens, after school fitness classes and much more.”
Finally, the Play Ball Fund supports Arizona’s youth sports teams with grants of $1,000 to cover expenses related to equipment, training, facilities and more. Teams may apply for funding from April through the end of August. Ten grants are awarded each year.
This foundation gave away over $5 million in a recent year. Grant are generally awarded in set amounts per individual program, and grantmaking is limited to the state of Arizona. For additional information about this funder’s past grantmaking, see its program pages and its recent tax filings.
The foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from organizations located in and serving Arizona. Grant eligibility, guidelines and due dates vary significantly by program, but each funding opportunity maintains its own web page with clear application instructions and materials. For general inquiries, contact the foundation
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS: