OVERVIEW: The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is Tucson-based community funder that awards regional grants in the fields of animal welfare, arts and culture, community development, education, environment and health and human services.
IP TAKE: Much of CFSA’s money flows through its individual funds. These are specific to certain regions in the state, as well as a broad range of topics including LGBT, African American and women’s issues. Specific grantmaking opportunities are listed on the foundation’s awards, grants and scholarships pages, with guidelines and due dates varying significantly by program. Don’t let this intimidate you; contact information for the foundation’s staff is available in its online directory, making it easy to reach out with questions.
PROFILE: Established in 1980 and originally named the Greater Tucson Area Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) is a community funder based in Tucson. As with many community funders, there are many different program and initiative areas, award programs and funding topics here. The funder aims to “create a stronger community by connecting donors to causes they care about now and forever.” Funding areas include animal welfare, arts and culture, community development, education, environment, health and human services.
The foundation has several award programs established by donors who have a particular area of interest. These include the Buffalo Exchange Arts Award, the Igor Gorin Memorial Award, the Diane Lynn Anderson Memorial Award, the Excellent Educator Recognition Award and the Hiremath Student Integrity Prize. It also runs several grant programs that support community groups and nonprofits working with children, youth, elderly, LGBTQ and other populations. Recent grantmaking has also targeted COVID-19 recovery, the environment and arts and culture. CFSA also awards scholarships through several donor funds.
Foundation grants vary by program but often range from $3,000 to $10,000. The funder lists past grantees on the pages of its various grant programs. Grantmaking is focused on Tucson and elsewhere in the Southern Arizona region. The community funder’s geographic affiliates are the Howard V. Moore Foundation, Oro Valley Community Foundation, Santa Cruz Community Foundation and Stone Canyon Community Foundation. Each competitive grant round has its own set of guidelines and qualifications.
The foundation accepts unsolicited grant requests for certain programs at certain times of the year. Learn about current funding opportunities on CFSA’s individual program pages.
PEOPLE:
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