Northern Arizona Nonprofits Awarded $18,500 in Additional Funding for 2014 Arizona Gives Day Efforts
The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers Forum are pleased to announce that, thanks to a financial commitment by FirstBank and other incentive-prize sponsors, eight northern Arizona nonprofit organizations will be awarded a total of $18,500 in additional funding from 2014 Arizona Gives Day efforts for achieving milestone activities throughout the 24-hour online giving period.
Overall, Arizona Gives Day on April 9, 2014, raised over $1.4 million.
The winning northern Arizona nonprofits who will receive these additional funds are:
Arizona Cattle Dog RescueChildren’s Chorale of FlagstaffFlagstaff Master ChoraleNorthern Arizona Pioneers’ Historical SocietySunshine Rescue Mission Inc.Connections Equine Therapy ProgramFriends of Verde River GreenwayThe Hopi Foundation
“FirstBank was pleased to once again provide incentive funding to Arizona Gives Day to recognize nonprofits that went the extra mile through the 24-hour effort,” said Bryce Lloyd, FirstBank president. “There were competitions throughout the course of the day that allowed nonprofits who reached certain milestones – such as most donations in a particular hour or most donations by a rural nonprofit – to receive additional funding,” he said.
For the second year in a row, Ben’s Bells in Tucson earned top honors – and $18,000 in incentive funding – as the nonprofit with the most unique donors, while Phoenix Rescue Mission was awarded an additional $15,000 for most overall dollars raised, Dreamchasers Horse Rehabilitation and Rescue in New River was awarded an additional $9,500 as the top small nonprofit, and Arizona Youth Partnership in Marana was awarded an additional $4,000 from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold as the top rural nonprofit.
“The commitment of FirstBank is to support local communities and the nonprofits that serve them. Now in our second year of supporting Arizona Gives Day, it is the perfect chance for us to further improve our communities and give back to those organizations that have done so much,” Lloyd emphasized.
In its second year, Arizona Gives Day encouraged Arizona residents to recognize and financially support nonprofits throughout the state. The 2014 initiative raised $1,424,543* (up from $1,019,650 last year) for nearly 1,000 registered organizations statewide, a nearly 40% increase over the inaugural year. In total, 13,856 unique donors took the time to make 18,080 total donations in support of this statewide initiative. *Please note that this number reflects all donations received in conjunction with Arizona Gives Day, including some offline donations reported post-campaign and not in the initial post-media materials.*
“Our state rallied again this year and demonstrated what tremendous power individual donors can have for our state’s nonprofits,” said Patrick McWhortor, president and CEO of the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits. “Whether they had a favorite cause or not, Arizonans rose up and explored the many missions of our participating nonprofits and helped show our state’s generosity to the world.”
In addition to the support from FirstBank, Arizona Gives Day received financial and in-kind contributions from a variety of organizations throughout the state including:
Arizona Community FoundationArizona Republic/AZCentral/12NewsAZ FamilyBHHS Legacy FoundationClear Channel Media EntertainmentCommunity Foundation for Southern ArizonaCopperPoint Mutual Insurance CompanyCox CommunicationsEight – KAET PBSFirstBankFlinn FoundationFreeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold FoundationHAPIHickey Family FoundationHMA Public RelationsNina Mason Pulliam Charitable TrustSt. Luke’s Health InitiativesThe ThunderbirdsVirginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
According to Marissa Theisen, president and CEO of the Arizona Grantmakers Forum, “Gives Day initiatives across the country continue to see success and provide much-needed financial support to countless nonprofit organizations. Arizonans have much to be proud of in our second year.”
About FirstBank:
FirstBank operates more than 115 locations in Arizona, Colorado and California. FirstBank has grown through consumer and commercial lending, innovative banking products and services and a strong focus on community investment. Since 2000, FirstBank has contributed more than $45 million and thousands of volunteer hours to charitable organizations. FirstBank is unique in that a majority of its stock is owned by management and employees. For more information, go to www.efirstbank.com.
About the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits:
The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits is a statewide nonprofit membership association of, by and for Arizona’s nonprofits with a mission to enhance the well-being of the people and communities in the state by serving, supporting, protecting and promoting Arizona’s nonprofit sector. For more information, visit www.ArizonaNonprofits.org.
About Arizona Grantmakers Forum:
Arizona Grantmakers Forum AGF is a regional association that provides educational resources, research and networking opportunities for grantmakers in Arizona. Member organizations make financial grants to non-profit organizations throughout the state and represent the interests of private foundations, trusts, endowed community foundations, corporations, government agencies and individuals with organized charitable gift programs. To learn more, visit http://www.arizonagrantmakersforum.org/.
