By Brooke Curley
SAFFORD – Writing grants is one of the most basic necessities of many nonprofit organizations and also one of the most complex.
The Arizona Community Foundation awards multiple grants to nonprofit organizations yearly as well as scholarships for students. Tuesday afternoon at the General Services Building, many nonprofit grant writers were given step by step instructions on how to win the race for successful grant applications. Arizona Community Foundation visits the Gila Valley once each year to give individuals interested in applying for the available grants a class on how to apply.
Rebecca Pickett, Regional Philanthropic Coordinator of the Arizona Community Foundation of the Gila Valley, taught the two-hour long class. Covering everything from what web browser worked best to how to calculate volunteer hours, Pickett led a comprehensive discussion and answered whatever questions posed to her.
“It’s not scary at all,”Pickett said. “We make it as easy as possible. We run a competitive grant cycle once a year typically around this time frame. April is when the grant is open, so I always do a workshop in Graham and Greenlee counties to get everybody oriented with the process and answer whatever questions they have and get them on the right track.”
Paulette LeBlanc, a professional grant writer, attended the workshop on behalf of the council of the Gila Valley Arts Council.
“This particular grant cycle I’ve attended every one of their trainings, and they’re always very thorough,” LeBlanc said. “And I think the piece I like the most about this particular organization is she’s not kidding when she says she’s at the other end of the phone. When I write a grant, no matter how many I write, I call them and I double check everything before I submit, and they are always on the other end of the line. (They are) very helpful. If someone hasn’t written a grant, the reason they haven’t written it is fear; fear of the unknown and daring to take the first step. Dare to take the first step. And this is a good organization to take the first step with because they are set up to support you along the way, so this is a good one to start with.”
Entities receiving the Arizona Community Foundation 2016 Grants include:
| Organization Name | Program Name | |
| Boys & Girls Club of the Gila Valley | Opportunity Club Grant 2016-17 | |
| Duncan Public Library | Lego Club | |
| Easter Seals Blake Foundation | Easter Seals Blake Foundation Incredible Years Dinosaur School in Safford (Graham County) | |
| Friend2Friend God’s Pantry | Eliminating Hunger | |
| Gila Valley Arts Council | TSO Woodwinds Quintet | |
| Gila Valley Chorale | Operating Expenses | |
| New Life City Church | Project Luke | |
| Pride Society | Replacement Globes for Street Lamps | |
| SEACAB-Southeastern Arizona Clean and Beautiful | Gila Valley Blight Remediation Initiative | |
| SEACUS – Southeastern Arizona Community Unique Services | Senior Nutrition Supportive Project | |
| Southeastern Arizona Dementia Friendly Communities | Recruiting and Training Education Volunteers | |
| University of Arizona Foundation | Duncan Elementary and Duncan Head Start School Gardens | |
