PRESCOTT, AZ (September 3 2010)—The Yavapai County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Arizona Community Foundation, recently awarded $167,405 in grants to 26 nonprofit organizations serving Yavapai County. In response to growing critical needs, nearly one third of the total funding will address health, hunger, poverty and emergency assistance needs. .

“Despite persistent economic challenges and the overwhelming demand to meet critical needs, we are fortunate to be in a position to allocate a record amount of funding through our annual grant cycle process to help support the work of the nonprofit community in Yavapai County,” said YCCF Advisory Board Chair Nancy Maurer. “These funds were made possible by the generous support of wise donors who understand the power of endowment, and we are most grateful for their ongoing support.” .

YCCF’s 2010 Grant Cycle recipients are:
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•        Cornucopia Community Advocates: $10,000 to improve services for the hungry and homeless in Cornville.
•        Coalition for Compassion and Justice: $27,648 to support the Health Care Access Assistance project, which assists low-income/uninsured ill or injured people with emergency assistance; to support to the Hunger Relief Coalition, which addresses hunger and homeless in the West Yavapai area; and to support the Weekend Family Food Project, which provides food and baby supplies to more than 350 low-income Quad-City area families with children ages 5 and under.
•        Catholic Charities Community Services, Inc.: $10,000 to support Project HOPE, a financial education and empowerment program for adults and families.
•        Highlands Center for Natural History: $9,000 to expand summer opportunities for children to participate in nature-based science education programs by adding two additional weeks to its popular day camp and creating a new naturalist apprentice program for college students.
•        Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office: $8,500 to provide necessary equipment and training for canines and handlers.
•        Prescott Valley Police Department: $8,000 to enhance the services provided by the Prescott Valley Police Department’s K9 Program and to continue the maintenance level of the program to ensure the highest level of officer and citizen safety.
•        Community Forest Trust: $7,826 to engage local citizens in recreation related activities, leading directly to conservation of natural resources through improvements to recreation facilities and indirectly through education of volunteer participants.
•        Prescott Police Department: $6,916 to replace a police service canine for the Prescott Police Department.
•        Yavapai College Foundation: 6,525 to support the Artist in Residence program, offered by Yavapai College Community Events, utilizing the performing arts to provide an entertaining learning experience for approximately 9,000 K-8th grade students from across Yavapai County and to reduce energy consumption at the Yavapai College Prescott Valley campus by purchasing and installing 50 occupancy sensors.
•        Prescott Area Women’s Shelter: $5,250 to fund an AmeriCorps*VISTA member
who will build organizational capacity and help improve programs and services.
•        Cottonwood Police Department: $5,000 to purchase and train one narcotics
canine and provide for veterinary expenses.
•        Prescott Unified School District #1: $5,000 to support Students Against Violence Everyday Program, which matches local professionals to volunteer services that help eligible students in need of physical, emotional and social support.
•        Verde Valley Food Council: $4,300 to provide capacity building support to improve food services for the hungry and homeless in the Verde Valley area.
•        L.I.F.E. Ministries – Community Pregnancy Center: $4,000 to provide diapers and car seats for every child in need who is served by the Community Pregnancy Center and High Country Early Intervention, in order to meet their physical and developmental needs.
•        Stepping Stones Agencies – Prescott: $4,000 to support the reproduction of the 12-Steps for Children and Just for Today coloring books.
•        People Who Care: $3,900 to support the creation of a geographic mapping program linked to its Web site and client database that shows the locations of clients with scheduled transportation needs in order to help quickly facilitate volunteer assignment.
•        Sedona Recycles, Inc.: $3,565 to provide a free 24-hour recycling drop-off site for the residents and businesses of the Yavapai Apache Nation.
•        NORAZ Poets: $2,533 to excite and educate young people about poetry through high caliber performances and workshops in schools across Yavapai County.
•        Prescott Valley Early Bird Lions Foundation, Inc.: $2,448 to provide low income children help in securing proper eye care.
•        Horses with H.E.A.R.T., Inc.: $2,447 to expand its therapeutic riding program to the visually impaired youth of Yavapai County.
•        Verde Search and Rescue Posse: $1,861 to transition from wideband communications to narrowband communications, as required by the Federal Communications Commission, in order to ensure state-certified personnel are properly equipped to conduct efficient search and rescue operations.
•        Prescott College: $1,750 to continue the development of a Botanical Sanctuary and teaching garden where native plants, pollinators, wild creatures and humans can find refuge in a section of the riparian corridor and habitat along Butte Creek.
•        Mountain Artists Guild: $1,000 to provide varied arts education and exploration opportunities for youth ages 8 to 17 in the Quad-City area.
•        New Horizons Independent Living Center, Inc.: $888 to offer the Living Well with a Disability Workshop to 12 members of the Yavapai County disability community with the goal of improving quality of life through addressing secondary issues related to the disability.
•        Barbershop Harmony Society – High Mountain Chordsmen Prescott Chapter:
$500 to provide an all-day workshop for male singers of all ages culminating in a combined performance at Prescott Mile High Middle School Hendrix auditorium.
•        Verde Natural Resource Conservation District Education Center: $368 to support the Verde Valley AlterNATIVE Education Project, which educates the Cottonwood Middle School seventh grade students about the importance of conserving water by planting AlterNATIVE plant species in landscape settings.
•        $24,180 is being directed to other projects and programs.

YCCF’s 2010 Grant Cycle was funded from the Yavapai County Community Fund and nine field-of-interest endowment funds: The Yavapai Children’s Fund, Margaret T. Morris Children’s Fund, Law Enforcement Canine Fund, Yavapai County Fund for Environment, The Ophthalmic Science Foundation Fund, Yavapai County Healthcare Fund, Prescott Gateway Music and Art Fund, The Education Foundation of Yavapai County Fund and the Richard and Jonne
Markham Fund.
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While the amount of funding distributed was higher than any before YCCF grant cycle, many compelling projects remain unfunded. To learn more about these organizations and projects, contact YCCF Grants and Operations Coordinator Tracey McConnell at 928-499-9795 ortmcconnell@azfoundation.org.

To learn how you can contribute or help YCCF grow its endowed Community Fund for future years, contact ACF North Central Regional Manager Traci Corey at 928-708-9632 or tcorey@azfoundation.org. .

The Yavapai County Community Foundation is a 16-year-old permanent philanthropic endowment for the enduring benefit of the community. It secures, manages and allocates donors’ gifts for charitable purposes in the County while working to improve the quality of life for local residents.

To learn more, call 928-499-9795 or visit www.yavapaifoundation.org.