Arizona Together for Impact

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OVERVIEW: Arizona Together for Impact supports sustained collaborations for sustainability, collaboration and capacity building among Arizona’s philanthropic organizations.

IP TAKE: There are a lot of powerful funding forces involved in Arizona Together for Impact. In addition to grantmaking, this is a great funder to know for networking and collaboration. ATI does not have specifically stated issue areas for its grantmaking, but rather aims to foster collaboration and cooperation between nonprofits serving Arizona in all sorts of issues, including human services, basic need, economic opportunity, public health, and the arts. But while the range of issues addressed by its grantees is broad, ATI only exists to sponsor a specific type of activity. It is interested in all degrees of collaboration, from temporary joint ventures or resource pooling to full-on organizational mergers. If you hope to get funding from ATI, it helps to approach them already having a understanding the type of collaboration you’d like to pursue, and preferably also a strong idea with whom.

This is not the most transparent funder, as it is hard to get a good idea of the types of projects and collaborations it has previously supported from its website, and its tax filings are not easy to track down. However, it does list some recent partners and frequently posts news articles, blog posts, and publications. It is relatively accessible however, as it accepts applications on a rolling basis year-round. It’s an approachable funder that likes to be involved throughout the application process: in particular, it prefers to have preliminary meetings with potential applicants before they even get started in order to discuss the most appropriate opportunities available to you.

PROFILE: Established in 2019, the Arizona Together for Impact (ATI) is a statewide pilot initiative and grantmaker based in Phoenix, Arizona. Fourteen Arizona philanthropies came together with a three-year funding commitment to create this $1.5 million fund. The network of organizations includes the following funders: the Arizona Community Foundation, the Bidstrup Foundation, the Burton Family Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, the Flinn Foundation, the Hickey Family Foundation, the Kiita Foundation, the Legacy Foundation of Southern Arizona, the Lodestar Foundation, the Satterberg Foundation, the Steele Foundation, the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, the Vitalyst Health Foundation, and the Whiteman Foundation. This is an initiative of the Arizona Grantmakers Forum. The foundation aims to “improve the capacity, sustainability, and financial health of nonprofits.” It funds local efforts for sustained collaborations that bring nonprofits together.

Grants for Capacity Building

The Arizona Together for Impact looks to create systemic change through partnerships, mergers, and collaborations. The foundation recognizes four types of formal collaboration: associations, in which organizations work together “over an extended period of time to accomplish shared goals,” with or without a formal agreement; joint programs, in which organizations have a formal agreement to “deliver an integrated program over an extended period of time”; shared support functions, in which organizations contract with each other to share administrative resources such as HR and IT; and mergers, in which the governance and functions of two organizations are formally and legally integrated. ATI awards three types of grants aimed at organizations interested in any of the aforementioned forms of collaboration, but targeting different stages of the collaborative process:

  • Seed grants help organizations explore the potential for collaboration, determine the ideal type of collaboration wanted, seek out potential partners, and evaluate the feasibility and compatibility of the potential partnership.

  • Exploration grants support “one-time third-party costs associated with exploring the feasibility of a proposed transaction,” such as consultants, facilitators, and off-site meetings.

  • Implementation grants support “one-time third-party start-up costs for Sustained Collaborations,” including “ lawyers, accountants, and consultants, lease-breaking, moving costs, technology integration, severance, collateral material (new business cards, signs, etc.), and other one-time costs.”

In addition to monetary support, ATI also offers resources and tools to support collaborations among nonprofits, such as workshops, seminars, published research, datasets, digital tools, and consultations to aid nonprofit leaders and consultants.

IMPORTANT GRANT DETAILS:

Grants range from $500 to $100,000, with seed grants up to $2,000, exploration grants around $15,000, and implementation grants averaging $25,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving in the ATI news section.

  • This funder’s grantmaking centers around organizations based in and serving the state of Arizona.

  • Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis year round. No deadlines apply.

  • Applications must begin with a preliminary consultation with foundation staff, followed by a letter of inquiry. Applicants are encouraged to have already started entering conversations with or brainstorming what organizations they hope to collaborate with. For exploration and implementation grants, a full proposal is required following invitation to apply. Applications are evaluated by the foundation director and governance committee.

Direct general questions to Nora Hannah on the staff at nhannah@azgrantmakers.org or schedule a call with the organization.

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