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Empowering Rural Communities Through Partnership and Collaboration

By Tori Smith


At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christy Burton, Co-Founder and Chair of the Burton Family Foundation (BFF), began to note a lack of available rural philanthropic funding while on a statewide grant review committee tasked with awarding emergency response funds to nonprofits to enable a quick transition to virtual programs and services. Prior to the pandemic, BFF mostly awarded grants to Maricopa County-based education organizations. 


Through Christy’s participation on the review committee, she noticed that the needs in many rural communities across Arizona mirrored those in Maricopa County, but there was a disparity in the availability of philanthropic resources these communities could access. 


This isn’t a challenge that’s unique to Arizona. A report from the United States Department of Agriculture found that grants to U.S. rural-based organizations accounted for only 5.5% of grants by large foundations between 2005 to 2010, with a slight downward trend. 


The study also found that grants to rural organizations are “more likely to support direct investments in physical and human capital, and less likely to support direct investments in financial or intellectual capital than are grants to urban organizations.”


Some examples of physical capital are buildings, renovation, equipment, and computer systems. Financial capital can include income development, annual campaign, debt reduction, emergency funds, and seed money.

 

Human capital can include conferences and seminars, faculty and staff development, professorships, student aid, internship funds, and more. Intellectual capital can include research, electronic media and online services, publications, film/radio/video productions, and more. 


Additionally, a 2021 study by FSG, a nationally recognized social impact firm, found that still, eleven years later, rural organizations only receive 7% of funds from top philanthropies. Meanwhile, a report from the United States Census Bureau found that the proportion of Americans living in rural communities increased to 20% as of 2020. 


BFF realized it wanted to tackle rural grantmaking head-on, and began collaborating on a state-wide partnership with the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF). Through six regional offices across the state serving Cochise County, Flagstaff, the Gila Valley, Sedona, Yavapai County, and Yuma, the Burton Family Foundation is able to leverage the knowledge and expertise of local leaders in these communities to understand each region’s unique needs, assets, and opportunities. BFF also has collaborated  with the Green Valley Community Foundation to award grants in Southern Arizona through a similar partnership.


ACF’s regional offices across the state receive hundreds of grant applications through their regional grant cycles each year. The goal of these grant cycles is to bring philanthropic resources to the table in support of the most viable projects and programs responding to community needs.


BFF’s first round of rural grantmaking began with a visit to the Verde Valley in September 2023. The two-day trip was filled with site visits which included potential grant partners and community leaders who shared their insight and expertise of local needs and organizations in the region. BFF also participated in a grant review meeting where local leaders evaluated the applications that were received through the ACF of Sedona regional grant cycle. 


This first collaboration was spearheaded by Jennifer Perry, who was the regional director for ACF’s Sedona office at the time. 


“I wasn’t surprised when I was contacted by Glenn as he had overseen ACF’s statewide grantmaking for years (as the former chief of staff and senior vice president for community investment at ACF) but I was excited about the opportunity it presented for our area nonprofits who often do not know how to access funds from large donors or private foundations,” said Perry. 


According to Perry, a lot of individuals retire to Sedona without realizing the philanthropic need in and around the community. Glenn Wike said that partnering with Perry and ACF’s regional Sedona office helped frame conversations with leaders in other rural communities as BFF expanded its footprint to other regions throughout  the state. 


Since beginning its collaboration with ACF’s regional offices last year, BFF has participated in collaborative funding cycles in seven rural communities: Sedona, Prescott, Flagstaff, Williams, Yuma, Sierra Vista, and Patagonia. 


In addition to working with ACF, BFF has also partnered with Greater Green Valley Community Foundation to award grants in the Southern Arizona communities of Arivaca, Tubac, Tumacacori, Rio Rico, Sahuarita, Green Valley, and Amado.


Christy is proud of BFF’s emerging work in rural Arizona, and recognizes that  relatively small grants can go a long way in creating impact in rural communities. She invites donors who want to make a measurable impact to consider investing in rural communities. 


“Don’t overlook something you’re not familiar with,” Christy said. 


Perry said that flexible philanthropic funding often goes much further in rural communities than it does in urban areas. 


“Rural nonprofits are accustomed to making do with what they have, and donors can give much more than their money,” she said. “Often, connecting nonprofits to other organizations doing similar work can be just as valuable as a check as it can help them avoid costly mistakes, alert them to best practices, staffing and resources. Arizona is a huge state and the needs are great.”


“We are honored that the Burton Family Foundation, as one of the largest funders in the state of Arizona, trusts ACF and our regional team to introduce them and guide them to local organizations they may not know about.…We are extremely grateful for the partnership with the Burton Family Foundation and their leadership in statewide grantmaking.”


The partnership with ACF isn’t the only way the Burton Family Foundation invests in rural Arizona either. Over the last few years, BFF has also supported the efforts of Local First Arizona’s Arizona Economic Resource Center. Through the Center, Local First provides services like grant writing, budget guidance, project management, facilitation, economic impact analysis and strategic planning for rural areas, towns, counties, tribal communities and nonprofits. The services are free of charge to qualifying entities.


As of mid summer 2024, the center had partnered with groups across rural Arizona to secure  229 grants valued at  $91.7 million.


Kimber Lanning, CEO of Local First Arizona, said that urban areas tend to forget that rural areas are critically important to all of the state. A few examples of this in Arizona include food, agriculture, minerals, and sometimes, even where many of  the state’s leaders' hometowns are.


She said that Local First Arizona is in place to make a more just and equitable world, and to break down barriers for people who are normally left out. Rurality should be a priority in Arizona, she said.


“We can’t pretend like our rural towns don’t matter,” Lanning said.


Since first partnering with ACF, the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation, and Local First Arizona in late 2023, the Burton Family Foundation has awarded 127 grants totaling $1.67 million to organizations serving rural communities across the state. Additionally, the foundation has awarded 24 grants totaling $2 million for statewide projects and initiatives. 

To learn more about the Arizona Community Foundation, please visit https://www.azfoundation.org.


To learn more about the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation, please visit https://www.ggvcf.org.


To learn more about Local First Arizona, please visit https://localfirstaz.com.

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