2023 Vitalyst Grant Partners

SYSTEMS CHANGE GRANTS: Changing systems to improve community health across the state.

Each grant is worth $175,000 over three years and is part of the Foundation’s ongoing mission to improve health and well-being for vulnerable populations across Arizona. Grant recipients are Activate Food Arizona, Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth, the Northern Arizona University Foundation and the Pima County Attorney’s Office. These grants will be augmented with support from The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and the NARBHA Institute.

Activate Food Arizona will help streamline the collaboration between Arizona-based and national partners to pilot the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online program with small healthy food retailers. A more equitable expansion of SNAP Online payment capabilities will improve economic opportunities for small retailers while increasing access to high quality, affordable foods for SNAP recipients, especially those living in rural and tribal communities and others with time and transportation limitations.

Community input and data were collected via a Vitalyst Spark Grant and highlighted substance use, racial inequity and strict systems as the top issues facing Coconino County citizens. Recognizing the need for trauma-informed systems that acknowledge individual experiences, the Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth will develop, in conjunction with the City of Flagstaff and the County, a mental model change ensuring resilience information is understood at City and County levels and enacted as policy change. The goal is to improve patient engagement, treatment adherence, health outcomes and provider and staff wellness.

The Northern Arizona University Foundation will work to eliminate structural barriers of the Medicaid system to improve outcomes for youth transitioning out of foster care (YTC) to independent living. The NAU Foundation will develop the first model of Medicaid reimbursement and implementation of occupational therapy transition services to objectively address the needs of youth transitioning out of foster care, a population with a long history of disparities and inequity, exacerbated by a history of trauma and instability.

The Pima County Attorney’s Office will foster a public-private collaboration through a restorative justice program structured to permanently change the way people arrested for certain low-level felonies and petty crimes are handled by the criminal justice system. The program will establish a relationship between prosecutors, public defenders and carefully selected participants that leads to a partnership with facilitators, counselors and qualified volunteers to work to achieve behavioral change and minimize justice system involvement and disparities for highly represented groups. The goal is to help these individuals to put their lives back on track without incurring a criminal record and the unhealthy impact of an extended stay in jail.

SPARK GRANTS: Supporting collaborations in the journey to address systemic change.

Total funding of $325,000 for Spark Grants was approved during fiscal year 22 – 23.. In addition to supporting collaborations to begin systemic change, Spark Grant funding was also expanded to invest in place-based collaboratives working to improve the health of people and communities, especially in rural Arizona.

Academy of Building Industries ($25,000) this placed-based collaborative in Ft. Mohave is a network between the Academy, Mohave Valley Contractors Association (MVCA), and Mohave Community College (MCC). If approved, Vitalyst would join the BHHS Legacy Foundation and the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation in a separate capital campaign for the Academy in serving at-risk youth who have been born into environmental challenges. Vitalyst would not fund the capital but would provide program support to the collaborative. The additional classrooms and programming would allow the Academy to partner with more local trades people, community experts, and businesses to provide students with inspiring seminars, guest speaker presentations, and guest teachers. It would also increase the total number of special education students by having a larger classroom to provide academic services written in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). A fully equipped lunchroom and kitchen would help the Academy qualify to be subsidized by the National School Lunch Program to provide free and reduced-priced lunch.

Arizona Faith Network ($25,000) Arizona Faith Network (AFN), in partnership with the AZ Village Network, Wesley United Methodist Church, and Arizona State University, aims to support a pilot to transform houses of worship to “houses of resilience” by supporting faith-based organizations in low-income, Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities in Maricopa County. This project will: 1) empower local leaders and community members through training and capacity building; 2) bridge community divides through interfaith dialogue and cross-cultural programs; and 3) explore long-term systemic responses to rising climate disasters, including extreme heat.

Bridges Reentry, Inc. ($25,000) this TAPAZ fiscally sponsored organization will collaborate with Patient Sortal, Imagine Therapy, and Transition to Success to coordinate a system of care for formerly incarcerated women reentering society. Planning is needed to fill the gaps of inequitable healthcare with potential partners and resources, focusing on mental health and trauma, addition relapse protocols, and steps to family reunification.

City of Phoenix Office of Sustainability ($25,000) The City of Phoenix has partnered with Unlimited Potential to conduct community outreach and education workshops in approximately ten (10) underserved/under invested, disadvantaged, marginalized “Justice40” communities in Phoenix. Residents in these areas face the greatest mobility and heat challenges and are largely impacted by increased greenhouse gas emissions, harmful air quality, and lack of shade and/or heat relief options. Through these community outreach and education workshops, residents will help to co-design and identify low or no carbon transportation and/or heat relief solutions that will result in improved air quality, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, as well as increased heat relief options. Funding from the Vitalyst Spark Grant would help offset costs related to the community outreach and educational workshops for items such as: Unlimited Potential partnership costs (food, gift cards, staffing, venue), printing costs of collateral materials and maps, and Spanish language translation and interpretation services.

Creek Valley Health Clinic ($25,000) Creek Valley Health Clinic (CVHC), located in Colorado City, is requesting funds to facilitate a collaboration between CVHC, local occupational and speech therapy agencies and local school systems, including The Autism Courage Foundation, Colorado City Unified School District, Cottonwood Elementary, Water Canyon School, Masada Charter School and Root for Kids, Child and Family Resource Center. The goal is to unify resources and create a mutually beneficial plan to improve access to developmental screenings for children ages 0-5. It will also address the incredibly high rate of patients and community members, specifically school aged children, with disabilities.

Creighton Community Foundation ($25,000) The FrescaZona Interventional Nutrition Center (INC) Project, building upon a retail market providing food access and nutrition services, will pursue systemic improvement of nutritional health structures in low-income, urban Phoenix food deserts by exploring stigmas, obstacles, culturally relevant messaging, local funding mechanisms, and improved food access pathways. The Spark Grant will support community data and systems analysis as part of FrescaZona’s planning stage. This will ensure the efficacy of future systems change approaches. As a result of this project’s research and eventual nutritional intervention implementation, the group hopes to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes with a sustainable, replicable model for low-income community nutritional health improvement.

Foresight Foundation for Economic Equity ($20,000) Foresight will utilize grant funding to support staffing and consultants who will assist in the creation of a Black, Brown, & Women Developer consortium. This will create a collaboration to transform the Arizona economic ecosystem through developing a consortium that serves at least 20 small businesses to increase average revenue size of $4M, equating to $80M and an average of 5 new jobs per incremental $1 million, equating to 400 new jobs.

Healing Mountain Coalition ($25,000) the project will support capacity building for Healing Mountain Coalition, a developing community group fiscally sponsored by the Highland Support Project, serving the White Mountain Apache people, and led by White Mountain Apache community members. The project will provide funds for organizational development as a nonprofit entity while creating a model site on the reservation that educates the community on the intrinsic links between healing of the land and of the people. The project will support pilot workshops, curriculum development, land development that promote health through Apache cultural perspectives. Three primary project leaders will implement the project as the coalition grows and develops over the one-year period.

Maricopa Community Colleges ($25,000) The Maricopa County Community College District has met regularly with the Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation, the Arizona Bar Foundation, the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the Center for the Future of Arizona, the Arizona Town Hall organization, and iCivics. Together, over the past year with partners, they have made progress to produce civic education modules for a workplace setting. They envision these modules being shared with a variety of community groups, faith communities, and human resources officers to help adults develop the skills of citizenship, what the business community refers to as “soft skills.” Once the modules are professionally produced, they intend to reach out to a wide variety of community groups to host workshops, including retirement groups, faith communities, businesses, K-12 school districts, and community organizations. All the partner organizations have already committed to host community workshops as well.

Tucson Audubon Society ($25,000) this project aims to address environmental and climate justice needs and concerns in the Santa Cruz River region of Tucson, with a focus on promoting health and well-being outcomes through systems change at the city level. By partnering with local organizations and community leaders, the group envisions making a substantial, impactful contribution to creating a sustainable and equitable future for all residents. The project seeks to engage local communities and foster collaboration between Tucson Audubon, neighborhood organizations, grassroots initiatives, and city officials to establish a unified voice for conservation and environmental justice.

Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition ($25,000) Together with Northern Arizona Healthcare, Spectrum Healthcare, Polara Health, Manzanita Outreach, Community Health Services of Yavapai, and Yavapai Community Libraries; the Verde Valley Rural Health Network was formed to launch a comprehensive virtual care support network, develop and operate a referral network of health and social services, and engage a care coordination team support by a group of volunteer retired nurses for in-home SDOH and well-being assessment. A grant of $25,000 will support the Network’s first year of in-home virtual care assistance with Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH). NAH facilities in Verde Valley will begin referring post-surgical, primary care, specialty care, and cardiac care patients to Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition for in-home virtual care assistance. NAH Clinic Managers will determine eligibility by nature of a patient’s disability, chronic health condition, or technology challenges. Upon receipt of the NAH referral, the Coalition’s Program Coordinator will dispatch a trained volunteer to the patient’s home to facilitate the virtual care appointment and assist with technology coaching. The Coalition has recruited eight retired nurses as care coordinators for this program. Volunteer and patient assessments will be completed at the end of each visit.

YWCA Metro Phoenix ($25,000) YWCA Metro Phoenix is examining post-COVID19 mental health for impacted populations through a lens of race and gender equity and health liberation. Through this lens of race and gender, coupled with a structured race equity theory of change process to examine service access barriers and race/gender discrimination against seniors and LGBTQ+ youth aged 18-24. The focused geographic areas including northwest Maricopa County cities and towns.

Medical Assistance Program Grants

Following is a listing of Medical Assistance Program grants approved for three-year awards by Vitalyst’s Board of Trustees in 2023. Requests for proposal for Hearing, Vision and Heart/Lung will reopen in January 2026.

Hearing

Area Agency on Aging Region One
A.T. Still University – Arizona School of Health Sciences
EAR Foundation of Arizona
The Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Heart/Lung

Maricopa Community Colleges HUG Clinic
University of Arizona – Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

Substance Use Disorder

Phoenix Rescue Mission

Vision

Area Agency on Aging Region One
Arizona Lions Vision & Hearing Foundation
Eye Care 4 Kids
Foundation for Blind Children
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
The Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics