Desert Financial Credit Union announced $300,000 in donations to Arizona nonprofits through its grant program.

This is the credit union’s largest grant cycle to date, an increase of more than 25% compared to 2022 and more than double the amount awarded just two years ago, according to a press release.

Grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 were given to 26 nonprofits focused on education, child and youth services, housing and human services. The organizations were selected through a formal application and review process.

Organizations receiving grants from Desert Financial in 2023 include:

• A New Leaf – $15,000 for early childhood education for low-income and underserved children in South Phoenix
• Billy’s Place, Inc. – $15,000 for school-based grief support services in Maricopa County
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley – $15,000 for academic success programming in the greater Phoenix area and Yuma
• Candelen – $15,000 for early childhood education in Flagstaff
• Jobs for Arizona’s Graduates – $15,000 for career and college readiness programs in Arizona
• Lowell Observatory – $15,000 for STEAM education programming for fourth- through eighth-grade students on the Navajo, Hopi and Apache nations
• Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center – $15,000 for an early childhood inclusive preschool program designed for children diagnosed with autism in Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale
• Southwest Human Development – $15,000 for early education in the Balsz School District in Phoenix
• The Launch Pad Teen Center – $15,000 for workforce development for 16- to 24-year-olds in Prescott
• Tynkertopia – $15,000 for teaching and mentoring youth from low-income families in the Siler Homes public housing community in Flagstaff
• Laptops 4 Learning – $12,500 for laptops for kindergarten through college students who cannot afford them in the Phoenix area
• Save the Family Foundation of Arizona – $12,500 for children’s services designed to halt the cycle of homelessness in the East Valley
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona – $10,000 for career and college readiness programs for youth ages 11-18 in Prescott and Prescott Valley
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale – $10,000 for workforce development training for teens in Phoenix and Scottsdale
• Catholic Charities Community Services – $10,000 for tutoring support or tuition for unaccompanied refugee minors in central Phoenix
• Diocesan Council for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Diocese – $10,000 for its Dream Center educational program for children ages 4-17 in the Phoenix area
• Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona – $10,000 for resilience-building arts programs for children who have experienced trauma in Maricopa County
• Earn to Learn – $10,000 for a matched savings scholarship program in Maricopa County and rural Arizona
• Native American Connections – $10,000 for children and teens experiencing homelessness in Phoenix
• The Be Kind People Project – $10,000 to provide the Be Kind curriculum to several Title I schools in Arizona
• Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters – $10,000 for expanding youth services and mentorship opportunities in Yavapai County
• Future for Kids – $7,500 for Discover Your Future programming and mentorship for children in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa
• Literacy Volunteers of Coconino County – $7,500 to improve the reading skills of kindergarten and first-grade students who are reading below grade level in Flagstaff
• Live and Learn Economic Empowerment Program for Women – $7,500 for financial literacy training for women experiencing poverty or domestic violence in Maricopa County
• McDowell Sonoran Conservancy – $7,500 for Expedition Days on the Trail field trips for third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms at selected Title I schools in Maricopa County
• Children’s Museum of Phoenix – $5,000 for free and reduced-price museum admission for children with high financial need who visit the museum in Phoenix

Desert Financial has provided more than $1.5 million to Arizona nonprofits through grants in the past decade.

Visit DesertFinancial.com/Community to learn more.