Our History

ACF was established as a statewide institution by a consortium of local banks: Valley National Bank of Arizona, First National Bank of Arizona, Arizona Bank, Great Western Bank and Trust Company, and Guaranty Bank. Articles of Incorporation were filed in August 1978, registering the foundation with the State of Arizona with $300,000 in assets from founders Evo and Ora DeConcini, Newton and Betty Rosenzweig, and Bert Getz.

Stephen D. Mittenthal, formerly with the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, joined ACF as its first president and executive director. He was most interested in growing the foundation’s unrestricted endowment. ACF moved aggressively to increase its asset base. In 1983, ACF had an endowment of $2.7 million, and distributed 20 grants totaling more than $100,000.

ACF received one of the first, highly-coveted Ford Foundation five-year, $500,000 challenge grants designed to build the capacity of community foundations. Within 15 months, ACF raised the $1 million match thanks to more than 50 contributions from corporations, foundations, and individual donors.

Participating in the Mott Foundation's Neighborhood Small Grants Program gave ACF its first opportunity to provide grants to grassroots Hispanic- and Black-led organizations.

A grant helped bring Kids Voting, a pilot program simulating an election, to 35,000 classrooms across the state.

ACF was the first foundation in Arizona to contribute to the development of Kartchner Caverns. The grant helped formulate a plan to develop this environmental wonder and to educate the public about the need to preserve it in its natural state.

ACF was the first major Arizona philanthropic organization to address AIDS. The Maricopa County Community AIDS Partnership was recognized nationally for its unique consolidation of public and private funds dedicated to coordinate community-based treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS.

Encouraged by a $100,000 matching grant from the Ford Foundation, ACF began to address cultural diversity issues among its own staff and board, along with initiating a special effort to reach minority donors and minority-serving nonprofits. ACF trustee and donor Jean Fairfax pioneered the establishment of a broad social justice fund which included $50,000 of discretionary capital funded by ACF and a multi-year demographic study to capture a portrait of Arizona's changing ethnic and racial communities that was distributed to more than 1,500 community leaders across the state.

As a result of the emotional impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks, ACF reexamined its entire discretionary grantmaking program to ensure its relevance to community needs and priorities. To help make informed decisions, a series of dialogues with nonprofit organizations—organized in partnership with Libraries for the Future, the Arizona Humanities Council and Arizona State Libraries—was convened throughout the state to determine how best to respond to current funding demands. 

This year marked ACF's 25th anniversary.

ACF completed year three of a four-year, $865,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to provide mental health services to unemployed and under-employed residents of Yavapai County.

We also joined the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership, which brought together nine national and international funders to support the work of 21 community foundations on both sides of the border.

ACF elected its first female board chair, Marilyn Harris.

ACF partnered to launch the first Individual Development Accounts for children enrolled with the nonprofit AZ Quest for Kids. A combined total of $100,000 was used to create matched savings accounts to help children save for tuition, books and school supplies while they attend any state university or community college.

In partnership with Helios Education Foundation, ACF launched the Accio Education Fund to provide two $450,000 grants for statewide, systemic education reform.

ACF invested in multiple collaborative efforts to improve Arizona’s foster care system. These efforts included expanding The Arizona Republic’s capacity to conduct in-depth reporting on Arizona’s child welfare system and supporting research by ASU’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. 

The New Arizona Prize: Water Innovation Challenge offered $250,000 to a collaborative team in Arizona that developed the most innovative solution to advance the sustainability of its water future. After receiving 23 submissions, the judges awarded the prize to the Southwest Water Campus for its Pure Water Brew Challenge.

ACF and local philanthropy partners launched the Arizona COVID-19 Community Response Fund to support nonprofits on the front lines helping those most vulnerable to the economic and health-related impacts of the pandemic.

ACF also partnered with eight local governments to distribute grants to small businesses and nonprofits hit hard by the pandemic.

In response to nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, ACF’s leadership team made a pledge to join with donors in eliminating inequality and racism and invest in nonprofit organizations who can bring our communities, our public institutions, and our fellow citizens together to heal. ACF seeded the Black Philanthropy Initiative’s Social Justice Fund with a $25,000 gift.