Sedona and the Verde Valley Worthy Projects List for 2022

Each year, ACF of Sedona receives many more grant applications than we have available funding for. As a service to the community and our donors, our grant panel composes a list of projects that were deemed worthy of additional funding. Below is the list of the 2022 Worthy Projects that need additional funding. For your convenience they have organized by field of interest: Animal Welfare, Arts & Culture, Community, Environment, Healthcare, and Social Welfare and Justice and Youth.

Animal Welfare

Adult Community Center of Sedona

Funds will support animal health and wellness for the pets of the Meals on Wheels clients.

Project need: $4,920

Humane Society of Sedona

Funds will help support Verde Valley families who are unable to pay for the total cost of lifesaving or quality of life veterinary care for their companion animal. Preference will be given to seniors who are clients of Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition. Families in need of financial support will be identified by local veterinarians.

Project need: $5,000

Humane Society of Sedona

Funds will expand access to the Humane Society’s services of animal adoption, surrender, licensing, and re-homing with the implementation of ReciteMe accessibility software on the HSS website. A complementary inclusivity and organizational leadership course for eight members of the leadership team at HSS will provide added support to these new customers.

Project need: $6,500

Runnin’ W Wildlife Center, Inc.

Funds will be used to upgrade the existing solar system by purchasing additional battery storage, enabling operation of essential equipment during a power outage. Funds will also help purchase a water storage tank for potable water.

Project need: $10,000

Verde Valley Humane Society, Inc.

Funds will increase life-saving measures taken in the event of fire or other catastrophic evacuation through the installation of emergency egress exits. Security keypads will protect animals and staff from unwanted, potentially dangerous intruders. The overall community impact includes successfully safeguarding the animals and staff.

Project need: $5,770

Arts & Culture

Phillip England Center for the Performing Arts Foundation

Funds will broaden and deepen exposure to arts/culture for students of the Camp Verde United School District and others through increased emphasis on serving all demographic groups within the region. This includes presenting relevant performances/events, equipment upgrades needed for the performing arts center, and musical instruments for students.

Project need: $4,000

Red Earth Theatre

Funds will support the production of ‘Quilters', the nationally acclaimed musical about pioneer women. Through the imagery and metaphor of quilting with live music and projection under the church roof at Old Town Center for the Arts in the Verde Valley, a troupe of seven women and three musicians take you on a journey into courage, community, and love.

Project need: $6,000

Red Rocks Music Festival

Funds will help produce six concerts for Sedona residents and youth outreach activities with complimentary tickets, in September and December 2022.

Project need: $4,800

Verde Valley Archaeology Center

The Verde Valley Archaeology Center recently purchased an 11,000-square-foot building for an expanded museum and collection center. The new space will feature a, "Children's Adventure Room," that includes several archaeology-related activities. Funds will help purchase furniture for the children's area.

Project need: $5,000

Community

Sedona International Film Festival and Workshop

Funds will support “Erase the Stigma”, a series focused on mental wellness, with two public screenings of the documentary “Robin’s Wish” and five live performances of “Every Brilliant Thing.”

Project need: $8,300

Verde Search and Rescue

Funds will be utilized to procure a drone with night vision capability, which will be used in search and rescue operations to minimize response and subject location time. VSAR responded to 84 callouts in 2021 and more than 100 in 2020, with 1 out of 3 occurring at night, when conditions mandate quick and efficient response times.

Project need: $2,500

Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition

Funding will support the organization’s trail ambassadors, who patrol 4,000,000+ multiuse non-motorized trail users. The 67 ambassadors collect trail use information for the Forest Service and provide information and first aid to visitors encountered along the trail.

Project need: $3,596

Education

Arizona Science Center

Funds will help provide exciting Science on Wheels STEM education programs to underserved children in Sedona and Verde Valley communities.

Project need: $267

Camp Verde Adult Reading Program

Funds will support GED preparation. When students earn their GED, their earning power substantially improves. Without a GED, the likelihood of unemployment and considerably lower wages is almost assured. Due to substantial deficits in earnings, economic consequences follow for the community with less spending and higher costs for public assistance.

Project need: $7,007

Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District

Funds will support two projects: the Community School College Experiences and security improvements at Dr. Daniel Bright School. The first project will engage and inspire middle school students to connect their interests to a college or career path.  Students will have the opportunity to make educational decisions for high school class selection to prepare for the workforce. Students will participate in a series of mini classes taught by Yavapai instructors. The second project will enhance the safety and security of the school by better securing classroom entry points. Thirty classrooms will be retrofitted with intruder locks, which allow teachers to lock the door from both sides, while still allowing students the ability to escape the classroom during emergencies.

Project need: $13,112

Happy Futures, Inc.

Funds could impact approximately 25 students with enriched classroom environments and extended learning opportunities. Education funding in Arizona ranks one of the lowest in the nation and these funds provide extra opportunities not funded in the regular school budget.

Project need: $5,000

Northern Arizona University Foundation, Inc.

Funds will support FAFSA Support Services, aiming to assist and inform high school students on how to apply for Financial Aid so they can move forward in their post-secondary journey towards a certificate, degree and ultimately a better quality of life.

Project need: $10,000

Science Vortex of Verde Valley

Funds will provide an outdoor learning environment for over 1,000 children every year to learn about gardening, sustainability, art, and science.

Project need: $1,445

Verde Valley Imagination Library

The Verde Valley Imagination Library funds, promotes, and manages Dolly Parton's book gifting program for children birth to five living in the Verde Valley area of Arizona. The mission is to foster a love of reading in preschool children by ensuring that every Verde Valley child has books in their home, regardless of family income.

Project need: $5,000

Environment

AZ Milkweeds for Monarchs

Funds will support interns and the monarch butterfly conservation garden as part of the VOC Community Garden Project with support of The Rotary Club at Big Park Community School. Funds will support the Monarch Butterfly Conservation Internships and part-time landscapers that will install infrastructure (e.g., additional irrigation lines).

Project need: $6,000

Friends of Camp Verde Library, Inc.

Funds will help retrofit the existing gutter system that is installed on the library structure and for the purchase of a 10,000 gallon water cistern, which will collect rainwater that will then be used to irrigate the plants in the Pollinator and Learning Garden.

Project need: $2,904

Friends of the Verde River

Funding will help create opportunities for people to get closer to nature and contribute to science while experiencing the Verde River. Volunteers and students will record information to be used for implementing projects to improve the river ecosystem. These opportunities will strengthen our community of river stewards while informing important decisions.

Project need: $5,000

Gardens For Humanity

Learning Gardens are outdoor classrooms where children explore soil, seeds, plants, water, climate, and critters. They provide hands-on activities that stimulate curiosity, increase interest in learning environmental sciences, and develop skills of sustainability, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, healthy nutrition, and self-esteem. Funding will support the STEAM classes and clubs.

Project need: $2,500

The Hummingbird Society

The Hummingbird Society teaches how to cultivate and attract migrating hummingbirds, preserve, and protect the species at risk of extinction, and to support the community in which we live. Funds will support education and outreach programs.

Project need: $10,000

Oak Creek Watershed Council

Funds will help recruit, train, and equip Oak Creek Stewards who remove waste from the watershed and help keep Oak Creek clean and safe for all to enjoy.

Project need: $10,000

Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund

Funds will complete the final phase of the rehabilitation of the Cathedral Rock Trail in order to protect the watershed health of nearby Oak Creek and the terrestrial environment, all while also providing an enduring, quality experience for its users.

Project need: $5,000

Town of Camp Verde Community Library

Funds will support the Pollinator & Learning Garden, an interactive garden space that demonstrates - through hands-on, interactive learning labs - water conservation techniques, the value of pollinators to the health of the garden, and planning, planting, caring, and harvesting techniques for successful and sustainable greenspaces in the Verde Valley.

Project need: $10,000

Verde River Institute

Funds will support the Verde River Rangers, who promote boating safety and teach river recreators about the Verde River’s value, threats, and interventions. They also provide minor first aid to those in need and on-site rescue services to people in need, helping recreators to feel safe while they learn river kayaking and boating.

Project need: $5,500

Verde Valley Trail Fund

Funds will be used to expedite soil and plant restoration and complete Season 2 construction of the Copper Chief Trail, a 10-mile recreational multi-use, non-motorized trail project on the Prescott National Forest near Cottonwood and Clarkdale, Arizona.

Project need: $2,496

Healthcare

Arizona Crisis Team

Funds will be used for client personal care kits which include personal care items, oral care, and grooming essentials for men, women, and children. These kits are given to victims of trauma by volunteers – especially after a fire. There is also a need for the volunteer program’s field supplies and training.

Project need: $5,000

Arizona SonShine

To serve those who, for whatever reason, are unable to access medical, dental, and vision services through traditional channels. No questions are asked, no means test required. The goal is to serve the needs which are before the organization with as little red tape as possible, and thereby, improving their health outcomes, and ultimately their lives.

Project need: $7,200

Ayuda Smiles, Inc.

Funds will help clear the existing waitlist of more than 100 Arizona Veterans in need of critical dental care, including 28 veterans specifically in Yavapai County. Ayuda Smile, Inc. accepts and services the 2-3 new applications received weekly and continue to expand the program statewide.

Project need: $15,000

Cancer Support Community Arizona

Funds will benefit Sedona and Verde Valley residents impacted by cancer by enhancing quality of life and well-being. This will be accomplished through free counseling, healthy lifestyles classes, community building, peer mentorship, support groups, and no-cost wigs for participants who have experienced hair loss due to cancer treatments.

Project need: $4,000

Griffith Blue Heart Nonprofit

Funds will help purchase and donate life-saving medical devices known as automated external defibrillators and advanced law enforcement resuscitation training to the Sedona Police Department. The funds will ensure time-sensitive medical emergencies.

Project need: $5,935

Prescott Free Clinic

Funds will help pay for breast cancer treatment fees for low-income and uninsured/underinsured women diagnosed with breast cancer. Additional expenses may include supportive services, like transportation to treatment, nutrition education, and diagnostic services.

Project need: $1,000

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona

Funds will support the Keeping Families Together Program, which keeps families together and close to the hospitals caring for their children. The program offers these vulnerable families a good night’s sleep, nourishing food to keep up their strength, and crucial emotional support.

Project need: $3,507

Steps to Recovery Homes

Funds will support a new Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) designed to address substance use and other co-occurring disorders. This is done by streamlining intake processes and providing considerate, personalized health and support services to diverse adults ages 18-65 in communities who are struggling with drug, alcohol, and/or mental health recovery.

Project need: $12,506

Social Welfare and Justice

Arizona Crisis Team

ACT is an organization of trained volunteer advocates that provides 24-hour, on-scene crisis intervention services. ACT volunteers provide support to individuals who have been faced with trauma. They are called by police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and hospital personnel. Funds will support the Volunteer Crisis Support program.

Project need: $2,000

Hope House of Sedona

Funds will support the building a concrete driveway, thus allowing Hope House to meet ADA requirements for access to the house. This will insure that individuals with mobility limitations may be served by the transitional/bridge housing opportunity provided.

Project need: $5,300

Hope Women’s Center

Funds will go toward renovating the center by reconfiguring walls and current space for additional rooms to be used for client programs, classes, mentoring, etc.

Project need: $10,000

Low Income Student Aid, Inc. (LISA)

Funds will support the "Basic Needs" project, which will fund any qualifying low-income student aid requests including clothing, toiletries, school supplies, literacy materials, pay to play athletic fees, after-school care fees, preschool tuition, educational intervention programs, educational trip fees, food, and internet service for remote learning.

Project need: $2,000

Manzanita Outreach

Funds will support expenses relating to operation of Manzanita Outreach Packs for Teachers out of its pilot phase and into 23 school and expansion of Manzanita Outreach Packs for Kids to include home deliveries across the Verde Valley. Funding will serve over 5,500 local youth.

Project need: $2,000

Old Town Mission

Funds will support the Homeless Resource Center, which offers simple things like a warm shower, homemade meals, clean clothing, and survival items for our homeless clients. It will also support a haircut & The Kid's SHOP, fully stocked with resources for kids. These resources are available for anyone struggling and FREE of cost.

Project need: $10,137

Rainbow Acres

Funds will support hiring a full-time Director of Vocational Programs who will work with "Ranchers" to develop Life/Employment Skills that will empower them to maximize their success in obtaining gainful employment by assisting local businesses in developing: on-the-job training, mentoring internships, and job placement.

Project need: $5,000

Sedona Area Homeless Alliance

Funds will support Project CODE BLUE, an emergency evening shelter, which is active during the cold season on the nights when temperatures drop to freezing. Motel rooms are rented for our most vulnerable in Yavapai County.

Project need: $5,000

Sedona Area Veteran & Community Outreach

Funds will support the Veteran Assistance Fund, which provides a one-time gift of up to $500 to veterans or widows of veterans who reside in Sedona, Village of Oak Creek, or the Sedona Fire District in need of short-term financial assistance owing to unexpected or extraordinary circumstances.

Project need: $2,500

Sedona Community Food Bank

With record inflation and multiple rising costs, our community is facing historic levels of financial hardship. Funds will support a project that ensures that, rather than having to cut services due to short-term budget constraints, SCFB can continue to operate all its programs at the same level of service that it currently provides for local families in need

Project need: $5,437

Special Olympics Arizona

Funds will support the participation of Verde Valley area athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Special Olympics inclusive sports practices and competition throughout 2023.

Project need: $6,000

Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition

Funds will enable Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition (VVCC) to expand Technology Coaching to a Virtual Care Access program, to improve the health of high-risk, isolated, and mobility challenged seniors. To provide in-home telehealth appointments, VVCC will use grant funds to increase staff, provide internet access, and technology coaching.

Project need: $7,500

Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition

Funds will support the Guardian Angel Program, which provides free personal emergency alert units to at-risk adults and seniors. The Guardian Angel medical alert device improves health outcomes and saves lives through immediate outreach to 911 responders in the event of an emergency or fall, allowing seniors to feel safer and less isolated in their homes.

Project need: $7,268

Verde Valley Habitat for Humanity

Funds will support VVHH in performing critical home repairs throughout the Verde Valley and Sedona. They are the only nonprofit that regularly and consistently performs repairs such as roofs, water damage, and the building of ADA compliant wheelchair ramps for our seniors, veterans and low income families in the Verde Valley.

Project need: $8,500

Verde Valley Homeless Coalition

Funds will support flooring improvements to the overnight shelter to make the shelter safe, easier to clean, and aesthetically pleasing. Funds will also be used to provide breakfast and dinner to those utilizing the overnight shelter. Beginning Oct. 6, 2021, VVHC has been open overnight, seven days a week. During the month of January 2022, VVHC averaged 17 overnight unsheltered.

Project need: $5,500

Verde Valley Sanctuary

Funds will help clear a safe path, and reduces barriers, to freedom and healing for up to 140 sexual and domestic violence survivors by helping alleviate emergency financial burdens and barriers to safety.

Project need: $7,600

Youth

Arizona’s Children Association

Funds will provide emergency assistance to current and former foster youth in the process of transitioning to adulthood. Funds will be used to address the immediate needs of those experiencing hardship and help them avoid an impending crisis that could leave them unstable, without critical resources, displaced, or homeless.

Project need: $2,500

Arizona Town Hall

Funding will support the Verde Valley Future Leaders program, which will teach Verde Valley youth essential leadership skills that will be valuable throughout their life. It will also provide an opportunity for their perspectives to be heard and incorporated into statewide discussions on equity and related topics.

Project need: $5,000

Civitan Foundation, Inc.

Funds will provide financial assistance (camperships) and special needs transportation services to Sedona and Verde Valley residents who live with special needs and have demonstrated significant financial need so that they may attend historic Camp Civitan.

Project need: $2,500

Girls on the Run of Northern Arizona

Funds will help provide scholarships, running gear, and access to youth programming to girls in Camp Verde and Cottonwood who require financial assistance to participate in programs.

Project need: $1,500

Girl Scouts – Arizona Cactus-Pine Council

Funds will support the local Girl Scout program serving 250 girls and 105 adults in Yavapai County. Local staff will work to build capacity and collaborate with other community organizations. This will provide impactful experiences for girls to help them build courage, confidence, and character as they work to make the world a better place.

Project need: $5,000

Law Enforcement Heroes

Funds will support the Verde Valley Shop with a Cop program, which takes children who are less fortunate, experienced a tragic or traumatic event, or who simply would benefit from the program, shopping with a police officer during the holiday season.

Project need: $5,700

Verde Valley Wheel Fun (FUN)

Funds will help implement the Riding for Focus program in the physical education rotation at CCS, MVP, and OCS middle schools during 2022. R4F is a middle school-based PE program established at over 230 schools across the USA and Canada.

Project need: $11,000 

Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters

Funding will support Verde Valley YBBBS mentor (volunteer) training and development reducing the number of disengaged youth and providing a direct, positive impact to 200 individuals in the Verde Valley/Sedona communities. It will also support a new program for workforce development and college or trade-career readiness. This will help extend the organization’s reach to 18- to 25-year-olds, with the support of a caring, stable adult relationship necessary to guide these youth in developing critical life skills and setting goals for post-secondary success and self-sufficiency in adulthood.

Project need: $20,000