GRANTS COMMITTEE REPORT
Our Grants Committee is comprised of volunteers from the Foundation Board and non-Board residents of Forest Highlands. These individuals contribute many hours of time to review grant requests. The role of the Committee is to ensure that funds awarded support our mission and achieve the maximum impact possible on the Flagstaff community from our members’ generous donations. As the steward of the Foundation’s funds, the Committee has developed substantial expertise about the Flagstaff nonprofits. Regular meetings with nonprofit management, site visits, assessments of requests for support, and evaluations of the operating effectiveness of those nonprofits seeking assistance are all part of our process. Committee members have developed strong relationships with the leadership of many of these nonprofits. This experience helps ensure added value in the application of funds contributed by our members. Operating within budgets set by the Foundation Board, the Committee authorizes grants to nonprofits directly or in collaboration with the Arizona Community Foundation and 13 other funding organizations that engage in a process that ACF chairs. In 2023, the Forest Highlands Foundation contributed $281,163.50 to 29 nonprofits through the ACF process, a new record in dollars. A specific list of the grants awarded is included in the adjacent insert.
An additional $50,000 donation to the Friends of Camp Colton helped them meet their capital campaign goal to renovate and expand the facilities to enable more students to attend. The updated lending room for students unable to afford their own equipment will be named for the Forest Highlands Foundation. In addition, a grant of $50,000 was made to Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona (HSNA) to further assist in the conversion of the former Travelodge into JoJo’s Place. The ribbon cutting for this updated long-term affordable housing for families took place on January 31. It also enables the FHF to advance our vision to eliminate involuntary homelessness in Flagstaff. With the additional grants just mentioned, the FHF contributed a total of nearly $400,000. Since its establishment in 1999 the Foundation has become a reliable, important source of support, distributing almost $7 million to Flagstaff nonprofits, thanks to the generosity of our members. In this our 25th year of operations, we are honored to celebrate the impact of your contributions to improving the quality of life for the less fortunate in the Flagstaff community, now and in the future. Kathy Haake Committee Chair 2023
FOREST HIGHLANDS FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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