Finalists announced for Common Good Challenge philanthropic competition
The Arizona Community Foundation, The Arizona Republic and Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy announced the finalists for the Common Good Challenge this week.
The philanthropic competition will award $300,000 in total grant funding to three teams that submitted collaborative proposals to solve an issue in the communities that they serve.
“The Common Good Challenge embraces the idea that society is stronger when people with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences work in coalition to explore meaningful responses to complex issues,” according to a statement from the Arizona Community Foundation.
Thirty-eight teams submitted projects and were evaluated by a 32-member panel. The finalists were selected based on considerations that included geographical diversity, organizational capacity and feasibility of proposed solutions.
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The six finalists
Anytown Leadership Program Inc.'s proposal for "Anytown: Developing Leaders for a Better Tomorrow" would serve Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Pima, Yavapai and Yuma counties: "People are openly harassed because of their race, sexual orientation, political or religious beliefs and more. It doesn’t have to be this way. At Anytown, we believe differences make us stronger and that young people are the key to a brighter future," according to a statement by Anytown Leadership Program Inc.
ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation's proposal for "CoGenerational Service Academy at the ASU Lodestar Center" would serve Coconino, Maricopa and Pima counties: This project creates opportunities for older and younger generations to learn from each other, build relationships and collaborate on resolutions for issues in their communities.
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Boys to Men Tucson Inc.'s proposal for the "Healthy Intergenerational Masculinity (HIM) Initiative" would serve Pima County: Boys to Men Tucson Inc. addresses how social issues, including addiction, untreated mental health problems and gender-based violence, relate to how boys are raised.
Creative Flagstaff's proposal for "ARTx: Art + Ideas Experience Arizona" would serve Coconino County: A festival that mixes art, culture and ideas to spark community discourse on critical topics.
Read Better Be Better's proposal for "Read Better Be Better After-School Literacy Instruction" would serve Maricopa County: Aimed at improving literacy in Arizona, the project pairs students in middle school with third grade readers for tutoring. Along with developing literacy, the middle school students will gain leadership skills and college education majors facilitating the program will gain classroom experience.
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Tucson Food Share's proposal for "Tucson Food Share and Food Not Bombs Supporting Tucson Community" would serve Pima County: The volunteer-run project re-distributes donated food within the community.
The finalists will pitch their solutions to judges during a ceremony at Creighton University Health Sciences Campus in Phoenix on May 24. Three projects will be selected to each receive $100,000.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Finalists announced for Common Good Challenge grant competition
