Advancing health equity is key to Vitalyst’s work and our Arizona’s leaders, organizations and coalitions must be strong at all levels. Vitalyst supports strategic partners, so they have the resources necessary to perform daily work and advance a path to equity by ensuring partners have the infrastructure in place to achieve their goals and serve Arizona’s communities.

This year, the Vitalyst team shifted its grants slightly by revamping our Discovery Process so partners could more easily access Vitalyst resources. While our Systems Change Grants remained on a grant cycle, we opened our Spark Grants to a year-round cycle, knowing that for some organizations working to find a solution to an imperfect system, time was essential. We also leveraged our staff’s expertise in certain areas to ensure partnership opportunities were more impactful.

Through our grant work, Vitalyst approved four Systems Change Grants, 12 Spark Grants, 1 BUILD Health Challenge Grant as part of a national funding collaborative, 13 Medical Assistance Grants, 6 General Operating Grants and 5 Advocacy and Public Policy Grants. We provided technical assistance grants to 34 organizations, averaging $9,300, connecting organizations to strategic consultants and coaches.

Technical Assistance

What we used to call our capacity building grants, we now refer to as technical assistance. Nonprofits are busy working on complex issues, from housing to education equity. Sometimes, they need to build their strengths in areas to ensure sustainability.  Vitalyst provides support by connecting nonprofits with trusted consultants who can help staff and leadership increase knowledge, skills and plan for the future. This can include fundraising support, strategic planning, and/or leadership development among other things. This year, Vitalyst supported 34 Arizona nonprofits with technical assistance.

TAP Team of Consultants 

The technical assistance process mentioned above starts with the Vitalyst Discovery Process, which allows the Vitalyst team to connect organizations with the best-suited consultant for each organization’s needs. We call this team the TAP Team of Consultants. The TAP team has now grown to a diverse and talented pool of 172 consultants available to assist nonprofits and coalitions throughout the state.

Systems Change Grants

Systems Change grants are designed to support collaborative work that transforms systems and improves the health of our communities. Each grant is worth $175,000 over three years and is part of the Foundation’s ongoing mission to improve health and well-being for vulnerable populations across Arizona. This year’s Systems Change Grant recipients are Activate Food Arizona, Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth, the Northern Arizona University Foundation and the Pima County Attorney’s Office. These grants will be augmented with support from The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and the NARBHA Institute.

Spark Grants

Total funding of $325,000 for Spark Grants was approved during fiscal year 22 – 23. In addition to supporting collaborations to begin systemic change, Spark Grant funding was also expanded to invest in place-based collaboratives working to improve the health of people and communities, especially in rural Arizona.

Academy of Building Industries

Arizona Faith Network

Bridges Reentry, Inc.

City of Phoenix Office of Sustainability

Creek Valley Health Clinic

Creighton Community Foundation

Foresight Foundation for Economic

Healing Mountain Coalition

Maricopa Community Colleges

Tucson Audubon Society

Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition

YWCA Metro

Medical Assistance Grants

Maintaining St. Luke’s Hospital System tradition of charity care, restricted funds for Medical Assistance Grants were transferred to Vitalyst with the sale of the hospital system. These grants are awarded every three years, in three-year cycles.

Hearing

• Area Agency on Aging Region One
• T. Still University – Arizona School of Health Sciences
• EAR Foundation of Arizona
• The Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Heart/Lung

• Maricopa Community Colleges HUG Clinic
• University of Arizona – Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

Substance Use Disorder

• Phoenix Rescue Mission

Vision

• Area Agency on Aging Region One
• Arizona Lions Vision & Hearing Foundation
• Eye Care 4 Kids
• Foundation for Blind Children
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul
• The Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Advocacy and Public Policy Grants

Vitalyst offers technical assistance to nonprofits focused on any of the Elements of a Healthy Community, and financial assistance may be offered to those working to advance issues included in Vitalyst’s Public Policy Agenda. These grants can range from sharing of information to conducting research to grassroots or direct lobbying. Regardless of the tactics, public policy must be responsive to community needs, and community-based nonprofits play an invaluable role in ensuring these needs are reflected in meaningful public policy.

This year’s grant partners were William E. Morris Institute for Justice; the Arizona Housing Coalition; Living Streets Alliance; Just Communities Arizona; and Children’s Action Alliance.