Fiesta Bowl Makes $1 Million Charitable Contribution
August 4, 2011
CONTACT: Andy Bagnato 480-350-0909
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – At the recommendation of the Bowl Championship Series group, the Fiesta Bowl today awarded a total of $1 million to 34 Arizona youth-related charities.
The BCS made its recommendations after receiving evaluations from the Fiesta Bowl’s Community Relations and Charitable Giving Committee, which reviewed applications from more than 700 charities seeking over $15 million.
The contribution was a part of a series of sanctions imposed by the BCS group in the spring that were designed to create stronger oversight and better management of the Fiesta Bowl.
Gifts were restricted to 501 (c) (3) organizations that serve Arizona youth. Applications were divided into six categories: Capital Projects, Youth Programs, Medical/Health Services, Educational, Sports/Fitness and Arts/Culture.
“We are pleased that the Fiesta Bowl is providing this assistance to the young people of the state of Arizona,” BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said. “This is another step in the bowl’s journey toward re-establishing trust and meeting the high expectations of the people in the Phoenix area and college football fans nationally.”
Awards ranged from $5,000 for Flight 33, a youth-support organization in Guadalupe, Ariz., to $170,000 for the Arizona Alliance of Girls & Boys Clubs, which serves more than 100,000 youth statewide.
Attached is a list of the charities selected for grants and the amounts they received. Charities that did not receive grants were notified by mail.
The Fiesta Bowl is committed to providing more support to charities across Arizona. Fiesta Bowl Charities has two funding cycles per fiscal year, with deadlines for each. For information, go to www.fiestabowl.org.
About the Bowl Championship Series
The BCS is a five-game arrangement for post-season college football that is managed by the 11 Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame. Its purpose is to match the two top-ranked teams in a national championship game and to create competitive match-ups in the four other BCS bowl games. For more information, visit http://www.bcsfootball.org.
About the Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is a non-profit organization founded by Arizona community leaders in 1971. Through the creation of the Festival of College Football, including more than 40 statewide events, the annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, the organization continues to promote volunteerism, athletic achievement and higher education. Its mission is to remain a source of pride for all Arizonans by contributing strongly to the state’s economic development, tourism and community causes. For more information about the Fiesta Bowl, please visit www.fiestabowl.org.
Download a printable PDF of this press release.
Award Winners
Agua Fria Food and Clothing Bank
Angel Charity for Children, Inc.
Arizona Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs
Arizona Blind & Deaf Children’s Foundation
A.T. Still University – Concussion Program
Back to School Clothing Drive
Central Arizona Shelter Services, Inc.
Challenger Space Center
Chances for Children Arizona
Childsplay, Inc.
Crisis Nursery
Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona
Flight 33, Inc.
Florence Crittenton
Foundation for Blind Children
Free Arts for Abused Children
Gabriel’s Angels
Greater Phoenix Youth at Risk, Inc.
Homeward Bound
Kitchen on the Street
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona
Make Way For Books – Tucson/Southern AZ
Miracle League of Arizona
notMYkid
Scottsdale Railroad & Mechanical Society
Special Olympics
Starlight Childrens Foundation
The Salvation Army (Phoenix)
The First Tee of Phoenix
UMOM New Day Centers, Inc.
Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center
Valley of the Sun YMCA
Valley Youth Theatre
YMCA of Southern Arizona