Desert Financial Credit Union announced $300,000 in donations to Arizona nonprofits through its grant program today.

This is the credit union's largest grant cycle to date, an increase of more than 25% compared to 2022 and more than double the amount awarded just two years ago.

"At Desert Financial, we care about the communities where we work and live," said Ron Amstutz, Desert Financial Credit Union executive vice president. "We focus our grants on programs for children and families that will improve their future and, in turn, make Arizona a better place for all of us to live."

Grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 were given to 26 nonprofits focused on education, child and youth services, housing and human services. The organizations were selected through a formal application and review process.

Organizations receiving grants from Desert Financial in 2023 include:

• A New Leaf – $15,000 for early childhood education for low-income and underserved children in South Phoenix

• Billy's Place, Inc. – $15,000 for school-based grief support services in Maricopa County

• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley – $15,000 for academic success programming in the greater Phoenix area and Yuma

• Candelen – $15,000 for early childhood education in Flagstaff

• Jobs for Arizona's Graduates – $15,000 for career and college readiness programs in Arizona

• Lowell Observatory – $15,000 for STEAM education programming for fourth- through eighth-grade students on the Navajo, Hopi and Apache nations

• Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center – $15,000 for an early childhood inclusive preschool program designed for children diagnosed with autism in Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale

• Southwest Human Development – $15,000 for early education in the Balsz School District in Phoenix

• The Launch Pad Teen Center – $15,000 for workforce development for 16- to 24-year-olds in Prescott

• Tynkertopia – $15,000 for teaching and mentoring youth from low-income families in the Siler Homes public housing community in Flagstaff

• Laptops 4 Learning – $12,500 for laptops for kindergarten through college students who cannot afford them in the Phoenix area

• Save the Family Foundation of Arizona – $12,500 for children's services designed to halt the cycle of homelessness in the East Valley

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona – $10,000 for career and college readiness programs for youth ages 11-18 in Prescott and Prescott Valley

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale – $10,000 for workforce development training for teens in Phoenix and Scottsdale

• Catholic Charities Community Services – $10,000 for tutoring support or tuition for unaccompanied refugee minors in central Phoenix

• Diocesan Council for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Diocese – $10,000 for its Dream Center educational program for children ages 4-17 in the Phoenix area

• Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona – $10,000 for resilience-building arts programs for children who have experienced trauma in Maricopa County

• Earn to Learn – $10,000 for a matched savings scholarship program in Maricopa County and rural Arizona

• Native American Connections – $10,000 for children and teens experiencing homelessness in Phoenix

• The Be Kind People Project – $10,000 to provide the Be Kind curriculum to several Title I schools in Arizona

• Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters – $10,000 for expanding youth services and mentorship opportunities in Yavapai County

• Future for Kids – $7,500 for Discover Your Future programming and mentorship for children in Phoenix, Tempeand Mesa

• Literacy Volunteers of Coconino County – $7,500 to improve the reading skills of kindergarten and first-grade students who are reading below grade level in Flagstaff

• Live and Learn Economic Empowerment Program for Women – $7,500 for financial literacy training for women experiencing poverty or domestic violence in Maricopa County

• McDowell Sonoran Conservancy – $7,500 for Expedition Days on the Trail field trips for third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms at selected Title I schools in Maricopa County

• Children's Museum of Phoenix – $5,000 for free and reduced-price museum admission for children with high financial need who visit the museum in Phoenix

Desert Financial has provided more than $1.5 million to Arizona non-profits through grants in the past decade. To learn more about Desert Financial's grants, visit DesertFinancial.com/Community.