In honor of Giving Tuesday, in which communities across the country are encouraged to donate to local nonprofits, the Tempe Diablos awarded $300,000 in grants to 45 Tempe-based organizations on Dec. 1.
The money is a product of a year-long fundraising effort by the group of community leaders and distributed through the Tempe Diablos Charities, the 501(c)3 arm of the program, which handles grant dispensation.
“Although the pandemic has drastically changed the way we raise funds for our beneficiaries, giving is still at the core of what we do, and it was important for us to donate as much as we possibly could to these crucial services,” said Ryan Thompson, Diablos president. “On a day like Giving Tuesday that encourages people to do good, we honor our grant recipients who are in the community every day making sure that people in need get the help they deserve.”
Among programs that received grants:
- Child Crisis Arizona, which provides emergency shelter, foster care, adoption, counseling, early education and parenting support services to Arizona’s most-vulnerable children and families.
- Maggie’s Place, which welcomes pregnant and parenting women and their children into a safe and loving community, providing life-changing programs and ongoing services to help them become self-sufficient.
- Treasures 4 Teachers, which gives anyone who works closely with students access to a wide selection of materials, resources and training that will enhance and expand the learning process.
- Care 7, a Tempe emergency-service program that responds to incidents, including domestic violence, auto accidents, sexual and physical assaults, suicides, homicides, residential fires, drownings and other unexpected deaths.
- Kid Zone Enrichment Program, another city program that addresses the increased number of children needing a safe, enriching place to be in out-of-school time through before and after school programs.
“To know and work closely with these organizations and other grant recipients is truly a privilege,” said Mike DiDomenico, chairman of the Tempe Diablos Charities Board. “These groups are ensuring that programs in our community don’t just survive but thrive in this difficult time. While we wish we could award every single need in our neighborhoods, we are proud to give back to these deserving organizations.”
Every year, the Diablos invite organizations that serve Tempe to apply for grants. Applications for 2021 will open in December. More information can be found at TempeDiablos.org.
The Tempe Diablos are community leaders, business executives and individuals dedicated to enhancing the city and surrounding neighborhoods. For more than 50 years, the Diablos have donated their time, resources, talents and money to provide scholarships and grants to Tempe youth, education and charitable programs. Since the group’s inception in 1968, it has donated approximately $16 million to local nonprofits while providing leadership that creates worthwhile opportunities for the children of Tempe.
