Local First Arizona Foundation

Local First Arizona Foundation is on a mission to build equitable systems for arizonas Local businesses and communities that create a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable Arizona economy. Our small business programs are designed to incubate, accelerate, and celebrate entrepreneurship, with a focus on developing entrepreneurship in low-income or under-resourced communities. We support aspiring entrepreneurs and established, independently owned, Local businesses alike. For businesses in search of opportunities to strengthen and grow their operations, we provided one-on-one consulting to 2,900 small and under-resourced businesses in 2022. Our fuerza Local business accelerator and executive leadership programs graduated 105 spanish-preferred owners from the greater phoenix area, sedona, and cottonwood, Arizona and we graduated 25 black business owners with educational tools and mentorship provided through our we rise program.

In 2022, the Local First Arizona Arizona economic recovery center enabled 569 arizona-based nonprofits, rural municipalities, and tribal nations to access 26 million in grants for critical Local and regional projects such as essential infrastructure broadband solar projects, healthcare remote clinics, food access, treatment facilities, education, arts and culture, and emergency preparedness. These grants will transform Arizona communities that are most in need.

In 2022, more than 70 food business startups were incubated in our community kitchens across mesa and south phoenix and 85 additional food businesses began operations from participating in our restaurant start-up boot camp. Due to the demand for these services, two more kitchen incubators are planned to open in 2023. In addition, Local First provided weekly childrens cooking classes to more than 50 low-income students of color who learned about nutrition as well as cooking skills. Each participant has the opportunity to take home 5 meals for the week many of these same students join us on the weekends in our community garden to learn gardening and harvesting skills, all of which reduces food insecurity in our community.