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Arizona · Public charity

Valley of the Sun United Way

Improves lives by mobilizing community, corporate and nonprofit partners to reach bold goals for maricopa county in the areas of health, housing and homelessness, education and workforce development.

$62M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
98
Grants FY2025
123
Organizations funded FY2024
8%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$71,324
Largest grant, FY2025
$45,070,430
Organizations funded a year
86 to 130
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
5
Total assets, FY2025
$100M

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 8% of the organizations Valley of the Sun United Way funded were first-time grantees, receiving 1% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $535k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationHealthYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving94$62M9%
FY2024123$105M8%
FY2023116$90M35%
FY2022109$67M2%
FY2021130$78M36%
FY202091$71M19%
FY201986$75M14%
FY201895$76M14%
99% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$400MHuman Services$95MCrime & Legal$58MYouth Development$38MHousing & Shelter$15MHealth$14MCommunity Improvement$11MPublic Benefit$7.0MOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
MA
OR
IA
CA
UT
CO
VA
MD
AZ

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Candelen Inc$33,573,437963%
Southwest Human Development Incorporated$23,786,82888%
Easterseals Blake Foundation$12,163,57786%
Child & Family Resources Inc$12,118,495714%
Candelen$6,572,7459n/a
Adelante Healthcareinc$5,688,48362%
Phoenix Community ToolBank Inc$5,488,27467%
Easter Seals Blake Foundation$4,443,6147n/a
Central Arizona Shelter Services Inc$3,543,342913%
Umom New Day Centers Inc$3,523,78276%
Show all 236 grantees
All grantees of Valley of the Sun United Way by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Candelen Inc$33,573,437963%
Southwest Human Development Incorporated$23,786,82888%
Easterseals Blake Foundation$12,163,57786%
Child & Family Resources Inc$12,118,495714%
Candelen$6,572,7459n/a
Adelante Healthcareinc$5,688,48362%
Phoenix Community ToolBank Inc$5,488,27467%
Easter Seals Blake Foundation$4,443,6147n/a
Central Arizona Shelter Services Inc$3,543,342913%
Umom New Day Centers Inc$3,523,78276%
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley Inc$2,995,91093%
Azcend$2,959,39798%
A New Leaf$2,569,08832%
Human Services Campus Inc$2,500,998729%
Friendly House Inc$2,486,58998%
Hope Ignites Phoenix$2,420,88253%
The Salvation Army$2,317,6959n/a
Arizona Housing Inc$2,189,713910%
Chicanos Por la Causa Inc Cplc$2,159,61190%
Native American Connections Inc$2,129,44383%
Make Way For Books$2,030,362330%
Child Crisis Arizona$2,010,01592%
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona$1,911,878913%
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta Inc$1,880,12033%
Tempe Community Action Agency Inc$1,813,59799%
Homeward Bound$1,765,602912%
HOM Inc$1,748,6552n/a
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale Inc$1,709,83386%
Diocesan Council for the Society of St Vincent de Paul Diocese Phoenix$1,525,97481%
Valley of the Sun Young Men's Christian Association$1,515,80371%
City of Tempe$1,465,2213n/a
Jobs for Arizona's Graduates$1,404,424929%
Solari Inc$1,308,81061%
New Pathways For Youth$1,274,54596%
Neighborhood Ministries Inc$1,149,16485%
United Food Bank$1,149,01471%
Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona$1,129,90997%
Save the Family Foundation of Arizona$1,034,51074%
Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center$978,39291%
Foundation for Blind Children$881,48163%
Arouet Foundation$871,522652%
Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies Inc$871,21787%
Lodestar Day Resource Center Inc$870,586223%
Girl Scouts - Arizona Cactus-Pine Council Inc$826,11371%
Read Better Be Better$814,840926%
Be a Leader Foundation$785,10878%
Phoenix Day$782,963236%
St Joseph the Worker$769,284910%
Desert Mission Inc$752,51493%
Catholic Charities Community Services Inc$715,19551%
Empact-Suicide Prevention Center$713,09290%
Arizona Kids Think Too$711,798882%
Ican Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods$707,79595%
Upward for Children and Families$703,41468%
Dysart Community Center$690,994932%
Community Information & Referral$670,109322%
YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix$638,89995%
Homeless Youth Connection Inc$637,32867%
Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation$634,75931%
Wesley Community Center Inc$624,34472%
Alhambra School District #68$595,8614n/a
Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest$542,65741%
Isaac Elementary School District #5$529,9353n/a
Arizona Learning Institute$515,933597%
Grand Canyon Council Inc Boy Scouts of America$477,50833%
Labor's Community Service Agency$476,8573n/a
School Rise$459,2104n/a
Phoenix Indian Center Inc$450,38263%
Aster Aging Inc (Fka East Valley Adult Resources Inc)$435,91993%
World Hunger Ecumenical Arizona Task Force Inc$426,36985%
Maggie's Place Inc$418,27853%
Resilientme Inc$406,6153n/a
Waste Not Inc$405,07171%
East Valley Jewish Community Center$392,52048%
Junior Achievement of Arizona$392,38454%
Aid to Adoption of Special Kids Aask Arizona$366,11331%
Advance Community$354,43927%
Florence Crittenton Services of Arizona Inc$346,31262%
Fresh Start Women's Foundation$342,66132%
Tolleson Elementary School District #17$342,5171n/a
Mercy House Living Centers$341,20050%
Zion Institute$338,540414%
Helping Hands for Single Moms$337,27557%
Union Elementary School District$329,9774n/a
Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University$329,74260%
Center for the Future of Arizona$310,01391%
Stand for Children Leadership Center Inc$301,74770%
Arizona's Children Association$291,93950%
Avondale Elementary School District No 44$290,5575n/a
The Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired$281,65426%
City of Phoenix$277,7512n/a
Unlimited Potential Inc$267,215622%
Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence Inc$263,475715%
New Life Center$254,81534%
Creighton Community Foundation$252,31054%
Encircle Families$250,65034%
Elevate Phoenix$250,15955%
Jewish Family and Children's Service Inc$239,95330%
Notmykid$239,36653%
Live and Learn Program$238,20856%
Helping Families in Need$230,215510%
Save The Family Foundation of Arizona$229,3263n/a
St Mary's Food Bank Alliance$228,14410%
Sounds Academy$227,680611%
Arizona Latino Leaders in Education$220,63545%
Future for Kids$218,241415%
Arizona Career Pathways$217,733586%
Tempe Community Council Inc$213,004319%
Justa Center Inc$209,915312%
Duet Partners in Health & Aging Inc$206,78738%
Wesley Community Center$205,1453n/a
Intuitive Directions LLC$204,3173n/a
Community Bridges Inc$191,68020%
Jumpstart for Young Children Inc$185,00040%
Osborn School District #8$184,6375n/a
Childrens Action Alliance Inc$177,61663%
Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation$176,90032%
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale Foundation$175,54418%
College Bound$172,546535%
Banner Health Foundation$170,60920%
Educare Arizona$168,419248%
University of Arizona$159,8864n/a
Cartwright School District$158,2855n/a
Littleton Elementary School District$157,8202n/a
Phoenix Public Library Foundation$153,559514%
Hushabye Nursery$152,71931%
Chandler Education Foundation Inc$152,609213%
Televerde Foundation$148,00032%
Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development$146,26413%
Arizona Near Space Research$145,0002n/a
International Rescue Committee INC$139,49330%
Phoenix Gospel Mission$133,18121%
Accel$132,60020%
Year Up Inc$129,0001n/a
Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona$125,26041%
Equality Health Foundation$125,000114%
School Connect Inc$124,990313%
Year Up Inc$124,20010%
Trellis$123,78023%
Sojourner Center$120,77121%
Unite for Literacy$119,3505n/a
United Cerebral Palsy Association$118,82511%
Greater Phoenix Urban League Inc$114,35222%
Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation$111,30010%
Arizona Technology Council Foundation$110,25033%
TCI Solutions$107,2911n/a
Phoenix Legal Action Network$104,825317%
Stemmler & Associates LLC DBA FrameShift Group$102,8381n/a
Foster Arizona$95,00029%
Father Matters Inc$86,535424%
Local First Arizona Foundation$85,06932%
Future Stars Inc$85,035249%
Community Legal Services$84,00011%
Arizona Women's Recovery Center$83,99122%
Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Inc$82,87111%
Cancer Support Community Arizona$80,49724%
Arizona Advocates for Ex-Offenders$78,9403n/a
American Heart Association Inc$76,46910%
Laptops 4 Learning$75,000240%
Phoenix Shanti Group Inc$73,98942%
Educare Arizona$72,9683n/a
Elaine$72,10039%
Arizona Strut$70,50024%
Hushabye Nursery$69,1514n/a
Expect More Arizona$62,77343%
Law College Association of the University of Arizona$60,00012%
West Valley Health Equity$56,18833%
Peoria Unified School District$56,0001n/a
Camp Catanese Foundation$52,50031%
Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Inc$52,05221%
MentorKids USA$51,80032%
Laveen Elementary School District #59$50,0002n/a
Wilson Elementary School District #7$50,0002n/a
Tempe Elementary School District$46,0004n/a
Per Scholas Inc$41,25020%
Teach for America Inc$39,51510%
Neighbors Who Care Inc$38,98628%
Homeless Id Project Inc$37,56432%
TigerMountain Foundation Inc$37,43014%
Housing Authority of Maricopa County$35,9001n/a
Gervonni Cares Inc$35,000110%
DCG Enterprises LLC$30,6001n/a
National Summer Learning Association Inc$30,00021%
Partnership for Economic Innovation Inc$26,7773n/a
Vitalyst Health Foundation$25,00010%
Child Crisis Center$25,0001n/a
Liberty Elementary School District #25$20,0002n/a
1n10 Inc$20,00011%
St Vincent de Paul St Anthony's Conference of Cg$19,284111%
Valley of the Sun Association for the Education of Young Children$19,0002n/a
Family of God Ministry$19,0002n/a
The Arc of Tempe$19,000220%
Stepping Up for Seniors$19,000234%
Gateway to Freedom$19,0002n/a
Ser-Kallai Inc$19,000225%
Advocacy 31nine$18,85421%
Per Scholas$18,7501n/a
Autism Life and Living Inc$17,50027%
Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation$17,500215%
Our Sister Our Brother$17,50024%
Harmony Project Phoenix$17,10023%
Backpacks 4 Kids Az Inc$17,0002n/a
AdvancePath Academics Inc$16,9891n/a
Southwest Lending Closet Inc$16,60126%
Arizona Science Center$16,39510%
St Agnes Roman Catholic Parish Phoenix$16,0001n/a
Phoenix Cancer Support Network$15,50023%
Firewheel STEM Institute$15,50022%
Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children$15,50022%
Rising Youth Theatre$15,50022%
Experience Matters Consortium Inc$15,0001n/a
Orchard Community Learning Service$14,40615%
Pascua Yaqui Tribe$13,8682n/a
Sage Foundation for Health$13,50027%
Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson Inc$13,00010%
Lights Camera Discover$12,96822%
The Phoenix Philanthropy Group$11,3751n/a
Haitian American Center for Social Economic Dev AZ$10,0001n/a
Arizona State University$10,0001n/a
Disability Rights Arizona$10,00010%
Village 360$9,0001n/a
Project Roots Inc$9,00014%
Education Forward Arizona$8,52510%
Poder in Action$8,0001n/a
Balsz Elementary School District #31$7,9871n/a
Graduation Alliance Inc$7,7001n/a
YMCA of Southern Arizona$7,56910%
Northbridge College Success Program$7,5001n/a
Skyes the Limit Foundation Inc$7,50012%
Youth Impact Mentoring$7,50017%
Arizona Center for Youth Resources$6,00010%
Sun City Home Owners Association$5,9331n/a
Arizona Ecumenical Council$5,50010%
Fuerte Art Collective$5,50011%
Hunger Free America Inc$5,43510%
Child and Family Policy Center$5,10010%

Plus 16 recipients with no EIN on record ($497M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Valley of the Sun United Way supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 16 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 180 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCandelen Inc: $33,573,437 over 9y, 63% of budgetSouthwest Human Development Incorporated: $23,786,828 over 8y, 7.7% of budgetEasterseals Blake Foundation: $12,163,577 over 8y, 5.8% of budgetChild & Family Resources Inc: $12,118,495 over 7y, 14% of budgetAdelante Healthcareinc: $5,688,483 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetPhoenix Community ToolBank Inc: $5,488,274 over 6y, 6.8% of budgetCentral Arizona Shelter Services Inc: $3,543,342 over 9y, 13% of budgetUmom New Day Centers Inc: $3,523,782 over 7y, 6.3% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of the Valley Inc: $2,995,910 over 9y, 3.3% of budgetAzcend: $2,959,397 over 9y, 7.7% of budgetA New Leaf: $2,569,088 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetHuman Services Campus Inc: $2,500,998 over 7y, 29% of budgetFriendly House Inc: $2,486,589 over 9y, 7.5% of budgetHope Ignites Phoenix: $2,420,882 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetArizona Housing Inc: $2,189,713 over 9y, 10.0% of budgetChicanos Por la Causa Inc Cplc: $2,159,611 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetNative American Connections Inc: $2,129,443 over 8y, 3.2% of budgetMake Way For Books: $2,030,362 over 3y, 30% of budgetChild Crisis Arizona: $2,010,015 over 9y, 1.6% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona: $1,911,878 over 9y, 13% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta Inc: $1,880,120 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetTempe Community Action Agency Inc: $1,813,597 over 9y, 8.5% of budgetHomeward Bound: $1,765,602 over 9y, 12% of budgetBoys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale Inc: $1,709,833 over 8y, 6.2% of budgetDiocesan Council for the Society of St Vincent de Paul Diocese Phoenix: $1,525,974 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetValley of the Sun Young Men's Christian Association: $1,515,803 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetJobs for Arizona's Graduates: $1,404,424 over 9y, 29% of budgetSolari Inc: $1,308,810 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetNew Pathways For Youth: $1,274,545 over 9y, 5.9% of budgetNeighborhood Ministries Inc: $1,149,164 over 8y, 4.9% of budgetUnited Food Bank: $1,149,014 over 7y, 0.6% of budgetFree Arts for Abused Children of Arizona: $1,129,909 over 9y, 7.1% of budgetSave the Family Foundation of Arizona: $1,034,510 over 7y, 3.8% of budgetSouthwest Autism Research and Resource Center: $978,392 over 9y, 1.1% of budgetFoundation for Blind Children: $881,481 over 6y, 2.6% of budgetArouet Foundation: $871,522 over 6y, 52% of budgetStardust Non-Profit Building Supplies Inc: $871,217 over 8y, 6.5% of budgetLodestar Day Resource Center Inc: $870,586 over 2y, 23% of budgetGirl Scouts - Arizona Cactus-Pine Council Inc: $826,113 over 7y, 1.4% of budgetRead Better Be Better: $814,840 over 9y, 26% of budgetBe a Leader Foundation: $785,108 over 7y, 8.1% of budgetPhoenix Day: $782,963 over 2y, 36% of budgetSt Joseph the Worker: $769,284 over 9y, 10.0% of budgetDesert Mission Inc: $752,514 over 9y, 2.6% of budgetCatholic Charities Community Services Inc: $715,195 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetEmpact-Suicide Prevention Center: $713,092 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetArizona Kids Think Too: $711,798 over 8y, 82% of budgetIcan Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods: $707,795 over 9y, 4.9% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 180.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Thunderbirds CharitiesAZ154.9× affinity79 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Thunderbirds Charities · Arizona Community Foundation · Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust · Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust · Phoenix Suns Charities Inc · BHHS Legacy Foundation · The Foundation for Community and Health Advancement · The Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation · Fiesta Events Inc · John F Long Foundation Inc · St Mary's Food Bank Alliance · Burton Family Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Compare Valley of the Sun United Way with peer funders

About Valley of the Sun United Way

How much does Valley of the Sun United Way give?
Valley of the Sun United Way reported 98 grants totaling $62,496,184 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 86 and 130 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Valley of the Sun United Way fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (56%), Human Services (13%), Crime & Legal (8%).
Who are Valley of the Sun United Way's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Candelen Inc ($34M), Southwest Human Development Incorporated ($24M), Easterseals Blake Foundation ($12M).
Does Valley of the Sun United Way fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 8% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Which funders back the same organizations as Valley of the Sun United Way?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Thunderbirds Charities, Arizona Community Foundation, Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust.
Where is Valley of the Sun United Way based?
Valley of the Sun United Way is based in AZ.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 256 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Valley of the Sun United Way’s filings →

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