Arizona · Nonprofit
FIRST PLACE AZ
FIRST PLACE AZ (Arizona) receives grants from 63 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,513,770 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($4,368,380). 38 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $9.7M
- Funders on record
- 63
- Grants received
- $13M
- Net assets
- $13M
What First Place Az does
Mission
Set the standard for supportive residential communities where adults with autism and/or developmental disabilities can build the skills and confidence to live with pride, purpose and greater independence.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2025 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
During 2025, fpaz completed an unwinding of its new market tax credit financing program resulting in a net gain of approximately $4,877,000. Because the financing program was for the construction of real property owned by first place phoenix, catalina (fppc), the fpaz board of directors forgave an intercompany loan from fppc in an amount approximating the gain thereby resulting in a grant to fppc.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
The transition academy offers a two-year residential career-readiness and life skills program that includes learn4independence, a comprehensive 32-course curriculum that first place also licenses throughout north america. Classes are taught by clinical partner and sister nonprofit southwest autism research & resource center (sarrc), co-founded by First Place Az founder & president/ceo denise d. Resnik.
$563,978 spentof which $42,700 as grants$517,744 earned by the program6% of program spendingApartments: the apartments comprise 67 studio, one-, two- and four-bedroom units, and include supportive services/programming for residents with autism and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities. Staff are trained to help residents with independent living skills through employment readiness, community life, health and wellness, and household management.
$2,360,981 spent$1,809,437 earned by the program24% of program spendingGlobal leadership institute: the gli is composed of five centers- maricopa county ida center for education, training and employment; make waves center for community development; colonel harland sanders center for applied research; mulzet center for expression; and the daniel jordan fiddle foundation center for public policy. The gli serves as a multidisciplinary hub for researchers, educators, support staff and medical professionals, as well as a robust site for research and development advancements in public policy. The gli is the catalyst for spearheading the development of models and programs informing capacity-building strategies and supportive policies for broader reach and lasting local, national and international impact. We identify inequities within our community to create neurological and cognitive curb cuts that empower and embrace inclusion of individuals with autism, intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and offer peace of mind to families. In 2025, gli embarked on a new workplace and workforce development program through First Place Az.
$2,068,576 spent$184,532 earned by the program21% of program spendingDuring 2025, fpaz completed an unwinding of its new market tax credit financing program resulting in a net gain of approximately $4,877,000. Because the financing program was for the construction of real property owned by first place phoenix, catalina (fppc), the fpaz board of directors forgave an intercompany loan from fppc in an amount approximating the gain thereby resulting in a grant to fppc.
$4,834,788 spentof which $4,834,788 as grants49% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $9,828,323.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2017 to 2018, from $11M to $17M (+48%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2018 3% · 2020 8% · 2021 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
72% of FIRST PLACE AZ’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (39% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Denise D Resnik
Founder, president & CEO
Board chair
Howard Sobelman
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 17 funders to 26 funders, grant income fell $1.6M → $1.5M.
15 of 63 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 47% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $3.3M from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest First Place - Phoenix Catalina). These are real filings, and they are not money FIRST PLACE AZ raised.
From the IRS filings of FIRST PLACE AZ’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 63 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
FIRST PLACE AZ has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 35% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
56% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund FIRST PLACE AZ.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 49% · 2018 58% · 2019 54% · 2020 48% · 2021 52% · 2022 48% · 2023 43% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
39% of FIRST PLACE AZ's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
72% of FIRST PLACE AZ's grant income comes from Arizona funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
FIRST PLACE AZ has grown faster than half of the 2,367 housing & shelter nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,367 housing & shelter nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like FIRST PLACE AZ
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Arizona
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
93%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 3 related entities
- Twain Investment Fund 165 LLC · disregarded
- First Place-Phoenix Catalina · exempt
- First Place-Phoenix Transitional Homes · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FIRST PLACE AZ: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds FIRST PLACE AZ?
- FIRST PLACE AZ (Arizona) receives grants from 63 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,513,770 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($4,368,380). 38 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FIRST PLACE AZ have?
- IRS filings report 63 organizations giving $12,513,770 in grants to FIRST PLACE AZ, 38 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FIRST PLACE AZ?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $4,368,380 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FIRST PLACE AZ find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Arizona. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 63 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing