Key points
- Seven nonprofits will split $100,000 for fiscal year 2026-27.
- Eight organizations applied, requesting $165,300 combined.
- Superstition Community Food Bank received the largest award at $70,500.
- $45,000 of the food bank award is restricted to the Student Backpack Food Program.
- Kiwanis Club and Black and Gold Youth Football League applied for the first time.
- Commission Chair Dr. Michael Brennan stepped down after this cycle.
- The City Council took no formal action at the April 20 work session.
APACHE JUNCTION, AZ — Apache Junction nonprofit funding for fiscal year 2026-27 will split $100,000 among seven organizations, with one applicant receiving nothing. The Apache Junction City Council reviewed the Health and Human Services Commission’s recommendations during an April 20 work session. Nonprofits applied for a combined $165,300 against the $100,000 budget.
How the recommendations were reached
City Clerk Evie McKinney told the council the commission received eight applications. Applicants interviewed with the commission on March 9. On March 30, the commission approved the funding amounts now before the council.
Commission Chair Dr. Michael Brennan presented the recommendations in what he said was his final meeting after choosing not to seek another year on the commission. He told the council the commission initially received only two applications before six more arrived, which he said resulted in many proposals that were “really pretty vaguely defined.” Commissioners worked through five funding options before settling on their final numbers.
Evaluation criteria and accountability
Brennan said every organization was told that funds must be used for Apache Junction residents whenever possible. He urged the council to ask grantees for data showing the effectiveness of their programs. “I don’t think it’s unfair to ask that these organizations present you with data that says, ‘This is the efficacy of what it is that you were providing us to do, and this is what the end result was,'” he said.
Councilmember Bryan Soller said the city needs better information on how the money is spent. “If we’re going to give money out, I want to know what it’s going for, what it’s being used for, and what the outcomes are,” he said.
In response, McKinney told the council that every nonprofit is required to submit quarterly reports, and the clerk’s office monitors compliance administratively. According to McKinney, the city has rejected funding for agencies that did not stick to the specifics they promised.
Funding at a glance
| Organization | Requested | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Superstition Community Food Bank | $75,000 | $70,500 |
| A New Leaf (CAAFA) | $20,000 | $8,000 |
| Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley | $30,000 | $3,000 |
| Azura VITA | $15,800 | $2,000 |
| NAZCARE Inc. | $9,000 | $0 |
| AJCDC | $7,500 | $7,500 |
| BGYFL | $6,000 | $7,000 |
| Kiwanis Club of Apache Junction | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Total | $165,300 | $100,000 |
A New Leaf — Apache Junction nonprofit funding recipient
A New Leaf operates the Community Alliance Against Family Abuse (CAAFA) shelter and outreach program for domestic and sexual violence survivors. The agency requested $20,000 and, according to the application, would accept $13,500 as partial funding. Commissioners recommended $8,000. According to the application, A New Leaf expects to serve 450 people in FY27, including 50 Apache Junction residents — roughly 11% of its caseload. Brennan said the agency could not provide recidivism data for survivors, which factored into the reduced award. In FY25, CAAFA served 466 individuals, 72 of them Apache Junction residents.
AJCDC
The Apache Junction Community Development Corporation is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) that remediates code violations by hauling away vegetation, trash and debris for elderly, disabled, veteran and low-income residents. It requested $7,500 and received the full amount. Brennan described a surprise during the presentation:
I had a revelation relative to what they can do. They remediate code violations as well as hazardous environments within the community by removing those hazardous materials, maybe vermin, what have you. However, I didn’t know that if they came into the residence and found that there was a problem, they were not allowed to deal with that problem. So if there was a gas leak, if there was a problem with the structure having faulty floors that were less than stable, et cetera, that was not permissible.
Azura VITA
Azura VITA offers free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance for families earning under a $69,000 threshold for a family of four. The agency is based in Mesa and operates 11 sites across Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert, per the application. Commissioners recommended $2,000. Brennan told the council he did not believe Azura has an actual facility in Apache Junction, and said the application did not clearly provide the requested percentage of clients located within Apache Junction. He also raised concerns about the seasonal nature of tax preparation compared with the city’s year-round funding cycle, and noted the agency receives grants from the IRS and Wells Fargo.
Black and Gold Youth Football League
BGYFL is a youth tackle football and cheer club in its 30th year, serving children ages 6-13 and feeding into Apache Junction High School. The organization requested $6,000 for 20 scholarships and received $7,000. Councilmember Bambi Johnson said she has personally helped families who could not otherwise afford participation fees. Brennan said the program has merit but noted its roughly four-month season is a seasonal commitment against an annual funding allocation.
Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley
The Boys and Girls Club requested $30,000 and received $3,000. According to the application, the Superstition Mountain Branch will serve 250 youth ages 5-18 in FY26-27, with 60% living in Apache Junction. Brennan told the council that only four members graduated high school this year. He also said he did not understand the club’s academic metric, which aims for at least 40% of regular attendees to improve reading scores by four percentage points and math scores by three percentage points annually. Brennan said he typically looks for a functional benchmark such as a sixth-grade reading level, and could not tell from the club’s metric whether members were reaching that standard. Councilmember Darryl Cross said the club’s recent gala has raised roughly $196,000 to date, with more donations still arriving, and said the commission’s recommendation was “spot on” given those other resources.
Kiwanis Club of Apache Junction
The Kiwanis Club serves special-education students and children from families with identified needs through partnerships with Salvation Army, StandUp AJ and the Boys and Girls Club. The club requested $2,000 and received the full amount. Brennan said the applicant described activities including a rodeo outing for nine children, an unspecified number of backpacks distributed with school supplies, and books on predator awareness. He said he could not obtain a total count of children reached across all activities, or data showing whether any of the activities produced measurable benefits.
NAZCARE Inc.
NAZCARE Inc. operates the Rising Star Wellness Center in Apache Junction, offering peer support, wellness planning, employment readiness and SMART Recovery services. The agency requested $9,000. Commissioners recommended zero funding. Brennan told the council the initial application sought funding for building renovations, which the Health and Human Services funding program does not cover. Councilmember Heck agreed, saying “we don’t fund bricks and mortar like that.”
Superstition Community Food Bank
The Superstition Community Food Bank served 45,790 individuals in 2025, including 26,890 Apache Junction residents. It requested $75,000 and received $70,500. As part of its March 30 recommendation, the commission required that $45,000 of the award go solely to the Student Backpack Food Program. The program partners with the Apache Junction Unified School District to send bags of weekend food home with students who rely on free school meals. The remaining $25,500 is not subject to that restriction. Brennan tied the award to local and national economic strain, saying job losses are affecting more residents and that the problem “will only become greater.” He said the food bank also receives support from other sources, including tribal partners.
How this year differs from previous cycles
According to the commission’s comparison table, two applicants are new to the process this cycle: the Kiwanis Club and Black and Gold Youth Football League. Previously funded organizations such as Horizon Health & Wellness, Genesis Project, Otherside Ministries, Salvation Army, Over-Flo Missions and Begin Again Homes did not apply this year. The food bank’s recommended award grew from $70,000 in FY 2025-26 to $70,500 in FY 2026-27, and the backpack-program earmark more than doubled — from $20,000 last cycle to $45,000 this cycle, per prior Pinal Post coverage. Boys and Girls Club funding decreased from $9,000 to $3,000. AJCDC funding increased from $7,000 to $7,500. NAZCARE received $3,375 in FY 2024-25, did not apply in FY 2025-26 and is recommended for no funding this cycle.
Funding takes effect in fiscal 2026-27
Funded programs begin July 1, 2026, the start of the city’s fiscal year. The recommendations require a formal City Council vote before taking effect. The council took no action at the April 20 work session.
