Maricopa nonprofits explain spending of city funds

When the City of Maricopa created its Nonprofit Funding Program two years ago, it reserved the right to cut that funding.

That depends on the budget cycle and the accountability of the nonprofits. So, each year, the nonprofits benefiting from the program must explain their handling of the public funding.

That review process brought three nonprofit leaders before the council during Tuesday’s work session to explain their respective programs’ progress.

“It gives us the opportunity after so many months to come back and hear from some of these groups whom we’ve awarded these to, to hear how they are spending the money,” Mayor Christian Price said.

Cynthia Vargo, regional director of the Alzheimer’s Association, said the organization had reached 220 local individuals through its helpline, outreach and visits. They have also worked to increase awareness of the disease and opportunities for help, she said.

The association received $7,500 from the city in 2014.

Maricopa is in the Desert Southwest Chapter, where the association wants to be able to reach more caretakers and “enhance the care they are able to provide to those with dementia,” Vargo said.

They have achieved 60-70 percent of their goals.

“More important than the numbers are the outcomes,” Vargo said. Of those, she cited 96 percent of participants reporting they had increased knowledge and skills, and a decreased sense of isolation.

Cortney Kellenaers, president of the Barcelona AZ Maricopa Soccer Club, said the group trained 13 coaches for their level 4 and 5 diplomas. Eight were not affiliated with Barcelona.

Councilmember Henry Wade pressed Kellenaers to describe how money from the city, which was $15,000, directly benefited students.

“In my opinion as an educator, the more you invest in the educator the more the youth receives. So the better trained your coaches are the better training your kids are going to get,” said Kellenaers, a teacher and coach at Maricopa High School.

Kellenaers narrowed it down to about 40 percent of the funds going directly to the students.

Wade, a new member of council, is still sorting out what his expectations of participants in the program should be.

“His answer told me how he used the funds and that he felt it was a legitimate use of the award. I still question how much went directly to the kids,” Wade said afterward.

Not a team, the academy teaches soccer skills. Kellenaers said outside of the coach training, money from the city was spent on the wages of the professional coaching staff. That freed up the group to use other incoming funds for referees, field maintenance and scholarships.

Maricopa Alliance Against Substance Abuse received $25,000 from the city’s Nonprofit Funding Program.

MAASA Program Director Priscilla Behnke said their mentoring program had been focusing on fatherless students because that was a trend they saw in their participants. Nearly 50 percent of the Maricopa Elementary School where the youth center is located did not have a father in the home, and there were resulting behavioral issues.

Behnke has documented changes in behavior among those in the program. She said 62 percent had no or fewer behavior infractions in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. The number was 59 percent when compared to the previous year.

MAASA also has created group sessions, which they hope to increase in the future, she said. The organization is also trying to recruit more volunteers.