A federal funding freeze would deeply impact rural Arizona, where grants have funded jobs and health services that small communities could not otherwise afford.
Kimber Lanning
| opinion contributor
Trump administration memo to freeze federal funding rescinded
The Trump administration has rescinded a memo to freeze federal funding across all agencies, which critics call unconstitutional.
Communities across the country are scrambling to figure out how to respond to the White House’s latest actions aimed at cutting federal grant funding over concerns it is “a waste” that “does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.”
I can tell you from personal experience, such a description bears no resemblance to the federal grants I’ve witnessed at work in Arizona.
It was certainly not a waste to fund the opening of a health clinic in Colorado City, after residents went more than a decade with basic medical care an hour’s drive or more away.
Federal grants have changed lives in Arizona
How about the federal grant that enabled a rancher in Pinal County to refurbish a vacant meat-processing plant, hire young men and women and train them for a stable career? I guarantee their day-to-day lives have improved.
In southern Arizona, generations of aspiring construction workers will drive a backhoe for the first time, while seasoned veterans will maintain certifications, thanks to a construction training center currently being built with a federal grant.
And don’t forget the seniors who no longer have to walk through mud after rainstorms to get to their rural community center in San Manuel. A grant from Washington paved their parking lot.
I’ve had the privilege to be a part of each of these projects. Since 2021, my organization, Local First Arizona, has assisted rural communities and tribes to win more than $100 million in grant funding, much of it from federal sources.
We did it with a simple concept: Provide free professional grant-writing and capacity-building assistance to rural towns, tribes and nonprofits that have historically been shut out of competitive grants due to lack of staff or resources.
Rural areas are often forgotten. They need funds
According to one federal study, charitable foundations have disproportionately favored urban over rural communities by billions of dollars per year, even when accounting for population differences. Government grants often have followed a similar pattern.
With 98% of Arizona considered rural by the Census, we set out to change a funding paradigm that clearly hurt our state’s economy.
Since launching the Arizona Economic Resource Center, we have fielded more than 1,500 requests for assistance, deployed consultants to nearly 1,000 projects and won grants for transformative work in all 15 counties and six tribal nations.
Other states also are recognizing the need to support rural and underserved communities to pursue grants. Since our center debuted, Vermont, Wyoming and North Dakota announced programs with similar goals.
The Arizona Economic Resource Center shows how dramatic a difference this assistance can make. For every $1 we’ve raised to run our operations, Arizona and tribal communities have secured $2,712 in grants.
Healthier communities, more jobs. That’s the impact
But the real-life Arizonans who benefit from these projects are what really matters. They are the people our Congress and White House were elected to serve.
“Our community is healthier, more connected and in a period of transformation,” said Hunter Adams, co-founder of Creek Valley Health Clinic, which now serves more than 3,700 patients a year and has made double-digit improvements in cancer screenings and diabetes control.
“We’ve brought jobs that weren’t there before,” said rancher Scott Heartquist of his slaughterhouse in Dudleyville, where mining jobs had dwindled. “Our long-term goal for this business is to give these employees an opportunity to have a productive career and be of service to our community.”
“I see a whole group of kids out there, and they’ve all got something to contribute,” said Pascua Yaqui Development Corporation CEO Daune Cardenas about her hopes for the cutting-edge construction center. “This will provide good jobs. It’s really affecting our community one person at a time. I can see it making a difference.”
“We never would have been able to keep the senior center open without the grants, and we never would have been able to upgrade it,” said Hazel Cooper, San Manuel Senior Center’s 92-year-old treasurer. “I would not have anywhere to go without the senior center. It’s made an extremely large difference in my life.”
Trump pledged to help rural America
Last summer, then presidential candidate Donald Trump took a question from a voter who had driven hours with her daughter from rural Arizona to the Phoenix rally.
“We live in Northern Arizona. It’s beautiful and quiet and nice, but it’s also in a rural area,” the woman, who gave her name as Emily, said. “My concern is that the nearest equipped trauma hospital is over an hour and a half away. What can your administration do to give rural Americans better access to hospitals?”
“Rural America, look, it’s the backbone. It’s the heart of our country,” Trump replied. “We’re going to be helping rural America.”
We take our president at his word.
Federal grants are an effective and essential tool for rural and tribal communities. Disrupting this critical lifeline would put the wellbeing of our fellow Americans and the health of our economy at risk.
We welcome any decision-maker who is in doubt to visit us in Arizona. Our communities can testify that their daily lives are better because of federal support.
Kimber Lanning is founder and CEO of Local First Arizona. Reach her at [email protected]. On X, formerly, Twitter: @LocalFirstAZ.
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Publish date : 2025-02-11 23:03:00
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