Flagstaff, AZ (October 21, 2022) – Through the charitable partnership with the Flagstaff Blues and Brews Festival this past June, the FUSD Foundation raised nearly $22,000 over the course of the two-day festival. During the event, they also raffled off an electric guitar signed by all the bands on each day. So two guitars, two raffles, and a lot of additional money raised for the Flagstaff Unified School District.
The funds raised from the festival will be awarded to teachers to help enhance music education for students, under a newly established fund called the Debbi Grogan Memorial Fund. Debbi Grogan, a longtime Flagstaff resident, was a music visionary and launched the Flagstaff Blues & Brews Festival in 2013 along with her partner and daughter, Jennifer Grogan. The fund was named in her honor as sadly she lost her battle with cancer several years ago. However, Jennifer has carried on her mother’s love of the blues and her investment in the festival. The foundation is proud to be a part of the festival and to launch this new memorial fund.
In addition to this new fund focused on music, the foundation also offers a micro-grant program that was implemented for the first time in Fall 2021. It delivered nearly $8,000 in micro-grant monies to 17 different projects and programs. To date, the foundation has distributed over $11,000 to music fund applicants and has a healthy pipeline of new submissions to review and hopefully fund. Board members are always seeking new ways to supplement their grant program. Securing additional funding from outside sources can help increase the amount of money raised for FUSD educators and students.
Mandy Metzger, FUSD Foundation President, shared “Our teachers provide leadership, inspiration and opportunity for students across Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD), and often during tough times as seen the past several years. We’re excited to present this new music fund and continue the micro-grant program for a second year. The micro-grant geared to assist teachers with funding for small, creative ideas which build unique learning opportunities for their students. There are far more deserving teachers than funds available. So it’s our hope the community will join the FUSD Foundation’s challenge to support small ideas which can open large doors for our youth.”
The board is now working on creating meaningful partnerships with local businesses and organizations who have aligned interests with initiatives that might be funded from either the music memorial fund or the micro-grant program. Through these partnerships, the foundation will be able to enhance the projects in terms of longevity of certain programs and how many student lives that can be positively changed.
If you’re a local business owner who would be interested in learning more about the types of projects and programs that are often funded through the foundation’s grant program, contact [email protected].
If you have any questions about the FUSD Foundation overall, including the new Debbi Grogan Memorial Fund or the micro-grant program, or would like to schedule an interview, contact Heather Pierce at 602-421-1899 or [email protected].
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Established in 2005, the Flagstaff Unified School District Foundation enhances the educational experience of FUSD students with the help and support of alumni and community resources. The Foundation is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Leadership is provided by a volunteer board of directors made-up of dedicated community members. Since 2015, the Foundation has overseen the Teacher Innovation Fund which supports excellence in teaching through grants awarded for innovative, original projects that motivate students, improve the learning process, and are not provided for in school budgets.
