LOCAL FIRST ARIZONA FOUNDATION APPLICATION GRIC 2017.PDF

Created: 02/06/2017 • Last updated: 03/03/2017
General information
Organization Local First Arizona Foundation
Contact First name Jeremiah
Contact Last name Smith
Contact e-mail jeremiah.smith@everyonesagrantwriter.org
Contact phone number 6024055330
Address
Street 407 E. Roosevelt St.
City Phoenix
State Arizona
ZIP Code 85004
From what tribe is the Gila River Indian Community
organization requesting the
grant?
Total grant amount request 40,000
1 / 2

The Gila River Indian Community offers multi-year awards. If your
organization is requesting a multi-year grant for this project or program
from the Gila River Indian Community, enter the amount to be requested
each year.
Amount
Year 1 (Gila River Indian
40,000
Community Grants Only)
Year 2 (Gila River Indian
Community Grants Only)
Year 3 (Gila River Indian
Community Grants Only)
Year 4 (Gila River Indian
Community Grants Only)
Year 5 (Gila River Indian
Community Grants Only)
2 / 2


Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Cover Sheet
Municipality Information
1. Date of Application: 2/28/2017 (NOTE: Click or use up/down arrow keys to move among fields)
2. Name of City, Town or County: Maricopa County
3. Mayor (City or Town) or Board of Supervisor’s Chairman (County): Denny Barney
4. Mailing Address: 300 W Jefferson St, 10th Floor
5. City: Phoenix State: Arizona Zip Code: 85003
6. Acknowledgement of Submission by Authorized Municipality Representative:
Typed Name/Title: Click here to enter text. Signature:
Applicant Information
7. Department/Organization Name: Local First Arizona Foundation
8. Is this a 501c non-profit Organization? No Yes If yes, attach IRS Determination Letter
9. Application Contact Person: Kimber Lanning Title: Executive Director
10. Phone Number: (602) 956-0909
11. Mailing Address: 434 E Roosevelt Rd
12. City: Phoenix State: Arizona Zip Code: 85004
13. Email Address: kimber@localfirstaz.com Website Address: http://localfirstazfoundation.org/
Project Information
14. Project Name: Fuerza Local
15. Purpose of Grant: Provide tools and access to capital to Latino entrepreneurs
16. Priority Funding Area Economic Development
17. Annual amount requested $40000
18. Number of years that funding is requested 1
19. Total amount requested (annual amount x $40000
number of years)
20. Has your organization received past funding No
from GRIC? If yes, list each year and amount
21. Geographic area served Arizona
For Office Use Only:
Data Entry Receipt Evaluation
Outcome  Approval Recommended/Amount $  Denial

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Narrative
Please structure your proposal to provide the following information in the order indicated. Provide the narrative in
paragraph form in the text field provided. Please be thorough but strive for brevity.
1. Briefly describe the organization’s history, mission and goals.
The mission of Local First Arizona Foundation (LFAF), founded in 2009, is to promote, support, and celebrate a vibrant
and sustainable Arizona economy by educating citizens about local business ownership, social equity, cultural diversity,
environmental kinship, and collaboration. Its vision is an Arizona economy that is sustainable, resilient, and celebratory
of its diverse cultures.
2. If the applying organization is non-municipal or a non-profit 501c, please describe your relationship with Arizona
municipalities including past and present support, whether it be through partnerships, collaborations, in-kind
contributions, grants, tax-based funding or other. Describe the supporting municipality’s role in this project. If
the applying organization is a municipality governmental sub-division please enter the text “Not applicable.”
Local First Arizona Foundation is the 501c3 sister organization of Local First Arizona (501c6). Together, the two
organizations fulfill the mission and vision of an inclusive, diverse, robust local economy. Local First works with several
municipalities across the state, especially rural towns.
3. Describe the proposed project and planned goals and activities.
Local First Arizona Foundation created Fuerza Local in 2013, a 6-month accelerator program, which serves Latino
micro-entrepreneurs. Studies conducted by the Federal Reserve, the Small Business Administration, and professors from
BYU, Rutgers, and Utah State all found evidence of discrimination in the small business lending industry. Latino
entrepreneurs, on average, start their companies with less money and have less access to lenders and investors.
Businesses must formally apply for the program and make a written commitment to complete the full coursework and
participate in an e-MoneyPool along with the rest of the 12-person cohort throughout the duration of the 6-month
program. Workshops are two hours each, scheduled once a week, and cover a wealth of business development
curriculum. These new skills, paired with access to traditional capital, within the context of a growing network of other
small business owners, creates sustainability and success. In addition to the workshops, participants must attend one
Fuerza Local meeting each month, so each student has five touch points per month for the duration, plus any
one-on-one meeting scheduled with staff, instructors, or personally assigned mentors for as long as needed.
Three-quarters of the program graduates are still participating on a monthly basis.
Fuerza levels the playing field by providing a structured business curriculum taught by experienced, bilingual
professionals that improves business opportunities to access capital. Fuerza Local is the first entrepreneurial training
program in the country to incorporate money-pool savings to help develop credit history in order to bring this
under-served population into mainstream banking. Graduates can earn access to credit at fair market rates, which
enables them to build businesses that help sustain their families and rebuild their neighborhoods. Local First has also

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
established relationships with two Arizona credit unions; Marisol Federal Credit Union and Desert Schools, which accept
a certificate of completion from Fuerza Local (and its moneypool), showing six months of on-time payments as a
substitute for more traditional credit history. Graduates with a certificate of completion may apply for -- and many have
received- access to a $2500 line of credit at fair market rates and an education about interest rates and pay-day lenders.
LFAF believes entrepreneurship is a pathway out of poverty. The goals of Fuerza Local are to create new businesses, new
jobs, and new revenue for the individuals and communities served. Currently, Fuerza Local only has the capacity to serve
25% of the total number of applicants. With the support and partnership of the Gila River Indian Community, LFAF will
deliver Fuerza Local to more entrepreneurs and businesses each year, providing equitable access to fair market capital
and encouraging fair and healthy lending practices in communities of color. An investment of $48,000 will allow 24 more
entrepreneurs to gain the support, skills, knowledge, and capital needed for a successful small business.
4. Describe how the proposed project satisfies one or more of the priority funding areas identified by the Gila River
Indian Community.
Gila River Indian Community’s priorities include health care, education, economic development, public safety, and
transportation. These priorities are the pillars of a safe, healthy, diverse, and inclusive community – the same mission of
Local First Arizona Foundaiton. The Fuerza Local program, while directly building a stronger economy for Arizona, also
affects the safety, health, and education of the state. Graduates of Fuerza Local create financial stability in their loves,
their family’s lives, and in the community where they work, employ others, and live. Successful small,local businesses
create safer and healthier neighborhoods. Children in safe, healthy neighborhoods perform better in school and attain
higher levels of education.
5. Identify the needs/problems to be addressed, target population and number of people to be served by the
project.
Predatory lenders in Arizona disproportionately target communities of color. Title and flex loans saddle desperate and
unknowing consumers with annual interest rates often in the triple digits. Studies conducted by the Federal Reserve, the
Small Business Administration, and professors from BYU, Rutgers, and Utah State all found evidence of discrimination in
the small business lending industry. Latino entrepreneurs, on average, start their companies with less money and have
less access to lenders and investors. This cycle of debt costs American borrowers $25 billion dollars in fees and rates
each year. According to a recent study from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, American Hispanic entrepreneurs
leave 1.3 trillion dollars on the table in the form of criminally high interest rates, fees, and lost sales as a result of
inefficient or ineffective companies.
6. Define the project as a new or continuing program.
Fuerza Local is a continuing program, created in 2013 and operated without interruption since.
7. Provide a brief timeline including start and finish dates. Indicate if the timeline is flexible.

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Fuerza Local operates two semesters per site per year, serving 12 entrepreneurs in each cohort. The timetable is not
flexible. The program lasts nearly a full six months, in order to complete two cohorts each year, a strict schedule must be
adhered to.
8. Identify other organizations, partners or funders participating in the project and their roles.
Fuerza Local is successful in large part because of the support of its partners. Partners like the cities of Phoenix and Mesa
provide funding and space. Other key programmatic partners, like e-MoneyPool and Marisol and Desert Schools Credit
Unions, provide key infrastructure and opportunities necessary for entrepreneurs to save and access capital.
9. Would you be able to implement the proposed plan if your organization received partial funding for this project?
Yes, the per student cost of Fuerza is $2,000. For every $2,000 invested by the Gila River Indian Community, Local First
Arizona Foundaiton will deliver the Fuerza Local program to one entrepreneur.
10. Describe your plan for project sustainability beyond the grant period. If this is a program/project previously
funded by the Gila River Indian Community describe efforts made towards the previously described
sustainability plan.
Fuerza Local works. People from marginalized communities and neighborhoods are creating successful businesses,
creating jobs, and creating revenue. People are noticing. Fuerza Local recently expanded into Avondale and Mesa and is
confident the Fuerza model can continue to expand through all of Arizona, creating sustainable economies and strong
small businesses in communities of color. Fuerza Local is a viable program with a strong and stable funding base and
bright future on the horizon.
11. Describe your plan to document progress and results.
In the last two years, 44 individuals have graduated from Fuerza Local (with another 24 in the current cohort), creating
42 registered businesses, 59 new jobs, and over $2,000,000 in new revenue.
12. Indicate any application to and/or awards made by a tribe other than the Gila River Indian Community for state
shared revenues for this and any other project for the past five (5) years. If this information is included in a
separate attachment, please indicate that here.
Not Applicable.

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Project Budget
Budget Period: 07/01/2017 – 06/30/2018
For each budget item listed here please provide a narrative description on the following Project Budget Detail page.
Proposed Budget Expense Amount Amount In Kind Total Budget
(list each budget item) requested from requested or contributions
GRIC secured from
other funders
1. Salaries and Benefits $18,000 $54,000 $0 $72,000
2. Rent/Space $0 $0 $20,000 $20,000
3. Supplies $1,200 $4,732 $0 $5,932
4. Equipment $0 $9,704 $0 $9,704
5. Evaluation $0 $11,200 $0 $11,200
6. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
7. Direct Assistance to Individuals $24,000 $72,000 $0 $96,000
8. Marketing/Promotion $0 $5,796 $0 $5,796
9. Professional Fees $4,800 $14,400 $0 $19,200
10. Administration $0 $7,424 $0 $7,424
11. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
12. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
13. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
14. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
15. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
16. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
17. Click here to enter text. $0 $0 $0 $0
Total Budget $48,000 $179,256 $20,000 $247,256

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Project Budget Detail
Please provide a narrative description for each of the project budget items listed on the previous page. Include the
dollar figure and how it was derived.
1. Salaries and Benefits: 1.0 FTE Program Director and associated staff members. This request asks $12,000 expenses of
Program Director and $6,000 expenses of associated staff members.
2. Rent/Space: All space is donated.
3. Supplies: Materials, including workbooks for students.
4. Equipment: Students are given a laptop (including insurance) for one year.
5. Evaluation: Survey and analysis to record and communicate results/impact.
6. Click here to enter text.
7. Direct Assistance to Individuals: Students (12 per semester) are given up to $1,000 matching grant of their savings
from the program.
8. Marketing/Promotion: Printed and digital materials, with a (nonprofit) discounted rate for design, printing, and
publishing.
9. Professional Fees: Stipends for guest presenters/instructors for workshops each semester
10. Administration: Accounting, payroll, grant tracking/reporting, etc.
11. Click here to enter text.
12. Click here to enter text.
13. Click here to enter text.
14. Click here to enter text.
15. Click here to enter text.
16. Click here to enter text.
17. Click here to enter text.

Gila River Indian Community Grant Application
Grant Cycle 2017
Other explanation: Click here to enter text.