2022_GRANT_APPLICATION_LIBERTYWILDLIFE.PDF

SALT RIVER PIMA-MARICOPA 
 INDIAN COMMUNITY 
10005 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale, Arizona  85256 / Phone 480-362-7520 / Fax 480-362-7593 
 
12% Gaming Grant Program Application 
Calendar Year 2022 
 
About the Grant Program Application: 
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community 12% Gaming Grant Program (“Program”) application 
will serve to provide a comprehensive review of the programming requests for Arizona cities, towns, 
counties, non-municipal public service organizations, and non-profit organizations selected to apply for 
grant funding.  It is not the intent of the Program to award grants that would benefit individuals, be used 
as sponsorships, be used for religious activities, primarily fund the indirect or administrative costs of a 
program/organization, or be used for the direct benefit of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian 
Community.   
 
Date of Application: July 2, 2021 
 
Organization Name: Liberty Wildlife 
 
Organization/Municipal Government Mailing Address: 2600 E. Elwood St., Phoenix, Az 85040 
 
Organization History:  
(Provide a brief summary of the origins of the organizations and any notable milestones and/or 
significant audit findings) Founded in 1981 in the backyard of veterinarian Kathy Orr, Liberty Wildlife 
began as a wildlife rehabilitation organization, dedicated to saving local native wildlife--primarily raptors 
and other native bird species. That has grown to more than 150 species, including many mammals, 
reptiles and amphibians. From the earliest days at Liberty Wildlife, we realized that our mission needed 
to be more than rehabilitation. We began offering wildlife education programs throughout our 
community. Other key programs have been added throughout the years, as well. Most notably, was the 
2010 pilot project with US Department of the Interior to create the Liberty Wildlife Non-Eagle Feather 
Repository. After a 10 year campaign, the creation of our 6 ½ acre Rob & Melani Walton campus of 
Liberty Wildlife in 2017, brought the opportunity to bring more visitors onsite, and to reach a broader 
audience.  
 
Organization Structure:  
(Provide a list of current board members and key staff members) 
 
Do any conflicts of interest exist within the organization structure? 
(I.e. family, professional or personal conflicts, SRPMIC representatives on board, etc.)  
No conflicts of interest exist within the board of leadership of Liberty Wildlife, and the board maintains a 
“conflict of interest policy” should any suggest situation arise in the future. 
 
Contact Person and Project Manager if different from Contact Person: Chris Sar 
 
Title: Liberty Wildlife Development Consultant 
Address: 2600 E. Elwood St, Phoenix, AZ 85040

Phone: 480-620-6785 
Fax: 
Email Address: development@libertywildlife.org 
 
Project Name: Liberty Wildlife Environmental Education Program  
 
 
Provide a brief description of the project being submitted to the 12% SRPMIC Grant program.  In the 
description provide a summary of the relevant experience, administrative activity, and program 
development related to the grant request.  
Throughout the year Liberty Wildlife presents in area K-12 schools and for visiting groups on our 
campus, through outreach to public, charter, private schools, and even to groups of home-schooled 
children. While many of these in-person visits have been cut back due to COVID-19 restrictions, Liberty 
Wildlife has still been able to adapt many of the lessons and programs for a virtual visit, and to share 
with schools and educators as a resource via our social media channels and through partners like 
Arizona Sci-Tech Institute. This conversion of materials to new formats does take staff time and 
resources. And many of our expenses, unfortunately, cannot be cut just because of the change in 
format. We must still feed and care for the wildlife educational ambassadors in our care. The facility and 
maintenance costs still continue, as we still continue to offer much of the education programs in-person. 
In short, our need for support of this critical mission programming remains high. As does the quality of 
the programs.  
Specific to this grant Liberty Wildlife’s education program has developed new channels, such as 
FaceBook Live events, YouTube educational programs, and Zoom classroom lessons. Our lead education 
coordinator has built a library of online content, and continues to add to this content for various new 
channels throughout the past year, some of which may be seen through our work with Az SciTech. She is 
also further developing and adapting the curriculum for live programs, and marketing plans to get this 
material into the resource lists for teachers, schools, districts and homeschoolers. 
Liberty Wildlife's environmental education program has been developed to meet the K-12 state core 
curriculum requirements. We believe is a model for introducing STEM topics (such as biodiversity, 
biomimicry and biodesign, wildlife biology, the scientific method, and others) to students and educators 
who might otherwise be less familiar with such subject or reluctant to pursue such topics. With the 
assistance of annual interns from the ASU School of Sustainability and others, our education staff 
develop an interactive curriculum for our target K-12 population. This curriculum leverages the use of 
our non-releasable wildlife ambassadors and teaches the history and role in the environment of the 
wildlife species present in the Liberty Wildlife Interactive Education room, including birds, reptiles, 
amphibians, mammals, and even insects and arachnids.  
The resulting programs are engaging for youth, who may have limited exposure to STEM subjects in a 
practical setting. Liberty Wildlife schedules most school tours and programs for Tuesdays and Thursdays 
throughout the school year; days when our facility is not open for public visiting hours. We have 
maintained a robust calendar of live broadcast and recorded sessions on social media in partnership 
with groups including Arizona SciTech Institute.

In the past couple years Liberty Wildlife is also pleased to offer special weekend programs for the 
community, including monthly guided tours of our facility and periodic hikes of the adjacent City of 
Phoenix parks trails along the Rio Salado. These monthly hikes have been coordinated with the Phoenix 
Parks Department rangers and include families from our immediate neighborhood in south Phoenix, as 
well as visitors from around the state and beyond. The topics presented on each tour vary to include: 
local flora and fauna, migratory bird talks, the role of beavers and other native mammal wildlife in the 
riparian landscape, and more. As social distancing rules have relaxed, Liberty Wildlife has moved to 
again offer more of these regular in-person and on-campus programs for the community. 
 
What percentage of the grant request are Direct Costs of the programming and Indirect Costs, 
respectively? Approximately 13% administration costs are indirect 
 
Define the Project Category and/or relevant sub-category:  
(i.e. Education, Public Safety, Transportation, Economic Development, Health Care, Social Services, or 
Cultural and Environment) Liberty Wildlife’s work is at the intersection of two categories: Education and 
Culture and Environment 
 
Beginning Date of Project: 1/1/2022 
 
 
End Date of Project: 12/31/2022 
 
Geographic Area to be served: Metropolitan Phoenix area, with outreach throughout the state of 
Arizona 
 
** Attach Detailed Budget** 
 
Amount of Total Project: $333,149 
 
 
 
Amount of 12% Request: $100,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(No Multi-Year Request will be accepted)  
 
 
If the amount of funding received is less than the amount needed for the project, do you have other 
funds to complete the project? (Please Explain): Yes. Liberty Wildlife's environmental education 
program is a key part of our mission and is designed to be able to expand with available funding. Liberty 
Wildlife also leverages the support of 300+ active volunteers, stretching every dollar spent by our small 
paid staff. On the expense side, nearly half the wildlife food budget at Liberty Wildlife is used to care for 
the non-releasable animal ambassadors that are essential parts of the education program. These year-
round residents to our campus, are fed and cared for daily by teams of volunteers coordinated by the 
small dedicated paid staff of Liberty Wildlife. We estimate the value of this time and service provided by 
these volunteers at $1.7 million per year. This volunteer support makes it possible to continue offering 
many of our programs, even if full funding is not available.  
If you receive SRPMIC 12 % funding, will it be spent (Check One): 
 
 Monthly  
 
 Quarterly

 Lump Sum 
 
List any SRPMIC 12% funds you have received in the past.  If the organization has received funding 
through the SRPMIC 12% Gaming Grant Program for five consecutive years, they will be required to 
submit a comprehensive report of grant funding toward the stated program objectives and mission of 
the organization.  In addition, you will be asked to provide a formal presentation to the 12% Gaming 
Grant Committee prior to the awarding of any additional funding. None received from SRPMIC.  
 
List any other 12 % grant funds your organization may be seeking from other Tribal Governments in 
2021-2022. Currently no other requests made to Tribal Governments for 2021-22.  
 
List any other funds you have received from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community 
(Enterprises Included) and identify the amount and the source: None 
 
Has your organization ever applied for and received any local, state or federal grants?  If so, please 
detail. Liberty Wildlife previously received a grant from Gila River Indian Community of $300,000 to 
name our large classroom, as part of our previous capital campaign  
 
Funding for project/programs may be based on available funding.   As such, if funding were not 
available for the full the amount of request how would you prioritize funding. 
1. Care of the wildlife ambassadors that are essential to all educational programming 
2. Funding would be prioritized for the onsite programming 
3. New online programs through social media, YouTube, Zoom and FaceBook live events. 
 
Which municipal governmental entity will serve as your pass through agency to accept 12% gaming 
grant on your behalf? Phoenix 
 
 
By execution of the 12% Gaming Contribution Grant Application the undersigned agrees that the 
information contained in the Application is true to the best of the Applicants knowledge. The 
Applicant shall notify the SRPMIC if any information in this Application changes.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7-2-2021 
Signature for the Applicant 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date 
 
 
Megan Mosby, Executive Director, Liberty Wildlife 
Name and Title 
 
 
 
The Application shall be signed by the senior elected official of the local government, or in the case of 
a non-profit entity, the Chief Executive Officer authorizes to commit the non-profit entity to apply for, 
accept, and implement an award from the SRPMIC utilizing 12% Gaming Contributions.