(upbeat Latin music) - Good evening, and welcome to "Horizonte," a show that takes a look at current issues through a Hispanic lens.

I'm your host, Catherine Anaya.

Tonight, we talk to Anna Maria Chavez, the new president and CEO of the Arizona Community Foundation.

The Arizona Community Foundation was founded in 1978 by a group of local banks.

In 1979, the ACF issued its first grants to groups such as the Girl Scouts and a Historical Fire Foundation.

In 1988, ACF extended grants to rural communities, such as Yuma, Flagstaff, and Prescott.

And in 1989, it gave a grant to begin Kids Voting, a popular program that had kids in 35,000 classrooms across Arizona vote in a mock election.

Joining me now is Anna Maria Chavez, a Native Arizonan who is from Eloy, by the way.

She is also a lawyer, activist, has served in the Clinton Administration, and is the former CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.

Thank you so much for being here.

- It's so good to see you again.

- It is so good to see you because we go back almost 20 years.

- [Anna Maria] We're not gonna say how long, right?

(group laughing) - We won't say the number.

- No, we won't.

But we've known each other for a long time.

- Yes.

And, you know, I've been able to watch you from afar just changing lives all across the country.

And here you are back here in Arizona.

How does it feel to be back home?

- Well, first of all, I love being home.

As you know, I'm a native.

I was born and raised in the great town of Eloy, Arizona, Pinal County.

And to be able to come back and serve in a different capacity is beautiful and such an honor.

And then all my family's here.

You know, my parents, Jose and Maria Chavez, they are such devout public servants.

And so being back home with them has meant a lot.

So it's great to be back and great to be at the Arizona Community Foundation.

- Well it is good to have you here and, you know, when I think about Arizona Community Foundation, I think of this connector.

You have these fabulous, generous donors, these fabulous, generous nonprofits, and you are the connector that brings them together.

How would you describe ACF?

- That's a beautiful description.

So one, we're 45 years old, we are a nonprofit, and we do exactly what you say.

We connect over 2,000 donors or partners 'cause we also actually work with nonprofits to build their endowment funds.

And so we work with these 2,000 partners and we connect them to issues they're passionate about and that they wanna invest in across Arizona.

We are your community foundation here in Arizona, and so proud to do that.

So, over 45 years, as you've said at the beginning, we've been all over Arizona, investing in housing issues, investing in public education issues, and really trying to track the major issues that are impacting our communities and elevating how we as community partners can make a difference.

- Well, you've been at the helm now almost a year.

What have been your priorities and will those transition into 2024, or do you have a whole slate of new priorities?

- So, great question.

So you know me.

I'm all about community.

So I started in February this year and the first thing I did was I got out on the road and I went all across Arizona, from Northern Arizona all the way to the Arizona border in Mexico.

And what I discovered are several things.

Listening to our local partners and donors, they said, you know, we've seen an increase in the need for affordable housing.

We've seen, you know, a really high rise number of homeless individuals, including children and older adults.

We're seeing, unfortunately, environmental issues impacting us.

You know, we had one of the hottest summers in Arizona just a few months ago.

And so, as I was traveling Arizona, I started to think, how can we again, as a 45-year-old community partner, elevate these issues and really bring more investment to solve these problems?

- So that will be part of the evolution in 2024?

- Correct.

So we started a strategic learning process, essentially, where we brought, again, community voice into our organization, working with our tremendous staff across the state.

And of course, we have an amazing board that provides governance for organization.

And we've been going through that process.

Where can we, again, using what I call our superpowers of convening and impact, elevate some of these issues?

We will announce what those strategic priorities are in the beginning of the year, but we keep doing what we need to be doing.

- What is the criteria that you, the standard that you go by when you're deciding where you're going to earmark- - [Anna Maria] Invest.

- Yes, earmark the donations.

Yes, invest.

Like what parts of the community you intend to invest in when you get those donations.

- So, when a donor comes to us, we sit down with them.

We say, what kind of impact would you like to make with your philanthropy?

And some of them are very focused on health innovation issues.

Some want to fund, you know, local nonprofits, like the Girl Scouts or Habitat for Humanity.

And through their donation, we are then able to give grants out.

So, this past year alone, we gave out over $100 million in grants just with those 2,000 donors.

So you imagine if we could increase the number of people who are working with us, we can increase that impact.

In addition, a lot of people don't know that we are the largest private provider of college scholarships in Arizona, you know?

So every year, we give out about $5 million of college scholarships to kids all over Arizona.

And for us, it's helping over 1,200 students make that dream of going to college a reality.

So we will continue to invest there.

And again, these are donors who are coming to us saying, you know, we really wanna provide scholarships to kids who wanna go into veterinary sciences, or we see a need and increase for doctors who wanna practice in rural Arizona.

So, again, we really are working with individuals to make their philanthropy a reality.

- Well I know that inclusion and diversity is very important to ACF.

Can you talk to me a little bit about the Latino initiatives that you have within ACF?

- Sure.

So, very proud to announce we just launched what we call LIPS, Latinas in Philanthropy.

- [Catherine] I love it.

- It's wonderful.

And it gave us an opportunity to bring Latinas together to co-fund initiatives across the state of Arizona.

And so we just launched that.

In addition, we have been investing in Latino-led nonprofits and organizations that have an expertise in providing assistance in the Latino community here in Arizona.

- So if you do have a Latino-focused nonprofit and you would like to benefit from some of the resources that ACF has to offer, what would those include?

- So, it really depends, again, on your interest area and also where you are in the state of Arizona.

Again, we have affiliate offices across Arizona.

So, for example, I was just in Yuma, Arizona where we kicked off our annual Heart of Yuma.

And that was our opportunity to thank the partners there who've donated to hundreds of nonprofits over the years.

And, again, they range from how do you educate children in that community?

How do you invest in healthcare services for our community?

And so it really, it depends on what the community is focused on and what the needs are.

- Okay.

So I'm glad that you mentioned LIPS because I know that you are very invested in helping Latinas who are current leaders or future leaders become exceptional leaders.

And you make it a point to talk to Latinas all the time.

So what would be your biggest piece of advice to any leader that is out there right now who's listening, particularly a Latina, as far as, you know, elevating their leadership?

- So, I mean, that's a really good question.

I have spent a great majority of my career both mentoring, sponsoring, and also coaching other Latinas.

Because, first of all, I was coached and mentored in my career.

The only reason I've gotten to these leadership positions is because people saw something in me and said, you know, I'm gonna lean in and invest and share my wisdom, whether that was my grandmother or my mother or other Latinas in the community.

And so I feel it's a great responsibility for those of us who've learned some lessons in our career, right?

We have some wisdom after so many years.

And so what I say to them is, one, know who you are.

Know your story.

Know your heritage and where you're coming from 'cause that is your strength.

That's your inner core, ability to do what you do better in the world.

So spend time understanding who you are and the impact you wanna make.

Because we all come from different perspectives and different talents.

So I encourage them to dig deep and understand what impact they wanna make, what their superpower is, and then get to work, right?

- [Catherine] Yes.

- It's not about theory, it's about practice.

- I love the superpower reference 'cause we all have at least one.

And yours, I might say, and I challenge anybody to name a president, CEO who has a better laugh than Anna Maria Chavez.

I think that might be your superpower.

- Yeah.

You know, I live through joy every day.

And not to say I don't have hard days.

It's, again, focused on what I think developed a talent for, and that is being that connector, looking at individuals and saying, how can I support your journey?

Or going into a rural community, which as you know, is a passion of mine, and which will be a focus for the Arizona Community Foundation moving forward, is how do we bring resources to rural communities to uplift local leadership?

Because the leadership is there.

Sometimes they just need treasure and talent and time to actually lead in their way.

And so as I cross the valley, as I cross the state of Arizona, I see Latinos doing magical things.

And we recently highlighted, on our annual report, a Latino leader, actually, coming out of the Copper Corridor who's uplifting his city and his town and his whole region to co-invest together.

And again, I think that's ACF's superpower because we are your community foundation.

We are that convener.

Because of the 45 years we've had it in the state of Arizona, we've been able to share our own wisdom of what's worked, what hasn't, and how we can connect the dots to make it better for everyone.

- Well, the impact is real.

And I am so happy that you are back here in Arizona and that you are leading such an important organization here in our community.

So thank you for joining me.

- Thank you.

It's an honor and a pleasure to be home.

- I appreciate it.

And if you'd like more information about Arizona Community Foundation, it's azfoundation.org.

And that's our show for tonight.

For "Horizonte" and Arizona PBS, I'm Catherine Anaya.

Have a great night.

(upbeat Latin music)