City of Phoenix - File #: 25-1038

Date	Action By	Action	Action Details	Details	Video
6/4/2025	City Council Formal Meeting		Not Available	Details	Not Available

Title

Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation 2025 Gaming Grants (Ordinance S-52006) - Citywide

Description

Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply, accept, and if awarded, enter into related agreements up to $367,709.44 in new funding from Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation under the 2025 funding cycle. Further request authorization for the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse funds, by Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in connection with these grants.

Report

Summary

If awarded, these monies would be applied, as directed by Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, towards the following:

City Applications

Phoenix Police Department: $50,000 for the Laboratory Services Bureau Sexual Assault Kits, which will provide funding to send and receive approximately 25 victim sex crime evidence kits, sexual assault kits, and associated suspect standards to vendor laboratories for DNA analysis. The objective of the project is to reduce the laboratory's backlog, provide investigative information that will assist in resolving sexual assault investigations, and reduce violent crime in the community, with arrests of perpetrators of sexual assaults.
Public Works Department: $17,012.20 for the Illegal Dumping Cameras Program, which will build upon existing Public Works illegal dumping program by introducing a technology-based solution to address the growing problem of illegal dumping. The installation of cameras is an innovative approach to complement the City's waste management efforts.
Public Works Department: $30,697.24 for the School Food Waste Reduction Pilot Program, which will introduce a zero-waste education curriculum and waste sorting system focused on helping to reduce food waste, lower transportation-related emissions, and strengthen resiliency education across a selected Phoenix-based school district. Through this pilot program, students and staff will gain a deeper understanding of how to establish food security, mechanisms for resource conversation, and the environmental impact of food waste, including its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Nonprofit Applications

Arizona Humanities: $25,000 for the AZ Reads: Youth Literacy in Arizona, which will support a youth literacy program. AZ Reads promotes youth literacy and meets a critical community need in Arizona's Title 1 schools (K-12) by providing diverse and culturally responsive books for classrooms and school libraries, or directly to students. In addition to books for students, AZ Reads provides school supplies for programming, contracts with visiting speakers, capacity building for literacy curricula, and other resources by partnering directly with teachers.
Chrysalis Veterans Services, Inc.: $100,000 for the Ensuring Economic Development Success for Veterans Returning to the Workforce, which will provide tools, equipment and job specific clothing for veterans starting a new job or job training program.
Gabriel's Angels: $10,000 for the Gabriel's Angels, Animals, Books and Children Program, which will nurture youth and their well-being by connecting them with the healing power of pets and compassionate adults. The Animals, Books and Children program is available to partnering Title-1 schools and utilizes animal-assisted reading activities to help vulnerable children increase their literacy competencies while also working to improve specific core strengths. Programming is provided free of charge by volunteer pet therapy teams consisting of a pet and its owner to partner agencies/schools.
Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council: $25,000 for the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, which will serve 11,310 K-12 girls residing in the Phoenix metro area in FY2026. Through the program, girls will develop crucial life and leadership skills, connect with positive adult mentors and peers, and engage in serving their communities, empowering them to pursue brighter futures.
Heard Museum: $10,000 for the K-12 Free Admissions and School Tours Program, which will provide access to educational opportunities and hands-on activities for Arizona public school students and teachers at Heard Museum, free of charge. Priority will be given to Title-1 Schools.
Phoenix Rescue Mission: $10,000 for the Street Outreach Program, which will support a critical initiative addressing homelessness in Phoenix and Maricopa County. Specifically, funding for this continuing program will be used to pay for hygiene kits to disperse to people in the community experiencing homelessness.
Rosie's House: A Music Academy for Children: $5,000 for the Mental Health and Wellness Initiative, After School Music Program, which will provide critical mental health resources to 700 low-income youth and their families through trauma-informed music education, direct services via a partnership with Terros Health, and social engagement activities that foster community education.
Save the Family Foundation of Arizona: $25,000 for the Homeless Families Intervention Project, which will support a program helping families overcome homelessness and achieve stability through housing, employment, child support, education, and health care services.
St. Joseph the Worker: $10,000 for the Workforce Development Program, which will provide clients a personalized experience tailored to their unique needs, providing custom job leads in an industry of their choosing, resume writing, mock interviews, transportation assistance and clothing for interviews. The program addresses key barriers that often lead to homelessness.
United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY): $50,000 for the UNITY Native Youth Leadership Training, which will support a three-day "Native Youth Leadership Training", in February 2026, in the Phoenix-metro area. The training is open to Native American youth aged 14 to 24. It is expected to bring together about 750 participants and their advisors from Arizona, including Phoenix, Phoenix-metro, and other tribal communities in the U.S. The curriculum-based training, conducted by experienced trainers and peer leaders, aims to prepare Native American youth to advocate for their needs and promote positive community, tribal, and school engagement.

The gaming compact entered into by the State of Arizona and various tribes calls for 12 percent of gaming revenue to be contributed to cities, towns, and counties for government service that benefit the public, including education, public safety, mitigation of impacts of gaming, health, environment, and economic and community development. The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation will notify the City, by intergovernmental agreement of the Tribal Council, if it desires to convey to the City or local nonprofits a portion of its annual 12 percent local revenue sharing contribution.

Financial Impact

There is no budgetary impact to the City and no General Fund dollars are required. Entities that receive gaming grants are responsible for the management of those funds.

Department

Responsible Department

This item is submitted by City Manager Jeffrey Barton and the Office of Government Relations.