City of Phoenix - File #: 26-1056

Date	Action By	Action	Action Details	Details	Video
8/26/2026	City Council Formal Meeting		Not Available	Details	Not Available

Title

Tohono O'odham Nation Tribal 2026 Gaming Grants (Ordinance S-53097) - Citywide

Description

Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply, accept, and if awarded, enter into related agreements up to $2,068,232.81 in new funding from Tohono O'odham Nation under the 2026 funding cycle. Further requests authorization for the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse funds, by Tohono O'odham Nation in connection with these grants.

Report

Summary

If awarded, these monies would be applied, as directed by the Tohono O'odham Nation, towards the following:

City Applications

Housing Department: $247,550 for the Housing Pollinator and Community Gardens, which will support the installation and improvement of community and pollinator gardens to enhance food security, resident well-being, and environmental resilience across City of Phoenix affordable housing communities.
Office of Heat Response & Mitigation: $50,000 for the Heat Relief Supplies and Outreach, which sustain support for the distribution of life-saving heat relief supplies and communication efforts for three target populations during the summer months: people experiencing homelessness, older adults, and hikers on city trails.
Office of Homelessness Solutions: $300,000 for the Extreme Heat Case Management & Navigation Infrastructure, which will enhance regional extreme heat mitigation by integrating dedicated case management, navigation services, and flexible housing diversion funds directly into seasonal cooling center operations.
Office of Public Health: $100,840 For Dignity and Health: Expansion of Free Period Packs Programs for Arizona Women and Girls in Need, which will enable the expansion of the free period packs and partnership with Women4Women in Tempe to make free period products available from key locations, especially those that serve adolescents, people experiencing homelessness, and low-income women.
Office of Sustainability: $75,000 for Water-Energy Nexus Assessment, which will helps project national benchmark exercises, understand where other regions are at, data driven understanding of how our energy and water systems interact today, scenario analysis of how systems change in the future under new stressors, and identify intervention points to understand how water constraints could influence electricity productions.
Parks and Recreation Department: $13,800 for FitPHX Initiative - WalkPHX Program, which help expand program by installing mapped walking routes, signage, and trail-use tracking equipment at four Phoenix Parks.
Phoenix Police Department: $75,311.31 for Under Door Cameras and Uplifts, which will strengthen operational readiness, reduce risk, and support the department's responsibility to protect the public using the most reliable and effective technology available.
Phoenix Police Department: $95,991.50 for Digital Axon Cables, which will help maintain optimal battery levels for body worn cameras and reduce operational disruptions.
Phoenix Police Department: $97,240 for Digital Fingerprint Scanners, which will help police officers to accurately identify individuals in the field rather than transporting them to the precinct for identification purposes.
Public Defender's Office: $50,000 for City of Phoenix Community Court - Removing Barriers, which will help remove financial barriers to housing and employment for homeless Community Court participants.
Public Defender's Office: $60,000 for Empowering Change, which is a navigator/peer support specialist for veterans to connect them to resources including but not limited to: housing, employment, clothing, food, treatment, and VA benefits.
Street Transportation Department: $200,000 for Comprehensive Bilingual Public Education Campaign on Proper use of High-Intensity Activated CrossWalks (HAWKs) and Circular Rapid Flashing Beacons (CRFBs), which funds will help launch a comprehensive bilingual (English and Spanish) public education campaign that will guide pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers on proper use of HAWKs and CRFBs.

Non-Profit Applications

Act One: $7,500 for Arts Immersion Virtual Reality Field Trips in the 2026-27 School Year, which will help provide 15,000 students with an arts education experience directly in their classrooms by funding the cost of travel to classrooms.
Amplify Voices: $10,000 for From Story to Strength: Building Community Voice and Phoenix Nonprofit Advocacy, which will help fund trauma-informed Speaker Circles in partnership with Phoenix nonprofits, equipping under served residents with storytelling skills for personal healing and community advocacy.
Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents: $10,000 for Family Camp, which provides foster, kinship, and adoptive families with a restorative, supportive weekend experience designed to strengthen family bonds, reduce isolation, and promote caregiver resilience.
Arizona Burn Foundation: $10,000 for Community Smoke Alarm Walk Initiative, which will provide and install working smoke alarms in Phoenix homes at the greatest risk and that need the most support.
Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation: $10,000 for Childhood Activities for Youth in Foster Care, which provides funding for tutoring services among other enrichment support for children and youth in foster care who need additional academic support.
Arizona's Children Association: $30,000 for Kinship Care Continuum, which provides a comprehensive, coordinated approach to supporting kinship families across both formal and informal child welfare setting. The program ensures that caregivers and children receive the appropriate level of support at every stage of their journey.
AZ BlueBird Baseball: $20,000 for AZ BlueBird Baseball, which will help fund Native American youth baseball team families with a full access to competitive baseball training equipment and mentorship for youth athletes who face social economic barriers to organized sports.
Camp Catanese: $10,000 for College & Career Success Pathways for Under Served Youth, which help fund the development of a college-readiness app with the support of ACT/SAT testing.
Creighton Community Foundation: $25,000 for The FescaZona Medical Food Box Program, which is a collaborative, interventional nutrition program that treats food as a medicine rather than a charity.
Cultural Coalition, Inc.: $5,000 for the 8th Annual Portal Festival at S'edav Va'aki Museum, which provides free access to the museum and event that celebrates the water history and artistic legacy traditions of the O'odham communities and the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People.
Heard Museum: $10,000 for Youth and Family Programming, which help expand affordable access to arts education and culturally grounded resources that celebrate Indigenous creativity.
Hope Ignites Phoenix: $10,000 for Hope Academy College Readiness, which equips first-generation and under-resourced youth with the academic support, college planning, financial aid guidance, career exploration, and life skills needed to successfully graduate high school, and enroll in, persist through, and graduate from postsecondary education.
Human Services Campus, Inc dba Keys to Change: $50,000 for Lodestar Day Resource Center Renovation, which will renovate the Lodestar Day Resource Center, the central service hub at Key Campus for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Jazz in Arizona, Inc. (The Nash): $20,000 for Building Futures Through Jazz Education, which provides access to high-quality music education that promotes confidence, connections, and self-expression, while also helping young people develop skills and stability associated with better academic results and more positive long-term life prospects.
Jewish Family & Children's Service: $10,000 for Real World Job Development, which offers a comprehensive education-to-career pathway, structured through a customized individual service plan for disconnected youth, ages 14-24 who are out of both school and work, which is a critical issue in Maricopa County.
Justa Center, Inc.: $50,000 for Path to Housing, which provides customized support to seniors aged 55 and older experiencing homelessness as they strive to secure stable housing, untapped income sources such as Social Security and Disability benefits, and health care coverage.
Lights Camera Discover: $10,000 for Revitalizing the Lights Camera Discover After School Program, which provide a no-cost after-school digital arts program providing Phoenix-area youth ages 8-18 with structured, supervised programming during the critical 3-6 PM hours while building the technical skills, confidence, and workforce readiness that prepare them for lifelong success.
Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation: $75,000 for 2027 Student Emergency Fund, Empowering Student Success, which provides same day support to fill immediate gaps to allow students to access food, medical care, housing, and other basic needs, enabling students to stay in school to reach their full potential, which benefits our entire community.
Paws for Youth: $10,000 for Pet Therapy Program, which provides funding to support the therapy team who visits schools, domestic violence, and youth-serving organizations all in an effort to intervene in youth's lives and enhance their emotional and behavioral development by teaching core strength - building healthy/strong relationships, coping with challenges, teamwork, kindness, and resilience.
Phoenix Indian Center, Inc.: $ 60,000 for Bridging the Gaps for Indigenous Cultural Connection and Direct Assistance, which provides direct assistance and language and cultural programming to urban American Indian community members. Cultural programming includes cultural classes, cultural awareness workshops, and a community powwow.
Rosie's House: $5,000 for Free Afterschool Music and Leadership Program for Under Resourced Youth, which supports free afterschool music education and leadership opportunities for 615 under served youth ages 6-18.
Sonoran University of Health Sciences: $25,000 for Sonoran University Community Health Program, which supports seven free community clinics through medical supplies, supplements, lab tests and supplies, and other direct care support.
Stand for Children Leadership Center - Arizona: $10,000 for Scholar Roundtable Forum, which will help fund the luncheon and roundtable to create a culturally affirming environment where Native and Latino students are recognized not only for academic achievement, but also for leadership, resilience, and commitment to their communities.
UMOM New Day Centers, Inc.: $25,000 for Shelter for Homeless Families from across Maricopa County, which will support the operation of a family emergency shelter that provides safe, temporary housing and comprehensive services for families experiencing homelessness.
United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona: $15,000 for Pediatric Therapy Clinic for Children with Disabilities, which funding will provide flexibility to respond to growing demand and help cover core expenses, including staffing, program delivery, and facility operations, ensuring consistent access to pediatric therapy for children with disabilities and developmental delays.
Vista College Prep: $30,000 for Teacher Residency Program, which helps prepare and retain highly effective educators to improve student achievement and strengthen educational outcomes in under served Arizona communities.
Warriors Code Inc.: $150,000 for Indigenous Community Wellness, Recovery, and Family Resilience Initiative, which will provide comprehensive wellness programming designed to strengthen individuals, families, and communities.

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 services that benefit the general public, including safety, mitigation of impacts, and promotion of commerce and economic development. The Tohono O'odham Nation will notify the City, by grant-in-aid agreement, of the Tribal Council's decision, 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-purpose funds are required. Entities that received gaming grants are responsible for the management of those funds.

Department

Responsible Department

This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Frank McCune and the Office of Government Relations.

Legislation Details