Funds will support building of The Center for Child & Family Wellness
PCDIC recently provided funding of a $15 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) project for Child Crisis Arizona, a Mesa, Ariz.-based nonprofit focused on preventing child abuse and neglect. PCDIC deployed $15 million of its $55 million CY2020 NMTC allocation from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The NMTC program is designed to stimulate private investment in projects that create substantial community impacts in economically distressed communities.
The program helps to fill project financing gaps by enabling investors to make larger investments than would otherwise be possible. Qualified areas for the federal NMTC program are based on census tracts where the individual poverty rate is at least 20%, or where median family income does not exceed 80% of the area’s median income.
“Over the past three years, PCDIC has been awarded a total of $135 million that goes back into our local community in areas that need it the most and will greatly benefit our community,” said Susan Barnes, chair of the PCDIC Board of Directors. “This Child Crisis Arizona project is a prime example of how federal tax credits can be used to greatly enhance our community and provide much needed services for local children and families.”
Funds were provided to Child Crisis Arizona in order to partially reimburse the acquisition of approximately 2.4 acres of land located at 424 W. Rio Salado Parkway in Mesa, Ariz., and to build a 38,000-square-foot Center for Child & Family Wellness on the site. The project is designed to be a climate-friendly, net-zero energy facility.
“Just as we set a path to teach children and families resiliency, we have now set a path for the next generation of nonprofit program delivery service. In designing for future resiliency, we are creating a sustainable building where efforts are focused on lessening environmental impact and footprint,” said Torrie Taj, CEO of Child Crisis Arizona. “Through this project, Child Crisis Arizona will be one of the first nonprofits in Arizona to put sustainability at the forefront and build for future generations.”
Many of Child Crisis Arizona’s programs, including foster care and adoption services, family education programs, behavioral health and counseling services, and art and music therapy are currently operating at capacity due to rising demand for services in the community and lack of space at existing facilities for program expansion. Upon completion of the improvements, the administrative headquarters will be relocated to the new premises, along with programmatic operations.
This project will enable Child Crisis Arizona to increase capacity of its programs, increasing services to an additional 2,700 individuals annually. Strategic collaborations with other local nonprofits have been planned with Ballet Arizona, United Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona and Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona in order to provide high-quality, wraparound services in one location.