TUCSON, AZ — June 4, 2025— Upholding the spirit of its founder, pioneering philanthropist and educator Louise Foucar Marshall, the Marshall Foundation has awarded $1,202,000 in grants to 35 Pima County nonprofits and University of Arizona programs and scholarships that are advancing education, expanding opportunity, and strengthening communities across Southern Arizona.
These annual grants are made possible by proceeds from commercial leases in Main Gate Square, a vibrant retail and dining district adjacent to the University of Arizona campus.
“These grantees represent the very best of Tucson’s dedication to educational equity and community resilience,” said Kelly Huber, Executive Director of the Marshall Foundation. “We are proud to support their work and the future they’re building for Southern Arizona.”
This year’s grantees span a wide spectrum of services. In the Early Childhood to Graduate Education category, organizations like Native American Advancement Foundation (NAAF), STEP: Student Expedition Program, and Sunnyside Unified School District Foundation are helping children and young adults access high-quality learning experiences at every stage of development.
“We are absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful for this generous support of our Tohono O’odham Young Learners. This grant will make a tremendous impact, helping us continue our mission of fostering education, cultural enrichment, and community resilience.” – Native American Advancement Foundation (NAAF)
“We are strongly aligned with the Marshall Foundation values and goals and…thank you for appreciating our efforts to serve our community with this generous award. We are looking forward to this partnership… Our children deserve the best and we invite you to observe how our smallest citizens are learning through our family centered, high quality Early Learning Center that supports the development, well-being and education of all Arivaca children birth to 5.” – Arivaca Action Center
Grants awarded under Wrap Around Services in Support of Education are helping reduce barriers to academic success. Nonprofits such as JobPath, Inc., ScholarshipsA-Z and Youth On Their Own are providing critical support in areas such as mental health, support of education of workforce development, and services for students experiencing homelessness.
The Foundation also awarded funding to eight University of Arizona programs, including initiatives housed within the College of Law, Flandrau Science Center, and Poetry Center, supporting outreach, innovation, and student enrichment.
“We are grateful for the impact this grant will have in our K-12 Field Trip program making it possible for thousands of children from Title I schools to visit Flandrau for free.” -Flandrau Science Center
Grants were awarded in four categories:
Early Childhood to Graduate Education (Total awarded $250,000)
- Arivaca Action Center, Inc. – Early Childhood Education
- Borderlands Theater Teatro Fronterizo Inc. – Barrio Stars
- Casa de los Niños, Inc. – Kelly Early Education Center
- Children’s Action Alliance – Equitable Access to Early Childhood Education
- Educational Enrichment Foundation – Library Books Upgrade
- Literacy Connects – Literacy and Educational Support
- Make Way for Books – Neighborhood School Readiness
- Native American Advancement Foundation – Support for Tohono O’odham Young Learners
- STEP: Student Expedition Program, Inc. – STEP Tucson College-Prep Program
- Sunnyside Unified School District Foundation – Sunnyside CommunityShare
Wrap Around Services in Support of Education (Total awarded $325,000)
- Amphitheater Public Schools Foundation, Inc. – Student Support Services
- Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, Inc. – Preschool, Childcare & Youth Enrichment at Pio Decimo
- El Rio Health Center Foundation, Inc. – Pediatric Behavioral Health Expansion
- Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project – Wraparound Social Services for Immigrants
- Flowing Wells Unified School District – Family Resource Center
- Interfaith Community Services – Single Mom Scholars
- JobPath, Inc. – Workforce Development
- Sahuarita Food Bank – Food For Thought
- ScholarshipsA-Z – Student Programs
- Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF) – GSA Club Support
- Tucson Center for Women and Children (Emerge Center) – Support for Children Impacted by Violence
- Tucson Girls Chorus – Community Engagement Program
- Youth On Their Own – Direct Services for Students Experiencing Homelessness
University of Arizona Programs (Total awarded $192,000)
- James E. Rogers College of Law – Education Advocacy Clinic
- University of Arizona Foundation – Supporting Youth Mental Health
- University of Arizona Foundation – Arizona Arts Live – Student Tickets
- University of Arizona Foundation – Flandrau Science Center – K–12 Field Trips
- University of Arizona Foundation – Department of Mathematics – Center for Recruitment and Retention of Math Teachers
- University of Arizona Foundation – Poetry Center – General Operating Support
- University of Arizona Foundation – University Libraries – Tech Lending Program
- University of Arizona Foundation – Arizona Science & Technology Policy Fellow Program
University of Arizona Scholarships (Total awarded $435,000)
- Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona – UA Graduate College Scholarship Funding
- University of Arizona Foundation – W.A. Franke Honors College Housing Awards
- University of Arizona Foundation – Undergraduate Scholarships
- University of Arizona College of Nursing – UA College of Nursing Scholarship
These awards continue the legacy of Louise Foucar Marshall, the Foundation’s founder, whose vision was to advance educational and civic life in Tucson.
Louise Foucar Marshall: A Legacy of Firsts
Louise Marshall, born in 1864, created the Marshall Charitable Foundation with her husband Tom on Jan. 16, 1930, in order to, in her words, “carry on our work when we are gone.” It was the first private foundation in Arizona, fueled by an uncommon nonprofit business model that provides ongoing revenue through proceeds from commercial leases.
Marshall had a keen business sense and saw tremendous potential in university-area real estate, though the UA was then considered far from the growing city center. For context, the UA “main gate” was then a wooden turnstile that allowed people to enter campus (then a mere 40 acres – one-sixteenth of a square mile) while keeping the area’s free-ranging cattle out.
Marshall confidently began acquiring properties in that very area with money inherited from her parents and eventually made them the bedrock of her foundation. The retail tenant leases for what is now Main Gate Square have provided steady revenue for her philanthropy for more than 90 years.
Not only was the foundation a first in the state, its very model – philanthropy sustained by commerce – may have been a first. In modern parlance, it could be considered “social entrepreneurship.” Marshall, however, executed that vision decades before the concept was first posited by academics in the 1970s then popularized by companies like Ben & Jerry’s and Newman’s Own, forerunners to more recent social enterprises like TOMS, Warby Parker and Bombas.
Such innovative thinking is perhaps unsurprising from a woman who in 1900 was appointed UA Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature – the university’s first full-time female professor, and who built Tucson’s first “suburban” shopping center, developing the university-adjacent land she’d acquired, where she also ran her own gift shop. Marshall remained involved in the day-to-day workings of the Marshall Foundation until her death in 1956 at the age of 92. Per her vision, the majority of the foundation’s philanthropy supports equitable access to and success in education.
About the Marshall Foundation & Main Gate Square
About the Marshall Foundation & Main Gate Square The Marshall Foundation, headquartered near the University of Arizona main campus in Tucson, was established in 1930 as a philanthropy to support education in Arizona. Its giving is funded by retail leases on commercial properties within Main Gate Square, real estate acquired over time by founder Louise Foucar Marshall beginning in 1903. Today, Main Gate Square is home to more than 50 shops, restaurants and entertainment venues, two full-service hotels, a free summer concert series and more, all within steps of the University of Arizona main gate at Park Ave. and University Blvd. Learn more at marshallfoundation.com and maingatesquare.com.
