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Lovell Foundation Awards $748,000 to Nine Nonprofits Serving Southern Arizona


The Tucson-based David and Lura Lovell Foundation recently approved $748,000 in grants for nine Tucson nonprofit organizations to support programs in the areas of mental health, integrative medicine and arts for youth.

The largest grant this year is for $300,000 over two years to the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine to develop the Integrative Health Self Care program – an online interactive health resource the public can use to assess motivation for lifestyle change and to increase patient health and wellness, especially for underserved populations nationwide. A research project will track the effectiveness of the program.

The second largest grant is $200,000 for the University of Arizona College of Nursing to establish the Integrative Nursing Faculty Fellowship program. The goal is to expand nursing education to encompass more integrative nursing knowledge and skills that can help improve the outcomes of patients with acute and chronic healthcare issues. This is the second portion of a three-year grant from the Lovell Foundation.

The third substantial grant is to Arizona Public Media to produce a one-hour documentary on the mental health of teens and youth. In addition to this $120,000 grant, the Lovell Foundation last year helped fund Passing On, a documentary that explores end-of-life care and coping with death and grief. This premiered on Feb. 22. The foundation also provides multi-year funds for a mental health producer/reporter.

Additional Lovell Foundation grants are:

  • $50,000 to St. Elizabeth’s Health Center to expand the behavioral health program with additional staffing by a licensed certified social worker, allowing more patients to be served as well as providing better supervision for interns.
  • $25,000 to help Interfaith Community Services present the 2016 conference on Faith Communities & Well Being – Mind Body and Spirit. Dr. Esther Sternberg will be one of the keynote speakers. She is internationally recognized for her work in the science of mind-body interaction. The Lovell Foundation previously supported ICS conferences on mental health in 2012 and 2014.
  • $20,000 for UA Presents to expand the Lead Guitar program into three additional schools for a total of five. Students learn to read music, play the guitar and perform as an ensemble. These skills help them develop self-discipline, self-esteem and the ability to work as a team.
  • $15,000 for continuing support of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s Music in the Schools/Young People’s Concerts. This is the orchestra’s largest music education program, reaching more than 13,000 students from 90 schools.
  • $10,000 to the Tucson Museum of Art for three existing youth programs – Picture This!, The Creative Space and Activity Guides – plus a new drop-in program called School Break Sketch-In.
  • $8,000 for Invisible Theatre’s Project Pastime, providing twice-weekly instruction in music, drama and dance for eight months and culminating in an original musical called “The Me Inside of Me” which the students create and perform.

The Lovell Foundation was established in 1994 by David and Lura Lovell. Since then the foundation has distributed nearly $14 million to support more than 60 nonprofit organizations nationwide. Today the foundation is led by an executive director, a board of trustees and a board of advisors. More information is at lovellfoundation.org or by calling (520) 325-3656.