The Feeding Frenzy Over Government Money

TUCSON – This former altar boy recently published something about Catholic Charities accepting tens of millions of dollars from the federal government as a nonprofit contractor, in a melding of church and state.

I also mentioned my experience decades ago in consulting with one of Arizona’s major nonprofit charities, where the interest in personal financial gain and perks among managers and executives rivaled that on Wall Street.

Since then, I have taken a cursory look at government grants going to various nonprofits in my adopted hometown of Tucson, and also at federal money going to local government.  What I’ve seen so far is shocking and sobering, especially considering that the federal government, with its $36 trillion debt and unsustainable deficit spending, is heading for a fiscal calamity.

The comments herein have nothing to do with Elon Musk, DOGE, or President Trump.  For sure, I don’t want to get in the middle of the spitting contest between them and their opposition.  If it sounds as if I’m taking the MAGA side, it’s only because the amount of money sloshing around shows that the federal government has interjected itself so much in local government and nonprofits that the meaning of federalism has been greatly distorted.

In the process, political accountability has been blurred and democracy has been weakened.  It is difficult to hold local government accountable when local voters have little control over a large portion of local funding and spending.

Take the planting of thousands of trees in Tucson for the dubious purpose of addressing climate change in the desert.  Some of the funding for the planting is buried in a $19 million grant to the Primavera Foundation from the Environmental Protection Agency.  If you believe this is a waste of money and takes the city’s focus away from providing essential services, who should be held accountable and how do you vote against it?

A common narrative in the media and elsewhere is that cutbacks in federal funding of local initiatives will hurt the poor, the disadvantaged, the underserved, the indigenous, and “people of color.”  The last is an identity label that drives this swarthy, olive-skinned Italian and his extended diverse family sul muro.

These words, plus the word “equity,” serve as a bullet-proof vest to the users.  It protects them from intelligent, factual and logical counterarguments, especially from pasty-faced whites, who are afraid to frown, smirk, or nod in disagreement, for fear of being called a Nazi or a colonialist.  It doesn’t protect them from me, however, because my color is Sherwin-Williams Fawn Brindle, No. 7640.

A case can be made that the $6 million grant that went to the United Way of Tucson helps the poor and others.  But what about the $769,433 that went to the Fox Theatre Foundation, where the executive director makes $140,196, according to 501(3)(c) paperwork filed with the federal government?  How does subsidizing the renovation and operation of an old theatre help the poor?

Or how about the $807,723 that went to the Tucson Symphony?  How does that lower crime in poor neighborhoods?

The same question for the $174,688 that went to the Firefighters Benevolent Association.

Even more problematic is the $990,496 that went to Tucson Clean & Beautiful.  Judging by the unkempt conditions in Tucson, it would’ve been more productive to throw the money on the roadside.

Another expenditure with no apparent positive result is the $408,668 that went to Startup Tucson, where the CEO was paid $173,000.  The organization is supposed to facilitate entrepreneurial startups, in some mysterious way, but Tucson continues to be bypassed by venture capital.  It would be just as effective to sacrifice goats to the gods of entrepreneurialism, such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

It doesn’t dawn on the central planners that the more government dependency, the less entrepreneurialism.

The amount of federal money going to local governments is astonishing.  Particularly jaw-dropping is the $12 million for 19 electric buses to run from the City of Tucson to the Sabino Canyon federal recreational area, a distance of only several miles.

In total, tens of millions of federal dollars are going to the city’s bus system, where rides are free and the transportation network stinks, due to decades of misgovernance.

The $3 million for the renovation of Tucson’s Jacob’s Park seems paltry by comparison.  It is a gift from the US Department of the Interior.  A park in Tucson is about as interior as one can get.

At least the benevolent Department of Agriculture is giving more.  It is giving $5 million to the desert city for urban forestry.  Maybe it is also giving millions to towns in Maine for the growing of cactus.

Why is any of this the responsibility of the federal government?  Did you vote for this?

Note:  Given that my examination of records was cursory, given that the records are difficult to understand, and given that a lot more work and verification are needed, don’t hold me to the numbers.  Just take them as indicators of a problem requiring further study.  Maybe an enterprising reporter can do this and fulfill the journalism credo of speaking truth to power instead of parroting the untruths of power.

To give you a flavor of grants, three exhibits are pasted at the end of this commentary.  They are excerpts from three 501(3)(c) filings with the federal government for three separate grants.  (The capitalization and run-on paragraphs were in the originals.)

Note the buzzwords, platitudes, pieties, clichés, fuzzy thinking, and bullet-proof vests.  Keep in mind while reading that the recipients of the free money are more impassioned, organized, incentivized, and media savvy to keep the spigot flowing than you and other taxpayers will ever be in trying to turn it off.

Happy reading.  I hope you enjoy being a patsy.

Mr. Cantoni can be reached at craigcantoni@gmail.com.

PRIMAVERA FOUNDATION INC
Tucson
$19,997,193.00
Awarded by Environmental Protection Agency
Ends 2027-11-30

DESCRIPTION: THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING UNDER THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT (IRA) TO PRIMAVERA FOUNDATION, INC. THAT WILL BE USED FOR PROJECTS TO INCREASE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT WILL DIRECTLY BENEFIT DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES IN TUCSON AND SOUTH TUCSON, WHICH FACE INEQUITABLE CHALLENGES RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT PROVIDES FULL FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $19,997,193.00. SEE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE INSTALLING RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS; PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS, ENHANCING BUS STOPS; PROVIDING ENERGY ASSESSMENTS AND RETROFITS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY TO LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS; INSTALLING SOLAR SYSTEMS ON MULTIFAMILY AND SINGLE FAMILY HOMES; CREATING RESILIENCE HUBS; EXPANDING WORKFORCE FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING INSTALLATIONS; PROMOTING CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND COMMUNITY HEALTH THROUGH EDUCATION AND OUTREACH; REMEDIATING AND MITIGATING SOURCES OF POLLUTION IN LOW-INCOME HOMES; AND PREVENTING POLLUTION AT BUSINESSES WITH KNOWN WORKER EXPOSURES TO VOCS.SUBRECIPIENT:THERE ARE FIVE SUBAWARD RECIPIENTS: CITY OF TUCSON; SONORA ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SERI): TUCSON CLEAN AND BEAUTIFUL; PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE; AND PIMA JOINT TECHNICAL EDUCATION DISTRICT (JTED). ACTIVITIES TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY SUBAWARD RECIPIENTS INCLUDE GREENWAY ENHANCEMENTS SUCH AS TREE PLANTING AND REMOVAL OF ASPHALT; BUILDING 1 POCKET PARK; INSTALLATION OF ENHANCED BUS STOPS; LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENTS, UPGRADES, AND MEDIATION OF HAZARDS; RESILIENCE HUB UPGRADES; DEVELOPMENT OF CLIMATE RESILIENCY CURRICULUM; COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR HEALTH; TEACHER AND STUDENT BOOTCAMPS; BUSINESS POLLUTION PREVENTION PROGRAM TO REDUCE VOCS.OUTCOMES:THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE 1345 TREES AND 9252 SHRUBS PLANTED; 67267 SQUARE FEET OF STORM WATER HARVESTING BASINS INSTALLED; 38067 SQUARE FEET OF ASPHALT REMOVED; 1 NEW POCKET PARK CREATED; 350 RAINWATER SYSTEMS INSTALLED AT LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS; 20 ENHANCED BUS STOPS INSTALLED; 350 HOME ENERGY AUDITS CONDUCTED; 200 ENERGY STAR OR EQUIVALENT APPLIANCE REPLACEMENTS; 25 ENERGY EFFICIENT HOME HEATING APPLIANCES INSTALLED IN LOW-INCOME HOMES; 25 HVAC UPGRADES PROVIDED FOR LOW INCOME HOMES; 50 ROOF COATINGS APPLIED TO LOW-INCOME HOMES; 6 SOLAR SYSTEMS INSTALLED; 3 ENERGY STORAGE OR BACKUP GENERATORS PROVIDED TO RESILIENCE HUBS; 60 INDIVIDUALS TRAINED AND CERTIFIED FOR JOBS THAT REDUCE GAS EMISSIONS AND AIR POLLUTION; 3 CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS DEVELOPED; 25 STUDENT PARTICIPANTS IN SUMMER INTERNSHIPS; 30 TEACHERS AND 50 STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN CLIMATE RESILIENCY OCCUPATIONS BOOTCAMP; 350 HEALTHY HOME ASSESSMENTS COMPLETED WITH MITIGATION OF MOLD AND HARMFUL SUBSTANCES; 50 HOMES REFERRED TO CITY OF TUCSON LEAD HAZARD CONTROL PROGRAM; 25 AREA BUSINESSES RECEIVE POLLUTION PREVENTION INTERVENTION; AND 12 DETAILED QUARTERLY REPORTS THAT WILL DOCUMENT BOTH QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE MEASURES OF EACH CLIMATE ACTION STRATEGY AND PROJECT SUBMITTED. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE INCREASED GREEN SPACE; INCREASED PEDESTRIAN SAFETY; INCREASED RESILIENCE TO EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE CONDITIONS; INCREASED TREE CANOPY; REDUCTION OF URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT; REDUCTION IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND ENERGY COSTS; INCREASED USE OF PUBLIC TRANSIT; INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF BIKE SHARE PROGRAM; INCREASED ACCESS FOR WALKABILITY, BIKE-ABILITY, AND TRANSIT USE; REDUCED VEHICLE MILES AND RELATED AIR POLLUTION; REDUCED CONSUMPTION OF HOME HEATING FUELS AND ASSOCIATED CLIMATE POLLUTANTS; IMPROVED HOUSING CONDITIONS; ENHANCED COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE-RELATED EMERGENCIES; IMPROVED EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPABILITIES; INCREASED AWARENESS AND PREPAREDNESS AMONG LOCAL RESIDENTS; INCREASED PHYSICAL SAFETY DURING DISASTERS; INCREASE IN WORKFORCE EDUCATED FOR CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE OCCUPATIONS; INCREASED ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR JOBS IN CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE OCCUPATIONS; INCREASED PROGRAM OFFERINGS FOR C

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Tucson
$3,051,875.00
Awarded by Department of Commerce : National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Ends 2025-01-14

Description

PROJECT PURPOSE:THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA (UARIZONA)’S CONNECT ARIZONA NOW: DIGITAL INCLUSION FOR UNDERSERVED STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA (PROJECT CAN) WILL ADDRESS THE NEED FOR BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS, CONNECTIVITY, AND DIGITAL INCLUSION IN THE HIGHLY DIVERSE, OFTEN RURAL, COMMUN… ITIES OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA. ACTIVITIES: PROJECT CAN WILL CREATE “EQUIPMENT BUNDLES” THAT CAN BE CHECKED OUT BY STUDENTS FROM UARIZONA LIBRARIES, INCLUDING HOTSPOTS, LAPTOPS, HEADPHONES, AND WEBCAMS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INCREASE STUDENT ACCESS TO BROADBAND AND HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGH (1) EXPANSION OF UARIZONA NETWORK AND CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGIES; AND (2) PROVIDING SUPPORT PERSONNEL AT EDUCATION SITES IN RURAL AZ. DUNBAR PAVILION WILL SERVE AS THE LOCUS FOR THE COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMMING PORTION OF THE PROJECT. UARIZONA WILL PROVIDE BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS, EQUIPMENT, AND HELP FACILITATE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR THE DUNBAR PAVILION, THE TUCSON URBAN LEAGUE, AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY. OUTCOMES: PROJECT CAN WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THE LENDING PROGRAM TO BETTER SERVE STUDENTS IN NEED AND ADDRESS THE GAP BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN EDUCATION BY EXPANDING ACCESS TO RELIABLE BROADBAND AND CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGIES. IT WILL PROVIDE FLEXIBLE STRATEGIES THAT FACILITATE AND EXPAND EFFECTIVE RURAL COMMUNITY ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION, PARTICULARLY IN STEM FIELDS AND DEVELOP TRAINING AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO MAXIMIZE THE USE OF NEW AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, TRAIN FACULTY AND STUDENTS, AND TO ENSURE CONTINUOUS SERVICE AND TROUBLESHOOTING OF EQUIPMENT. WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, THE PROJECT WILL CREATE A FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER, FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER / CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT SPACE, AND EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER AND MUSEUM ARCHIVE. BENEFICIARIES: STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA WILL BENEFIT FROM IMPROVED BROADBAND ACCESS AND TECHNOLOGY. COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE DOUGLAS, THATCHER, YUMA, AND PASCUA YAQUI COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE NEW COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTERS.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES (IF APPLICABLE): THE SUBRECIPIENTS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE DUNBAR PAVILION AND TUCSON URBAN LEAGUE. THE DUNBAR PAVILION IS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN CENTER FOR ART AND CULTURE; AND FOR THIS PROJECT WILL SERVE AS THE LOCUS FOR THE COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMMING AND PROVIDE SPACE FOR THE FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER AND THE EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER AND MUSEUM ARCHIVE. THE TUCSON URBAN LEAGUE HAS BEEN SERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR THE LAST 51 YEARS, THROUGH PROGRAMMING, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; AND FOR THIS PROJECT IS PROVIDING PHYSICAL SPACE FOR THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER AND ASSISTING WITH PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

PIMA COUNTY
$1,219,294.00
Awarded by Department of Health and Human Services : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ends 2028-09-29

Description

PIMAREACH COALITION: RESTORING CULTURES OF HEALTH AMONG NATIVE AMERICAN AND HISPANIC/LATINX COMMUNITIES IN PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA – PIMA COUNTY REACH COALITION IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH TUCSON INDIAN CENTER, COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA, HOUSE OF NEIGHBORLY SERVICE (HNS, A DIVISION OF YWCA), LI… BERTY PARTNERSHIP/KINO NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION (LPKNC), FIRST THINGS FIRST (FTF), UNITED WAY OF TUCSON AND SOUTHERN ARIZONA, TRIBAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES IN PIMA COUNTY, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM TO ADDRESS REACH COMPONENTS A AND B. PIMAREACH WILL REDUCE CHRONIC DISEASE DISPARITY AMONG LATINX AND NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATIONS THROUGH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, NUTRITION, EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION (ECE), AND VACCINE EQUITY STRATEGIES. THE COALITION WILL BUILD ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE CURRENT REACH GRANT, WHILE ALSO IMPLEMENTING NOVEL STRATEGIES.  DURING ITS FIRST REACH FUNDING CYCLE BEGINNING IN 2018, PIMA COUNTY ESTABLISHED TRUSTED PARTNERSHIPS AND BROAD COMMUNITY PRESENCE IN SOME OF PIMA COUNTY’S MOST MARGINALIZED AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES. DURING THE ONSET OF THE COVID-19 HEALTH EMERGENCY, THE REACH COALITION PIVOTED QUICKLY TO GET LIFE-SAVING INFORMATION OUT INTO COMMUNITIES LONG BEFORE OFFICIAL ASSISTANCE COULD BE AWARDED AND DEPLOYED. NOW PIMA COUNTY IS SEEKING A DEEPER ENGAGEMENT WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, PARTNERING WITH THEM IN STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT. IN DECEMBER 2020, PIMA COUNTY’S BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DECLARED RACIAL AND ETHNIC HEALTH INEQUITIES IN PIMA COUNTY TO BE A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. SINCE THEN OUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN BUILDING CAPACITY FOR DATA ANALYSIS AND HEALTH EQUITY WORK AND WILL SOON LAUNCH A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICE OF POLICY, EQUITY AND RESILIENCE. OUR NEW REACH INITIATIVE WILL PLUG INTO STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR COUNTY – BOTH PHYSICAL AND SYSTEMIC – TO EFFECT UPSTREAM IMPROVEMENTS TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS IN LATINO AND NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. A CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL PLANNING AND POLICY INITIATIVE INFORMED BY VISION ZERO TRAFFIC DEATHS AND COMPLETE STREETS PRINCIPLES OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE ACTIVITY-FRIENDLY INFRASTRUCTURE IN HERETOFORE NEGLECTED NEIGHBORHOODS. IN EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PIMAREACH WILL LEVERAGE ARIZONA’S QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND RATING SYSTEM AND PIMA COUNTY’S GROUNDBREAKING INVESTMENT OF $30.2 MILLION OVER FOR NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS FOR HIGH-QUALITY ECE. TO PROMOTE NUTRITION AND HEALTHY EATING PIMA COUNTY WILL DRAW FROM THE CITY OF GASTRONOMY AND 4,000 YEARS OF INDIGENOUS AND HERITAGE CROPS AND CULINARY TRADITIONS. PIMAREACH WILL FOLLOW A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF HIGHEST NEED OR BENEFIT, COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT OR TAILORING OF SOLUTIONS AND MESSAGES, AND DISSEMINATION OF THESE THROUGH TRUSTED MESSENGERS AND THROUGH BI-DIRECTIONAL ENGAGEMENT THAT FREQUENTLY SURFACES NEW NEEDS AND PRIORITIES.