Pima County voters rejected all seven bond proposals in the Nov. 3 general election, which means that some nonprofit organizations that had hoped for public help to expand their services will need to find other funding sources.
We’ve combed through the projects to find some we think merit support because of their wide community reach and demonstrated effectiveness. We agree that the bond proposals included some projects that relied too heavily on public money, but most of those below involve the organizations doing significant private fundraising to make the plans a reality.
The bonds failed, but Pima County residents can directly support these organizations’ goals by making a donation.
• The Children’s Museum Tucson was a worn-out place a decade ago, but that has all changed and families have responded. Attendance is up 82 percent in the last six years, the museum says.
Now it wants to nearly double in size, including more room for interactive exhibits, school tours and early childhood education.
The museum had planned to raise $5 million, with another $5 million from taxpayer-funded bonds.
Donate to the Children’s Museum Tucson: childrensmuseumtucson.org/get-involved/donate
• The Sahuarita Food Bank is outgrowing its donated space at the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ and hoped to combine bond and private funds to construct a bigger facility on land provided by the church. It also would include space where others, such as adult-learning classes, could operate.
The food bank serves Sahuarita as well as poor areas south of Tucson International Airport along Nogales Highway and around Summit View Elementary School.
The food bank aimed to obtain $300,000 in bond money and committed to seeking $1.2 million elsewhere.
Donate to the Sahuarita Food Bank: sahuaritafoodbank.org/donate-now.html
• JobPath works with unemployed and underemployed adults to help them get the education and job training they need to sustain themselves and their families. It describes itself as a bridge between its clients, Pima Community College and employers.
JobPath sought up to $1 million in bond funding to move to a larger, centrally located space where it can help more people, including first-generation college students. It leases space now.
Donate to JobPath: jobpath.net/support-us/
• The Pima Air & Space Museum planned to raise $4.5 million itself and to receive $4 million in bond funding to build a Cold War hangar and exhibit. The museum, operated by the Arizona Aerospace Foundation, is one of Southern Arizona’s major attractions. About 200,000 people visited the museum and its sister property, the Titan Missile Museum, in 2014.
Donate to the foundation: pimaair.org/involved/donate-now
• The 218-year-old Mission San Xavier del Bac is Arizona’s greatest intact building, and for 25 years a private nonprofit, the Patronato San Xavier, has been raising money to preserve and protect it. Much has been completed, but the east tower and facade are in need of about $5 million in work.
The Patronato expected to raise at least half of that, with the rest coming from bonds.
Both the architecture and art of San Xavier are treasures of the Spanish Colonial period. Like Pima Air & Space, its 200,000 annual visitors come from around the world.
Donate to Patronato San Xavier: patronatosanxavier.org/donate/
