“Invaluable”: How the Arizona Economic Recovery Center is helping South Phoenix artists

Roc Welch feels like she is doing exactly what she was destined to as the president and CEO of the Black Girl Brown Girl Collective, a South Phoenix-based nonprofit that celebrates and creates platforms for women to share their art. 

But when it comes to writing grants or filing tax paperwork, she readily admits she doesn’t know what she’s doing. 

“We’re new. We’re babies,” Welch said of the organization, which launched in 2021 and only recently earned its 501(c)3 status. “We don’t have a lot of education related to running a nonprofit.”

Black Girl Brown Girl Collective CEO Roc Welch

It is that gap that exists between having the vision and passion for a cause and having the knowledge and experience to run it properly where Welch found herself when she learned about the Arizona Economic Recovery Center from a Local First Arizona representative while managing a photoshoot fundraiser. 

“He overheard what we were doing, gave us contact information and we reached out,” she said.

What the Arizona Economic Recovery Center is

The Arizona Economic Recovery Center is a Local First initiative that offers free grant-writing and consulting services to tribes, communities and nonprofits in rural and low-income areas. 

Since launching in 2021, the recovery center has helped more than 200 tribes, cities and charitable organizations secure nearly $32 million for vital community projects in every county in Arizona, many of which never would have been funded without the assistance.

The center has spent about $400,000 on grant writers and consultants, leading to an impressive 78X return on investment.

“Invaluable” help to land $10,000 grant

For Welch, she saw an opportunity to learn. She didn’t want someone to write a grant for her.

Welch wanted to learn how to do it with experienced guidance so that her organization could effectively secure funding that would facilitate its mission to organize educational, cultural and arts events where women can connect, learn and support each other.  

“The services have been invaluable,” Welch said. 

With the help of a grant-writing professional, Black Girl Brown Girl Collective secured a $10,000 grant through the Arizona Community Foundation that funded an art series.

And with the guidance of a certified accountant, the organization prepared and filed their tax paperwork properly. Welch is waiting to hear if the organization will be awarded another grant for a festival later this year.

“Without the editing and the clarity, I don’t know if we would have been that successful. It’s a specialty,” Welch said of the grant-writing support. “People should be jumping in on this. Especially new nonprofits looking for guidance.”

Paying it forward — and back

By getting support that facilitates the organization's ability to support an underserved community, Welch said the entire experience with the Arizona Economic Recovery Center feels circular, as if the impact compounds.

“We’re getting help, but we’re also helping. I love that. Our organization is built to assist and to support, and I love that if we need it, we’re getting it back ourselves,” she said. “The women are leaving unstressed, they are making new friends, they are learning new crafts. We’re also helping facilitate entrepreneurship. The big part is being in a community. The recovery center is a community in itself.”

To learn more about the Arizona Economic Recovery Center, visit localfirstaz.com/economic-recovery-center.