Local First Arizona Foundation

“The executive director of the organization distributes a pdf copy of the 990 return to all board members for review and comment prior to being filed. At the first meeting of the board following the filing of the 990 with the irs, the complete form 990 is presented to the board by the organizations lead officers with responsibility over the form 990s review thereafter, questions are taken and the form, its preparation, and its public relation impact is discussed.”

“At each board and committee meeting, if there is a discussion of selecting or engaging a vendor or service provider, all in attendance are asked to recuse themselves from this discussion if there could be a perceived conflict. Annually, the organization reviews and discusses the conflict of interest policy and requests that each board member list and acknowledge any known conflicts.”

“The executive committee reviews the compensation for the executive director by comparing her compensation to the compensation of individuals in like positions, in comparable organizations using forms 990, compensation studies, and other available data. The committee then approves any changes in compensation based on this information. The organization has no other paid officers or employees meeting the irs definition of a key employee.”

“The organization will provide in a timely manner, copies of all tax returns, governing documents including its conflict of interest policies and financial statements when requested in writing or in person.”

“Program Service Expenses 0, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 IN 2016, LFAF FILMED AND PUBLISHED NINE VIDEOS IN A SERIES DESIGNED TO BUILD CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CONSUMERS AND LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS. THESE VIDEOS WILL BE USED TO SHOWCASE ARIZONAS UNIQUE LOCAL FOODS INDUSTRY AND FURTHER CONNECT INDIVIDUALS TO THE LOCAL FOOD ECONOMY. LFAF STAFF SERVED ON VARIOUS BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND WORKING GROUPS IN FOOD POLICY ACROSS THE STATE TO NETWORK WITH OTHER FOOD SYSTEM ADVOCATES AND LOCAL POLICY OFFICIALS IN ORDER TO AFFECT CHANGE TO INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTHY LOCAL FOODS IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND STRENGTHEN OUR FOOD SYSTEM ARIZONA FARM TO SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL, ARIZONA HUNGER LEADERSHIP COUNCIL , ARIZONA SCHOOL GARDEN NETWORK, CITY OF TUCSON COMMISSION FOR FOOD SECURITY, HERITAGE AND ECONOMICS, FLAGSTAFF FOOD LINK, HEALTHY LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM WORKING GROUP, MARICOPA COUNTY FOOD SYSTEM COALITION, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA CENTER FOR REGIONAL FOOD STUDIES, AND YAVAPAI FOOD POLICY COUNCIL.”

“Program Service Expenses 0, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 AS THE STATES RURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AZRDC, LFAF HELPS RURAL BUSINESSES BECOME MORE COMPETITIVE AND REDUCE ECONOMIC LEAKAGE FROM THEIR PLACE BY PROVIDING BUSINESS OWNERS TOOLS AND RESOURCES INCLUDING NEW TECHNOLOGY TRAINING, MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES, AND STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. ADDITIONALLY, AZRDC WORKS TO DRIVE NEW DOLLARS TO RURAL PLACES THROUGH INCREASING IN-STATE TOURISM BY LEVERAGING ARTS AND CULTURE, MAIN STREETS, AND AGRI-TOURISM. AZRDC ALSO WORKS TO EMPOWER RURAL ARIZONANS TO IMPROVE THEIR ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOODS WHICH HAS HEALTH AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS FOR ALL RESIDENTS. AZRDC FACILITATES A STATEWIDE BLOG, WHICH GETS READ 12,000 TIMES PER MONTH, AN EMAIL LIST OF 5,120 SUBSCRIBERS AND LFAF HAS OVER 187,000 SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS. THESE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR OUR RURAL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO PROMOTE AND EDUCATE ALL ARIZONANS ABOUT ALL THAT RURAL ARIZONA HAS TO OFFER.”

“Program Service Expenses 0, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 LFAF PRESENTED THE ANNUAL ARIZONA RURAL POLICY FORUM, A VENUE FOR CONNECTING RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS, NONPROFITS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, BUSINESS OWNERS, AND OTHER RURAL STAKEHOLDERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SUSTAINING RURAL COMMUNITIES. THE 10TH ANNUAL ARIZONA RURAL POLICY FORUM CONVENED 300 REPRESENTATIVES FROM EVERY ARIZONA COUNTY TO PARTICIPATE IN TWO AND A HALF DAYS OF WORKSHOPS, SPEAKERS, BREAKOUT SESSIONS, TOURS AND MORE. OVER 60 SPEAKERS FROM ARIZONA AND 2 NATIONAL LEADERS IN RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOINED US IN CLARKDALE TO SHARE SUCCESSES AND BEST PRACTICES. TO GIVE LOCAL BUSINESSES THE TOOLS TO BE COMPETITIVE, LFAF CONDUCTS WORKSHOP AND OUTREACH INITIATIVES FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES FOCUSING ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS, INCLUDING FOOD ENTREPRENEURSHIP, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, BUSINESS BEST PRACTICES, AND BRANDING STRATEGIES. IN 2016, LFAF EXPANDED SCIENCE HAPPENS HERE, AN EDUCATIONAL GAME FOR STUDENTS GRADES 4 THROUGH 6 THAT INCLUDES COLLECTING TRADING CARDS WITH SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AND VISITING LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESSES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENCE AND BUSINESS.”

“Program Service Expenses 0, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 LFAF RURAL TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM WORKS WITH BUSINESSES IN RURAL AREAS IN ARIZONA TO EDUCATE SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES ABOUT DIGITAL MARKETING TOOLS. THESE RURAL BUSINESSES ARE REGULAR USERS OF NATIONAL, OR INTERNATIONAL BRANDS, OF SERVICES BECAUSE THEY ARE UNAWARE OF THE PRINT SHOP, SHIPPING BUSINESS OR THE RETAILER LOCATED WITHIN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY. LFAF IS WORKING TO HELP THESE BUSINESSES MOVE TO INEXPENSIVE AND EASY-TO-USE DIGITAL MARKETING MEDIUMS THAT CONNECT THEM WITH THEIR LOCAL SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERS INSTEAD OF NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES. LFAF PROVIDES TRAINING WORKSHOPS, ON-GOING SUPPORT INFORMATION AND LAUNCH ASSISTANCE TO THESE BUSINESSES ABOUT BUILDING A WEBSITE, UTILIZING OPTIMIZATION TOOLS, PARTICIPATING IN SOCIAL MEDIA PARTICULARLY FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN AND TWITTER AND CREATING MOMENTUM THAT ENCOURAGES THEIR FELLOW BUSINESS MEMBERS AND NEARBY RURAL RESIDENTS TO DO THE SAME. LFAF HAS SERVED 110 RURAL SMALL BUSINESSES THIS YEAR WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPS AND ONGOING CONSULTING FOR IMPROVED BUSINESS CONNECTIVITY AND COMMUNITY.”