Center for the Future of Arizona
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
BRINGING ARIZONANS TOGETHER TO CREATE A STRONGER AND BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR OUR STATE.
- Income
- $5.8 million
- Spending
- $6.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 78%
- Reserves
- 1.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 49%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 11
- Highest pay
- $281,358, president & ceo & chairman
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 45 out of 100. Higher than 15% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.1 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 24% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 12% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 40% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1578% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 68% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $3.0 million spent. EDUCATIONIN FY25, CFA CONTINUED ITS COMMITMENT TO BUILDING A STRONG EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT PREPARES EVERY CHILD TO SUCCEED AND THRIVE BY EXPANDING CAREER-CONNECTED PATHWAYS, ADVANCING STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING, AND STRENGTHENING SCHOOL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. CFA CONTINUED ADVANCING A SIX-YEAR FEDERAL EDUCATION INNOVATION AND RESEARCH PROJECT - CFA'S FIRST-EVER FEDERAL GRANT - MARKING A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE IN THE ORGANIZATION'S GROWTH AND NATIONAL CREDIBILITY. THE PROJECT ENGAGED 12 HIGH SCHOOLS AND SEVEN COMMUNITY COLLEGES ACROSS ARIZONA, WITH 345 STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN DESIGN CHALLENGES THAT INFORMED THE EXPANSION OF DUAL AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT AND IT AND CYBERSECURITY PATHWAYS. THE PROJECT REINFORCED A CLEAR LESSON: WHEN SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND EMPLOYERS COLLABORATE TO OFFER MEANINGFUL, REAL-WORLD OPPORTUNITIES, STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEIR EDUCATION AND CAREER PATHS. (CONT'D ON SCH O) CFA IS CARRYING THESE INSIGHTS FORWARD BY INTEGRATING THE FINDINGS INTO ITS EARLY COLLEGE WORK AND SHARING THE RESEARCH BROADLY TO INFORM PRACTICE AND SYSTEMS CHANGE ACROSS THE STATE. FOR DECADES, CFA HAS PLAYED A LEADING ROLE IN ADVANCING THE FUTURE OF LEARNING IN ARIZONA - ALWAYS WITH A FOCUS ON THE SUCCESS OF EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT. CFA WORKS ALONGSIDE SCHOOL SYSTEMS ACROSS THE STATE TO HELP MOVE EDUCATION BEYOND A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH, SUPPORTING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT RECOGNIZE STUDENTS' STRENGTHS, NEEDS, AND PATHWAYS. IN FY25, CFA ADVANCED THIS WORK BY SUPPORTING LEADERS, SCHOOL SYSTEMS, AND EDUCATORS AS THEY PUT STUDENT-CENTERED PRACTICES INTO ACTION. IN COLLABORATION WITH KNOWLEDGEWORKS, CFA LAUNCHED THE EMERGING LEADERS COHORT, SUPPORTING CURRENT AND ASPIRING LEADERS WITHIN THE ARIZONA PERSONALIZED LEARNING NETWORK. THE COHORT INCLUDES 20 PARTICIPANTS FROM DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE, STRENGTHENING LEADERSHIP CAPACITY TO ADVANCE EQUITABLE STUDENT OUTCOMES.CFA ALSO EXPANDED ACCESS TO PROFESSIONAL LEARNING THROUGH THE ARIZONA PERSONALIZED LEARNING NETWORK (PLN). WITH KNOWLEDGEWORKS AND THE ASU PREP DIGITAL VIRTUAL TEACHERS INSTITUTE, CFA OFFERED PLN EXPLORE, A SERIES OF NO-COST, ON-DEMAND MODULES AVAILABLE TO ANY ARIZONA EDUCATOR, WITH MORE THAN 300 MODULES COMPLETED TO DATE. IN ADDITION, THE THIRD PLN LAUNCH COHORT ENGAGED MORE THAN 200 EDUCATORS ACROSS 30 SCHOOL-BASED TEAMS, SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF PERSONALIZED, COMPETENCY-BASED PRACTICES THROUGH PEER LEARNING AND COLLABORATION.THIS YEAR, CFA EXPANDED THE BEAT THE ODDS SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (BTO) TO YUMA COUNTY, PARTNERING WITH YUMA ESD AND MOHAWK VALLEY ESD TO LAUNCH THE REGION'S FIRST COHORT. COHORTS IN PHOENIX AND PARADISE VALLEY ALSO CONCLUDED, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BTO PARTICIPANTS TO MORE THAN 460 LEADERS ACROSS EIGHT ARIZONA COUNTIES. THROUGH BTO, CFA EQUIPS LEADERS TO ALIGN VISION, PRACTICE, AND SYSTEMS IN WAYS THAT IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS.
- $571,230 spent. WORKFORCEIN FY25, CFA STRENGTHENED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR STATE BY BRINGING TOGETHER EMPLOYERS, EDUCATORS, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO HELP MORE ARIZONANS PREPARE FOR AND SUCCEED IN CAREERS THAT SUPPORT LONG-TERM ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. CFA CONTRIBUTED KEY DATA AND ANALYSIS TO ARIZONA TOWN HALL'S BUILDING ARIZONA'S WORKFORCE BACKGROUND REPORT, INCLUDING INSIGHTS ON UNTAPPED WORKERS, WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION, AND SECTOR-SPECIFIC TRENDS SUCH AS RETAIL. RELEASED IN APRIL 2025, THE REPORT IS SERVING AS THE FOUNDATION FOR VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON CONVERSATIONS ACROSS ARIZONA, HELPING COMMUNITIES BUILD SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ARIZONANS WANT TO MEET WORKFORCE NEEDS AND SUSTAIN A VIBRANT ECONOMY.CFA ALSO ADVANCED EFFORTS TO BETTER CONNECT SKILLS, CREDENTIALS, AND EMPLOYMENT THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE LEARNING & (CONT'D ON SCH O) EMPLOYMENT RECORDS (LER) INITIATIVE. THE CURRENT PILOT BRINGS TOGETHER ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY'S MY SKILLS POCKET DIGITAL CREDENTIAL WALLET, PIPELINE CONNECT'S RECRUITMENT PLATFORM, AND ADULT LEARNERS AT RIO SALADO COLLEGE EARNING NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION FOUNDATION CREDENTIALS - CREATING ONE OF THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE TALENT MARKETPLACES IN THE NATION.COMPLEMENTING THE LER WORK, CFA IS PARTNERING WITH THE BURNING GLASS INSTITUTE TO IDENTIFY HIGH-DEMAND JOBS IN HEALTHCARE, CONSTRUCTION, AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AND APPLY THE JOBS THAT MOBILIZE METHODOLOGY. THIS APPROACH FOCUSES ON FEEDER JOBS WITH TRANSFERABLE SKILLS, WIDENING THE APERTURE FOR POTENTIAL TALENT POOLS THAT MAY NOT REALIZE THEY ALREADY HAVE PATHWAYS TO HIGHER-DEMAND ROLES - WHILE HELPING EMPLOYERS ACCESS CANDIDATES THEY MAY HAVE PREVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED.CFA CONTINUES TO INVEST IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE SOUTHERN ARIZONA WORKFORCE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ASPEN INSTITUTE AND PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, CFA LAUNCHED A SECOND COHORT OF 18 FELLOWS. THE ACADEMY BUILDS THE SKILLS AND NETWORKS LEADERS NEED TO DRIVE SYSTEMS CHANGE AND ADDRESS URGENT WORKFORCE CHALLENGES ACROSS SOUTHERN ARIZONA. FELLOWS WILL GRADUATE IN NOVEMBER 2025, STRENGTHENING REGIONAL CAPACITY TO ADVANCE COORDINATED, LONG-TERM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
- $868,027 spent. THE ARIZONA WE WANTIN FY25, CFA CONTINUED ADVANCING THE ARIZONA WE WANT-- A SHARED VISION SHAPED BY THE VOICES AND PRIORITIES OF ARIZONANS BY ENGAGING LEADERS, SHARING DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS, AND CONVENING COMMUNITIES TO DRIVE ACTION ON THE ISSUES ARIZONANS AGREE MATTER MOST. CFA MOVED THE ARIZONA MEDIA INSTITUTE FROM VISION TO ACTION. SUPPORTED BY A $1 MILLION FOUNDING INVESTMENT, CFA FOCUSED ON BUILDING THE PARTNERSHIPS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND DESIGN NEEDED FOR LONG-TERM, STATEWIDE IMPACT. A KEY MILESTONE WAS SECURING A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARIZONA MEDIA ASSOCIATION AND LEADING ITS FIRST EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM. THE CONVENING INTRODUCED JOURNALISTS ACROSS THE STATE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT, DEEPENED RELATIONSHIPS WITH NEWSROOMS, AND HELPED INFORM THE INSTITUTE'S CORE FEATURES. IN PARALLEL, CFA ADVANCED THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF THE MEDIA INSTITUTE - INCLUDING BUILDING A STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT DATABASE, (CONT'D ON SCH O) PROGRESSING THE DESIGN OF A DIGITAL HUB WITH INTEGRATED DATA SOLUTIONS, AND FINALIZING KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AHEAD OF PUBLIC LAUNCH.AT A TIME WHEN ELECTIONS ARE OFTEN FRAMED BY DIVISION OR OUTCOMES ALONE, CFA WORKS TO ELEVATE ARIZONANS' SHARED PRIORITIES AND VALUES, HELPING INFORM PUBLIC DIALOGUE AND POLICY DECISIONS ACROSS THE STATE. AHEAD OF THE GENERAL ELECTION, CFA PARTNERED WITH ARIZONA PBS TO EXPAND PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF ARIZONA'S CIVIC SYSTEMS AND SHARED PUBLIC VALUES THROUGH TRUSTED PUBLIC MEDIA. AS PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP, ARIZONA PBS PRODUCED VOTER ED, A FIVE-EPISODE, DIGITAL-FIRST VIDEO SERIES OFFERING CONCISE EXPLANATIONS OF KEY CIVICS TOPICS IN ARIZONA. THE COLLABORATION ALSO INCLUDED SEVEN ISSUE-FOCUSED SEGMENTS INFORMED BY CFA'S GALLUP POLL OF ARIZONANS, WHICH AIRED ON ARIZONA HORIZON.AT THE LEAGUE OF ARIZONA CITIES AND TOWNS PRE-CONFERENCE SESSION, CFA ENGAGED MORE THAN 100 LOCAL LEADERS IN A CONVERSATION FOCUSED ON DRIVING POSITIVE OUTCOMES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. THIS YEAR'S SESSION CENTERED ON ELEVATING ARIZONANS' VOICES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ELECTION, HELPING LOCAL OFFICIALS UNDERSTAND WHAT RESIDENTS ACROSS THE STATE VALUE MOST AND HOW THOSE PRIORITIES CAN INFORM LOCAL DECISION-MAKING.CFA IS ADVANCING UNLOCKING ARIZONA'S POTENTIAL, A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND RETURN-ON-INVESTMENT REPORT CONNECTING SHARED VALUES TO MEASURABLE OUTCOMES, AND HAS BEGUN EARLY WORK ON THE 2026 ARIZONA VOTERS' AGENDA TO ENSURE ARIZONANS' PRIORITIES CONTINUE TO GUIDE DECISION-MAKING IN THE YEARS AHEAD.CFA'S ARIZONA PROGRESS METERS PROVIDE A TRUSTED FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING ARIZONA'S PROGRESS ACROSS KEY ISSUES AND HELPING LEADERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITIES ALIGN AROUND SHARED PRIORITIES AND ACTION. CFA RELEASED UPDATED DATA ACROSS THE EDUCATION, CIVIC HEALTH, AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRESS METERS, PROVIDING LEADERS WITH TIMELY, TRUSTED INSIGHTS TO COMPARE TRENDS AND INFORM DECISION-MAKING STATEWIDE.
- $622,643 spent. CIVIC HEALTHIN FY25, CFA'S CIVIC HEALTH WORK FOCUSES ON HELPING ARIZONANS FEEL INFORMED, CONNECTED, AND EMPOWERED TO SHARE THE FUTURE OF THEIR COMMUNITIES. AT THE CENTER OF THIS WORK IS THE ARIZONA CIVIC LIFE PARTNERSHIP (ACLP), A COLLABORATION BETWEEN CFA AND THE ARIZONA CENTER FOR CIVIC LEADERSHIP AT THE FLINN FOUNDATION. ACLP BRINGS LEADERS TOGETHER TO ALIGN AROUND SHARED GOALS TO STRENGTHEN CIVIC CULTURE IN ARIZONA.THROUGH ACLP, CFA CONVENED REPRESENTATIVES FROM MORE THAN 20 ORGANIZATIONS STATEWIDE TO EXAMINE THE STATE OF CIVIC HEALTH USING NEWLY UPDATED ARIZONA CIVIC HEALTH PROGRESS METERS DATA. THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE HELPING IDENTIFY THE METRICS THAT MATTER MOST, SET SHARED TARGETS FOR PROGRESS, AND LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION THAT STRENGTHENS CONNECTION, PARTICIPATION, AND TRUST. ACLP HAS ALSO ELEVATED ARIZONA'S LEADERSHIP NATIONALLY. IN HABITS OF THE HEART AND MIND: HOW TO FORTIFY CIVIC CULTURE, A REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES, CFA'S WORK IS FEATURED AS A LEADING EXAMPLE OF HOW LOCAL, DATA-INFORMED ACTION CAN STRENGTHEN CIVIC LIFE.CFA'S SCHOOL PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING (SPB) STRENGTHENS CIVIC HEALTH BY GIVING STUDENTS REAL OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTICE DEMOCRACY AND SHARED DECISION-MAKING. THIS YEAR, CFA EXPANDED SPB'S REACH WHILE LAYING THE FOUNDATION TO SCALE AND SUSTAIN THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE. CFA DEVELOPED 14 NEW, STANDARDS-ALIGNED LESSON PLANS AND EXPANDED ACCESS THROUGH THE SPB INSTITUTE AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES, SUPPORTING EDUCATORS AS THEY IMPLEMENT PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN SCHOOLS. SPB ALSO EXPANDED TO YUMA, LAKE HAVASU, AND WEST VALLEY SCHOOLS, WHILE SUSTAINING LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIPS IN CHANDLER, QUEEN CREEK, AND FLAGSTAFF.THROUGH THE GABE ZIMMERMAN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS, CFA HONORS PUBLIC SERVANTS WHOSE LEADERSHIP REFLECTS INTEGRITY, COLLABORATION, AND A DEEP COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY WELL-BEING.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2002.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.