The New York Times Student Journalism Institute

After a gunman opened fire at a Tucson Safeway last January, killing six people and injuring 13, residents rushed to set up foundations and charities to aid the survivors. One year later, donations are still pouring in.

Eight foundations established after the shooting have raised just over $1.5 million in the past year. The three most prominent — the Tucson Together Fund, the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Fund and the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding, established by the family of Ron Barber, a survivor — have raised close to $1.1 million. Contributions to the major funds have remained steady, a reflection of how wounded the community still feels, managers of the funds say.

“Thirteen people that day were pretty seriously injured, and we just know that we’re here for the long term as long as there’s money in those funds,” said Bill Carnegie, board chairman of the Tucson Together Fund and president and chief executive of Tucson’s Community Food Bank.

The speed with which the organizations were set up was also critical to the amount of money they were able to raise. Donations started coming in as soon as two days after the shooting, said Evan Mendelson, vice president of donor relations and program services at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, a local philanthropy that assists individuals and groups in setting up foundations. Mendelson said that for the families to tackle that amount of money on their own would have been overwhelming.

“These families couldn’t have possibly handled the amount of money coming in,” Mendelson said. “They needed to be acknowledged, and we did that for them.”

The process for starting a foundation can take anywhere from six to nine months to complete, said J. Clinton Mabie, the Community Foundation’s president and chief executive. “We help sort through the burden of everything you’d have to deal with when you accept donations, and the process can be completed in a day,” Mabie said, citing the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Fund as an example.

The Tucson Together Fund, which was modeled on similar organizations created after 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing, covers counseling for families, transportation costs for visiting relatives and other expenses. Board members meet monthly to review monetary requests from the families. The timeline for the approval process can range from two hours to two weeks, depending on the situation, Carnegie said.

Requests for funding “did seem to slacken a bit at the end of the year, but as the anniversary came close, we’ve gotten more requests,” Carnegie said. “There’s certainly been a lot for counseling, from grandchildren to spouses.” The main expense, Carnegie said, is travel costs for relatives who want to fly in to offer support for the victims and their families.

By early December, community members had donated more than $500,000 to the funds, and nearly half that amount has already been paid out to the families, Mabie said. The largest donation, of $100,000, was made by the Safeway supermarket chain.

“Tucson is very tight knit,” said Marissa Theisen, president and chief executive of the Arizona Grantmakers Forum, an organization for donors who contribute to nonprofits throughout the state. “I think in a local community like this, people are still your neighbors. There’s a tendency to continue to give because you see it every day.”

On the morning of Jan. 6, two days before the first anniversary of the shooting, Carnegie received a call from someone wishing to make an anonymous donation of $50,000.

“People understand that, especially around the anniversary, these families are going to have more needs,” Carnegie said.

Before becoming a private foundation, the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Fund had raised $286,295 in 2011, while the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding had raised just under $300,000.

Carol Gaxiola, the director of a Homicide Survivors Inc., an advocacy group, said setting up foundations or charitable organizations was a common way for families to grieve. “It helps them turn the trauma, the devastation in their lives, into something positive,” she said.

Maggie Morton, a licensed clinical social worker in Tucson, explained that donating to a cause after a tragedy was also helpful for members of a community who are deeply affected. “People are trying to recover from a tragedy that is inexplicable, unimaginable and intolerable,” Morton said.

During a memorial service at the University of Arizona on the night of Jan. 8, Patricia Maisch, a survivor, explained how the city’s sense of philanthropy had helped residents recover from the tragedy. “Our community has a priceless resource: people, our people,” Maisch said. “Active memorials serve living, breathing beings.”

 

Foundations

Gabe Zimmerman

Gabe Zimmerman Memorial Fund Established by Child & Family Resources, a nonprofit agency that provides services for families in southern Arizona. Zimmerman was a board member. More than $65,000 has been donated to causes he supported.
Gabe Zimmerman Scholarship Fund The University of California, Santa Cruz, created a scholarship in honor of Zimmerman, who graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. The scholarship is awarded to people who share Zimmerman’s commitment to public service. According to Marcus Frost, associate director of development for social sciences at the university, about $77,000 has been donated from 590 different individuals and organizations.
Tucson Trails Tribute A fund created by the Zimmerman family to promote conservation and healthy living in Tucson. Zimmerman was an avid hiker and outdoorsman. His family and fiancée hope to keep his passion alive through this fund. By the end of 2011, it had received more than $46,000.

John M. Roll

John M. Roll Memorial Fund A scholarship established by the Arizona State Bar and the University of Arizona for students of the James E. Rogers College of Law. Nancy Stanley, assistant dean of development and external relations at the College of Law, said both large and small donations had been made, including a $5 contribution from someone Roll once sentenced. “He said that at least Roll had treated him like a person,” Stanley said of the donor. About $55,000 has been collected.
Christina-Taylor Green

Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Fund/Memorial Scholarship The parents of Christina-Taylor Green raised nearly $290,000 for their fund under the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona before becoming a private group. In the past year, the fund has supported several projects, including a technology upgrade and a new playground at Mesa Verde Elementary School in Tucson. In addition, Running Start, an organization that supports young women who are interested in politics, established the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Scholarship, intended for girls between the ages of 9 and 18, as part of its Young Women’s Political Leadership Program.
Christina-Taylor Green and Daniel Hernandez Jr. Scholarship Fund Established under the Community Foundation, by Phil and Carol Lyons of Tucson, the fund is for students in the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. The scholarship honors Green and Daniel Hernandez Jr., a political science major at the University of Arizona and an intern for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who helped victims during the Jan. 8 attack; Hernandez is now a member of the Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board.

Dorwan Stoddard

Dorwan Stoddard was shot and killed in an attempt to shield his wife, Mavy. A private fund has been set up for Mavy, who sustained serious leg wounds. Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo bank in the family’s name.

Ron Barber (WOUNDED)

Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding The foundation started by Barber’s family when he was still in the intensive care unit has raised $298,330 in the last year. Through local programs, Barber and his family hope to promote mental health awareness and a positive platform for political discussion.

Other Funds

Tucson Together Fund In an effort to help the victims’ families with costs and needs not covered by insurance, the Tucson Together Fund has raised $504,297 since the shooting. Families of victims and survivors who were wounded can use the fund to cover medical costs, among other expenses.