Community Partnerships
Our partners’ support is invaluable and has a substantial impact on our students and the community.
Our Partners
We work with several local, regional and national organizations to strategically design opportunities for students to fill high demand jobs in the workforce. These partnerships demonstrate the vital role our partners play to strengthen Arizona’s economy and change lives through education.
Lowe's Foundation
The Foundation and Maricopa Community Colleges are proud to be one of 11 Lowe's Foundation community college Gable Grants recipients. $1 million in grant funding will support construction trades programs at Mesa Community College, Rio Salado College, and South Mountain Community College.
Swire Coca-Cola
Swire Coca-Cola will be providing $3 million in added value marketing, promotional and philanthropic support throughout the Maricopa Community Colleges District. A portion of these proceeds were used to establish a new fund at the Foundation helping students who are experiencing food insecurity. Additional components of this partnership include marketing campaigns and text to win opportunities, product donations to support sustainability initiatives, and product sampling events.
Johnson Controls
The Johnson Controls Foundation supports smart, healthy and sustainable tomorrows through its philanthropic giving. The Community College Partnership Program is its largest philanthropic initiative, and began its partnership with the Maricopa Community Colleges in 1998 with the goal to enroll and graduate students from historically underrepresented groups in local programs in HVAC. These are students who, but for the Community College Partnership Program, may not have enrolled in college. The longer-term goal is to employ these students at Johnson Controls or other companies in family-supporting jobs and change the trajectory of lives.
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic Community College Journalism Internship Program provides paid internships to journalism students in order to increase their academic and job readiness in preparation to enter journalism fields. It is designed to empower students with inside knowledge of mainstream media through real-world training.
PNC Bank
Over the past three years, PNC Bank through its PNC Foundation has invested $195,000 in the academic success of 287 students enrolled in the Maricopa Community Colleges. The goal of the PNC Foundation Scholarship is to increase academic opportunities for low to moderate income students to improve their lifelong upward economic mobility with a foundation built upon completion of a higher education credential. PNC prioritizes community and economic development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low- and moderate income communities and/or provide services to these communities.
Amazon
Amazon supports key programs all across our District that help strenghten the economy and change the lives of students. These include The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Academy, The Education Concierge Program and a Gold sponsorship of the 2023 Heroes of Education in which Amazon's contribution will support up to 200 students with food gift cards, stipends and scholarships.
Bank of America
Bank of America has partnered with the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation (MCCF) to help remove barriers to employment and boost opportunities for students in Phoenix. Recognizing the importance of ensuring that students from all backgrounds have access to career paths in fields such as information technology, cybersecurity, business, healthcare and advanced manufacturing, programs have been created to increase students’ success in degree and certification completion by providing a structured educational model for the Maricopa County Community College District.
The City of Scottsdale
The City of Scottsdale has partnered with the Foundation and Scottsdale Community College (SCC), to provide SCC students with IT internships to gain real world experience in the areas of Web Design/Development and Desktop Support/Help Desk. This grant will award a stipend to eligible SCC students upon completing an 80-hour internship. Additionally, the City of Scottsdale may invite intern(s) to stay and complete an additional 80-hour internship and receive a second stipend upon completion.
McCarthy Building Companies
The Construction Trades Institute at South Mountain Community College is supported by community partners looking to grow the trades workforce in Phoenix—where growth continues to surge and construction is in high demand. McCarthy Building Companies is a founding partner for the institute funding certifications, books, and student resources. South Mountain, Mesa Community College and Gateway have been working collaboratively to explore expansion of their programs regionally to accommodate industry demand for a skilled construction trade workforce.
PepsiCo and The PepsiCo Foundation
PepsiCo and its philanthropic arm, The PepsiCo Foundation, has awarded a $500,000 2-year grant to the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation (MCCF). The grant is part of the PepsiCo Foundation Community College Program to provide scholarship opportunities for Black and Hispanic students across the country. The Maricopa Community Colleges District (MCCCD) is one of 13 community college systems in the country to be added to this growing scholarship program.
Helios Education Foundation
Helios Education Foundation is making new investments to improve Latino student success at colleges across in the Maricopa Community College District. The newest partnership is aimed at strengthening educational outcomes among Latino students at six Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) including GateWay Community College, Glendale Community College, Estrella Mountain Community College, Mesa Community College, Phoenix College and South Mountain Community College. This highly successful model utilizes mentors and coordinators to provide a holistic case-management approach in academic progress, degree completion, FAFSA completion, engagement, and participation towards completing a post-secondary education.
Intel
In partnership with Intel, the Maricopa Community Colleges opened the first of its kind artificial intelligence (AI) incubation lab providing community college students in Arizona the opportunity to earn an associates degree in artificial intelligence and machine learning. In 2020, Intel launched the AI for Workforce Program across the U.S. Since then, 31 schools across 18 states have joined the program with Maricopa being the first to launch.
Microsoft Data Academy
The specialized Academy lab, equipment, and courses available at Estrella Mountain and Glendale Community Colleges will provide students with a cutting-edge, hands-on, one-of-a-kind experience. Microsoft’s investment provides scholarships for students participating in the academy, builds digital skills, and provides career pathways for students in the growing IT sector and also funds equipment at the EMCC location. The partnership comes in conjunction with Microsoft’s new data centers in Goodyear and El Mirage, near the two colleges.
State Farm®
Through a partnership with State Farm, we are expanding the technology workforce pipeline in critical national priority areas including: Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and Automation. Students are eligible for scholarships to offset the cost of earning a degree and colleges utilize program support to host STEM/cybersecurity summer camps for high school students to inspire the next generation of talent.
State Farm’s partnership also supports workshops for parents/guardians of the Achieving A College Education (ACE) and Hoop of Learning programs. Scholarship support for Veterans, underserved and low-income students and funding for the student Emergency fund whereby students experiencing barriers to education can get financial help for gas, transportation, child-care, food needs and more.
Venture Cafe
The Venture Café Phoenix and CEI partnership gives Arizona access to a global network and creates a weekly Thursday Gathering where a space for people of different industries, diverse backgrounds, and different views will have the opportunity to make meaningful connections, to share their expertise with others, and where all can learn. When you take part in a Venture Café event, you can meet hundreds of creative, resourceful people who are just as invested in improving life in Phoenix. Through the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation, sponsors of the Thursday Gathering, connect creators, entrepreneurs, investors, coworkers, students and visionaries to build a strong, inclusive and equitable innovation ecosystem.
To learn more:
https://venturecafephoenix.org/
Verizon
One of only eight “Tech Workforce Development” grants awarded across the nation, the Verizon Foundation is working with the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation and the Maricopa Community Colleges to provide stipends to complete technology internships. Internships allow the student to gain real-world experience, develop the industry relationships that lead to employment, and to allow industry partners to “test the talent. Check out the video: https://www.flickr.com/photos/149679671@N07/50164528747/
Wells Fargo
Advancing Entrepreneurship at the Maricopa Community Colleges focuses on uplifting economically disadvantaged and diverse-owned small businesses, as well as students of color pursuing business and entrepreneurial studies. Program provides scholarships and programming support to increase college enrollment and completion rates as well as provide funding to support business incubators, bootcamps, workshops and student pitch competitions. Small businesses can access capital, counseling and other services through the AZSBDC.
Ready To Become A Partner?
Interested in partnering with the Foundation? We want to speak with you.